Royals Corner: KC Royals News, Updates and Information

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2011-08-27T23:33:00.000-04:00

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Royals Corner has moved!

2006-06-19T21:39:00.000-04:00

Folks, the time has come, and the switch over to Scout.com has been made. It has been a great pleasure bringing you our Royals coverage and commentary in this space for the last year, and we hope that you continue reading us at our new home.

Royals Corner on Scout.com

The Big Announcement: RC signs on with Scout.com!

2006-06-18T22:31:00.000-04:00

On June 3, RC celebrated our one-year anniversary in the blogosphere. Today, it pleases us greatly to officially announce that Royals Corner will soon move beyond the blogging world. On Friday afternoon, we signed a contract with Scout.com to become the Publisher of a new Royals site on the network. RoyalsCorner.com will soon redirect visitors to the new site, and all of our future efforts will go into making the new site the finest bastion of Royals coverage available anywhere on the Internet.

The decision was not an easy one for RC, and we have turned down other networks' offers in the past. But Scout.com, which is owned by Fox Sports and cross publishes with FOXSports.com, offers the type of opportunity that we never dreamed was possible when we began the site last June. The resources, expertise, professionalism, and coverage on Scout.com is unrivaled on the Internet, and after careful thought and much discussion, we decided that this was an opportunity we couldn't possibly refuse.

So what will change? As far as the actual writing, very little, although the amount and quality of content we provide will increase dramatically. We will devote the majority of our attention to the Royals' minor leagues, and very soon we'll begin collecting photos, player and coach interviews, and all kinds of other exciting information you won't find anywhere else.

We are also pleased to announce that later this month, RC World Headquarters will move from Falls Church, VA, to Kansas City. Northern Virginia has been our home for nearly four years, but we can't wait to get back to KC. Not only will we once again be able to make Kauffman Stadium our summer home, but our new location will put us in relatively close proximity to the Royals' minor league affiliates in the region. We plan to travel extensively to Burlington, Wichita, and Omaha, and we won't rule out an occasional jaunt to the rookie league teams in Idaho Falls and Surprise once they're up and running this summer. And of course, both spring training and the Arizona Fall League will remain annual RC destinations.

For the next week or so, Royals Corner will continue to operate as usual while we set up the new site. There may be a slight delay, since the annual Scout.com meeting is presently underway in Las Vegas, but we should be up and running pretty quickly. RC readers are likely to have many questions, so we invite you to post them as comments or place them in an e-mail, and we'll do our best to reply. It has been a great pleasure bringing you our Royals coverage for the past year, and we hope that you'll continue visiting us regularly as we tackle this new and challenging endeavor.

RC profiles fifth round pick, Jason Godin

2006-06-14T02:21:00.000-04:00

Jason Godin was drafted by the Royals in the fifth round of the 2006 draft with the 137th overall pick. Godin is a 21-year-old right handed pitcher out of Old Dominion University (ODU) who led the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) with 146 strikeouts this season, and he registered an 8-3 record with a 4.06 ERA in 15 starts. His 146 Ks missed Justin Verlander's ODU strikeout record by just 5 punchouts, and he was twice named Collegiate Baseball's "National Player of the Week." In his 115.1 IP, Godin surrendered 116 hits and 38 walks.

Godin's prospect hype was somewhat muffled this season, since he missed the entire 2005 campaign after undergoing surgery on his vertebrae. Nevertheless, he far exceeded expectations this year, and he emerged from his medical ordeal with an expanded repertoire. He doesn't blow anyone away with his fastball, which sits at 88-91 mph, but he does possess a plus curveball, which he uses frequently. He also flashes a nice slider that cuts in on righties, and he has what is described by Baseball America as a "fringy change" that he doesn't use very often.

RC was very intrigued by this pick -- since we really hadn't followed Godin closely during the season -- so we dug through ODU's box scores to see if we could identify any trends or highlight any performances. After Godin struck out 17 Navy hitters in his 2006 debut (a complete game victory), we found that he struggled a bit, surrendering 13 ER over his second and third starts of 2006 against Rutgers and Rhode Island.

But he then entered a stretch in which he was completely dominant. From March 11 through April 15, Godin made six conference starts, averaging 8.2 IP and nearly 12 strikeouts per game while compiling an ERA of 1.38. He tossed three complete games over that stretch, including two shutouts, and he went the first nine innings in an extra inning win over Hofstra on April 9. On April 15, he set a school record by striking out an amazing 18 batters (with 0 BBs) in a complete game shutout over Northeastern.

Godin then ran into some trouble. He dropped his first two decisions of the season to Delaware and Virginia Commonwealth University, yielding 13 earned runs in 13 IP. He did strike out 23 batters, however, and he struck out 19 more over his next two starts while yielding 11 more earned runs in a combined 13.2 IP against UNC-Wilmington (a very good offensive team) and Towson.

Godin's final start of the season was in a CAA Tournament elimination game vs. Georgia State. He surrendered six runs (only two earned) and seven walks, and he took the game into the tenth inning before allowing the deciding walk-off run with two outs. It was a disappointing end to the season, but Godin established himself as a strikeout pitcher who maintains his stuff late into games.

All told, RC really likes this pick. We don't believe Godin has signed yet, but we imagine that the Royals probably aren't in a big hurry to ink him to a contract after he threw so many innings and pitches this season. Once he does sign, we expect Godin will probably make a few appearances in Idaho Falls before the season is over, similar to what Chris Nicoll did last year. We particularly like his strikeout numbers, and we think that Godin may turn out to be an excellent find.

That's it for today, but stay tuned, as RC promises to bring similar profiles of the Royals draftees in the coming days. We'll continue focusing on some of the college pitchers, and we plan to profile VCU's Harold Mozingo with our next feature.

RC notes: Royals drop series to D-Rays

2006-06-12T00:29:00.000-04:00

RC today liked KC's chances of winning, as we figured Scott Elarton might keep the Royals in the game while the offense beat up on an experienced Tampa Bay starter. But the only beating dished out was by the D-Rays, who tied a club record with six home runs en route to an 8-2 victory. Elarton lasted only 4.2 innings, surrendering eight hits (including three home runs) and four earned runs.

Elarton has now allowed four or more runs in six of his last seven starts, and he hasn't had a truly good outing since his May 5 start against the White Sox. In those seven starts, he's allowed a total of 12 home runs, after allowing seven in his first seven outings. Hopefully he'll turn it around, but today's start is probably the type of performance we should expect to see a lot more of throughout the season.

The offense managed 10 hits but could only score two runs. In fact, in the ten games played thus far in June, the Royals have now scored two or fewer runs six times, losing all six games. But as bad as the offense continues to look, it's surprising to see that some players are having remarkably good months.

Doug Mientikiewicz has led the way in June, posting a batting line of .429/.515/.500. Minky is 17-for-41 (.415) dating back to May 28, and he's raised his average in that time from .248 to .284. His still not an ideal three-hole hitter, but our complaints will be muffled a bit as long as he stays hot. David DeJesus has also played well this month after returning from the DL in late May, and his June line of .351/.467/.541 has raised his overall numbers to .280/.372/.467, which are very solid considering his slow start.

Of course, maybe the best news of all is that Mark Teahen is starting to hit the ball. Since his recall on June 3, Teahen has four multi-hit games and has posted a line of .393/.433/.536 with a home run. He's pulling the ball better, and he's only struck out four times after going down on strikes 23 times in his first 23 games. His defense, however, has been somewhat lackluster, and 810 WHB today reported that the word around the clubhouse is that Teahen's right shoulder is completely shot.

Teahen is reportedly playing through shoulder pain.

He was scheduled for an MRI when he was in Omaha, but he's apparently decided to gut it out and play through the pain. Nevertheless, it's good to see Teahen continue the blistering offensive pace he started last month in triple-A. We just hope he's not doing additional damage to his shoulder.

RC Correspondent Chris Ray today had an interesting question. It is well known that the Royals have followed the recent trend in baseball of having their top prospects skip triple-A on their way to the Majors. Across much of baseball, clubs now use their triple-A farm clubs to stockpile organizational types and aged veterans who can step into the big leagues for a short period to fill a hole if needed. Opinions on the wisdom of this change are mixed, but it's certainly the prevailing trend for an organization to house its best young prospects at double-A.

New Royals GM Dayton Moore, however, comes from the Braves organization, which is one of the few remaining organizations that does it the old fashioned way. For example, when RC went to Richmond last year, we saw a triple-A ballclub stocked with young talent, such as Andy Marte, Chuck James, Anthony Lerew, and Tony Pena, Jr.

Ray wondered if Moore, who has promised to replicate the Braves' model for scouting and player development, has a change in store for the way the Royals utilize their Omaha affiliate. We have no idea, but it was an interesting question that we hadn't yet considered. It's definitely something to watch for, and it wouldn't surprise RC one bit to see Alex Gordon and Billy Butler make stops in Omaha before graduating to KC.

Anyway, that's it for today. Stay tuned this week, as we should finally bring our promised draft analysis (barring another blogger meltdown). Up next, we plan to discuss some of the better collegiate pitchers who were drafted on Tuesday, as the Royals did a very nice job bringing in some quality arms.

Rosen reports on Luis Cota and Adam Donachie

2006-06-07T23:54:00.000-04:00

Lost in all the draft hoopla, Luis Cota had an inspiring start for High Desert at Mavericks Stadium on Monday night. Coming off a seven-inning start against the punchless Lake Elsinore Storm in which he did not allow an earned run, Cota returned home to the high winds and light air and dominated the first place Inland Empire 66ers for 7.1 innings. Cota struck out seven while walking just one batter and scattering four hits.

From the first pitch, he was throwing darts and was helped by his ability to get that first pitch over for strikes. His slider was consistently thrown for strikes as well - and he was able to throw it in any count, at any point in the game. Cota even threw his change-up for strikes, meaning that the experienced batters in this league couldn't just wait back for his fastball.

Luis Cota has been pitching much better lately.

He struck out possible league MVP candidate and acclaimed Mariners' prospect Mike Wilson twice, and also retired Matt Tuiasosopo on a tapper to the mound before Tuiasosopo tried to bunt his way on later in the game, though unsuccessfully as Adam Donachie fielded the bunt, spun towards first base, and gunned down Tuiasosopo by several steps. Cota is yet to make three quality starts in a row, but will have another crack at the inconsistent Lake Elsinore lineup likely on Saturday night.

Donachie's defense has always been playable at higher levels, and despite his .294 average and twelve home runs in 2005, doubts were still raised about his offensive ceiling. This year, he has improved at recognizing breaking pitches, and not lunging at sliders outside of the strike zone. He hit a home run to straight away center field Monday night, well over the hitter's backdrop in a blast I would estimate at 410-425 feet.

Donachie is hitting .291/.380/.419 this season.

Because he was a former switch-hitter, Donachie feels more comfortable against lefthanded pitching. After batting nearly .450 against lefties last year, he is hitting nearly .350 against them this year. Two of his three homeruns are against lefties, including a mammoth shot off highly touted Diamondbacks prospect Matt Chico, who is now succeeding in double-A.

Donachie's arm is nearly unrivaled in this league, as he has thrown out 53% of basestealers, many of them from his knees. He forces teams to rework their offensive strategy, as the Mavericks have drawn the fewest stolen bases attempts in the entire league. Catchers don't have to hit .300 to make a major league roster, and with the way his arm has played as a professional, it seems Donachie could find a niche for a couple years in the major leagues as a backup/platoon catcher out of the mold of Jason LaRue. -JR

RC Live Draft Tracker -- Day 2

2006-06-07T06:30:00.000-04:00

The Royals have had hours to consider their 19th pick in this year's draft, and RC is standing by to see who they select. The Royals could select as many as 32 players today, and RC will update each pick as it happens.

Round 19 (557): Jeffrey Inman, RHP -- Garces Memorial HS (CA)

Round 20 (587): Bradley Boxberger, RHP -- Foothill HS (CA)

Round 21 (617): Burke Baldwin, LHP -- Elgin CC (IL)

Round 22 (647): Romas Hicks, RHP -- Georgia State University

Round 23 (677): Aaron Hartsock, RHP -- California Baptist University

Round 24 (707): Tyler Moyneur, C -- Arizona Western College

Round 25 (737): Rafael Valenzuela, SS -- Nogales HS (AZ)

Round 26 (767): Darrell Lockett, OF -- Weatherford HS (TX)

Round 27 (797): Colby Killian, RHP -- Warren County HS (TN)

Round 28 (827): Michael Wheeler, OF -- Walters State CC (TN)

Round 29 (857): Steven Rinaudo, SS -- American River College (CA)

Round 30 (887): Tyler Pearson, RHP -- University of Northern Colorado

Round 31 (917): Brandon Lance, C -- New Mexico State University

Round 32 (947): Fernando Garcia, 2B -- Colegio de la Inmaculada

Round 33 (977): Harold Smith, OF -- Palmetto HS (FL)

Round 34 (1007): Jared Grace, 1B -- Pensacola JC

Round 35 (1037): Anthony Stoval, RHP -- Kailua HS (HI)

Round 36 (1067): Manuel Garcia, RHP -- Cochise College

Round 37 (1097): Kaleb Harst, C -- St. Thomas Moore HS (LA)

Round 38 (1127): Michael Dabbs, OF -- Cowley County CC (OK)

Round 39 (1157): Steven Moore, RHP -- Thomasville HS (GA)

Round 40 (1187): Christopher Snipes, LHP -- Warner Robins HS (GA)

Round 41 (1217): Jeremy Toole, RHP -- Huntsville HS (TX)

Round 42 (1247): Todd McBride, OF -- The Dalles HS (OR)

Round 43 (1276): Brennan Thorpe, RHP -- Saddleback CC (CA)

Round 44 (1305): Bryan Paukovits, RHP -- Southwestern College (CA)

Round 45 (1334): Eric Martinez, RHP -- Southwestern College (CA)

Round 46 (1363): Chase Lehr, RHP -- Centennial HS (AZ)

Round 47 (1391): Ryan Cisterna, C -- Chandler Gilbert CC (AZ)

Round 48 (1419): Colby Ho, 3B -- Kaiser HS (HI)

Round 49 (1447): Rocky Gale, C -- North Salem HS (OR)

Round 50 (1475): Jarrod Dyson, OF -- Southwest Mississippi JC (MS)

RC interviews Luke Hochevar...

2006-06-06T19:15:00.000-04:00

Luke Hochevar today was selected by the Royals with the first overall pick in the 2006 MLB Draft. Royals Corner had an opportunity to speak with him this afternoon, and the transcript of our conversation is presented below.

Royals Corner: Luke, first off we'd like to congratulate you on your first overall selection in this year's draft. It must be quite a rush.

Luke Hochevar: Thanks. It's been a very humbling experience.

RC: Luke, what was your reaction when you heard the news today? We're you expecting it...Had you been told that you'd be selected at #1?

LH: Scott [Boras] called me this morning before the draft, and I was beside myself when I heard. I didn’t even know what to say. I feel like I have a great opportunity to pitch for a for a great organization, and I'm excited to get started.

RC: You signed a contract to pitch with the Fort Worth Cats this spring as a showcase. How do you think the level of competition you faced in the independent league compared with what you saw in Division I college ball, and what you expect to see in the minors?

LH: I thought the competition was better due to the fact the guys are older and more experienced. They control the strike zone better and are more disciplined. The competition was more than I was expecting. I will continue to learn and get better in the areas I need to get better in. The people in Fort Worth, the front office, and the coaches were great for giving me the opportunity to pitch.

RC: Luke, can you give our readers an idea of your repertoire? What pitches do you throw at what speeds, and what would you consider your "go-to" pitch?

LH: I'm very comfortable throwing any pitch in any count. I throw a four-seam fastball at 93-95 and a sinker at 91-93. My change is usually around 80-83, and my curveball is normally between 78-81. I also throw a slider at 85-87. I feel like I have the confidence to go to any pitch in any count. My best breaking pitch is my curveball, but my out pitch is my slider. And my bread and butter is my sinking fastball.

RC: What current Major Leaguer would you compare yourself to?

LH: I really admire Roger Clemens, for his work ethic and the way competes. He is the greatest of all-time -- very professional, and he competes his tail off. Greg Maddux is another guy with a great work ethic. He is a bulldog, and a great pitcher.

RC: Do you have any personal timetable for reaching the Major Leagues?

LH: That will be up to the team. I’ll work my butt off give everything I’ve got. After I sign, I’ll bust my tail and help the organization by getting after it.

RC: Have the Royals given you any idea where you'll start once you sign... Double-A perhaps?

LH: That too will be up to the team. There will be further discussion about where I will start. I'm just ready to get going.

RC: Luke, what has been your favorite moment in your baseball career?

LH: Going to the College World Series with Tennessee, and spending time with guys on team. All the guys were great, and I have made lifelong friends. Also, winning the Roger Clemens award and shaking his hand on stage was an honor in itself.

RC: Luke, we've taken up enough of your time, and I'm sure there are other people who want to talk to you today. Thank you for speaking with us, and we can't wait for you to sign and get to business in the minors. Good luck!

LH: Thanks, it was good talking with you.

RC's Live Amateur Draft Tracker -- Royals select Hochevar with first pick!

2006-06-06T12:37:00.000-04:00

Round 1 (1): Luke Hochevar, RHP -- Fort Worth Cats (IND)

Hochevar (HO-Chay-ver) is 6-5, 205. He was widely regarded as the second-best pitcher available in the 2005 draft out of the University of Tennessee, but he slid to the Dodgers in the sandwich round at #40 due to signability concerns. After a heated contract dispute boiled over, negotiations broke down between Hochevar and the Dodgers, and it became clear that he wouldn't sign. He signed a short-term contract with the independent Fort Worth Cats to showcase his talents this spring, and he did very well, registering an ERA of 2.38 with 34 strikeouts and 11 walks in 22.2 IP.

Hochevar throws a fastball that sits between 90-97 MPH, along with a quality slider, curve, and change-up. He has prototypical size, and word is that he could move very quickly through the system once he signs. There was likely a pre-draft deal, so he could be in a minor league uniform very soon. RC loves this pick, and we can't wait to see what he can do.

Round 2 (45): Jason Taylor, SS -- Floyd E Kellam HS (VA)

Round 3 (77): Blake Wood, RHP -- Georgia Tech

Round 4 (107): Derrick Robinson, OF -- Pk Younge Laboratory School (FL)

Round 5 (137): Jason Godin, RHP -- Old Dominion University

Round 6 (167): Harold Mozingo, RHP -- Virginia Commonweath University

To read an earlier RC report on Harold Mozingo, click here. RC loves this pick.

Round 7 (197): Brett Bigler, OF -- UC Riverside

Round 8 (227): Josh Cribb, RHP -- Clemson University

Round 9 (257): Marc Maddox, 2B? -- University of Southern Mississippi

Maddox was listed in Baseball America as a first baseman. RC will investigate.

Round 10 (287): Nicholas Van Stratten, OF -- St. Louis CC Meramec

Round 11 (317): William Chambliss, RHP -- Florida State University

Round 12 (347): Everett Teaford, LHP -- Georgia Southern University

Round 13 (377): Kurt Mertins, 2B -- College of the Desert

Round 14 (407): Daniel Best, RHP -- University of Southern Mississippi

Round 15 (437): Nicholas Francis, OF -- Pensacola JC

Round 16 (467): Tyrone Wilson, SS -- Southern Durham HS (NC)

Round 17 (497): Matthew Morizo, C -- Northeastern University

Round 18 (527): Chase Larsson, OF -- Kitsilano Secondary School

The Final Countdown...Draft just hours away!

2006-06-06T02:12:00.000-04:00

Well, we had planned something of a last hurrah Draft Prospect Update, but it's become increasingly clear that the Royals have narrowed their choices down to two college pitchers -- North Carolina's Andrew Miller and Houston's Brad Lincoln. Both are outstanding young pitchers with Major League stuff, and any team in baseball would be lucky to have either.

While Miller certainly wasn't very impressive when we saw him on Sunday, it really isn't fair to judge him on the basis of one mediocre outing in an important game. He had some very good starts this season against some quality offenses like Georgia Tech and NC State (although he also got roughed up by NC State in the ACC Tournament), and he certainly has some tools and some size at his disposal. His slider in particular would be an excellent addition to any organization. However, RC still has trouble finding anything -- beyond his height and left-handedness -- that distinguishes him as a clear #1 pick. North Carolina didn't have a terribly difficult schedule, and Miller threw poorly and/or lost against many of the best teams he faced this season. Despite his gaudy numbers, Miller has actually been quite inconsistent with his stuff against quality ballclubs.

We certainly regret not seeing Brad Lincoln pitch this season. Actually, he snuck up on us, as he didn't even make it into our top 10 until several weeks into the season. Playing his games in the weaker Conference USA, it's tough to put his numbers into context without actually getting a look at him, but all reports we've seen indicate that he holds mid-90s fastball velocity throughout games, and he shows excellent command of a plus curveball. Unlike Miller, he also possesses a third pitch -- a change-up that is reportedly already close to Major League average. Lincoln's most impressive performance this season was a complete game shutout over #1-ranked Rice, an outing that certainly went a long way in quieting our concerns about Houston's weaker schedule.

Since we must produce a final opinion in the pre-draft hours, RC is backing Brad Lincoln for the first overall selection in tomorrow's draft, but it's certainly not by an overwhelming margin. We'd actually be very happy with either pitcher, and if the rumors are true that the Royals might instead select Luke Hochevar (who was drafted by the Dodgers last season but failed to sign), we'd be pleased as punch with that as well. There just doesn't seem to be a clear-cut #1, so RC is willing to rely on the judgement of the folks who have actually seen all of the players under consideration. We feel kind of wimpy in not taking a stronger position, but we've gone back and forth so many times that it became clear we'd never arrive at an unyielding preference.

Whatever happens, RC is confident that we're not only going to get a very good pitcher, but that he'll be the guy who the Royals truly believe is the best player available. Truth be told, we're probably just as excited to see who they take in the second round.

Anyway, be sure to tune in frequently tomorrow throughout the day, as RC hosts a live draft tracker. We'll update each Royals pick as it happens, and we'll do our best to provide you with all the information we can possibly find on the draftees. Draft day is RC's favorite day of the year, and as we write this we can't help but get that feeling we had as a child on the night before Christmas. It will probably be a sleepless night at RC Headquarters.

RC has long day at the yard, reports on Andrew Miller's final pre-draft start

2006-06-04T00:54:00.000-04:00

Actually, calling today a "long day" is something of an understatement. Before we even saw Andrew Miller and the Tar Heels take the field, RC sat through one of the most amazing games we've ever witnessed. The scoreboard speaks for itself:

And Maine should have been charged with a few more errors than that...

The North Carolina sun was beating down on RC's freshly shorn official head, and we just wanted the damned game to end. We even volunteered to pitch in order to speed things along, but we were rudely ordered to return to our seat. Frustrated with the situation, we searched for some shade on the concourse, and we had a chance encounter with the last person we expected to see in Chapel Hill, NC.

Poz was in the house!

Yup, RC today met the KC Star's Joe Posnanski, who turned out to be a quite friendly fellow (although to his detriment, we don't believe he had ever heard of Royals Corner). We chatted for a few minutes about the Royals, and RC probed for some inside information, but ultimately all we got was the same information that has already been reported in the Star. Posnanski told us he thinks the Royals' first draft pick on Tuesday will be either Miller or Houston's Brad Lincoln, and he thought it was about 50-50 between those two players. After a few more minutes, Poz excused himself, and the day's first game finally ended shortly thereafter.

Anyway, enough about all that...People want to know how Miller looked today, and RC came away from the game with a solid opinion.

Good news -- The porn-stache is gone!

We first reported on Miller in February, after we watched him make his first start of the 2006 season against a very weak Seton Hall squad. For the most part, we liked what we saw, although we were surprised that his fastball velocity (88-92 mph) was lower than we had expected. He showed us his dynamite slider, which he threw 77-78 mph, and he had no trouble missing Seton Hall's bats all afternoon while striking out nine in six shutout innings. We wondered then how he'd look against a better club, and today's matchup against quality Winthrop team gave us an opportunity to see for ourselves. Winthrop entered the game with a 45-16 record, which included wins against top programs like Miami, Clemson, Alabama, and North Carolina, and Winthrop's team batting average on the season was over .330.

Miller last pitched in the ACC tournament about 10 days ago, so he wasn't very sharp. His velocity on his fastball was better than in February, sitting at 91-93 and occasionally climbing to 94, but it still fell short of our expectations after reading reports that he was consistently in the mid-90s. He held his velocity fairly well throughout the game, although the average FB velocity dropped to around 91 mph from the fifth inning on. His slider was also up a tick in velocity, with most coming in at 81 mph while ranging from 79-84. It looked like he had good movement, but it didn't miss a whole lot of bats, and the home plate umpire wasn't giving him many calls on the outside corner vs. lefties.

The thing we found most surprising was how frequently he used the slider. We didn't keep a close pitch count, but it wouldn't surprise us to hear that he actually threw more sliders than fastballs in the game. Indeed, several pitch sequences to left-handed batters began with three or four consecutive sliders, and although many of those sliders turned into Winthrop base hits, RC was surprised they didn't manage to do more damage against what became a very predictable strategy.

One thing we didn't see much of, however, was Miller's changeup. We saw him throw one change in the first inning that went for an RBI single, and after that, Miller was essentially a two-pitch pitcher throughout the remainder of the game. However, Miller was somehow able to make it work, pitching his way out of trouble and relying on some nice defense behind him.

On the day, Miller surrendered nine hits and four earned runs in eight plus innings while striking out six and walking three. He was removed from the game to a thunderous ovation from the partisan home crowd in the ninth after giving up a leadoff single. He threw a total of 114 pitches while picking up the victory, and it was actually quite shocking that he was able to last that long, after he labored through 27 pitches in the first inning. We expected him to be removed from the game after the Tar Heels exploded for six runs in the bottom of the sixth, but Miller came back out and breezed through the seventh and eighth innings.

All told, it was a quality appearance by Miller, but it wasn't the type of dominating performance in an important game that you'd hope to see from a guy you're considering for the #1 overall selection. Was it enough? We can't say, but we do know that the Royals had four scouts covering the game. We spoke briefly with a Baseball Operations official we recognized, although we knew he wouldn't reveal anything, so we didn't even ask. RC simply wished him luck with the decision, and we hope that today's game gave the Royals enough information to make the right decision.

Was Posnanski impressed? On the way out, we stopped by and asked him what he thought of Miller's performance.

"Ehhh, he's competitive," said Posnanski, but he left it at that. It will be interesting to read his next column. As for us, we'll be happy to share our final thoughts on the first pick in our final Draft Prospect Update on Monday. Stay tuned!

For more photos of Andrew Miller from today's outing, click here, here, here, here, and here.

Greinke shines in 2006 debut...Keppel very good as well

2006-06-03T01:33:00.000-04:00

Zack Greinke was outstanding on Friday.

Zack Greinke on Friday was excellent in his first start of the season for Wichita, as he picked up a victory over the San Antonio Missions after tossing five strong innings. Working on a pitch count of 65-70 pitches, Greinke surrendered only four hits and a walk while allowing one earned run, and he didn't seem to have any trouble with his command. The one run he gave up was very soft, coming by way of a hit batter, an weak infield single, and a broken bat flare to center.

Admittedly, the Missions are the worst offensive club in the Texas League, but we couldn't be any more encouraged by Greinke's outing. He can only spend 20 days in Wichita on his rehab assignment, and if he continues to pitch like this, he should be back in KC within the next couple of weeks. Right now, he's expected to make 1-3 more starts for Wichita, but it's been reported that he could return to the Royals after his next start.

The Royals game, unfortunately, didn't go quite as well. Jamie Moyer owns KC, and it was no different today, as he shut out the Royals on just two hits. The game's only bright spot today was the rotation debut of Bobby Keppel, who took the loss despite throwing 6.2 very solid innings. He surrendered six hits and a walk while striking out four, with the only damage coming on back-to-back solo home runs in the seventh inning by Jose Lopez and Raul Ibanez. Jeremy Affeldt entered the game in relief, and in one inning of work, he finally managed to get his ERA over 8.00.

The Royals try again tomorrow, as Seth Etherton will look to build upon his solid Royals debut while opposing Joel Pineiro. Pineiro is the type of pitcher who scares RC, so we're not sure what to expect.

As planned, RC this morning drove to Chapel Hill, NC, to catch an NCAA baseball regional tournament and to get one last look at Andrew Miller before Tuesday's draft. The weather tonight was lousy, and once we learned that Miller wasn't scheduled to start (which, ummm, would have been some easily obtained and very handy information), we decided to skip the opening matchups while opting instead to listen to Wichita's game. Miller is scheduled to pitch tomorrow (Saturday), so we should have a report and some photos ready for you sometime tomorrow night.

Also, be sure to tune in on Tuesday, as RC will host a live draft tracker throughout the day, complete with as much information as we can obtain about the Royals' picks. Draft day is our favorite day of the year, and we can't wait to see which players the Royals select.

Finally, on Sunday morning at 11:25 AM CST, RC will be a guest on "Life's a Pitch," a radio program on Sports Talk Cleveland. We are scheduled to discuss a number of different topics, ranging from draft candidates to the Cleveland Indians' farm system. You can listen to the webcast here, if you're interested in hearing us babble.

Finally, we have some news to report about the "big changes" coming to Royals Corner. We signed a contract today, so you can expect an official announcement sometime this weekend, as soon as we are assured that it is OK to do so. Stay tuned!

The Dayton Accord...

2006-05-31T15:10:00.000-04:00

RC has mixed emotions about today's events. First, and most importantly, we're absolutely ecstatic about Dayton Moore. Moore was heralded by nearly everyone in baseball as the finest young general manager candidate around, and it's great news that owner David Glass was not only able to identify him as such, but that he was also able to convince him to come to Kansas City. And we couldn't be happier that Glass's days of meddling in the baseball operations of the club appear to be either at an end or severely curtailed. Moore today denied reports that he had been given a written guarantee granting him full authority on personnel decisions, but he did express enthusiasm about his arrangement with Glass.

"I feel very comfortable with the parameters I've been given and the autonomy I've been given," said Moore during his afternoon teleconference with reporters.

Moore will not take over the reins immediately, as Braves' GM John Schuerholz came to an agreement with Glass that Moore will remain with Atlanta through the draft on June 6-7. Moore's tenure in KC will begin on June 8, when he will be introduced in a press conference at Kauffman Stadium, and he plans to immediately begin a period of evaluation as he meets with front office personnel and learns about the organization.

Moore made the rounds today after the announcement, hosting a teleconference and appearing on the Royals' postgame show on 810 WHB. He pretty much stuck to the script, talking about how excited he was and how confident he is in the Royals' ability to one day field a contender. This was the first time RC had ever heard Moore speak, and our initial impression is that he's a very thoughtful baseball man who has a solid idea of how to run a ballclub. He sounds firmly committed to scouting and player development, and we hope he can bring a fresh approach to an organization that hasn't graduated a significant starting pitching prospect from its minor league system in nearly a decade. All told, this is a day for celebration, as the Glass ownership truly did hit a home run with the hiring of Dayton Moore.

Farewell, Allard.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a good day for Allard Baird, a man who devoted both his heart and 18 years of his professional life to an organization he loved. We're not bitter that he was fired -- it was indeed time for a change -- but we are not at all happy with the manner in which it happened. The way he was left lurching in the wind for the past month was a disgrace that shook our previously held confidence in David Glass to its core. Thankfully, resolution came today, and RC bids Baird the best of luck in whichever club is the first to hire him. He's a class act in the truest sense of the word, and it won't be long before he finds a new home.

RC's search for an Official Hero begins anew.

Flash: Baird out, Moore in.

2006-05-31T14:33:00.000-04:00

The Royals today announced that general manager and RC official hero Allard Baird has been fired, and it is being reported that Dayton Moore from the Atlanta Braves organization has agreed to take over after the draft next week. RC is working on a full post and will have more for you later this afternoon/early evening.

EDIT: The Royals have scheduled a press teleconference at 3:00 pm CST. You can listen to it here.

Royals finally play good game, stand at 2-2 on road trip...

2006-05-30T02:07:00.000-04:00

For the first time in nearly a month, the Royals controlled a game from start to finish, picking up a solid 6-4 win over the struggling Oakland A's. The offensive attack included 13 hits and four doubles, two of which were hit by RC's budding favorite player, Shane Costa. Seth Etherton, who was acquired over the weekend from the Padres, pitched well in his first start for the Royals, picking up the win while allowing two runs (one earned) and six hits in five innings pitched. The A's battled him all evening, fouling off pitches left and right, and Etherton was removed after the fifth when his pitch count climbed to 100. Amazingly, his was just the fifth win by a Royals' starter this season.

Costa hit two doubles today.

In fact, it will be interesting to see how the pitching rotation shakes out this week. As you surely know by now, Runelvys Hernandez was cast away to the minors after his pathetic outing on Sunday, and it doesn't sound like a return to Kauffman Stadium is in the cards for Hernandez anytime soon. 810 WHB reported that Hernandez was not at all pleased with his demotion, and that he threw something of a hissy fit when he learned he was heading back to triple-A.

Mark Redman is scheduled to return to the club on Tuesday after missing several days while on bereavement leave. If his forearm is no longer sore, he could rejoin the rotation this week, and he's presently scheduled to pitch on Saturday against the Mariners, which was Hernandez's turn in the rotation.

Affeldt might not be in the rotation much longer.

Of course, that doesn't mean that Jeremy Affeldt's spot in the rotation is safe. Word is that Bobby Keppel will also join the rotation, so if Redman's forearm is no longer nagging him, all signs point to Affeldt being sent back to the bullpen. This is a very welcome development for RC, as Affeldt has been terrible in all but three starts this season. Keppel has been very effective in his two extended relief appearances, so hopefully he'll carry some of that over into the starting rotation. At the very least, we hope Keppel can simply keep the Royals in the game, which is something that Affeldt has been completely unable to do. If Redman's good to go on Saturday, we expect to see Keppel make the start against the Mariners on Friday in place of Affeldt.

Another welcome development today occured when David DeJesus made his return to the Royals after spending several weeks on the DL with hamstring injuries. To make room for him on the roster, the Royals optioned struggling fan favorite Aaron Guiel back to Omaha. It's never fun to see a guy like Guiel sent down, but there were few options available. In a perfect world, we suppose we'd prefer to see Matt Stairs persuaded to begin his coaching career a little sooner than anticipated, but that unfortunatly isn't a realistic option. Some folks would probably prefer to see Emil Brown sent down, but those are the same people who ignore the fact that Brown is currently the Royals' hottest hitter.

Brown is on an offensive tear.

In fact, in the 11 games since May 19, Brown has gone 17-for-40 (.425), raising his batting average from .215 to .267 while hiking his OPS to .755 (up from .649). He had a similarly miserable April last year, but Brown began to hit in May (.313/.389/.506) and carried his pace through the rest of the season. This May, Brown is hitting .302/.351/.500, and he's starting to again show that short, quick stroke RC loves to talk about. Guiel is a nice option to have off of the bench, but we agree that Brown's continued presence in the Royals' lineup offers more value to the club. Besides, with the way injuries have ravaged the roster this season, we wouldn't be surprised to see Guiel back up pretty quickly.

Of course, there's always a concern associated with any move, and our biggest in this case is that DeJesus's return to the lineup might start to cost Costa regular playing time. With the starting outfield again relatively healthy, it will be interesting to see if Buddy Bell manipulates the lineup to continue getting Costa steady at bats. It certainly wouldn't hurt to see Brown supplanting Stairs as the primary DH, but we've given up on predicting the construction and "logic" of Bell's lineups. Is Brown a "DH-type" player? Apparently, only Bell knows the answer to that...or at least, his is the only opinion that seems to matter. Regardless, it would be an awful shame to see Costa taking a seat next to Esteban German in the dugout four out of every five games.

The amateur baseball draft is only one week away, and RC is still planning to unveil our final Draft Prospect Update, which will probably come on the Monday before the draft. We were pleased to learn yesterday that North Carolina is hosting an NCAA regional, so RC will be in Chapel Hill this weekend getting one last look at our top-ranked player, Andrew Miller. Miller had a rough outing in the ACC tournament, picking up a loss against NC State while allowing seven runs (five earned) over six innings. He'll be well-rested, and he should get Friday's start vs. Maine, so we'll be sure to take photos and provide a report from Chapel Hill.

Miller has one last shot to impress the Royals...and RC

Also, we'll stay on top of the GM search this week, as Dayton Moore will presumably decide whether or not to accept David Glass's rumored offer to take the organizational reins in the coming days (Please!). We'll have more to say about our disappointment with Glass's conduct over the past month, but for now, we can do no better than to refer you to Joe Posnanski's excellent columns from the past week, here and here.

Anyway, that's what's on tap for this week. Stay tuned!

Royals make it a baker's dozen...RC reports on Bobby Keppel

2006-05-26T00:13:00.000-04:00

RC was wrong...It CAN get worse, and it has. The Royals today jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning against the Tigers, which included back-to-back-to-back home runs by Tony Graffanino, Angel Berroa, and Doug Mientkiewicz, but they still managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The Royals actually led pretty comfortably through the first seven innings, and they entered the eighth with an 8-5 lead, but the bullpen imploded again, allowing eight unanswered runs over the final two frames to lose 13-8.

German hit his first Major League HR today!

Today was a day of firsts for the Royals. This was the first time in history that the Royals have been swept by the Tigers in a four game series. In addition, Mientkiewicz, who has spent much of his time occupying the third spot in the Royals' batting order, finally hit his first home run of the season. So did Esteban German, whose fourth inning dinger was his first career home run. To RC's disappointment, he didn't perform the "Esteban Flip" after his blast, but we did notice it in an earlier at bat after a line drive single. On the day, German went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI while raising his team-leading BA to .394. In fact, German remains as one of the true bright spots on the team, and his line of .394/.476/.465 through 71 at bats is truly remarkable. Hopefully he'll start to get regular playing time.

Of course, there was another "first" today. Bobby Keppel was promoted from Omaha prior to the game, and Denny Bautista's short, lackluster outing prompted Buddy Bell to summon Keppel to make his Major League debut in his first game in Kansas City. Keppel was excellent today in his debut performance, going 3.1 IP while striking out four and allowing two hits and a walk. He surrendered one run, which was charged to him after Ambiorix Burgos surrendered three hits and two runs in two-thirds of an inning after entering the game with one on and nobody out in the eighth.

Bobby Keppel made his Major League debut today.

Many people are asking, "Who is Bobby Keppel, and where did we find this guy?" RC has some information about him, thanks to some well-placed sources, so we're here to give you the scoop.

Keppel was drafted as the 36th overall pick in the supplemental first round by the Mets in 2000. The Royals wanted him at #44, and were negotiating with him, but the Mets got him first. He's a sinker-slider pitcher with solid control, and low-90s fastball, and good movement, and he's still only 23-years-old (he'll turn 24 next month).

Keppel was a star in the minors for the first few years of his professional career, rising all the way to #7 on the Mets' Baseball America prospect list in 2004. He tossed a no-hitter for Binghamton (AA) in 2003, and the word is that he is very successful at "outthinking" hitters, relying on an advanced knowledge the game. He's also an incredible athlete, as he fields his position very well, and he actually had an opportunity to play Division I basketball at Notre Dame after graduating from DeSmet High School in St. Louis.

However, Keppel's nemesis throughout his minor league career has been injury, which has plagued him nearly every season. Last year, Keppel decided to stop pitching through his shoulder tendinitis, and he consulted Dr. Jobe in Los Angeles, who found fraying but no tear. Jobe cleaned up the shoulder and issued a good prognosis, but the Mets released him from their 40-man roster with the assumption that nobody would claim him.

Keppel cleared waivers, but he eventually became a free agent, and he reportedly received much interest. However, the Royals -- in particular Royals' Director of Baseball Operations, Jin Wong -- were the most aggressive in pursuing him, and Allard Baird sealed the deal by calling him directly, which is quite a compliment for a minor league free agent. Keppel signed a contract that stipulated that he would be placed on the ML roster by June 2006 or become a free agent.

Not only did Jin Wong find Keppel, it also looks like he has a little "Captain" in him!

Keppel's numbers at Omaha this season before his promotion weren't great, as he logged a 3-4 record with a 5.00 ERA in 54 IP. He allowed 59 hits while walking 11 and striking out 27. However, his spring training outings were pretty much limited to one-inning stints, so his stamina wasn't quite up to speed at the beginning of the season, and much of the damage he allowed came in the later innings of his starts. He could be a quality middle reliever for the Royals, and it will be interesting to see how he adjusts in the coming weeks. He's certainly off to a good start, and RC hopes he continues to pitch well.

Unfortunately, RC hasn't exactly been very diligent with our Draft Prospect Updates of late, but we assure you that we'll be back up to speed very soon. Our next prospect update will narrow our list of candidates to five, since it's pretty clear that the Royals have focused their attention on a few players.

Andrew Miller is still our projection for the #1 pick.

There's really no point in continuing to track the progress of players like Matt Antonelli, Wes Hodges, and Joba Chamberlain, so we'll focus only on the players who have a legitimate chance to be selected. North Carolina's Andrew Miller still leads the pack, but you might be surprised about what we have to say. Stay tuned!

11 and counting...

2006-05-24T01:55:00.000-04:00

When will this end? The Royals tonight jumped out to a 4-0 lead over Kenny Rogers and the Tigers with the help of home runs by Mark Grudzielanek and Reggie Sanders, but the bullpen again faltered as the Royals dropped their 11th straight game, 8-5. Runelvys Hernandez looked pretty sharp through the first five innings, but he was unable to escape the sixth. On the night, he surrendered two earned runs and eight hits in 5.1 IP, both runs scoring on a two-run blast by Carlos Guillen.

Mark Grudzielanek belted his first two home runs of the season on Tuesday night.

Ambiorix Burgos relieved Hernandez in the sixth and coaxed an inning-ending double play, and he pitched fairly well for 2.1 innings. He allowed a run in the seventh on a Curtis Granderson double, and he struck out the first two batters in the eighth inning before issuing a two-out walk to Craig Monroe. Buddy Bell then summoned Elmer Dessens from the bullpen, and disaster ensued. Dessens surrendered four consecutive base hits as the Tigers hung four runs on the scoreboard in the inning, jumping out to a decisive 7-5 lead. The Royals were unable to mount a comeback, and their record fell to an unimaginable 10-33.

After Tuesday's game, the Royals announced that Mark Redman will be unable to make his scheduled start on Wednesday vs. Jeremy Bonderman, due to soreness in his left forearm. There was no word on who will make the start in his place tomorrow, but the Royals' website is predicting that it might be Jimmy Gobble. Gobble last pitched on Sunday, when he threw an inning against the Cardinals, so he should be good for a few innings if they need him.

However, we also noticed that Omaha's scheduled starter on Tuesday night, Adam Bernero, did not make his start as planned. RC wouldn't be surprised if he's actually the one who gets the call tomorrow. Of course, that would require the Royals to make a roster move, assuming they don't put Redman on the DL. We'll just have to wait and see what unfolds. Bernero is 1-1 with a 3.32 ERA in nine games, including five starts.

Since there will be no Daily Prospect Update tonight, there were a couple of events around the minors on Tuesday that are worthy of discussion here. First, Alex Gordon left Wichita's game in the third inning after being hit by a pitch in the back during his first at bat. Word is that he might not play in Wednesday afternoon's game either, but that it's strictly a precautionary measure. He should be back quickly, so there's probably nothing to worry about.

Mark Teahen isn't going down without a fight.

Also, it would be silly not to mention what Mark Teahen has been doing over the last week. On Tuesday night, Teahen went 4-for-4 with 3 RBIs and his second triple of the season. His batting average in Omaha is now up to .392, and nobody in the Pacific Coast League has been hotter for the past week. Over the last eight games, Teahen is 18-for-28 (.643) with five doubles, two triples, and nine RBIs. RC hopes he keeps it up, because it's far too soon to give up on him.

Major changes coming....to RC

2006-05-23T02:09:00.000-04:00

In lieu of a report on tonight's game, in which the Royals were shut out by Justin Verlander and the Tigers for their 10th straight loss, RC has something of a pre-announcement. A little over a week ago, the ball started rolling on some major changes for RC, and although we cannot yet reveal the details, we can say that those changes promise to radically improve the quality of content that we make available to our readers.

We wish we could tell you more at this time, but there's still work to be done, so the actual announcement will have to wait. Nevertheless, we're looking forward to telling you everything, and even more so, we're looking forward to getting started on a truly exciting endeavor. Stay tuned!

It doesn't get much worse than this...

2006-05-22T00:13:00.000-04:00

For only the second time in his life, RC Correspondent Chris Ray -- the biggest Royals fanatic of all -- willingly left a game early out of disgust on Sunday afternoon. RC Correspondent Kevin Agee also relayed a sad story from the aftermath of today's game, which concluded with the Royals' ninth straight loss and a sweep at the hands of the hated Cardinals:

"When I went after some BBQ at this great place called Bandana's, the lady at the pick-up counter saw my KC hat, looked at me with pitiful eyes, and said, 'Oh ... So I guess you saw the game today...'

"Usually, fans of crappy teams get mocked. We get apologized to."

Bandana's BBQ: Refusing to mock Royals fans since 2006.

Yes, it was an ugly, frustrating, and embarrassing weekend for Royals Nation. In fact, RC had a similar incident of our own today, even though we were separated from the Missouri Massacre by over 1000 miles of flyover land. We were at a minor league game on Sunday afternoon, and the Trenton Thunder's (Yankees AA affiliate) announcer started giving us some grief about the slaughter.

"Yeah, well the Cardinals are just catching us at the right time," RC retorted.

"What's that? 2006?" he asked.

Yeah...2006. We set ourselves up for that, but he's absolutely right. This is just a bad team mired in what very well might be the worst season in Royals' history. Hell, at the rate they're presently going, this just could ultimately be the worst season in Major League history.

After today's game, Scott Elarton blew his top and called out his teammates, although he refused to name names.

"We're just terrible. There's no two ways about it," Elarton told the AP. "We're pretty much bad every facet of the game...

"I'm talking about the guys in this room. If it doesn't burn you when you lose, then you're not going to get any better."

Scott Elarton is fed up.

Have some of the players in the clubhouse given up? We sure hope not. Will Elarton's comments help motivate the team into playing better baseball? We seriously doubt it. The Royals are playing as though they're just waiting to lose. They know they stink right now, and Elarton going off on his teammates probably isn't going to help anything. It reminded Kevin of a similarly pointless exchange from the Naked Gun trilogy:

Frank Drebin: Cigarette?

Tanya Peters: Yes, I know.

Maybe Buddy Bell should throw a Hal McRae-style tirade (along with a couple of phones and ashtrays), but fun as it would be to see, even that probably wouldn't help. All we know is that something definitely needs to change, and we all have opinions about what that change should entail. There's certainly no immediate cure-all, but it sure would help if there was. Right now, all phases of the Royals game are pretty terrible.

"If that continues," said Elarton, "it's going to be a long season. And if nobody in here cares about it, it's going to get worse."

Worse?

The best of both worlds...Huber AND Robinson sent back to Omaha

2006-05-19T19:19:00.000-04:00

RC just wanted to make a quick note before tonight's game. We knew that Shane Costa was scheduled to return to the Royals today after his rehab in Wichita went well, but we didn't know for certain who they'd send off the Major League roster to make room. The speculation was that it would be Justin Huber, which was certainly our preference, but we wondered if the Royals would be comfortable carrying six outfielders and only five infielders.

Well, the Royals today did in fact make the obvious choice by replacing Huber with Costa, but they also trimmed the abundance of outfielders by sending Kerry Robinson away and recalling Andres Blanco, who was hitting .282/.324/.405 in Omaha. Blanco got off to a great start this season but has cooled off a bit recently, and his defense has been surprisingly poor -- he made 12 errors in 38 games. Buddy Bell said before tonight's game that Blanco will spell Angel Berroa on occasion while he's up, so hopefully he won't get the Huber treatment (he's not starting tonight).

A pleasant surprise...No more Kerry Robinson, and less playing time for Angel Berroa (hopefully).

Of course, the equally exciting thing about today's roster move is that we no longer have to watch Robinson bat leadoff. We feared that since Robinson was the first outfielder called up when both Costa and David DeJesus went down, Aaron Guiel -- who is a far superior player -- might be the first outfielder sent away. Thankfully, that wasn't the case.

Anyway, it's almost time for the game to start. The most important thing is that we BEAT THE CARDS!

Ugh...Royals drop another on the road

2006-05-18T00:48:00.000-04:00

The Royals tonight saw their 2006 road record fall to a dismal 2-19 after being shut out by the Indians, 5-0. They have now lost five straight, and although they're only six weeks into the season, it's already their third losing streak of five or more games this year. It's simply stunning how bad this team is playing, and with the next four series coming against the Cardinals, Tigers, Yankees, and A's, things aren't going to get any easier for the Royals.

Jeremy Affeldt got the start and lasted six innings while taking the loss, surrendering five runs (four earned). He wasn't sharp, as he walked six while throwing only 57 of his 110 pitches for strikes. His pitches seemed to have decent movement, and he only surrendered three hits, but the control just wasn't there. He gave up a run in the second inning on a two-out single to Casey Blake, but the game was essentially over in the following frame. Affeldt loaded the bases on two walks and a miserable error by starting third baseman Tony Graffanino, and he grooved his first pitch -- an 89 mph fastball down the middle -- to Travis Hafner (wouldn't you like to have him?), who promptly deposited it well over the right field wall for a grand slam and a 5-0 lead.

The Royals' offense looked terrible again, and they were completely helpless against Jake Westbrook, who went the distance for his second career shutout. The lineup again was a hodgepodge of irrationality, as Kerry Robinson and his .286 OBP continued to occupy the leadoff spot, Doug Mientkiewicz and his .640 OPS remained in the three-hole, and both Justin Huber and Esteban German continued to collect splinters while rotting on the bench.

Huber should get to play on Thursday afternoon against Cliff Lee.

In fact, this Huber situation is perhaps the most infuriating and irrational thing RC has ever seen the Royals pull off. Wednesday marks two weeks since he was recalled to the Royals, and in that time, Huber has started just two games, pinch hit twice, and has logged a pathetic total of EIGHT plate appearances in the Royals' 12 games since May 3. The Omaha Royals have played 15 games in that time, and if you figure that Huber would have averaged about four at bats a game, he's now lost over 50 at bats he would have otherwise had. In addition, since he hasn't played a single inning at first base in the last two weeks, he's also lost 15 games worth of defensive experience. Wasn't Huber's need for defensive improvement cited during Spring Training as the primary reason behind his return to the minors?

The Royals need to either start giving him more playing time in KC, or they need to send him back down to Omaha where he'll play every day. The current situation is simply inexcusable. There's a chance that Huber will be returned to Omaha when Shane Costa rejoins the club this weekend, but it's equally likely that left-handed hitters Robinson or Aaron Guiel will be the player making the trip back up I-29. While we pine for the days when Robinson will no longer be on the roster, we're keeping our fingers crossed that Huber will be the first to go.

In other news, the Royals have removed the struggling Ambiorix Bugos from the closing role. Burgos has blown his last three saves in spectacular fashion, and he'll return to a middle relief role. After discussions between Buddy Bell and Bob McClure, the Royals tapped Elmer Dessens to take over the closing duties until Mike MacDougal returns from the DL, which should be sometime in July.

RC is somewhat indifferent on this move. We really liked Dessens in his previous role, and we're sure the Royals would have preferred to keep him there. That being said, when you look at the other candidates, Dessens does appear to be the least-bad option. Dessens has never closed before in over 1000 Major League innings, but there's really nothing to suggest that he's not capable of handling it. He throws strikes and keeps the ball down, and so far this season he's only surrendered four walks and one homer in 22 innings while striking out 21.

Our only concern is that Dessens has been the Royals' best pitcher out of the bullpen this year, and this move will almost certainly curtail the number of innings he throws while giving more innings to guys like Jimmy Gobble and Joe Nelson. Of course, it may also open up more opportunities for Joel Peralta, who's also pitched quite well this season, and it will give Burgos a chance to work a few more innings while hopefully regaining confidence in his splitter. We suppose there was no perfect solution to the problem, but this change does make some sense. Hopefully it will work out.

RC returns...Royals rained out

2006-05-16T02:09:00.000-04:00

Before we begin, RC would like to apologize for our five-day absence. Aside from the actual games, we had a great time in Baltimore over the weekend, and we're ready to get back to work. The GMAT...ehhh, well...the good news is that we plan to take it again very soon after we spend a little more time studying the math we had [falsely] assumed would come back to us after taking all the math we took in college several years ago during what we refer to as "The Engineering Year."

Anyway, the series in Baltimore was a complete disaster, which was particularly disappointing after sweeping the Tribe. There's not a whole lot to add that hasn't already been written elsewhere: Too many walks, missed opportunities, poor managing, etc...The ninth inning on Friday was a joke that had RC howling at anyone who would listen, and Saturday was the type of blowout that's easy to forget (particularly when you're abiding by a strict beer-an-inning policy). Sunday's contest was among the worst-pitched games we've seen outside of the Carolina League, and it was remarkable how unshocked we were to see the Royals blow it -- we actually expected it!

So for now, RC is going to concentrate on regaining our bearings, and we'll be back at normal strength tomorrow when we actually have something to write about. In the meantime, we'll just provide a little photo montage from Sunday's game:

Buddy Bell hits grounders to Tony Graffanino before the game, because Lord knows, Graffanino NEEDS to get his work in at 3B.

Kerry Robinson shows off his textbook swing that has made him a Major League starter and leadoff hitter.

Paul Bako makes solid contact. Really.

Esteban German worked out at second base for some reason.

Aaron Guiel is naturally tentative.

We're still not sure why Justin Huber was taking batting practice.

MacDougal is a big Mike Stodolka fan.

Buck You, Chief Wahoo!

2006-05-10T02:01:00.000-04:00

John Buck did his best Andrew Jackson impersonation tonight.

Jeremy Affeldt tonight lasted only 1.2 innings, but the Royals backed him up in what might have been their most exciting game this season, prevailing over the Indians for the second straight night, 10-7. In relief of Affeldt, the Royals rolled out Jimmy Gobble, Joel Peralta, Andrew Sisco, and Elmer Dessens. Gobble and Peralta weren't great, as they both gave up a pair of runs, but they were good enough to keep the Royals in the game. Sisco put out a fire by recording the final out in the seventh inning, then tossed a scoreless eighth. After he surrendered a leadoff double to Eduardo Perez in the ninth, Dessens entered the game and recorded the final three outs, giving up only an RBI single to Aaron Boone.

The offense tonight was excellent, as we predicted it might be against Jason Johnson. Three times the Royals battled back from two-run deficits, finally taking control of the game in the sixth with a six-run outburst. John Buck was the hero for the second straight night, as it was his monster three-run HR that turned a 6-4 deficit into a 7-6 lead. On the night, Buck was a perfect 3-for-3 with a walk, and so far in the series he is 5-for-6 with two homers and 5 RBI.

Buck's swing lately has been much shorter to the ball, and he's had more excellent at bats in the last two games than he had in the previous two weeks. Even his walk was impressive, as he battled back from a 1-2 count while fouling off four pitches to draw the free pass. His average is now up to a season-high .254, and it will be interesting to see if Buddy Bell puts him in the lineup again tomorrow, despite the fact that he usually rests him on day games that follow night games. We're not counting on it, but we suppose it's a possibility with the way he's swinging the bat right now.

Mark Grudzielanek added four hits, raising his average to .315.

Of course, John Buck wasn't the only player who got in on the fun. Mark Grudzielanek had four hits, and he would have been 5-for-5 if the Indians hadn't wised up in the eighth inning by putting their second baseman in short right field. Aaron Guiel had a solo home run and a two-run single, and both Tony Graffanino and Kerry Robinson had three hits apiece.

The Royals go for the sweep tomorrow, and they might stand a good chance at pulling it off. Scott Elarton goes to the mound for KC, opposing Jake Westbrook, and the Royals will need Elarton to eat some innings after seeing the bullpen depleted the last two games. We'll probably get a somewhat funky lineup on the getaway day, but that also means we might actually see Justin Huber get into a game. The Royals have won four of the last six games, and their home record now stands at 7-8. Believe it or not, they're only four games behind the Twins, so with a few more wins the Royals might actually manage to climb out of the cellar.

Speaking of the Twins, we noticed we started getting some traffic from a Twins message board today, and we received some fairly agitated comments. We investigated further and learned that a Twins fan had uncovered a post of ours titled "Why we hate the Twins," which was written during the infancy stages of RC. The column was written a full ten months ago (before Kirby Puckett's death, mind you), but for some reason, Twins fans are a little bit slower than the average fan (how else can you explain the excitement they get from being circled by Bert Blyleven?). Anyway, we got a little bit of a chuckle, and we invite our readers to revisit the post and leave a comment of your own, if so compelled.

Today's as good a day as any for us to announce that you can now read RC's work on the Most Valuable Network. As you know, RC attends tons of minor league games each season, but we always try to limit the content on this site to that which is only Royals-related. On the Minor Details blog, RC (also known as Dave Sanford) will no longer have those limitations, and it will give us an opportunity to write about and publish photos of the dozens of great prospects we see throughout the year. Nothing here at RC will change, and we'll be sure to let those of you who are interested know about the columns that we publish on Minor Details throughout the season. We also have another project in the works, but it's progressing slower than anticipated, so we can't make the announcement just yet. Stay tuned.

Finally, we've published our latest Draft Prospect Update, as promised. There was no movement on our list this week, and Andrew Miller, whose Tar Heels were off last weekend, remains our # 1 prospect. A number of pitchers had excellent weekends, and there are some great matchups coming up this week, so be sure to read all about it.

Also, RC's posting over the next several days will be lighter than normal, as we finish studying for our GMAT exam (which is on Thursday). There will be no Daily Prospect Update on Tuesday or Wednesday nights, and this weekend RC's official father comes to town for the Baltimore series. This is the fourth straight year he's made the trip for the series, and it's become something of a tradition that we both look forward to every year. We catch a couple games as we attempt to drink all of the beer in Baltimore. We've never quite succeeded, but we've both been training pretty hard, so this might be our year.

Royals beat Tribe, 4-3...

2006-05-09T01:42:00.000-04:00

Denny Bautista was only able to give the Royals three innings tonight in his return to the rotation, but he was bailed out by another stellar Mike Wood performance. Bautista wasn't very sharp, throwing only 35 of his 60 pitches for strikes, and by the time he was lifted in the fourth inning, he wasn't anywhere close to the plate. Wood entered the game with the bases loaded and nobody out, and he successfully got out of the jam while limiting the damage to just one run on a sacrifice fly.

This was the fourth time in Wood's last six outings that he's been called on for four or more innings of relief, and he's been nothing short of outstanding in that role. In those four appearances, Wood has pitched a total of 16.2 IP, surrendering only 13 hits, six walks, and three earned runs (1.67 ERA) while striking out ten. On the season, Wood now sports a 2.78 ERA in 22.2 IP, and he's become one of the most reliable pitchers in a bullpen that is once again starting to look like an asset.

The key offensive contributors tonight were Doug Mientkiewicz, John Buck, and Esteban German. Minky's two-run single in the first brought home both German and Mark Grudzielanek, turning an early one-run deficit into a one-run lead. John Buck had a pair of hits, including his first homer of the season, a shot off the fountain retaining wall in left-center field. German also went 2-for-3 with a walk, scoring two of the team's four runs while raising his batting average to .447. This was the second straight game in which German's batted leadoff, which RC views as a very welcome development.

Buck slammed his first home run of the season on Monday night.

The Royals tomorrow send out Jeremy Affeldt to oppose Cleveland's Jason Johnson, who's been struggling of late (27 hits and 15 ER allowed in last 18 IP) after a fantastic start. Johnson is the type of pitcher who the Royals have had their way with in the past, so RC thinks there's a good chance we could see another Royals victory tomorrow. As bad as the Royals have been on the road, it might surprise some people to see that they're only two games under .500 at home (6-8).

RC has to ask, just why in the hell is Justin Huber still in KC? RC supported the move when Huber was promoted last week, but we had falsely assumed at the time that he'd get at least semi-regular playing time. Instead, Huber has received exactly four plate appearances in the last week (1-for-3 with a walk), and he hasn't even come close to seeing any action at first base. This is completely unacceptable.

Photographic evidence that Huber does in fact own a glove.

RC is often able to find some logic behind even the most questionable Royals moves, but we come up completely empty on this one. If he's not going to play at all, then why is he here? As it is, Huber so far has lost about 25 AAA at bats, and that number is only going to climb as the Royals face nothing but righties for the foreseeable future. For the love of God, either play the kid or send him back! The present arrangement can only be described as supremely embarrassing, and the longer it is allowed to go on, the more embarrassing it gets.

Anyway, that's it for today. We still owe you a Draft Prospect Update and reports on Chris McConnell (who hit his first homer today), Chris Lubanski, and Matt Tupman, and we promise to deliver them in the next couple of days. We've also got an announcement forthcoming about some new places where you'll be able to read RC's work, but we'll keep quiet on that for the time being.

Rosen interviews Billy Buckner...RC braces for the inevitable...

2006-05-08T00:00:00.000-04:00

In lieu of a recap of the weekend's action, which saw the Royals drop their series against the White Sox, RC today is pleased to present another report by our High Desert Correspondent, Jon Rosen. Jon conducted an excellent interview with pitching prospect Billy Buckner over the weekend, and today he reports on first baseman Mike Stodolka and pitcher Danny Christensen:

Danny Christensen continued his tough luck on Friday night. His pitch count was high, but he still came up with five innings in which he gave up just one run. He left the game trailing 1-0, and took the loss as the Mavs were unable to amount a comeback in a 4-1 defeat to a well-armed Modesto staff. Still, his two seam fastball has been well-located on both sides of the plate, and his curveball still has that same nasty tilt.

The only run he gave up in the game last night was a two-strike solo shot by Modesto 1B Duke Sardinha - two pitches before the HR it appeared that Christensen had caught him looking with a perfectly placed fastball on the inside corner, but he didn't get the call from the scab ump, who irritated both teams with his strike zone.

Mike Stodolka has slowed down since receiving the Cal League's hitter of the week award two weeks ago. Since then, he is just 3-27 with only one extra base hit. He still continues to draw walks, however, as he has recorded bases on balls in six of his last eight plate appearances, raising his OBP to a Cal League-leading .440 entering Saturday night's action. He might not have the desired power suitable for a corner infield position, but he makes up for it with his ability to hit lefthanders as well as righthanders (.304 v L; .313 v R) as well as a clean, fluid stroke that sprays balls to all parts of the field.

Still, he is currently mired in a slump, and it will be interesting to see how quickly and efficiently he is able to make adjustments and snap out of it after six years on the pitchers' mound. My guess is that he'll turn it around sooner rather than later, as he is a hard worker with excellent makeup and one of the most well-respected players in the clubhouse. - JR

Folks, it's no secret that RC's Official Hero may not be employed with the Kansas City Royals much longer. In fact, there's rampant speculation that Allard Baird might even be let go as early as Monday morning. If the hammer indeed falls, it will be a tough pill for us to swallow, but we won't agonize over the decision. There's no question that mistakes have been made and the Royals have lost a lot of games throughout Baird's tenure, and if David Glass feels that justifies making a change right now, then so be it.

Is RC going to have to find a new hero?

However, we have plenty of fears to keep us occupied. The most immediate concern is the upcoming draft and the effect a major change in the baseball operations staff will have on the Royals' draft preparedness in June. Hopefully these concerns will be addressed at the time a change is made, but if not, there could be disastrous consequences.

Our bigger concern centers around who Glass taps to take the organization's reins. We have no idea who he's talking to (although his buddy Drayton McLane is a strong suspect), but we frankly don't have much confidence in Glass's ability to make baseball decisions. RC's biggest fear is that the Royals will hire a retread with a familiar name who has failed elsewhere with a typical, antiquated approach. Such a move would smack of making change simply for the sake of change when an innovator is required. We sure hope that's not the case.

Of course, it's still too early to fret. As of right now, no changes have been made, so RC is just going to sit back and watch what unfolds. We'll have more to say about all of this if and when a change is actually made. Right now, it's nothing but speculation.

Breaking news: Teahen optioned to Omaha, Mays removed from rotation, Guiel recalled

2006-05-05T18:14:00.000-04:00

Mark Teahen's next swings will be taken for the Omaha Royals.

After a meeting yesterday between Allard Baird, David Glass, and Buddy Bell, the Royals today announced a series of moves. Mark Teahen, who has looked completely lost at the plate for most of the season, has been optioned to Omaha, and Esteban German will take his place as the primary third baseman. Taking Teahen's spot on the roster will be Aaron Guiel, whose promotion seemed to be necessitated by Reggie Sanders' hamstring injury.

And finally, Joe Mays has been removed in the rotation, and Baird anticipates his replacement will be announced tomorrow. RC's money is on Mike Wood, but Jimmy Gobble has also thrown well lately and may get another crack at the rotation. Mays has been asked to accept an option to the minors, and if he refuses, RC believes he will probably be released.

RC's initial take on the moves is positive. Teahen has been playing terrible baseball for a while now, so hopefully his demotion will get him on track. It will be nice to see German get more at bats and less playing time in the outfield, and Guiel's promotion was probably overdue. RC is in favor of anything that causes Kerry Robinson to get less at bats, and this figures to accomplish that. And of course, Mays' removal from the rotation was absolutely the right move.

Bullpen nails down first road victory...

2006-05-05T01:35:00.000-04:00

Ambiorix Burgos is mean, and he wants you to know it.

It's about time. After dropping 12 straight road games to begin the season, the Royals tonight eeked out a nice 1-0 shutout win over the struggling Minnesota Twins. Jeremy Affeldt picked up his second win of the year, and while he didn't allow any runs and only surrendered three hits, his control was less than marvelous. Over five innings, Affeldt walked six, and twice he had to work out of bases-loaded jams. Affeldt was throwing harder than usual, dialing his fastball all the way up to 97 mph, but he struggled to locate both his fastball and curveball consistently. Quite frankly, he was lucky to escape without allowing several runs, but RC will take it.

Of course, the anemic Twins offense did its part to help him out, and so did the Royals' defense. Emil Brown turned in a quality -- if not highlight reel -- sliding catch, and Doug Mientkiewicz probably saved a run or two in the third inning when he dashed across the diamond to field a Luis Rodriguez sacrifice bunt attempt and threw out Juan Castro at third. Affeldt had walked both Castro and Shannon Stewart to lead off the inning, but Minky's stellar play completely killed the rally.

Of course, the true hero of the day was the bullpen, which entered the game in the sixth and completed the shutout by tossing four excellent innings, walking nobody while surrendering only two hits. In fact, over the last two games, the bullpen hasn't allowed a run or a walk (and only three hits) in 8.2 innings while recording seven strikeouts. Admittedly, much of this is merely a testament of how poor the Twins' offense truly is, but at the same time it's encouraging that the bullpen may once again be turning into a strength for the ballclub. And who can argue that Ambiorix Burgos isn't one of the most dominant young relievers around? He's looked completely unhittable lately.

Offensively, the Royals again failed to look very sharp, and Mark Teahen looked particularly bad while striking out twice. And the really bad news is that Teahen entered the game as a pinch hitter for Reggie Sanders, who left the game with a sore hamstring. Sanders is day-to-day, and his injury really couldn't have come at a worse time. For the next couple of days at least, the Royals figure to be without their three best hitters, so Buddy Bell is going to have to get even more creative with his lineup. Paul Bako tonight started for the second game in a row, and he picked up the only RBI with a base hit to right field in the second inning.

How often do we get to dig into our Paul Bako photo collection?

The Royals now head to Chicago to wrap up the road trip with a three-game set against the White Sox. They'll draw Jon Garland, Javier Vazquez, and Mark Buerhle, so the offensive struggles are likely to continue. The Royals will need good starts from Scott Elarton, Runelvys Hernandez, and Mark Redman to stay with the Sox, but crazier things have happened...like the Royals being on the winning end of a 1-0 road game.

RC has seen enough of Joe Mays...

2006-05-04T00:53:00.000-04:00

What else is there to say? Joe Mays was completely ineffective again tonight against a punchless Twins offense, and in his six starts thus far, he hasn't even come close to turning in a quality outing. His ERA after tonight's game stands at 10.27, and it actually improved after surrendering six runs (two earned) in 3.1 IP. There is simply no excuse for his continued presence in the rotation. RC doesn't even care who takes his place at this point, be it Mike Wood, Jimmy Gobble, or Denny Bautista -- who reportedly looked good today in a simulated game. Any one of those guys would at least give the Royals an occasional chance to win, and we simply can't say the same of Mays.

That's enough!

Bautista won't be available the next time Mays' spot in the rotation rolls around, so unfortunately, the chance remains that Mays will stay on at least until Bautista is ready to rejoin the club -- and it's somewhat telling that he threw his simulated game today, which puts Bautista on that throwing schedule. But if that's the case, there still doesn't appear to be any logical reason why Wood (or Gobble) and Mays can't flip roles in the meantime. We simply can't stand the prospect of another Mays start. It was a decent risk and a nice thought, but the Joe Mays reclamation project must end!

Since we neglected to send out a Daily Prospect Update last night, we figured we'd cover some news from the minors to make up for it. We should send out a new Update later tonight, so by the time you read this you will most likely have it in your inbox. We've received a couple of reports that people are having trouble signing up for the update, and our own test of the system seemed to confirm that it might be down. If anyone else is having trouble signing up, please contact RC by sending us an e-mail. Anyway, with that out of the way...

A few pitchers in the Royals minor league system are really standing out this season. Billy Buckner leads the way, and after his win on Tuesday, he owns a perfect 4-0 record and a 2.94 ERA in the hitter-friendly California League. Buckner is repeating High Desert to begin the year, and thus far he's been able to successfully keep the ball down while using his tremendous curveball as his out pitch.

His GB:FB ratio is stellar, and he's yet to allow a single home run while striking out 30 in over 33 innings pitched. RC Correspondent Jon Rosen reported on Buckner a couple of weeks ago, and since that time he's continued to impress us. It might not be long before Buckner moves up to Wichita, and he's beginning to make a strong case as the best pitching prospect in the organization.

Buckner's teammate, Danny Christensen, is only 17 days older, and he's been every bit as good. In some respects, Christensen's been even better, as his stellar control has led him to a team-best 1.07 WHIP, which ranks third among all starters in the California League.

In addition, Christensen has used his 12-to-6 curve to strike out 33 batters (against just five walks) in 29 innings pitched, and his ERA of 4.03 is very respectable for a High Desert pitcher. Christensen did very well last season for Burlington after missing nearly all of 2004 with Tommy John surgery. His progress this year has been remarkable, and he's also making a strong case to become a very legitimate pitching prospect.

Burlington's Matt Kniginyzky is another pitcher who looks to climb in our rankings. Kniginyzky was drafted in the 23rd round in last year's draft, and he entered the system as a reliever. His first exposure to professional baseball was nothing to get too excited about, as he put up a 4.66 ERA while pitching out of the Idaho Falls pen. In 29 innings, he surrendered 35 hits (.287 BAA) and 13 walks, but he did strike out 40 batters. The Royals liked his stuff enough to convert him into a starter this season, and thus far, the results have been excellent.

Kniginyzky features a low-90s fastball and a hard curve, and he's used those to carve out a 2-1 record with a 3.16 ERA in a Midwest League-leading 37 innings pitched. He's struck out 30 batters while surrendering 32 hits and eight walks (1.08 WHIP), which are very good numbers for a player making his full season debut just 10 months after being drafted. Kniginyzky is already 23-years-old, so the Royals are moving him quickly, but right now he's the anchor of Burlington's staff.

Anyway, that's it for today. In the coming days, we'll point out our take on a few of the organization's position player prospects, such as Chris Lubanski, Chris McConnell, and Matt Tupman.

It's official...Huber recalled, Sweeney to DL

2006-05-02T17:23:00.000-04:00

Welcome back to KC!

As expected, the Royals tomorrow will place Mike Sweeney on the DL with a bulging disk, and will recall Justin Huber from Omaha to take his place on the roster. RC is pleased with the move, and we like the idea of Huber being able to work with Doug Mientkiewicz every day on his defense. It's likely that Huber will primarily play DH while he's in KC, and Allard Baird seemed to indicate that the Royals only plan to keep him up while Sweeney is out. Of course, we all know that plans can change as performance and injuries dictate.

Huber's arrives in KC after hitting .301/.427/.603 with seven homers in Omaha. He looked a little overwhelmed at the plate in his stint with the Royals last season (.218/.271/.256), so hopefully he's matured enough as a hitter to have some better at bats this time around. And hopefully Buddy Bell manages to get him into the lineup regurlarly, instead of giving him the same sparse playing time he received last year when he was with the club. He should rejoin the Royals tomorrow, so it will be interesting to see if he starts vs. Brad Radke.

Hernandez very good again, and other notes...

2006-05-02T00:30:00.000-04:00

While the performance of Detroit's starting pitcher left us wanting a Jeremy Bonderman for our team too, RC was nevertheless once again quite pleased with Runelvys Hernandez, who turned in his second consecutive quality start in the Royals' 3-2 loss to the Tigers on Monday night.

Aside from a couple of mistakes to Magglio Ordonez and Craig Monroe, Hernandez again showed outstanding control over all three of his pitches, allowing only three runs, four hits, and one walk in 6 2/3 innings of work. RC is slightly concerned with his measly total of three strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings on the season, but as long as he continues to work quickly, keep the ball down, and avoid dishing out the free pass, we think he'll miss more bats by default with the approach he has now.

Part of that approach -- Hernandez's knowledge of changing speeds and disrupting a hitter's timing -- has been a very pleasant surprise, especially after he had such a difficult time getting Triple-A hitters out during his "rehab" stint with Omaha at the beginning of the season. Right now, his combination of a low-90s fastball and fading, mid-70s changeup is as devastating for opposing batters now as it was in April of 2003.

Much like Jeremy Affeldt, Runelvys didn't make many friends here at RC with his poor attitude, work ethic, and performance in spring training, but like his left-handed partner in the starting rotation, his recent outings are starting to change our minds. He's back to pitching like that aggressive monster we saw in 2003, so we can't wait to see how he handles his next test which will come against the White Sox in Chicago.

When Buddy Bell pulled Hernandez from the game with two outs in the sixth inning, he summoned Steve Andrade from the bullpen, wasting no time in getting the 28-year-old righty into game action. RC was anxious to get a look at Andrade, who had struck out an incredible 13.20 batters per nine innings pitched in the minor leagues coming into 2006.

Called up to replace the DFA'd Luke Hudson, Andrade retired all four batters he faced, including one on a strikeout. His fastball only reaches 88 mph, but he showed a very nice slurve that obviously serves as his out pitch. The breaking ball is nasty enough that minor league hitters will chase it out of the zone, but Major League hitters aren't going to be nearly as helpful to Andrade's cause. He'll have to rely on location if he wants to survive in the big leagues.

Although there's no word yet on how serious Mike Sweeney's latest back injury is, we're preparing ourselves for Mike's first (and hopefully only) stint on the disabled list this season. Sweeney tweaked his already-sore back while trying to run out a ground ball in the seventh inning of Monday's game, and was in so much pain that he couldn't even make it to first base.

We may not see swings like this from Sweeney for awhile.

If he does have to go on the DL, the Royals could do something fun like calling up Justin Huber from Omaha, but we agree with Rotoworld that having Aaron Guiel join the club may make a bit more sense. As it stands now, the Royals only have three true outfielders on their active roster, with Esteban German and Monday's leftfielder, Matt Stairs, being the only viable backups. Stairs isn't anybody's idea of a guy who can cover a lot of ground, and after seeing German take a routine fly ball off his grill on Sunday, we'd rather not see him patrol the outfield many more times this year.

At the beginning of the season, some of us here at RC weren't wild about the idea of Stairs and Guiel being on the 25-man roster, but the mass of injuries to KC's best outfielders have forced us to reconsider that option. Additionally, adding Guiel would simply give Stairs more at-bats as the everyday DH, all the while allowing Huber to continue to concentrate on improving his defense in the minor leagues.

Royals drop series, end dismal month with 5-17 record...

2006-04-30T18:19:00.000-04:00

When RC first saw the lineup today, we briefly debated about whether or not the game would even be worth watching. With David DeJesus and Shane Costa on the DL, and Reggie Sanders and John Buck getting their customary Sundays off, Buddy Bell trotted out one of the worst lineups we've seen in quite some time:

RF - Robinson
2B - Graffanino
DH - Sweeney
1B - Mientkiewicz
LF - Brown
3B - Teahen
SS - Berroa
C - Bako
CF - German

Bell has repeatedly said that the season isn't a sprint, it's a marathon, so we won't quarrel too much with his decision to rest Sanders. It seems a little odd that he's getting so many days off this early in the season, particularly with so many off days in April (not to mention last night's rainout), but obviously the thinking is that resting him now will result in him being fresher throughout the season. It's frustrating to watch, but if Sanders ultimately does stay healthy enough play in around 130 games this season, we suppose it will be worth it.

Mark Grudzielanek was unavailable today with a sore achilles.

Of course, it doesn't help that Bell also decided to rest the Royals' most consistent performer thus far, Mark Grudzielanek. We learned after the game that Grudzielanek was out today with a sore achilles, so he wasn't available. That being the case, RC wonders if this was really the best day to sit Sanders. With Grudz expected to return to action as early as tomorrow, would it not have been better to give Sanders his day off tomorrow? Perhaps the Royals would prefer to have their lineup at full strength as often as possible, but the result today was a starting nine that really made it look like the Royals were throwing in the towel. With the influx of injuries, RC supposes there's really no great solution, and in all fairness, the weak-looking lineup today was of little consequence in an ugly 13-6 loss.

Oh yes, it was ugly. Scott Elarton had his first truly bad start of the season, lasting only 2.1 innings while surrendering five runs on four hits and three walks. The Royals found themselves down 5-1 entering the bottom of the second inning, and after Elarton failed to get out of the third, Joel Peralta was summoned from the bullpen. Peralta was the staff's lone bright spot, as he retired all seven hitters he faced in 2.2 innings.

The Royals actually represented themselves quite well vs. struggling A's starter Joe Blanton, scoring five runs against him in five innings. Mark Teahen stroked a three-run homer just to the left of center, and the game was tied entering the sixth.

But then it was Luke Hudson's turn to pitch. After a walk, two singles, and a hit batter, the Royals again trailed, and Hudson was removed without retiring a single batter. In came Andrew Sisco, who struck out Mark Ellis and then surrendered a two-run double to Mark Kotsay off the top of the right field wall. The Royals trailed by three, but the stage was set for all hell to break loose.

Nick Swisher lofted a fly ball to deep left center, but Esteban German had it tracked down. At the last second, German lost the ball in the sun and it bounced off his face into left field. Both runners scored, and Swisher was standing a third base with a stupid look on his face, pointing to the sky as though God had helped him do something special. Swisher scored on an Eric Chavez single, and the game was over.

German is not a good outfielder, and we understand that he's been pressed into outfield duty by injuries. But we did find it odd that he was manning center field today, while Kerry Robinson was playing right. Bell before the game said German was in center because he's more comfortable tracking fly balls there than on a corner, so we guess we can live with that. But it should come as no suprise to anyone when he screws up plays out there, even if he wasn't wearing sunglasses. He could just as easily screwed up a fly ball in right or left field, so the fact that German was in center today when that ball was hit was little more than dumb luck. But if he's to continue playing outfield, we should probably all brace ourselves for more embarrassing bloopers.

The Royals are now riding a three-game losing streak, and tomorrow in Detroit they open a seven-game road trip through the AL Central. They start with two games against the Tigers, then they travel to Minnesota for two games before wrapping up the trip with a weekend series in Chicago. Runelvys Hernandez will look to repeat his stunning season debut, opposing Jeremy Bonderman, who's struggling this season but has given the Royals fits. Let's all pray that this road trip goes a little better than the last one.

Affeldt shines, but rain wins out...

2006-04-29T23:08:00.001-04:00

For once, the folks at Rotoworld got it right, because the Royals truly cannot catch a break. Just about an hour into what looked to be the best game of their young season, the Kansas City skies opened up, bringing a consistent pouring rain that eventually forced the umpires to call the game before it became official. The game was rescheduled as part of a twi-night doubleheader on August 18.

Although seeing a 6-1 lead go by the wayside as if it never happened is a total bummer, a number of positives remain, things upon which the Royals can build starting tomorrow:

Jeremy Affeldt started the game for the Royals and was fantastic for the third time in about a week-and-a-half, tossing three innings of one-run ball with a walk and five strikeouts before the rain came. It was an abbreviated outing, but RC hasn't seen him throw like that as a starting pitcher in some time.

Granted, Affeldt was outstanding in his last appearance which came against Cleveland last Sunday, but he fell behind a number of hitters in that game, leaving us desiring more first-pitch strikes. He did just that on Saturday, throwing two-thirds of his pitches for strikes, and tossing a first-pitch strike to 11 of the 13 Athletics he faced.

Affeldt overpowered the Athletics from the first pitch on.

However, not only did he pound the strike zone all night long, he did so with quality stuff, once again tantalizing Royals fans everywhere with a mix of a sinking 93-mph fastball, a Bugs Bunny curve, and a cutter that ate up Frank Thomas and Bobby Crosby. In other words, Affeldt was pitching mean and to his full ability, and looked quite similar to that nasty reliever we enjoyed watching back in 2003.

That's a pleasantly-surprising development, as RC never could understand why a 6-foot-4, 225-lb. pitcher like Affeldt chose to "pace himself" when he started, dialing down that heater to the 87-88 mph range. If a pitcher has the ability to throw in the low-90s with control, he should do just that, and not worry so much about what's going to be left in the seventh inning.

The Royals have to be absolutely thrilled with him, as his new-found aggression has led to a three-outing line befitting a top-of-the-rotation starter:

  IP     SO     BB     HR     ERA
14.1     14      6      1    1.28

Needless to say, Affeldt's turned some heads and is starting to change some minds here at RC, and we can't wait to see what he does in his next start on Thursday against the Twins.

The Royals' bats certainly aided Affeldt's confidence when they sent 11 men to the plate in a five-run first inning that included four walks and four hits. Three of those hits stayed in the park, as Reggie Sanders unloaded the bases with a no-doubt grand slam off a struggling Esteban Loaiza that put the Royals ahead 4-0.

Reggie's bomb almost tagged the Dodge truck beyond the left field fence.

RC was overjoyed not only because we knew that the ball was gone off the bat (it landed about 427 feet from home plate), but also because it very well could be the start of one of his patented hot streaks. Few hitters look as bad as Sanders does when his bat goes cold, but few look as good when he really heats up. He homered on Friday too, so American League pitchers would be well-advised to really focus when facing him for the next couple of weeks.

Sanders was only part of the fun, as the entire lineup seemed to be locked in on Loaiza, who pretty clearly isn't the same pitcher we saw with the White Sox in 2003. Kerry Robinson was placed in the leadoff spot after being called up from Triple-A Omaha (more on that in a moment), and, despite a terrible swing, responded with two singles, a run scored, and three RBI in three at-bats.

Doug Mientkiewicz showed a very good eye at the plate, drawing two walks, while Mark Grudzielanek smoked an RBI double to left-center field off A's reliever Ron Flores. The Royals are starting to swing the bats a little bit better. Hopefully this time, they'll bring the thunder with them on their second road trip of the year.

Although we could see the writing on the wall once we learned of the severity of the hamstring injury to RC favorite Shane Costa, we were somehow still unpleasantly surprised when the Royals called up Robinson to take his spot on the 25-man roster. However, the Royals needed a capable (and we use that term very lightly) centerfielder to hold down the fort until David DeJesus returns to the lineup, so Robinson was chosen, leaving Aaron Guiel in Omaha.

DDJ can't get back soon enough.

We assumed that Guiel would be the one called up since he was already on the 40-man roster, but the Royals simply transferred reliever Steve Stemle from the 15- to the 60-day disabled list to make room for K-Rob. It's likely that Stemle had thrown his last pitch for the Royals anyway, so that's definitely not any kind of a loss.

It's possible that the Joe Mays experiment may come to an end when DeJesus returns from his stint on the DL, albeit more likely when Costa does the same, which should be around the time Denny Bautista would be ready to take Mays' spot in the rotation. Either way, Mays' days in KC have to be numbered. With any luck, Robinson will play like only Kerry Robinson can, and his days will be numbered as well when Costa's fully healed.

Mays...not good

2006-04-28T23:17:00.000-04:00

How much longer can this continue? The Joe Mays experiment was a decent risk, but RC has to believe that it's coming to an end. Mays today surrendered five more runs in 3.1 innings pitched, and he walked five while failing to strike out a single batter. Through the first month of the season, Mays has been the worst starter in baseball. Here are his stats through his first five starts:

IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	ERA
4.1	8	6	6	1	2	12.46
2.2	3	4	4	5	0	12.86
5.1	11	8	6	1	5	11.68
4.2	4	4	4	2	1	10.59
3.1	4	5	5	5	0	11.07

Folks, it's not looking good. It's never a good sign when a pitcher has allowed more runs than innings pitched. Is it time to replace him in the rotation, or should he get another start? RC would be willing to let him have one more shot, but as ineffective as he's been, we wouldn't mind if the Royals' just let him go right now and let Mike Wood take over his spot in the rotation. There is no question whatsoever that Wood would be a better option right now, so hopefully the Royals soon come to the conclusion that Mays doesn't put them in the position to win ballgames. The sooner the better.

There was some more bad news on Friday, as Shane Costa pulled up lame on a double to right center. Costa was removed from the game and replaced with Esteban German, and the word is that he's likely to be put on the 15-day DL, as early as tomorrow.

So who replaces him? There are clearly two options. Kerry Robinson had an excellent spring training, and he currently leads all O-Royals with a batting average of .367 through 20 games. Robinson is a slap hitter, and he has no power to speak of. He's not presently on the 40-man roster, so he remains somewhat of a longshot to get the call.

The other option is Aaron Guiel, who is on the 40-man roster, so the Royals wouldn't have to clear any space for him. However, Guiel has been mired in a slump of late, which has seen his batting average drop to .200. Nevertheless, he still leads the O-Royals with six homers, and he's maintained a SLG pct. of .523.

To RC, the choice is pretty simple. Guiel offers the most to the big club, and his promotion won't demand reshuffling, so he should get the call. We've never been a big fan of Robinson, and we'd rather have Guiel's power in the lineup than Robinson's speed.

It's time to see Guiel again.

It will be interesting to see what the Royals ultimately do, but if Guiel is recalled, we don't think the Royals will lose a whole lot in terms of production.

Editor's Note (4/29): Well, there's been no official announcement yet, but RC noticed that Kerry Robinson has been added to the active roster. Ughhh. Shane and David, please get back soon.

Redman roughed up as Royals lose finale, series...

2006-04-28T01:02:00.000-04:00

Mark Redman was completely ineffective today.

The last time Mark Redman took the mound, RC was impressed by the movement on his pitches, and his ability to locate his entire repertoire. Redman limited the Indians to just five hits and three runs over six innings, and we were looking forward to his next start.

Today was the precise opposite of that. Redman was able to work out of trouble in the first, thanks to an inning-ending double play, but the second frame was a disaster that handed Twins ace Johan Santana all the cushion he'd need. Redman's pitches were flat -- his curveball completely disappeared -- and he kept John Buck busy by bouncing what seemed like half of his pitches to the plate. Five hits and five runs later, his game was over, marking Redman's shortest outing since September 2002.

Mike Wood entered the game and pitched admirably again, logging four innings while surrendering two runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk. A succession of relievers followed Wood to finish the game, and the Royals were lucky to escape without having to get deeper into the pen, saving key guys like Elmer Dessens, Andrew Sisco, and Ambiorix Burgos. Give Woody another assist, because with Redman's short outing, the bullpen enters this weekend's three game set with Oakland in relatively good shape. Hopefully Joe Mays doesn't run into early trouble tomorrow, however, or that may no longer be the case.

Wood got his ERA down to 3.78 with four more solid innings on Thursday.

This weekend, the Royals draw Dan Haren, Esteban Loiaza, and Joe Blanton, so the offense, which struggled today, will have some work to do. All three pitchers have pitched poorly this season, so hopefully those struggles will continue through the weekend. The Royals counter with Mays, Jeremy Affeldt, and Scott Elarton.

Good news from Omaha. Justin Huber, who was out of the lineup on Tuesday with a dislocated pinky, returned to action tonight. In his first at bat back, he lined a pitch right back to the pitcher, and on the night he was 0-for-3 with two more walks.

Another homer for Gordon.

And since we're talking about the minor leagues, Alex Gordon tonight went 3-for-4 with his fifth home run of the season, raising his batting average to .341. That guy just can't get here soon enough! As always, the rest of the news from around the minors will go out shortly in our Daily Prospect Update.

Less fat Elvys excellent in return...

2006-04-27T11:44:00.000-04:00

Take that, Rotoworld!

When RC saw Runelvys Hernandez in Spring Training, we were amazed at how big he'd become. When he took the mound at Kauffman Stadium on Wednesday, it wasn't hard for us to see that he had lost significant weight over the last two months, and he shocked us further by tossing an excellent ballgame.

Elvys required just 82 pitches through seven two-hit innings, and every one of his pitches had great movement. His two-seamer and slider were diving, his changeup was dancing, and he was still throwing his four-seamer 91 mph in the seventh inning. In fact, this might have been the best we've seen him since the 2003 season, and we're actually looking forward to his next start.

The only mistake Elvys made all evening was a pitch he left up to Justin Morneau, who deposited it over the right-center field wall. It would have been a two-run homer if not for the excellent diving catch by Doug Mientkiewicz on a Torii Hunter line drive. Regardless, Hernandez kept his composure and didn't allow another baserunner for the remainder of his outing.

The bullpen came out in the eighth, and the combined efforts of Elmer Dessens and Ambiorix Burgos nailed down the game for the Royals' fifth victory of the season. They go for the series win this afternoon, as Mark Redman opposes Twins' ace Johan Santana.

Sorry about the late, short post. We'll have more for you tonight after the game. Stay tuned.

Royals strand 14, screw Elarton again...

2006-04-26T02:38:00.000-04:00

So much for the winning streak. Royals' starter Scott Elarton pitched seven brilliant shutout innings, but again was denied his first victory of the year. The Royals had no trouble putting men on base, but they again failed to deliver in key two-out situations. It's a tough loss to take, but the Royals played well, and this isn't the type of loss to hang your head over.

One must wonder what the result of tonight's game would have been if Mike MacDougal was healthy. Ambiorix Burgos -- who has been pretty dominant thus far -- would have been summoned for the 8th inning, and, God willing, MacDougal would have had the opportunity to close the game out. But as it was, Buddy Bell summoned Luke Hudson from the bullpen to begin the eighth, and disaster ensued.

Now, RC doesn't quarrel with Bell's decision to bring in Hudson. We've seen him pitch well in such situations, and he hasn't been any worse thus far than any other pitcher out of the pen this year. Hudson brings an excellent fastball and occasionally great curveball to the table, so RC was hoping we'd see him hand the game over to Burgos in the ninth with a one-run lead. Of course, fate intervened with the modified plan.

Hard to blame this one on Luke Hudson.

Lew Ford led off the inning with a weak grounder to SS, but the ball was perfectly placed and Angel Berroa was unable to throw him out off the backhand. Ruben Sierra pinch hit, and after a passed ball by John Buck, Sierra drove in the game-tying run with a grounder through the hole between SS and 3B. Berroa had been cheating toward second with Ford on base, and the ball was hit precisely where he'd have been if Ford was still on first. The result was an RBI single for Sierra, and pinch runner Nick Punto moved to third when Shannon Stewart lined a single up the middle.

The Royals then summoned Andrew Sisco from the pen, and Sisco did an excellent job limiting the damage. After coaxing Luis Castillo into a harmless foul pop fly to Doug Mientkiewicz, Sisco surrendered a shallow sacrifice fly to Emil Brown in left. Brown bounced the throw to home, and Punto was safe with the go-ahead run. Burgos was called from the pen to end the assault, which he did by coaxing a pop-up to Mark Grudzielanek to end the inning.

However, the damage was done, and the Royals could do nothing with their remaining six outs. It's a shame to see them waste so many scoring opportunities, and the loss drops them back to 10 games under .500. They face rookie Scott Baker tomorrow, so hopefully the offense can get into gear and support Runelvys Hernandez, who is making his first start of the season for the Royals.

Shane Costa continues to impress us. He went 2-for-4 today, raising his batting average to .302, and he made an excellent sliding catch on a Rondell White liner to left-center. Costa has been one of the most consistent contributors to the lineup, and he's starting to raise questions about what happens when David DeJesus returns to the lineup.

Shane Costa is making people forget about AAAAron Guiel.

Does he spell Brown and Reggie Sanders on occasion vs. righties, or has he earned the right to start regularly? RC is proud to proclaim that we were the first media entity to predict his success this season (admittedly, at Omaha), and we hope the Royals find a way to continue getting him into the lineup as the season progresses.

We mentioned yesterday that Justin Huber was injured during Omaha's game on Monday, but we are happy to report that the injury was not serious. Huber suffered a dislocated pinky finger while diving back to first base on a pickoff attempt, and there was no ligament damage. The O-Royals expect him to miss a couple of days, but he should return quickly and contine his assault on PCL pitchers.

Off-day notes...Everyone should do the "Esteban Flip"

2006-04-25T01:23:00.000-04:00

Folks, now that the Royals are officially on a winning streak and spirits are high, it's time to tackle a light-hearted subject we've been meaning to comment on. It's called the "Esteban Flip." As you should have noticed by now, RC's Official favorite utility player, Esteban German, has a fantastic method of dropping his bat after making contact. Instead of simply dropping his lumber like most boring players, German usually adds some flair to the routine by flinging it into the air behind him on his way to first base. The bat hits the ground after traversing a beautiful arc through the air, and sometimes it travels quite far before coming to a rest.

The term "Esteban Flip" was coined by RC Correspondent Chris Ray, not Esteban German.

Now, he doesn't always do the "Esteban Flip," so don't be discouraged if you don't see it the next time he steps to the plate. Just keep watching, because he's sure to do it again eventually. And when you do see it, you'll know that you've witnessed the "Esteban Flip," and maybe you'll even share an understanding nod with a fellow RC reader who also noticed and appreciated it.

In fact, RC is thinking about starting a movement. To show our support for Esteban German, we'd like the "Esteban Flip" to become the latest fad. Just imagine the possibilities! This goes far beyond simply teaching your little league son the "Esteban Flip" (which you should definitely do anyway), but instead extends into all areas of everyday life.

The next time you're on the golf course, be sure to give that 3-wood an "Esteban Flip" to celebrate a great drive. The next time you go to the store, "Esteban Flip" your money to the cashier, and be sure to tell her exactly why you just threw your cash on the floor. And if you happen to be a Chiefs fan, the next time you spill your Natural Light while crashing your truck, be sure to "Esteban Flip" your expired insurance card to the victim.

RC won't be back in KC for at least a couple of months, but when we do return, we hope to see "Esteban Flips" wherever we go. We'll be downright disappointed if our waitress at Jack Stack doesn't "Esteban Flip" us our plate of burnt ends.

The minor leagues tonight provided some good news and some bad news. The good news is that both Billy Butler and Alex Gordon homered in Wichita's 6-5 win over Arkansas, the first time this year that both have done so in the same game. The bad news is that Justin Huber left Omaha's game in the seventh inning due to a "hand/wrist injury." We have no further word on the extent of Huber's injury, but we'll be sure to keep everyone posted when we do hear something.

We've generally moved all of our minor league reporting to our Daily Prospect Update (if you're not yet a member of our FREE e-mail list, sign up here), but we felt this news was sufficiently important to include on our main page. Hopefully the injury isn't serious, and Huber will soon be torturing Pacific Coast League pitchers again.

There was more significant movement on our Top 10 Collegiate Draft Prospect list, and this week's update has been posted. The draft situation continues to be murky, but according to reports, it appears as though the Royals may have honed in on four pitchers. Be sure to check out this week's report, and tell us what you think.

Now that's more like it! Royals win, end ridiculous 11-game slide

2006-04-23T00:15:00.000-04:00

The Royals last saw fireworks on April 8, a full two weeks ago.

After watching Friday night's game, you sort of had a feeling that something like this was coming. The Royals had a great offensive approach at the plate in the first game of the series vs. the Tribe, and they carried that into tonight's game, halting their 11-game slide while picking up their first win since April 8th. They attacked Paul Byrd, hanging four runs on him in the first and jumping out to a 7-0 lead after three innings, and that was more than enough support for a surprisingly effective combination of Joe Mays and Mike Wood.

Mays, in fact, was perfect through the first three innings, and thanks to a miraculous double play turned in by Angel Berroa, he entered the fifth inning having faced the minimum. It fell apart for Mays right there, and he was forced to turn the game over to Wood with two outs, two on, and a 7-3 lead. On the night, Mays was charged with four earned runs on four hits in 4.2 innings of work. Those certainly aren't great stats, but against an offensive powerhouse like the Indians, RC couldn't have expected anything better.

RC was pleased with Mays' outing today.

Wood, however, was incredible. He took over in the fifth and finished the game, tossing 4.1 innings while allowing just three hits and an unearned run. With the Royals staked a nice lead, Wood did exactly what he was supposed to do -- throw strikes. He didn't walk a single batter, and 36 of his 55 pitches were over the plate as he picked up his second victory of the year.

Of course, the true star of today's game was the offense, which has now collected 25 hits over the last two days. Everyone except Paul Bako and Mike Sweeney got in on the act, and even Sweeney had a key RBI on a sacrifice fly. Doug Mientkiewicz (two-run double) and Emil Brown (two-run single) delivered the big blows in the first inning, and Reggie Sanders launched a big RBI double in the sixth inning. Shane Costa continued to look solid at the plate, picking up two more hits, as did Mark Grudzielanek, who continues to lead the Royals with a .317 BA.

The teams play the rubber match tomorrow afternoon, as the Tribe sends Jason Johnson to the hill to oppose the unpredictable Jeremy Affeldt. The Royals have had both success and failure in the past vs. Johnson, and if Affeldt can replicate his command from his last outing, the Royals just might be able to take the series. It all hinges on which Jeremy Affeldt will show up tomorrow.

RC has a few more observations:

Did anyone actually expect Grudzielanek to play this well? We don't know if he can keep it up for a full season, but if he does, the Royals won't mind picking up his 2007 option one bit. He often looks bad when he swings and misses, but he always seems to have an excellent idea of what he's doing at the plate, and his defense has been outstanding. Simply put, he's a ballplayer, and RC loves watching him play. With the Royals' luck in previous seasons concerning free agent signings, we were a little worried, but Grudz has dashed those fears quite effectively.

Mark Grudzielanek is getting it done this year.

During the losing streak, Brown in particular looked off-kilter. RC has remained a big Brown supporter since last season because of his quick, compact, and balanced swing, and we rarely saw him look bad on a pitch last year. For the last couple of weeks, Brown has looked bad on many occasions, opening up and flailing at off-speed breaking balls.

Brown might be starting to heat up.

However, RC has begun to see the old Brown over the last two games, and even though he still took a couple swings that made us cringe, we're starting to see that compact swing and competent, confident approach at the plate. We look for him to get back on track very soon, and we still expect him to eclipse last year's numbers before the season is done.

Are fans going to boo Sweeney EVERY SINGLE TIME he makes an out this season? The man went 4-for-5 on Friday night, and then drew boos from the fans when he struck out on a nasty 3-2 slider from a pitcher he had never seen before. And then they booed him again when he flew out in the eighth, even though the Royals had a six-run lead! RC was shocked, but a friend explained that perhaps they were booing because they wanted that 12th hit and free doughnuts. Either way, RC was disgusted, but that leads us to our next observation.

RC loves it when the Royals win on less than 12 hits. No, we don't own Krispy Kreme stock, but we do hate that the doughnut chase generates more crowd noise and excitement than the action on the field. We're probably too young to be so bitter, but RC actually let out a cheer when Mientkiewicz dashed the free doughnut dreams of 8,000 very cheap people by striking out to end the eighth inning. That was fantastic!

Dougie Fresh did everything right tonight.

It's sure nice to be able to write about a win.

Jon Rosen reports on Buckner, Cota, and Christensen

2006-04-19T23:23:00.000-04:00

Luis Cota on Tuesday had his best effort in the Cal League, limiting the defending champion San Jose Giants to just four hits in six innings while striking out seven. He allowed one run through the first five innings before laboring in the sixth and eventually allowing an RBI single to two-time batting champion and Cal League Playoff MVP Brian Horwitz with two outs. For the first time this season, Cota was missing bats. He was constantly ahead of batters with a four-seam fastball that seemed to bore in on lefthanders and a slider that he was using as his out pitch.

Luis Cota had his first quality outing for the Mavs on Tuesday.

Cota even recorded a K with his changeup, which according to Baseball America was a pitch he needed to refine before heading to the hitters paradise here in High Desert. He did not earn the win (the Mavs won their second consecutive home game on a walk-off, this time a solo shot in the bottom of the tenth by left fielder Geraldo Valentin), but did his share by putting the Mavs in a solid position to win the game.

Billy Buckner had a mediocre outing Monday afternoon at Inland Empire. Don't pay any attention to the line score (5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K), as there were several contributing factors to an awkward line. First, there were some awful hometown scoring decisions by the 66ers, as there were two plays in left field that were deemed hits instead of errors that led to two runs in the sixth inning, both of which should have been unearned.

Billy Buckner's line wasn't great in his last start, but he got no favors from the replacement umpires.

Also, this was without a doubt the wackiest Cal League game I've ever seen, and that's about the friendliest way of saying it. We had local high school umpires filling in for the umps on strike, and their strike zone was, to say the least, inconsistent. Both teams had to constantly tell the umps where to stand on the infield in situations with runners on base, and there were two times in the game where neither the field umpire nor the home plate umpire made immediate fair/foul decisions on balls hit sharply down the line. The coaches and players aren't allowed to comment on the scab umps, but according to one source on the team who has been around this game for, well, quite some time, it was the most poorly officiated game he had ever seen. So toss that Buckner start out the window -- he should be back in form Saturday evening at home against Lancaster.

Danny Christensen has looked superb so far this season, and he gets the ball for us tonight at home against San Jose. He went seven gutsy innings last week at home against Inland Empire, even though he left the sixth inning having thrown 86 pitches. Manager Jeff Carter left him in the game in the seventh and he responded with a 1-2-3 inning against the middle of a potent 66er order. His two-seam fastball doesn't have the same movement that J.P. Howell's had, though it has still missed a lot of bats and induced many awkward swings. His 12-to-6 hook, however, might be the best out pitch in the league if not for Buckner's hellacious curve.

Daniel Christensen has thrown well this year for the Mavs, but has yet to pick up his first win.

Like Howell, Christensen also has the drive and fire to be a top competitor, as being sidelined throughout 2004 after Tommy John surgery should appear to be a bump in the road instead of a major hindrance. Righties are batting only .161 against the southpaw, with lefties hitting at a .250 clip against the Brooklyn native. He's still relatively young even though he missed a season, so we hope to have him for a good majority of the year as long as he keeps the ball low and changes speeds well, which he has done through his first two starts.

Jon Rosen is the Director of Broadcasting and play-by-play man for the High Desert Mavericks, and he's agreed to provide exclusive reports for RC throughout the season.

This is getting ridiculous...Royals drop ninth straight

2006-04-19T01:04:00.000-04:00

Berroa blew it big time today, but at least he struck out swinging on a 3-2 pitch over his head.

Wow, this is getting ugly very quickly. The Royals tonight finally got a surprisingly decent start from Jeremy Affeldt, but their poor defense and anemic offense did them in again for their ninth straight loss. RC is at a loss for words at how poorly the Royals have played for the last week and a half, and it's staggering how incompetent every single aspect of the club looks right now. The starting pitching corps has been atrocious (Scott Elarton excluded), and the bullpen has amazingly been even worse. The entire offense has somehow gone into a slump at the same time, and it seems as though every day brings news of another injury to a key player.

As for tonight's game, Affeldt did pitch well, but he fell victim to a ridiculous error by Angel Berroa on a routine grounder in the fourth inning. Berroa's miscue led to three unearned runs, and that's all Jon Garland and the White Sox needed to bury the Royals yet again. David DeJesus felt another twinge in his hamstring, so he's again day-to-day for the time being. And Andrew Sisco again got banged around for a run in the seventh, pushing his already horrible ERA to a robust 12.71.

The only comfort that RC has right now is that this team cannot possibly be this bad, and that things cannot possibly get any worse. The season is still young, so it's not yet time to pull the panic lever, but that time is rapidly approaching and the Royals need to start winning ballgames right now.

On a positive note (yes, this is RC), Shane Costa has looked really good at the plate through the first two weeks of the season, and Mark Teahen is starting to string together some hits, including his first home run today. No Royal player has yet been suspended by the league for steroids (although steroids at this point might not be a bad idea), and RC's official cable company has decided that it would rather show playoff hockey than baseball games on the Extra Innings Package that RC paid $149 for. This of course is good news, since it means that RC cannot record the games and dwell on them more than once.

Costa: Our mental "savior"

Maybe the best news is that Nats' GM Jim Bowden was arrested in Florida on DUI charges yesterday. It is RC's greatest fear that if our Official Hero is sacked this season (we still hope not), the Royals might replace him with our least favorite GM in baseball. Yesterday's embarrassment helped to calm those fears, at least temporarily.

It's not much to go on, but when the world is crumbling around you, it's important to do what you can to find some positives to think about, wherever they may be.

One final note tonight. Those of you who subscribe to RC's Daily Prospect Update have already heard about this week's Draft Update, but we wanted to add a note to today's post to remind folks who haven't yet taken advantage of our free update that the newest edition of our Top 10 collegiate prospects list has been released. Check it out, and let us know what you think.

RC Breaking News: Zack Greinke returns to Arizona!

2006-04-17T23:45:00.000-04:00

According to a high-ranking Royals official who spoke this evening with RC, Royals pitcher Zack Greinke reported to Arizona tonight to begin working his way back onto the Major League club. Greinke, who had been sent home to Florida by the Royals to work out what were eventually identified as "emotional issues," had been away from the team since February 25, and only recently felt ready to return.

RC is overjoyed to be the first to welcome Greinke back into the fold, and we wish him well as he begins his journey towards Kansas City!

Wranglers 4, Cardinals 2

2006-04-16T22:12:00.000-04:00

Shortly before the Devil Rays handed the Royals their seventh consecutive loss, I hopped in my car and made the half-mile trek to Hammons Field, where the Wichita Wranglers were set to take on the Springfield Cardinals in the first of a five-game series, all of which I'll definitely be attending. Sunday's game, which Wichita won 4-2, served as a bit of a morale boost for me and the several other Royals fans in attendance.

The Royals' decision to place 22-year-old shortstop Angel Sanchez on the 40-man roster this winter caused many fans to scratch their heads, because the more obvious move would've been to protect outfielder Mitch Maier, who was seemingly closer to the Major Leagues and therefore more vulnerable to being selected in the Rule 5 draft. After seeing Sanchez perform on Sunday, I'm downright convinced that the Royals did the right thing.

On a field that was littered with future big leaguers like Cody Haerther, Nick Stavinoha, Chris Lubanski, and Billy Butler, Sanchez was the player who stood out in the crowd, going 4-for-4 with a walk and three RBI. Aside from one caught stealing and a lazy fielding error, he had an outstanding day.

Shown here in spring training, Angel Sanchez is off to a great start for Wichita

I was most impressed with Sanchez's approach at the plate, which I found to be unusually calm and collected for a player so young. He drew his walk leading off the game, and did a fantastic job of running deep counts and hitting the ball with authority the rest of the way. For the season, Sanchez is hitting .389 with an on-base percentage well north of .450, which is a slight indicator that Mark Teahen isn't the only left-side Royals infielder who should be watching his back.

Speaking of Teahen, the perception that Alex Gordon could be very close to taking his job is indeed reality. Gordon only got one hit -- a first-inning double -- in five plate appearances, but showed off his defensive skills more than once. He made a couple of diving stops, showed the ability to cleanly barehand a slow roller, and displayed a very strong and accurate arm. However, the most impressive play of his day was probably a key twin killing he started in the ninth inning.

With nobody out and Springfield's Jarrett Hoffpauir representing the tying run, Wichita reliever Derrick Depriest induced Hoffpauir to hit a bouncing groundball right to Gordon. Gordon fielded the ball cleanly, and not only fired a strike to second baseman Walter Sevilla, but put the throw on the first base side of second, allowing Sevilla to get his momentum going towards first. On a very close play, a hustling Hauffpauir was ruled out, and the game was essentially over.

Alex Gordon is a nightly Web Gem personality waiting to happen

Gordon is probably not only Teahen's superior offensively, but, judging from various reports I've read and what I personally witnessed today, I'm starting to believe that he may be as good or better defensively as well. The kid is far more than a masher; he could be the most complete player the Royals have developed since Carlos Beltran.

Billy Butler picked up a couple of singles in five at-bats, with this third inning hit driving home Sanchez and sending Lubanski to second base. That hit was the only ball he got in the air all day, as in his other four plate appearances, he hit scalding groundballs to the left side of the infield. You know, like the guy he's constantly been compared to, Mike Sweeney.

Still, Butler's off to a very slow start, and hasn't even drawn a walk in 47 at-bats. In all likelihood, he probably just needs to make a few adjustments to his approach, and he'll be fine. It's so easy to forget that he won't turn 20 until Tuesday.

Springfield lefty starting pitcher Rich Rundles had Lubanski tied up in knots all day long, as the Wranglers centerfielder was lunging and feeling for the ball. Lubanski's hitting just .083 so far, but he started very slowly last year before hitting the snot out of the ball from July on.

Stay tuned to RC this week for further updates on the Wichita/Springfield series!

Yuck! Royals drop another to Yanks, look to salvage finale vs. Big Unit

2006-04-13T02:06:00.000-04:00

Jeremy Affeldt stunk again on Wednesday.

At least the new uniforms looked sharp on Wednesday. So did the offense in the early going, as the Royals jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, courtesy of Reggie Sanders' third home run of the season and an RBI double off the center field wall by Emil Brown. Unfortunately, the Yankees answered immediately, as Jeremy Affeldt walked the first two batters and surrendered a three-run homer to Gary Sheffield before he even recorded an out. The Royals' first early lead of the season was gone in an instant, and Affeldt stunk his way through 3.1 innings while staking the Yanks to three more runs.

RC just doesn't see anything out of Affeldt, and we haven't for a couple years now. He no longer throws mid-90s heat, his curveball is only a fraction of what it once was, and his control deteriorates further every time he takes the mound. For most of his outing, he seemed content throwing nothing but straight fastballs, and he couldn't even locate those. We saw a total of four curveballs, and only one or two of those were even quality pitches. Needless to say, we have no optimism whatsoever that Affeldt will ever regain the form that caught the attention of the league when he emerged from obscurity several years ago, and we hope the Affeldt-as-a-starter experiment will end sooner rather than later. As a matter of fact, we wouldn't mind seeing the Affeldt-as-a-Royal experiment end shortly thereafter.

Mark Redman is scheduled to make another rehab start for Omaha on Sunday, and if all goes well, he should be ready to go on April 21. Affeldt and Joe Mays are the leading candidates to be replaced in the rotation upon his return, and if we had our druthers, it would be the former.

The Royals try again today, sending Denny Bautista to the hill to face Randy Johnson. On paper this looks like a mismatch, but if Bautista can duplcate his performance last Saturday, the Royals just might be able to escape the Bronx with a victory and a 3-5 record. The task is a difficult one, particularly since neither Mike Sweeney or David DeJesus will play, but if they happen to catch Johnson on the right day, anything could happen. Esteban German will make his first start of the season in place of Mark Teahen, and DeJesus is expected back this weekend in Tampa after participating in pre-game drills this week.

High Desert Mavericks announcer Jon Rosen is back with an exclusive RC report on pitching prospects Luis Cota and Billy Buckner. Cota was roughed up in his first California League start on Saturday, and Buckner on Tuesday turned in his second stellar outing of the spring. Rosen reports:

"There's not much to write about Luis Cota - he just didn't throw strikes Saturday night. It's tough to pitch at any stadium when you start out every batter 2-0. At Mavericks Stadium, it's suicidal. He's a professional, though, and what I've seen of him so far is that he's very level - no highs or lows. He should be ready to put up a good line [Thursday] night against a weaker Rancho Cucamonga lineup.

Luis Cota struggled in his first start of the season.

"Billy Buckner was stellar against Rancho last night, even more so than in the opener. His only blemish was his lone walk of the night - it led off the fifth inning against Matt Pali, who is in his second year in the Cal League and came around to score on a one-out single. He struck out eight, including the last batter in the third and all three guys in the fourth while relying heavily on his curve, especially in the later innings. Rancho's leadoff batter (who was 2-4 with two doubles and three runs scored the previous night) just froze up against all of Buck's nasty breaking stuff, striking out three times, twice looking at nasty benders. The over/under for starts Buckner makes in the Cal League is officially set at six."

Thanks for the report, Jon, and we continue to look forward to your updates throughout the season.

Why must this always happen?

2006-04-12T01:32:00.000-04:00

The Official Baby of RC has never seen the Royals win in Yankee Stadium.

The Royals haven't won in the Bronx since 2002. Today RC watched as the Royals dismantled the Yankees for seven innings, and we were wildly optimistic that their dreaded 11-game losing streak in New York would come to an end. But alas, it was not to be, as the bullpen coughed up a three-run lead in the eighth, and the Royals lost their 12th straight game in the Bronx, 9-7.

This game was eerily reminiscent of a game last August, when the Royals took a 7-3 lead at Yankee Stadium into the ninth inning, only to see Jeremy Affeldt and Shawn Camp blow it by allowing five runs. After that game, RC unleashed our fury on Affeldt, who recorded only one out while allowing four runs.

The goat in today's game was Andrew Sisco, who did the exact same thing (0.1 IP, 4 R). However, we're not going to get too down on Sisco. We expected Sisco to struggle a bit this season, and it's not terribly surprising that he'd have a outing like this after pitching above his head last year. And to tell the truth, Sisco didn't even look that bad today. He appeared to strike out Jason Giambi twice (on 2-2 and 3-2 counts), but he couldn't get a call from the home plate umpire to save his life, and Giambi was instead awarded a deadly leadoff walk. The pitch that Hideki Matsui hit for a single during the next at bat was a decent offering on the outside corner, and it would have been a routine one-hopper to second had Mark Grudzielanek not been at double-play depth. The only truly poor sequence was to Jorge Posada, who walked on five pitches to load the bases.

Buddy Bell is taking some heat from Royals fans tonight for bringing in Sisco after Elmer Dessens had dominated the previous two innings on just 19 pitches, but such talk is silly. RC often advocates going with the hot hand in place of a predetermined plan, but Bell's call for Sisco today was completely logical. The first three batters the Yankees were due to send up in the eighth inning were two lefties (Giambi and Matsui) and a switch hitter (Posada), and Sisco last season was murder against lefties (.216 BAA, .615 OPS). Sisco has earned the opportunity to pitch in that situation, and Bell was right to send him in, early struggles be damned.

If Sisco continues to struggle, then Bell will be forced to make a change in the way he uses the bullpen. But this early in the season, the best data available to Bell is that which Sisco compiled last season in the setup role (opposed to meaningless spring training stats), and he was absolutely right to summon him from the bullpen today. It sucks to lose a game in such a way, but it's inevitable as the Royals learn who they can and can't count on this season, particularly when they've got such young players in key positions.

Moving on, there were definitely a few positives to be taken out of today's game. The Royals played a scrappy ballgame and clawed their way out of the 3-0 deficit caused by Joe Mays' ineffectiveness. Reggie Sanders and Shane Costa both hit solo homeruns, and both Mark Teahen and John Buck actually looked pretty good at the plate. Dessens was lights out during his two innings of work, and Mike Wood did an excellent job of keeping the Royals in the ballgame after Mays' early exit.

Costa returned to the dugout after hitting his homerun today and demanded a nails-and-broken-glass sandwich.

The Royals try again on Wednesday afternoon in an ESPN-televised game. Affeldt takes the hill vs. Shawn Chacon, so we're not sure what to expect. The Royals could score some runs off of Chacon, and if Affeldt can keep the ball down and throw strikes, the Royals may have a decent chance to snap the losing streak. Odds are that Mike Sweeney will be withheld from the lineup after being plunked in the hand in the ninth inning on Tuesday, so we may see Matt Stairs for the first time this season. As usual, we'll have a full report for you tomorrow night.

Off-day notes...The Daily Prospect Update returns!

2006-04-10T05:39:00.000-04:00

After taking in Sunday's finale vs. the Chicago White Sox, RC returned to Headquarters in Virginia. Tonight, due to popular demand, we're proud to announce the return of RC's Daily Prospect Update. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Update, it's a free feature RC provides to our readers that tracks the daily progress of the Royals' top prospects in the minor leagues. Every night (most of the time very late), we scan through all the organization's box scores and compile stats and notes from the day's action. The content is then placed into an e-mail and sent to our subscribers' inboxes every morning.

No longer do you have to search like an animal through the Internet to see how your favorite Royals prospects are doing -- we do it all for you. And this season, we've expanded our list to include the Royals' top 40 prospects, so no significant player is left uncovered.

To sign up for this outstanding free feature, and to see a sample Daily Prospect Update from last season, simply go to this page and follow the instructions. It takes only a couple minutes to subscribe, and the time it promises to save you this season cannot even be calculated.

As we mentioned above, RC on Sunday watched as the White Sox salvaged the series finale vs. the Royals. It was a well-pitched game, with Scott Elarton throwing a very effective eight innings, only to be outmatched by Royals nemesis Mark Buerhle. Elarton induced weak contact all afternoon, the only exception being a 425-foot blast by Jim Thome, and if he continues to pitch like that, he could have a surprising season.

Offensively, the Royals struggled to string hits together, and the only run was scored on a solo blast by Reggie Sanders. It was Sanders' first dinger of the year, including spring training, and it came in the ninth inning off of Sox closer Bobby Jenks. It would have been a two-run shot had the umpiring crew not overuled a call by third base umpire Bruce Froemming, who initially ruled that Joe Crede dropped a scorching Mike Sweeney line drive in the previous at bat. The correct reversal prompted the afternoon's most entertaining moment, as Buddy Bell came screaming out of the dugout in protest. RC whipped out our official camera and documented the proceedings:

For more photos of the argument, click here, here, and here.

On Tuesday the Royals open a three-game set with the Yankees, who are off to a 2-4 start. Joe Mays takes the hill for the opener vs. Chien-Ming Wang, and if his stuff isn't right, it could be a long afternoon for the Royals -- seven Yankees are .300 or better career hitters vs. Mays. On Wednesday Jeremy Affeldt faces off against Shawn Chacon, and Thursday's finale pits Denny Bautista vs. Randy Johnson. The Royals rarely play the Yanks well in the Bronx, but hopefully they can steal a game or two before heading to Tampa Bay over the weekend.

There's still no word about who the Royals will start on Friday vs. Tampa Bay, but Runelvys Hernandez certainly didn't help his case on Sunday. Hernandez got knocked around in his start for Omaha, lasting only 3.0 innings while surrendering eight earned runs on seven hits and four walks.

Elvys was horrible on Sunday for Omaha.

If Hernandez doesn't get the call for this weekend, there are a few candidates who could make the start instead. Mike Wood or Elmer Dessens could make a spot start, or the Royals could call up J.P. Howell, who pitched brilliantly on Saturday. None is a very appealing option, but we suppose Wood is probably the best bet if the Royals determine Elvys needs more time. It would leave the bullpen a man short (assuming the Royals don't call Joel Peralta up on Friday), and Dessens has been so good out of the pen that we'd hate to see his rhythm disrupted. Furthermore, the organization has made it clear that they want Howell to get a good dose of AAA this season, and we'd prefer they not abandon that plan so early in the season.

Whatever happens, it will be a short-term solution, as Mark Redman's rehab is ahead of schedule, and it's been reported that Zack Greinke is close to returning to Arizona.

The Wichita Eagle on Sunday broke some interesting news about Alex Gordon. It was primarily a profile piece on Gordon, but toward the bottom of the article, it quoted Royals Assistant GM Muzzy Jackson as saying that Gordon could be in Kansas City more quickly than RC ever imagined.

So how long will he be in Wichita? Probably not long.

Jackson estimates Gordon could move up to Kansas City in a month or two.

"It depends on Alex," said Jackson. "He's a guy who has terrific talent, and he had a great spring training. We obviously think he's going to be a fixture and a member of our organization for a long time.

"... We need a month or two before really being able to gauge if he's major-league ready."

That certainly comes as a big surprise to us. If Gordon is indeed "major-league ready," does that mean he'll be promoted to Kansas City? That's the way the Eagle interpreted that statement, and the Royals have always said that a player's readiness dictates his movement through the system. Of course, this raises a number of questions and concerns. Primarily, will Mark Teahen get another full season to prove he can hit Major League pitching, or is his leash actually shorter than we thought?

Could Gordon be in KC this summer?

Gordon's played exceptionally well throughout spring training and his first week in double-A, but the Royals had better be sure about both his Major League readiness and Teahen's ability before they start his service clock. Gordon is simply too valuable a commodity to rush, and we'd hate to see the Royals lose a year of his services before he's ready to contribute to a competitive Royals team. All told, it's too early to rush to judgement on the basis of one article, but it's definitely something to watch closely.

Finally, RC has completed this week's Draft Prospect Update. There was surprising movement on our list, as new information dictated that we make some changes. About a month ago, the Royals were reportedly zeroing in on four collegiate pitchers -- Andrew Miller, Max Scherzer, Ian Kennedy, and Daniel Bard -- for the first overall pick in this year's draft. However, Baseball America last week spoke with Royals scouting director Deric Ladnier, who indicated that the Royals have now expanded their search.

"There is not one particular player or pitcher that's standing out right now and stepping forward to say, 'I want to be the guy,'" said Ladnier.

Although Miller remains #1 on our list, there is now more uncertainty than ever about who the Royals will ultimately select. Of course, even when the Royals do identify who they plan to select, they're certainly not going to go public with that information. For all we know, they might even already have a good idea who they're going to draft. Regardless, the draft is just two months away, and we'll continue to track the progress of the nation's top collegiate talent.

Sweeney heroic as Royals take series from champs, go for sweep tomorrow!

2006-04-08T19:16:00.000-04:00

Wow, what a game! RC was on hand to witness our first Royals victory in nearly a year, and it was one of the most exciting games we've seen. We took in the contest with RC's own Chris Ray and Kevin Agee, who drove up from Springfield for the afternoon.

Royals starter Denny Bautista struggled a bit with his control, but was otherwise dominant against the powerful Chicago lineup. In six innings, Bautista surrendered only one run on one hit, while walking five and striking out five. His first two pitches of the game were clocked at 99 mph, but everything thereafter was in the mid-90s, and his breaking balls buckled several White Sox batters. All told, this was a start Bautista can build off of, and we're excited about what he has to offer this season.

Offensively, the veterans on the ballclub stole the show. Trailing by one in the sixth inning, Reggie Sanders stepped to the plate with two men on and drove a two-run double into the left-center gap, scoring Mike Sweeney and Mark Grudzielanek. RC had a feeling something big was about to happen, so we took out our official camera and snapped this shot of the big hit.

The early returns on the Reggie Sanders signing are excellent.

Sanders' clutch double set up Bautista for the win, but unfortunately the Royals lost the lead in the eighth inning when Andrew Sisco got knocked around for a pair of runs. Elmer Dessens relieved Sisco, and he successfully limited the damage by coaxing an inning-ending double play off the bat of Joe Crede.

Down 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth, Mark Grudzielanek led off with a single to center, and Sweeney, who continued to draw boos from Royals fans earlier in the game, strode to the plate. Sensing something big was about to happen again, RC whipped out our our trusty camera, and we were again rewarded when Sweeney deposited a 2-2 offering from Cliff Politte into the first row of the left field seats.

One of the uglier home run swings you'll ever see, but it counted all the same.

Ambiorix Burgos entered the game in the top of the ninth, and he spectacularly mowed through the Sox in order, recording two strikeouts and a harmless fly ball to center. In doing so, he picked up his first save of the 2006 season, and the Royals improved their record to 2-2. These last two victories have completely erased the bad taste from the first two games of the season, and the Royals will go for the sweep tomorrow. RC hadn't originally planned to attend the game, but the opportunity to witness a sweep of the defending champs is too good to pass up, so we'll be there with broom in hand.

In minor league action today, the Royals affiliates were quite busy. Omaha swept a doubleheader from Nashville, and Burlington dropped both of their games to the Clinton Lumber Kings. High Desert was shut out by Inland Empire, 9-0, and Wichita dropped their third in a row to the Tulsa Drillers. The noteworthy performances are listed below.

- In what is beginning to sound like an extremely pleasant broken record, Alex Gordon went 3-for-5 with a double, which puts him at 7-for-16 through his first three professional games.

- Unfortunately, Billy Butler, Mitch Maier, and Chris Lubanski combined to go 0-for-12, and Butler struck out twice. Donnie Murphy went 1-for-5 with a grand slam in the top of the ninth inning, but it was too little too late as the Wranglers lost their game, 7-4.

- J.P. Howell turned in a stellar performance in his first start of the season for the Omaha Royals, tossing six shutout innings while striking out five and allowing only two hits and no walks. He picked up the win in the first game of Omaha's doubleheader.

J.P. Howell had an excellent 2006 debut today.

- Luis Cota didn't fare as well in his first start for High Desert. Cota got beat around by the Inland Empire 66ers, surrendering five runs (four earned) on seven hits in just four innings pitched. He walked two and struck out one. RC Correspondent (and Mavs Broadcaster) Jon Rosen was at the game, and we'll be interested to hear from him how Cota's stuff looked.

Speaking of Jon, he sent us this report after Billy Buckner's excellent start on Thursday evening:

"[Buckner] is throwing his knucklecurve more often - last year it was pretty much a strikeout pitch that he would bury in the dirt with two strikes and try to get the batter to go fishing. From what I saw yesterday, he's throwing that pitch in all counts, and is showng a better ability to throw it for strikes. Several Inland Empire batters repeatedly stepped into the bucket and froze up when he threw that pitch.

"He was also locating his fastball well and was hitting the corners with greater frequency than last season. Nobody on the 66ers - and mind you, this was the hottest hitting team in the MWL last year - made solid contact on any Buckner offering, as they were lucky to scrape out an unearned run in the first inning courtesy of some wild throws across the infield."

Thanks again for the report, Jon, and we all look forward to your insight throughout the season, right here on Royals Corner!

Royals erase early six-run deficit, stun Sox for first win of 2006

2006-04-08T02:29:00.000-04:00

John Buck led the Royals to victory with two key doubles.

RC was in Columbia watching Nebraska's Joba Chamberlain struggle through the second inning against Mizzou when we received a troublesome phone call. On the other end was an agitated RC Correspondent, who told us that Jeremy Affeldt had already surrendered four runs in the first inning without recording an out. A brief bout of panic set in, as the thought of another lopsided loss after Wednesday's disaster was nearly too much to handle.

Of course, as we now know, there was nothing to worry about. The White Sox opened the door with some uncharacteristic defensive miscues, and the Royals slammed through with a batch of timely hitting. When it was over, KC prevailed 11-7, and Royals Nation basked in the comfort of victory for the first time this season. It's certainly a nice feeling, and hopefully the Royals can let it ride with another win tomorrow.

We haven't yet had the opportunity to watch anything other than highlights, but we definitely like what we saw from John Buck, whose two opposite field doubles keyed the Royals' victory. Angel Berroa continued to swing a hot stick, lacing a two-run double down the left field line, and both Mike Sweeney and Mark Grudzielanek collected their first hits of the season. The bullpen was solid over five innings while picking up Affeldt, who departed the game after the fourth inning.

Elmer Dessens has been getting it done so far this year.

It certainly wasn't a perfect win, as Affeldt's early struggles are somewhat alarming. Grudzielanek made what could have been a costly baserunning mistake by not tagging up from third on a Sweeney fly out down the right field line, but luck was on the Royals' side, as Doug Mientkiewicz's fielder's choice to first (coupled with Paul Konerko's poor throw to the plate) allowed him to score. And worst of all, David DeJesus had to leave the game with a strained hamstring after knocking an RBI double down the first base line. No word yet on the extent of his injury, but Buddy Bell said he'll definitely be out a couple days. Shane Costa will take his place in the meantime.

On Saturday, the Royals send Denny Bautista to the hill to oppose Javier Vasquez, who owns a 2-0 career record vs. KC. RC will be at the game, and for some reason we have a good feeling about what we're going to see from Bautista. As always, we'll have a detailed report for you in the evening.

We've received some questions about RC's Daily Prospect Update, which is a free service we provide for our readers that sends daily updates to your inbox every morning tracking the progress of the Royals' top prospects in the minors. Since we're presently stationed at RC's Western Command in Kansas City, we don't have the capability to begin sending them out until we return to Headquarters next week. In the meantime, we'll do our best to keep you updated here on our main page.

Royals affiliates had four games scheduled for Friday night, but High Desert's game vs. Inland Empire was postponed due to rain. Omaha and Burlington were both rained out on Thursday, and both won their first games of the season on Friday. Wichita again lost courtesy of a walkoff home run, the second time in two nights. The notable performances are below:

- Alex Gordon continued his quest to make a joke out of the Texas League. The Royals' top prospect went 2-for-4 on the evening with three stolen bases, and he's now 4-for-11 through his first two professional games.

- Billy Butler (1) and Mitch Maier (2) both homered and went 1-for-5. Butler struck out twice, and he was ejected from the game after his second K in the ninth inning. Butler also had an assist in the game, gunning down a runner at second base.

- Donnie Murphy erased the bad taste in his mouth from yesterday's 1-for-7 by going 3-for-5 with a double.

- Joel Peralta threw a scoreless ninth for Omaha, notching his first save of the season in Omaha's 5-3 win over Nashville.

- Jeffrey Howell and Kiel Thibault both opened their 2006 campaigns by going 1-for-3, but Chris McConnell drew an 0-for-4. Matt Kniginyzky, a converted reliever, pitched brilliantly for the Bees, tossing six innings while allowing only one run, three hits, and no walks, striking out five.

As we mentioned above, RC got our first look tonight at Nebraska's Joba Chamberlain, who picked up the victory over Mizzou after tossing six innings. He surrendered three earned runs on seven hits while walking four and striking out two. We'll have a detailed report on him in the coming days (we promise), but our initial impression of him is that he's not really in the same league as some of the pitchers who are higher on our prospect list.

Chamberlain gutted out a tough win vs. Missouri today.

That's it for today. Be sure to check back with us tomorrow, as we report on Saturday's game, as well as the goings on in the minors.

Minor leagues underway...Gordon homers in debut!

2006-04-07T01:10:00.000-04:00

It didn't take Alex Gordon long to hit his first professional home run.

It was a bittersweet day for Royals affiliates. Rain forced the cancellation of Omaha's and Burlington's season openers, and the Wichita Wranglers, after jumping to an 8-3 lead, lost the game in 16 innings after surrendering five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning vs. Tulsa. High Desert was the only winner of the night, defeating the Inland Empire 66ers by a score of 6-2.

The Wranglers game was quite interesting, and RC listened to most of the first 13 innings. Early in the game, all four of the Royals' first rounders were off to a great start. The first time through the lineup, Mitch Maier hit a solo homer, Billy Butler smashed a single to center, Alex Gordon hit a double high off the center field wall, and Chris Lubanski lined a double to left. However, after putting up great composite numbers through nine innings, the Wranglers' offense fell flat. Below are the noteworthy performances from today's games:

- Gordon's professional debut couldn't have gone a whole lot better. After his double to center in the first inning, he lined out to the left fielder and smashed a three-run home run to left field. Defensively, Gordon made two plays that prompted Wranglers' broadcaster Eric Anderson to comment that "he made some plays at third that would have made Brooks Robinson proud," and he added another defensive gem later in the game. On the night, Gordon finished 2-for-7 with three RBIs, a walk, and three strikeouts.

- Butler after five at bats through nine innings was 4-for-5 with a double and three singles, but he went 0-for-3 in extra innings to finish the day 4-for-8. His flyout in the 15th inning was caught at the warning track.

- Lubanski and Maier did little after their first at bats, although both made a number of fine plays in the outfield (although Maier did record an error as well). On the night the two combined to go 2-for-13 with eight strikeouts, five of which were accumulated by Maier.

- Mark Redman got the start for Wichita on a rehab assignment, and he was sparkling over five innings. He surrendered three hits and an unearned run while walking one and striking out two. Word is that he'll get another start for Wichita on Tuesday night, and the Royals will then evaluate his readiness to return to the Major League club, which should be sometime around May 1.

Mark Redman's first rehab start couldn't have been much better.

- Angel Sanchez blasted a two-run homer to left field in the sixth inning, but on the night he was 1-for-7 with 2 Ks and a throwing error.

- In High Desert, Billy Buckner got the start and picked up the win after tossing five innings while surrendering two runs (one earned). He allowed five hits and three walks, and he struck out four. The important thing is that he kept the ball down, coaxing eight ground outs and only two fly outs. If he can continue doing that, he won't have any problems pitching in the high air of the California League this season.

That's it for tonight. On Friday RC heads to Columbia, MO, to see the Mizzou Tigers take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Joba Chamberlain takes the hill for the Huskers, opposing Missouri's Nathan Culp. We had hoped to see both Chamberlain and Max Scherzer, but the Tigers are going with the hot hand instead while Scherzer continues to bounce back from bicep tendinitis. On Saturday afternoon we're attending the Royals game, and we'll have a full report on both games upon our return.

What in the hell was that?

2006-04-06T01:33:00.000-04:00

Well, Chapter One of the Joe Mays reclamation project didn't go quite as smoothly as hoped, as the Royals dropped a heartbreaker, 14-3. The game started with a Curtis Granderson missile off the pad on top of the right field fence, and it got worse from there. Mays surrendered rockets right and left, and with the exception of a three-inning scoreless stint, he was completely ineffective. His velocity wasn't bad, as he was throwing his fastball in the low 90s consistently, but Mays left far too many pitches up in the zone to be successful.

Unfortunately, the Detroit barrage continued against a succession of Royals relievers after Mays left the game in the fifth. Steve Stemle and Mike Wood were simply terrible, and Jimmy Gobble, despite striking out two batters, got hit pretty hard as well. The only solid performances on the mound were put in by Luke Hudson, who tossed 1.2 perfect innings, and Andrew Sisco, who came in after Wood was ejected and promptly struck out the side with his mid-90s heat. Hudson surprised us a bit, as he mixed a 96 mph fastball with a knee-buckling upper-70s curveball. 810's Bob Fescoe said that a scout told him that Hudson had the best stuff of any pitcher he saw in Arizona, and he certainly lived up to that reputation today.

At least Hudson looked good today.

Defensively, the Royals looked an awful lot like the 2005 squad. Angel Berroa misplayed a routine ground ball for an error, Emil Brown looked lost in left field, and even Reggie Sanders couldn't haul in a line drive that looked as though it hit the pocket of his glove. There were a couple nice plays turned in by Mark Grudzielanek and Mark Teahen, but overall it was the type of team defensive performance that RC had hoped was behind them.

And to make matters worse, the team looked completely lost at the plate against Jeremy Bonderman, who was in complete command of the game with his 99 mph fastball and dazzling breaking stuff. David DeJesus was the only player who consistently got good swings all day, but even he only had one hit to show for it (a scorching triple to right-center to lead off the game). Mike Sweeney again drew boos for failing to get him home from third with one out, and Grudzielanek didn't look anywhere close to making solid contact.

The only bright spots offensively, if you can even call them that on a day like this, were impressive home runs by Brown and Shane Costa. Costa's dinger was a screaming line drive into the lower fountain in deep right-center, and Brown's two-run shot banged high off the sign above the 385 ft. mark in left. Both, of course, were too little too late, but at least it was nice to see Costa carrying his spring training swing into the season.

Shane Costa launched a home run off of Jamie Walker in the ninth.

All told, it was a very disappointing day at the stadium, and it ran RC's record at Royals games over the last two seasons to a depressing 1-13 (not counting spring training). Of course, it's important to remember that there are 160 games remaining in the season, so the incessantly negative squaking on the message boards and talk radio after just two games is ridiculously premature.

There is one other bright spot we feel necessary to report on. RC after the first inning defeated RC correspondent Chris Ray in the 810 AM pitch-off on the Jumbotron. Ray tried to psyche out RC before the contest by telling us that he knew he was going to lose. When that didn't work, Ray resorted to cheating by punching RC's golden pitching arm. But alas, his shenanigans were unsuccessful, as RC's fastball registered 62 mph on the shamefully inept radar gun at the Little K, while Ray could muster only a pitiful 61. This was a tremendous victory for RC, and it's one that promises to eat away at the deep recesses of Ray's tiny black heart. We certainly won't let him forget it anytime soon.

Renovations there will be!

2006-04-05T00:08:00.000-04:00

As you may have noticed, RC over the past couple months has remained silent on the ballot initiatives that Jackson County residents voted on today. We've always thought it somewhat tacky for non-KC residents to take a public position on taxes they would rarely have to pay, and it seemed best to leave discussion of such polarizing issues to more appropriate forums prior to the election.

Now that the results are in, we must say that RC couldn't be more pleased with the outcome. Not only did Jackson County residents approve a $250 million facelift for one of baseball's most beautiful stadiums, but they also rejected the rolling roof scheme. In our eyes, the Royals were the big winner today, as the wheels have been set in motion to build a revenue-generating machine. Today's vote not only enhances the Royals' long-term ability to compete, but it also ensured that they'll stay in KC for at least 25 more years by locking them into the new lease they recently signed.

RC has been to most of baseball's new downtown stadiums, and while they certainly offer some benefits that the Truman Sports Complex does not, Kauffman Stadium is so beautiful and perfect that talk of abandoning it always seemed silly. As with any election, there were devious tactics and shenanigans deployed by both sides, but for us, the main question always boiled down to our love of Kauffman Stadium. Jackson County today ensured that it will be a long time before we have to hear such nonsense again, so kudos to them! RC sends Kevin Kietzman and Bob Fescoe and the rest of the seething crew at 810 our condolences.

Sorry about the lack of a report from Opening Day. It was a long day for RC, and we didn't even take our camera to the game. The Royals played a pretty solid game, and we liked what we saw from Scott Elarton, Doug Mientkiewicz, and Mark Grudzielanek. Ambiorix Burgos looked dominant out of the pen, and David DeJesus had the type of solid at bats we expect to see from him all season.

We weren't thrilled when we heard boos raining down upon Mike Sweeney after he tapped out to the pitcher with a man on third base, but after checking with the Elias Sports Bureau, we learned that Sweeney was in fact the first $11 million player in baseball history to do so with a man on third base and less than two outs. Kansas City certainly taught him a lesson on Monday, and it's one we hope he doesn't forget anytime soon.

Damn you, Mike Sweeney!

We're sure that he'll never do that again after realizing how much Opening Day fans (or as Sweeney accurately calls them, "Chiefs fans") don't appreciate him not coming through 100 percent of the time. Boy, does he have egg on his face...

RC will be at Wednesday's Royals game as the boys in blue attempt to exact revenge against Jemrey Bodnemran (he'll never notice that we spelled his name incorrectly, teehee). We'll be toting our camera as Joe Mays takes the hill, and we plan to have a full report for you tomorrow evening. Also, our draft update promises to be a little slow in the making this week, but we should have something for you in the next couple days. To spoil the suspense, we don't anticipate any real movement on our list, as North Carolina's Andrew Miller continued to display the dominance that has thus far put him heads and shoulders above the rest of the '06 draft class.

Sunday notes: Roster settled, RC sees Max Scherzer

2006-04-02T14:33:00.000-04:00

When RC last set foot on the University of Kansas campus seven years ago, we left with a hangover, a black eye, and someone else's shoes. Saturday afternoon's baseball game between Mizzou and KU set the stage for our triumphant return, and although RC's alma mater ultimately lost, we got a good look at pitching prospect Max Scherzer.

Scherzer, RC's third-ranked draft prospect, was pitching for the first time in three weeks, having missed the previous two weekends with bicep tendinitis. The Tigers' coaching staff was very careful with him, imposing a strict 70-pitch limit. As it were, Scherzer tired after four innings and only 54 pitches, and he was lifted for a reliever to start the fifth inning. In his four innings, Scherzer allowed a run on five hits and two walks while striking out two.

Stuff-wise, Scherzer was pretty erratic, although we suppose that's to be expected after a long layoff. He did hit 99 mph a couple times in the first inning, but by the fourth inning, his fastball velocity was down to the 93 mph range. He worked in a few nice-looking changeups at 82-84 mph, and his breaking balls ranged from 85-89 mph. The command really wasn't there, but it wouldn't be fair to judge him in his first outing back.

We plan to get another look at him next weekend, as the Tigers host the Nebraska Cornhuskers. We'll write up a detailed report about Scherzer after that game, and we'll provide you with some exclusive video of both him and Nebraska's Joba Chamberlain. In the meantime, you can check out some more Scherzer photos by clicking here, here, here, and here.

Well, the Royals' roster has been finalized, and once again, RC missed badly with our projections for the final two spots. We had figured that Joel Peralta and Steve Andrade were locks for the club, but of course, they weren't. The final two spots went to Luke Hudson and Steve Stemle, much to our suprise.

In Peralta's case, his demotion to Omaha isn't really a big deal. He's still in his option years, so the Royals can freely move him up and down without exposing him to waivers. Though he didn't make the club out of spring training, he'll be back up soon enough, and RC figures we'll all see a whole lot of Peralta during the course of the season.

Peralta's demotion surprised us, but he'll be back at some point.

We were a bit more surprised by Andrade's failure to make the club. Though he only arrived in Royals camp less than a week ago, his status as a Rule 5 draftee meant that the Royals would lose him if he didn't make the 25-man roster. Apparently the Royals found Andrade's presence in the organization less valuable than whatever Stemle brings to the table.

Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with the Royals' reasoning. Oh, this move set off another round of vicious Baird bashing, such as the rant in our right sidebar by our friends at Rotoworld. But we guarantee that the person who wrote that has never seen Andrade pitch. RC certainly hasn't.

How could the Royals cut loose a pitcher with such stellar minor league numbers? It's simple -- they weren't confident in his ability to replicate those numbers at the Major League level. This could have been the result of any number of factors, but most likely it was because the Royals didn't think his stuff was good or consistent enough to get Major League hitters out. And clearly, the number of organizations though which Andrade has passed since December is a testament to the fact that the Royals aren't alone in that opinion.

It's nothing new for a pitcher -- particularly a relief pitcher -- to dominate in the minors with stuff that isn't Major League caliber. Remember Chris DeMaria? The Royals picked up DeMaria in the minor league portion of the 2004 Rule 5 draft, and in 2005, DeMaria continued to dominate the minor leagues. On stats alone, DeMaria looked like a complete stud. However, as we later learned, DeMaria got by in the minors by relying on an above-average changeup, and little else. One-pitch pitchers don't succeed in the Majors, and DeMaria, now in the Brewers' organization, isn't likely to be an exception.

Chris DeMaria's minor league numbers were every bit as good as Andrade's, but we don't bemoan his departure.

We don't know if Andrade is a similar case. Our guess is that there's something about his stuff or delivery that gives organizations a reason to believe his minor league success won't translate to Major League success. Ultimately, he may prove the Royals, the Padres, the Devil Rays, the Blue Jays, and the Angels all wrong, but judging from the number of actual baseball people (rather than Rotoworld geeks) who have passed after actually seeing him pitch, our bet is that he probably won't.

RC certainly isn't wild about seeing Stemle and Hudson on the roster, but we're willing to give both a chance. One will likely be gone when Mike MacDougal returns, and Peralta is only a short phone call away if the other falters. Also, it's important to remember that we're talking about the 24th and 25th men on the ballclub -- regardless of what unfolds, it's not likely to have any real impact on the success or failure of this team.

That's it for today. RC is presently stationed at Western Command in Kansas City (RCWCOM), and we're all set to attend tomorrow's home opener. We've got tickets for three Royals games this week, and we don't have to return to Eastern Command until Sunday night. We're not sure how much content we'll be able to provide for you this week, but we'll do our best. Keep checking back frequently for updates.

Buddy Bell wasn't kidding: Costa in, Guiel out

2006-03-29T12:48:00.000-05:00

810 WHB this morning reported that Aaron Guiel has been told he will not head north with the Royals when they break camp later this week. Barring a trade we don't know about, this means that 24-year-old Shane Costa has won a spot on the roster, and he will serve as the fourth outfielder.

RC definitely didn't see this coming. Buddy Bell said that Costa was a serious candidate, but we dismissed that notion, figuring he was merely playing media games. It should be clear by now that Bell doesn't do that. We liked what we saw from Costa when we were in Arizona, but we never expected him to actually make the club.

Of course, if Costa has in fact made the team, it doesn't necessarily mean that the Royals tagged him to be their fourth outfielder for long. As we mentioned yesterday, the Royals are still going to have clear space on the 25-man roster for Runelvys Hernandez when he returns to the rotation in mid-April, and the best bet right now is that Costa will be the man sent to Omaha when that happens. Of course, that would leave Esteban German as the primary backup outfielder, with Matt Stairs the only remaining emergency option. And there's always the possibility that something else is in the works, as Allard Baird may be looking to add another outfielder to the roster via trade.

RC wishes Aaron Guiel the best of luck, wherever he winds up.

Regardless, this is a tough break for Guiel, who had seemingly done everything the Royals asked of him. RC isn't going to rush to judgement on this move, since we don't know if anything else is in the works. As always, it will be interesting to see how things unfold from here.

Graffanino added, Ambres designated for assignment...

2006-03-28T15:33:00.000-05:00

The Royals today took a giant step toward finalizing their roster for the season, claiming Tony Graffanino from the Red Sox and Rule 5 pick Steve Andrade from the Padres. To make room, they designated Chip Ambres for assignment, which means he must now clear waivers in order to be sent to the minor leagues. There's a chance another club could lay claim to Ambres, so the Royals might lose him.

So long, Chip.

As a Rule 5 selection, Andrade cannot be sent to the minor leagues, so it's almost certain that he'll now break camp as the Royals' final relief pitcher. The 28-year-old righty has a solid track record of success in the minor leagues, but we don't have much information on him other than his stats. Andrade was listed as the Angels' 30th-best prospect in the 2004 Baseball America Prospect Handbook, which said he was very deceptive due to a "funky delivery and arm action with a head jerk," and that he "catapults himself toward the plate, a la Robb Nen." He could be an interesting guy to watch, and if nothing else, his acquisition helps to ensure that we won't see Steve Stemle make the club.

The Ambres decision is likely to cause some heartburn among statheads, who have always been entralled with his plate discipline. RC was starting to come around on the idea of Ambres making the club over Aaron Guiel, so we were a little surprised when we saw it was Ambres, not Guiel, who was booted from the 40-man roster. Nevertheless, we still maintain that Guiel is a better player right now, and Ambres isn't the type of player the Royals are ever likely to miss. Furthermore, Guiel gives the Royals another decent left-handed bat off the bench, and there's a better-than-even chance that Ambres won't even be claimed.

The other key implication of today's events is that it gives us our best idea yet of what the 25-man roster will look like when the Royals head north later this week. Barring trades, this is our best guess:

C: Buck, Bako
1B: Mientkiewicz, Stairs, Sweeney
2B: Grudzielanek
3B: Teahen
SS: Berroa
UT: Graffanino, German
OF: DeJesus, Brown, Sanders, Guiel
SP: Elarton, Mays, Affeldt, Bautista
RP: Burgos, Sisco, Dessens, Wood, Peralta, Gobble, Andrade

Our biggest concern now is about what happens when Runelvys Hernandez joins the rotation in mid-April. Before the acquisition of Graffanino, Esteban German figured to have a lock on a roster spot. Now, he seems to be the most likely player to be discarded on April 14. Of course, that assumes everything three weeks from now looks exactly like it does now, and we all know that trades, injuries, and circumstance have a funny way of changing things.

Editor's Note (Tuesday evening): As expected, we've learned that the Royals tonight also released Joe McEwing. RC wishes the best of luck to Joe, who by all accounts is one of the finest teammates and classiest players in baseball.

Not so fast, Chubby...

2006-03-27T19:12:00.000-05:00

Well, that didn't take long, did it? A mere two days after awarding the final two spots in the starting rotation to Jeremy Affeldt and Denny Bautista, the Royals today shook up their rotation...again. Runelvys Hernandez this morning was informed that the Royals are not comfortable with his current stamina level, so he will occupy the fifth spot in the rotation to start the season, instead of Bautista. Of course, this new assignment carries with it a minor league start in Omaha, so Bautista is now assured of breaking camp with the Major League club.

RC applauds the decision, as it should serve as a wake-up call to Hernandez. Nobody likes to be demoted, so hopefully Hernandez will realize the Royals aren't going to ignore his refusal to take his conditioning seriously during the offseason. This probably could have been handled a little better, but results are more important than hurt feelings. It is interesting that the Royals decided to put Hernandez on the DL, since a player with Hernandez's service time cannot be optioned to the minors without being placed on waivers. The official reason listed: lack of stamina. That might be the first time we've ever seen that on a transaction report.

As for the implications of this on the rest of the roster, we don't see this having any effect on the scenarios we laid out over the weekend. The bullpen picture remains unchanged, as this is merely a flip of Bautista and Hernandez in the rotation. When Hernandez rejoins the club, the extra outfielder or infielder on the roster for the first two weeks of the season, whoever it is, will be sent back to the minors or released. If the pitching staff picture is going to change in the next week, that change will be sparked by a trade. There are ample rumors floating around that Allard Baird is working on something, so we'll just have to sit back and see what unfolds. As always, you can trust us to relay any information regarding trades as soon as we hear anything.

Today brought two more pieces of great news. First, RC awoke this morning with the realization that we are merely one week away from Opening Day! RC will be at the opener, and we can't wait. We caught last year's season opening disaster in Detroit, so we're dying to get some payback. Hopefully Scott Elarton puts up a better fight than Jose Lima did last season.

The other piece of good news is that the Royals' win today assured them of a winning record in the Cactus League. Pretty meaningless, we know, but for some reason RC still likes to see a winning record in the spring. In fact, most people probably don't realize (or care) that the Royals are only half a game out in the race for the Cactus League "title." It's a three-way race right now, with the Angels out in front and the Diamondbacks on our tail. Anyone else up for rings and a banner if the Royals pull it off? We believe!

Weekend notes: The rotation is settled

2006-03-26T00:43:00.000-05:00

As we learned on Saturday, the Royals have assigned the fourth and fifth spots in the starting rotation to Jeremy Affeldt and Denny Bautista, respectively. Neither comes as a big surprise, although RC had figured that Bautista would begin the season as the fourth starter, and whoever won the fifth spot -- be it Affeldt or Mike Wood -- would contribute from the bullpen until the Royals needed a fifth starter on April 14. Instead, the Royals went a different route, and since they don't want Bautista working out of the bullpen for the next two weeks, he'll begin the season by making a start in Omaha.

Of course, this move carries with it a couple of ramifications. First, it assures that both Jimmy Gobble and Joel Peralta have made the team, while just a week ago it seemed certain that one of them would be cut (we figured Gobble would be let go). But even more interesting, the presence of both those pitchers on the roster still leaves the Royals with only 10 pitchers, since both Mark Redman and Mike MacDougal will begin the season on the DL. Therefore, there is now an additional bullpen slot open, which will undoubtably go to a player who is not currently on the 40-man roster.

Who might that pitcher be? We really have no solid idea, but the leading candidates are probably Luke Hudson and Steve Stemle, since they are the only two non-roster pitchers who haven't already been reassigned to a minor league club. Hudson figures to be a starter at Omaha this season, so if RC had to register an official guess at this point, we'd wager that Stemle breaks camp with the club, despite his lousy outing on Saturday (2.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 K). He's certainly not somebody we'd want to see with a game on the line, but he should be fine as a mop-up man for a month or so. Barring injury, whoever wins the spot should be the first player sent away once MacDougal returns.

As for the position player battles, nothing has yet been settled, and we still don't have any hints about whether the Royals will take an extra outfielder or an extra infielder with them when they head north next week. Buddy Bell further muddied the waters by announcing that Shane Costa is also a candidate for the fourth outfielder spot, so that leaves Costa, Aaron Guiel, Chip Ambres, Joe McEwing, and Esteban German battling for three spots on the roster (Chris Clapinski is also listed as a candidate, but come on...who really believes that?).

Might Shane Costa make the team? We doubt it.

Among those five, the only player we're confident in projecting a roster spot for is German, who still figures to serve as the primary backup infielder. Ambres is probably the safest bet for the fourth outfield spot, simply because he's the youngest and least likely to clear waivers if optioned to the minors. In our opinion, the real battle is between Guiel and McEwing, and while our preference between those two is definitely the former, we fear the Royals will probably opt to retain the infielder, particularly because Matt Stairs can still play outfield in a pinch. Regardless, the consequences of their decision will be short-lived, as Bautista's return to the team will signal the end of the five-man bench and the renewal of the 12-man pitching staff. In essence, the decisions not yet made are merely small fries. It will be interesting to see how everything unfolds. Moving on...

What's not to like about Dougie Fresh? RC is sold. Everything about Doug Mientkiewicz screams "BALLPLAYER," from the high socks and eye black to the pine tar covered helmet and refusal to wear batting gloves. He's got the coolest last name in the game, he picks errant throws off the ground like a dirt-covered Picasso, and much to the delight of RC, he once outraged millions of obnoxious Red Sox fans. And right now, nobody in baseball is swinging a hotter stick than our new favorite first baseman.

Doug Mientkiewicz is just cool.

After drawing an 0-fer on Saturday, Mientkiewicz is still sporting a cool .442 batting average in 44 at bats. No, spring training stats are nothing to get overly excited about (see McEwing), but there are far worse ways to begin a season. Mientkiewicz wanted to use this spring as an opportunity to get his confidence back after two sub-par seasons, and he seems likely to do just that.

Does he have any more .850 OPS seasons left in his tank? Nobody knows, and even RC's optimism doesn't allow us to make such a prediction. But we do know that Mientkiewicz will offer the Royals the type of patient, professional at bats that were sorely lacking last season (the last several seasons, for that matter). And while skeptics point to a myriad of defensive metrics that supposedly show Minky has lost a step in the field, not one of them can foretell the value that his greatest defensive asset -- his ability to dig throws -- will bring to the Royals' infield. Indeed, the effect Mientkiewicz will have on Mark Teahen and Angel Berroa will be difficult to measure, but we can't wait to see what it's like to have a competent defensive first baseman again.

We apologize for the shortage of posts in the last week. RC has been busy with some other boring junk (like studying for the GRE Exam), but we can promise that the diligence to which you've grown accustomed will return this week. We did manage to catch a ballgame on Friday night between Miami and the University of Maryland, and we'll have a report when we publish our draft update on Monday evening (we also plan to attend Sunday's game). In addition, a quick perusal of the weekend's collegiate box scores foretells some more movement on our list, along with a widening of the gap between the top player(s) on our list and the rest of the field. You'll have to check in with us over the next couple days to see what we're talking about. Stay tuned!

MacDougal's injury, and other notes....

2006-03-20T01:40:00.000-05:00

RC had a busy weekend, putting over 500 miles on the odometer of RC's Official Jetta while traversing Virginia to see three collegiate baseball games. When we returned from today's tilt between George Mason University and UNC-Wilmington, we logged on to KCRoyals.com and received the terrible news that closer Mike MacDougal will likely miss six weeks with a "strained teres major muscle" under his right shoulder. The news put a major damper on what has otherwise been a fine weekend, complete with good offensive ouput and fine performances from Denny Bautista and Andrew Sisco en route to a four-game winning streak.

Not again!

Ambiorix Burgos will take over closing duties in the interim, and while RC is convinced he's actually a better pitcher than Doogie, MacDougal's loss is a bitter pill to swallow. Every time he looks poised to become one of the AL's truly dominant relievers, something like this comes along and derails him. Hopefully MacDougal's recovery goes smoothly, and he can return to form quickly...With MacDougal's past, that may be wishful thinking. But for now, Burgos is the man, and RC is perfectly comfortable seeing him emerge from the bullpen with the game on the line. Who knows, maybe Burgos will do so well with this opportunity that he'll make it tough for the Royals to give MacDougal his job back when he returns. He's certainly talented enough.

Of course, this all means that the roster picture becomes even clearer, as it seems almost certain now that both Joel Peralta and Jimmy Gobble will break camp with the big club. Buddy Bell over the weekend guaranteed that Bautista "will be on the team," and since the Royals aren't likely to put him in the bullpen, Bell's statement is the strongest indication yet that he will occupy the fourth spot in the rotation when the Royals head to Kansas City.

Jimmy Gobble might be the biggest beneficiary of today's MacDougal news.

The Royals have also expressed doubts about whether Mark Redman will be able to return to the rotation by April 14, so there could be another rotation spot open in the short term. Whoever nabs that spot will probably pitch out of the bullpen a couple times during the first two weeks of the season, before a fifth starter is needed in the rotation. Mike Wood's versatility lends itself well to such a role, so RC believes he's probably the frontrunner for the assignment if it's needed. We still think Jeremy Affeldt is bound for relief duty, which means the bullpen on April 2 is likely to include Burgos, Sisco, Elmer Dessens, Affeldt, Peralta, Gobble, and Wood. We'll have to wait and see how everything shakes out, but that's our best guess at the moment.

As we mentioned above, RC this weekend took in some heavy collegiate action. The weekend began with a trip to Blacksburg to see the second-ranked Florida State Seminoles take on the Virginia Tech Hokies. Mainly, we were there to see outfielder Shane Robinson and pitcher Bryan Henry, along with a few heavily touted underclassmen.

Robinson is one of the top outfielders in the 2006 draft class, but his size (a generously reported 5'-9", 165 lbs) separates him from the elite talent projected to go early in the first round. Robinson might go in the late first round, but he could potentially slide to the second, in which case the Royals may consider him. We like what we saw from him, but his size could limit his potential upside.

Either that catcher is really big, or Robinson is really small. We know the answer.

Henry hasn't gotten any love from scouts or the national baseball media, despite a perfect 6-0 record, 1.41 ERA, and very solid peripherals. He threw six shutout innings in the game we saw, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out seven Hokies. His repertoire is simple -- fastball, curveball, change -- and he doesn't seem to have any trouble locating any of them. However, it's also not hard to see why there wasn't a single scout with a radar gun in the stands on Friday. He's got a very odd overhand arm action, and it looks very unnatural and inefficient. We've got some video of his delivery, and we'll post a clip when we write up our full scouting report on him in the coming days.

Bryan Henry is funny-looking, in several different ways. But his results are difficult to overlook.

The game itself turned into an 11-2 Florida State blowout, thanks to an eight-run seventh inning explosion. The victory was FSU's 17th in a row, a streak that was snapped on Saturday afternoon by a 9-7 comeback win for the Hokies. Of course, RC didn't see it, because we were 150 miles away watching another top ranked team get dismantled.

That team, of course, was the fifth-ranked Clemson Tigers, who were in the process of being swept by a young and tenacious Virginia Cavalier squad. Clemson boasts several highly-touted juniors, led by pitcher Jason Berken and first baseman Alex D'Alessio, while Virginia heavily counts on underclassmen (including a couple of the best freshman in the country) such as Sean Doolittle, who's easily the most impressive sophomore we've seen this year.

Berken missed the 2005 season after Tommy John surgery, but he's back this year throwing harder than ever. He was throwing his fastball in the low 90s on Saturday, mixing in his changeup, curveball, and slider with varying degress of success on a chilly afternoon. He left the game in the sixth inning with the bases loaded and two outs, trailing 1-0. Nine runs and two pitchers later, the sixth inning ended, and the Cavs had a commanding 10-0 lead en route to a 10-2 final score. In his 5.2 innings pitched, Berken surrendered eight hits and three walks while striking out three and hitting a batter. His mechanics looked pretty clean, but we'll have more to say about him when we write up our player reports.

It's hard to get good photos at Virginia's Davenport Field, but RC is pretty pleased with this one.

Doolittle can't be drafted this season, but RC is certain he's a player to keep close watch on next season. While RC was in Blacksburg on Friday, Doolittle was busy carving up Clemson Tigers, hurling eight innings of four-hit baseball. But pitching isn't his only talent. Doolittle is a two-way player, possessing a great bat and slick fielding skills at first base when he's not on the mound. He was a second-team preseason All-American this year, one of only two sophomores on the first two teams.

Doolittle impressed the hell out of RC on Saturday.

RC's favorite non-Royal minor leaguer is the Orioles' Nick Markakis, and the similarities between him and Doolittle are astounding. Markakis was also a great two-way player in college, and scouts were divided about where he should play as a pro. Doolittle will likely inspire similar debates, but the similarities don't end there. His size, batting stance, swing, high socks, eye black, and even number are all EXACTLY the same as Markakis. It's actually sort of creepy:

OK, maybe Doolittle's hands are a little higher, but still...

Anyway, that's it for today. Stay tuned this week, as we plan to publish our latest draft prospect update on Monday evening, along with a few other surprises we have up our sleeves. We'll work on our scouting reports from this weekend's games, and we'll let you know when they've been posted to our dedicated page.

RC opens up the mailbag...

2006-03-15T18:35:00.000-05:00

Before diving in to today's mailbag feature, RC wants to point out two excellent pieces in today's KC Star. The first is a great article about Alex Gordon by Bob Dutton, which is bound to get anyone who reads it more excited than ever about the Royals' top prospect. The other is a wonderful column by Joe Posnanski, who has finally arrived in Surprise after a few weeks of covering something that was going on in Italy. Poz's column was written as a response to a letter from an optimistic young Royals fan, a fourth grader who most certainly figures to become a devoted RC reader as soon as he discovers us.

With that out of the way, RC is ready to tackle some questions.

Q: Bill from Olathe, KS, asks:
Hey RC, love the site. While you were in Arizona, did you come away with any opinions of players who you expect to have better or worse than expected seasons?

A: RC: Ravings about Shane Costa and Mitch Maier aside, we didn’t really see anything that hinted to us whether or not a player is destined for a surprising season. But we’ll give it a shot.

Mark Teahen looked awfully good in batting practice and the games, so RC wouldn’t be shocked to see a very nice improvement from him this season. We’re not expecting him to set the world on fire this year, but we do think he could move pretty close to league average third base production in his second full season.

We’ve noticed that a lot of “experts” are calling Emil Brown’s 2005 season a fluke while predicting regression, but RC actually expects Brown to put up even better numbers this year with a full Major League season under his belt. Brown looks like a very competent big league hitter, and he presents very few weaknesses offensively. His swing is short and well-balanced, and he has good power to all fields.

RC still loves Brown's swing.

Andrew Sisco is one player we wouldn’t be shocked to see some regression out of this season. It doesn’t have anything to do with anything we saw from him in Arizona, but he still struggles with his control, and he still allows too many baserunners to expect a repeat of his 2005 ERA (3.11). We hope we’re wrong, but even if we’re not, it’s important to remember that Sisco is only 23-years old and still has that great fastball and slider. Even if 2006 is a disappointing year for him, his future remains awfully bright.

Q: Jason from Kansas City, MO, asks:
If you had to guess, what do you think the 25-man roster will look like when the Royals break camp?

A: RC: It’s really not that difficult to guess, as all but about two or three spots are already decided. This is our best guess at this point:

C: Buck, Bako
1B: Mientkiewicz, Sweeney, Stairs
2B: Grudzielanek
3B: Teahen
SS: Berroa
UT: German
OF: DeJesus, Brown, Sanders, Guiel, Ambres
SP: Elarton, Hernandez, Mays, Bautista
RP: MacDougal, Burgos, Sisco, Wood, Affeldt, Dessens, Peralta

When Redman returns to the rotation in mid-April, Guiel or Ambres will be sent away. Of course, there are a couple of other possibilities. First, the Royals may make their fourth outfielder decision in Surprise, in which case you’d likely see another utility infielder like Joe McEwing added to the roster on a short-term basis. Of course, in order to do so, the Royals would have to add him to the 40-man roster, but that wouldn’t be a problem in our scenario, since Jimmy Gobble’s departure will have cleared a spot. In addition, there remains the possibility that Zack Greinke could be added to the 60-day DL (we sure hope not!), which would open up another spot on the 40-man roster. Also, we’re not sure whether or not Bobby Madritsch can or will be placed on the 60-day DL once the season is underway, but that would open up yet another spot on the 40-man roster.

RC believes Guiel has a strong chance to break camp with the Royals.

Of course, if Affeldt or Wood wins the fourth spot in the rotation, then Bautista goes to Omaha, Gobble makes the team, and you could see an infielder already on the 40-man roster – such as Ruben Gotay or Andres Blanco – break camp with the club on a short-term basis.

Still, the whole point of carrying 14 position players through the first two weeks of the season is to maximize the manager’s in-game flexibility, and since both Ambres and Guiel are more advanced offensive players than McEwing, Gotay, and Blanco, it makes the most sense to us that the Royals start the season with five outfielders. Of course, flexibility lends itself to both offense and defense, so maybe the Royals decide it would be best to carry an additional infielder.

Q: Tom from Kearney, NE, asks:
RC, I see that you got a look at Jeff Bianchi while you were in Arizona. Did it look like there were any lingering effects of his back injury last season? Where do you think he’ll play this year?

A: RC:None at all. We saw Bianchi take ground balls and participate in fielding drills for hours on end with a couple of other Royals minor leaguers (Shawn Hayes and Darren Fenster) who also missed significant time last season to injury, and he didn’t look any worse for the wear. Of course, RC didn’t have access to the training room, but Bianchi on the field didn’t appear to have any physical limitations.

Jeff Bianchi looked healthy when we saw him.

The Royals are reportedly going to take it slow with him, so he’s expected to remain behind at camp until they’re certain he’s ready to return to game action. Translation: RC expects Bianchi to stay behind for extended spring training and report to Idaho Falls this summer.

Q: Chuck from Gladstone, MO, asks:
I get worried every time I look at a spring training box score and see that Kerry Robinson or Joe McEwing had a couple hits. Is there any chance that a good spring showing from either will result in them making the team? I just can’t put up with another season of seeing Joe McEwing in the lineup.

A: RC: Well, we already discussed McEwing’s possible inclusion on the 25-man roster when the Royals break camp, but even if that happens, he’s not likely to be around once Redman returns to the rotation. In fact, if McEwing doesn’t break camp with the team, it’s hard to imagine him accepting a minor league assignment with Blanco, Gotay, Mike Aviles, Mike Coolbaugh (when his broken forearm heals), and possibly Chris Clapinski all slated to head to Omaha.

The playing time for Super Joe doesn’t figure to be there, so he may head elsewhere, or even retire. While it makes our stomachs churn to see him in the lineup, McEwing is a leader on and off the field, and we’d love to see him become a coach someday. We don’t know if that’s in his or the organization’s plans, but the Royals could do worse.

Regardless of what happens, RC wants McEwing to mothball that first baseman's mitt.

As for Kerry Robinson, RC is quite certain that you have nothing to worry about. It would take a few injuries to land him a spot on the big league club, and even then he’d be a player the Royals would frantically look to replace. If you’ve never seen Robinson hit, the best way to describe him is that he’s somewhat similar to Tom Goodwin, only with less movement in the box, less speed, less on-base ability, and (gulp) less power. His spring training stats may look gaudy, but they’ve been put together with a hodgepodge of Texas Leaguers. No chance he makes the club in front of Guiel and Ambres.

That's it for today. If you have any burning questions for a future mailbag segment, be sure to send us an e-mail.

RC Spring Training Report - Part VI

2006-03-13T00:03:00.000-05:00

In the time since we returned from Arizona, many of the questions about the pitching staff have been answered, so the bullpen picture has become very clear. The Royals will carry 12 pitchers once Mark Redman returns from the DL, so that leaves seven relief pitchers who will head north with the big club. Of those seven, Mike MacDougal, Ambiorix Burgos, Andrew Sisco, and Elmer Dessens are locks for the bullpen. Jeremy Affeldt and Mike Wood are still battling with J.P. Howell and Denny Bautista for the final starting rotation spot, but right now it appears that Bautista will likely get the nod. That means Affeldt and Wood will probably head back to the bullpen, which leaves one open spot on the pitching staff.

Therefore, the battle for the final spot comes down to two pitchers: Jimmy Gobble and Joel Peralta. While Peralta appears to be the obvious choice, the fact that Gobble has no options remaining means that the Royals will give him every possible chance to win a spot on the club. If Gobble is exposed to waivers, the Royals will lose him, and they know that. Meanwhile, Peralta has an option remaining, so he could be sent to Omaha for a spell if the Royals decide to keep Gobble around.

Of course, if Affeldt was to win the final rotation spot, the decision to keep Gobble would be that much easier, as Buddy Bell has stated that he'd like to have two lefties in the bullpen. In such a scenario, both Peralta and Gobble would head north to KC, while Bautista would return to Omaha to get more starts.

Regardless of what happens, it will be interesting to see how everything unfolds. RC fully expects Bautista to win the fourth rotation spot, but anything can happen.

As time passes, our observations from Arizona lose relevance, so we've limited our reports to a few sentences about each pitcher we saw, accompanied by a photo.

The Locks

The first thing we noticed about Ambiorix Burgos was that he's put on some weight in his midsection since last season, in addition to adding a mean-looking chin goatee. The second thing we noticed is that he still throws really, really hard, and he's still got that nasty splitter. We saw him throw a perfect inning in relief, dialing his fastball up to 95 mph. He was sidelined for about a week after taking a liner off the forearm, but he's back in action now, and RC expects good things from Burgos this season.

We saw Elmer Dessens pitch once, and he looked exactly like what the Royals signed him to be -- a guy who can throw strikes and eat innings in the middle innings. His presence helps to ensure the Royals won't have to dip into the low minors for innings this season, and that's perhaps his greatest value to the club. Dessens was throwing his fastball consistently in the 88-90 mph range, and he subtracted about 10-12 mph from his breaking ball. He's currently playing for Mexico in the WBC, but he should be back soon, as Mexico has already dropped its first game of round 2.

Robert Meiklejohn MacDougal looked like he picked up where he left off in 2005. In the lone appearance we saw, Doogie pumped the radar gun up to 97 mph while tossing a perfect inning, keeping the ball low and coaxing three groundouts. He's made several appearances since that time with mixed results, but hopefully Mac can retain the control he found last season. When he's on, nobody in baseball is as unhittable as Mike MacDougal.

Andrew Sisco threw twice while we were in Arizona. In his first outing, he was efficient and effective, working a quick 1-2-3 inning. His second outing was a disaster, as he failed to get out of his inning while allowing three earned runs on two hits and two walks, the majority of the damage coming with two outs. Sisco did look a bit slimmer than last season, but it didn't seem to affect his velocity. He's now made five appearances this spring, and his poor showing last Saturday is the only blemish on what has otherwise been a fine string of outings.

The Battle

We saw both Joel Peralta and Jimmy Gobble make one appearance apiece, and we were particularly impressed with Peralta. He was summoned to clean up Kyle Snyder's mess, so he entered the game with the bases loaded and no outs. His splitter was nasty, and he stranded two of the three baserunners, the other scoring on a sac fly. All told, Peralta threw two perfect innings in relief, using his fastball, slider, and splitter to perfection.

Jimmy Gobble's performance was less spectacular, but effective. He threw one scoreless inning, yielding one hit and no walks. RC doesn't want to lose a young lefty who's shown occasional flashes of low to mid-nineties fastballs and sharp breaking balls, but we fear his tenure with the Royals may be approaching an end. Most of the teams in baseball were reportedly lining up to claim Peralta off of waivers if the Royals had passed, and we think the bullpen would ultimately be better served if he was a part of it. If it comes down to Peralta vs. Gobble, RC would prefer the former.

The Prospects

RC was pleased with Juan Cedeno in our first look at him in a Royals uniform, despite a rough outing in his first appearance. He ultimately struck out the side in his inning of work, but not before allowing four hits and three-run HR to Aarom Baldiris. Still, his delivery looked crisp, and his fastball was coming in at 93-94 mph. The Royals plan to have Cedeno start games this season, so we look forward to seeing what he does in Wichita.

Leo Nunez pitched twice while we were in Arizona, and he looked very solid both times. We're not sure if we saw the extra weight he reportedly put on over the winter, but we did see Nunez get his fastball up to 96 mph in his second appearance. It doesn't matter how many times we see it -- we still laugh uncontrollably whenever we see a little guy like Marvin throw the ball that hard. Thankfully, the Royals have ticketed Nunez for the minors this season, where we hope he'll get a chance to log some significant innings before coming back up to KC. The kid's got a special arm, and RC can't wait to see the final product after some seasoning in the minors.

RC Breaking News: DeJesus agrees to long-term contract!

2006-03-09T03:10:00.000-05:00

The Royals and David DeJesus agreed to a five-year contract with a team option for the 2011 season on Wednesday, ending months of speculation about the team's interest in making a long-term commitment to their starting centerfielder. According to the Kansas City Star, the deal is worth a guaranteed $13.5 million, although the total package could be worth as much as $20 million if the option is picked up.

Needless to say, RC is thrilled with this development for a couple of reasons. First, the amount of guaranteed money is more than reasonable for a player of DeJesus' talents. Second, the Royals not only gained cost certainty through DeJesus' arbitration years, but also have a chance to lock him up for the first season in which he's eligible to become a free agent, one of our criteria for giving him a guaranteed salary.

RC would like to congratulate the Royals and DeJesus on getting this done and ensuring that one of the Royals' finest players will be patrolling the Kauffman Stadium outfield for the foreseeable future.

RC Spring Training Report - Part V

2006-03-08T01:14:00.000-05:00

Today, RC has decided to discuss what we saw from nine pitchers who hope to make the starting rotation. Clearly, the injury to Mark Redman and disappearance of Zack Greinke has potentially opened up two additional spots in the rotation, giving new hope to pitchers such as Mike Wood, Denny Bautista, and J.P. Howell. It was reported today that the Royals are close to making a decision about who the first four starters will be when the season opens next month.

Spring training stats are especially useless when it comes to pitchers, particularly early spring training numbers, so everything they've done thus far really ought to be taken with a grain of salt. The same goes for our reports, which are based on very limited observations, often from a poor vantage point. Nevertheless, the reports below are our early impressions of how these pitchers look, based upon the little we actually got to see them throw. If nothing else, just enjoy the photos.

--Starting Rotation Candidates--

Denny Bautista

Like Buddy Bell, RC was probably most impressed with the way Denny Bautista was throwing. His arm has completely recoved, and it's truly amazing how hard he throws the ball with seemingly so little effort -- just watching him play long toss while warming up was something to behold.

We watched Bautista go through his entire warmup routine, including his bullpen, where he was popping the mitt with a nice, easy delivery (click here for video). From our vantage point directly above the catcher, it was difficult to get an idea of the horizontal movement on his breaking balls, but the lateral movement looked sharp. His performance in the games thus far has not been great, but like we said, there's really not much to be learned off of such a tiny sample size. He's throwing hard, he's throwing strikes, and RC believes he's a strong candidate for the rotation. Ideally, he'd probably be better off with more time in the minors, but losing two starters this early in camp isn't exactly conducive to ideal situations.

Runelvys Hernandez

We saw Elvys throw twice -- first in the simulated game on Wednesday and then in the game on Saturday -- and weight aside, we were happy with what we saw. We first reported on Wednesday night that it looked like Hernandez was throwing harder, and sure enough, those suspicions were confirmed on Saturday when he lit up the Surpise Stadium radar gun.

In the first inning of Saturday's game, Hernandez threw almost every fastball 93 mph, which was quite a bit harder than he threw last season in his first year back from Tommy John surgery. During the second inning, Hernandez was topping out at around 91 mph, which could have been caused by anything from fatigue to a lousy radar gun, or perhaps even a conscious decision to avoid overthrowing. Regardless, Hernandez's pitches had good movement, and he looked solid both times out.

Jeremy Affeldt

We saw Affeldt twice -- once at Red Robin, and once on the mound, where he was pretty terrible. He didn't seem to be throwing hard at all, and we didn't see a single decent curveball leave his hand (although he might have not have even been throwing them -- Buddy Bell has said his stuff looks sharp in camp). He somehow made it through his inning allowing only two runs, but he went to a full count on almost every batter he faced, and he didn't come close to putting anyone away.

Admittedly, it's not much to go on, but RC isn't optimistic about his chances of making the rotation. We just don't think he's the same pitcher who blew batters away three years ago. Frankly, he hasn't been that for a long time, and while we hope he can indeed find it again, we certainly wouldn't bet on it. Rather, we fear that we'll see a lot more of this, and a lot more of this from him in 2006.

Mark Redman

Statistically, the lone Redman appearance we saw wasn't too bad -- one run on one hit (a solo HR by Phil Nevin) and no walks. But it was pretty clear that he wasn't throwing hard at all, even for a soft-throwing lefty like him. The Rangers had no problems making good, hard contact off of him, and he was lucky to escape his outing with such minimal damage.

Of course, we later found out that he was sent back to KC complaining of knee soreness and swelling, and as we now know, he'll be out 4-6 weeks with torn cartilage. All told, our observation of Redman really didn't tell us anything. When he returns, his success and ability to eat innings will depend on whether or not he can change speeds effectively while keeping the ball down. If his recovery is a speedy one, he could return to the rotation in time to take over the fifth starting spot, since the Royals will only need four starters until mid April.

J.P. Howell

Howell threw once while we were in Arizona, and he looked pretty sharp, the only mistake coming on a pitch he left up to Ian Kinsler, who promptly knocked the pitch off the back wall of the left field bullpen. He was working his fastball in the mid to upper 80s, and his offspeed stuff had nice movement. Howell tossed two innings, yielding two hits and a walk while striking out two.

His second outing of the spring was even better, as he struck out four batters while walking none over three scoreless innings. Like Bautista, Howell would probably be better served by returning to the minors this season, but attrition, along with excellent spring command, may force the Royals' hand. It will be interesting to see how everything plays out.

Joe Mays

We got our first look at Joe Mays during the simulated game on Wednesday, where he threw strikes and looked pretty good. He relieved Hernandez in Saturday's game, where he got knocked around a bit by the Rangers and failed to make it through his second inning of work.

Joe Mays is what he is. If he throws strikes, he should be a decent placeholder until the young guys like Bautista and Howell are ready to take their permanent spots in the rotation. His fastball topped out around 88 mph during Saturday's game, and his control and ability to change speeds are vital to him eating enough innings to justify his $1 million salary. RC was neither encouraged nor discouraged by what we saw from Joe Mays in Arizona.

Scott Elarton and Mike Wood

We lumped these two together because we didn't get a chance to see either perform in an actual game. Both threw during the simulated game on Wednesday, but neither appeared during the three spring training games RC attended. Their performances were about what you'd expect. Neither throws very hard, and both rely on an assortment of pitches and speeds to keep hitters off balance.

Elarton is the rotation's only remaining lock, though he got knocked around by the Rockies in his first spring start. Wood's first appearance was considerably better, as he went three scoreless innings while striking out a pair of batters. RC assumes that Wood will be given every chance to snag a spot in the rotation, and right now, that's definitely our preference, especially with Elmer Dessens in the bullpen.

Bobby Madritsch

Of course, the only thing we saw "Red Feather" do was sign autographs, as he's recovering from a blown out elbow. However, we're still quite intrigued by Madritsch, and if his recovery goes well, the Royals may have snagged a very good pitcher.

The KC Star had a nice article about Mad Dog a few days ago, and RC highly recommends you check it out. One flaw exists in that article, however. Madritsch's hand tatoo is said to be on his left hand, but this photo tells the true story. Where else will you get that kind of information?

That's all for today. Be sure to stay tuned to RC in the coming days, as we plan to provide reports and photos of the bullpen candidates, as well as a new collegiate prospect update.

Editor's Note: This week's Draft Prospect Update has been posted, including updated stats and rankings. Click here to view the update.

Season in Preview: Outfielders

2006-03-08T00:00:00.000-05:00

As Opening Day 2006 is right around the corner, it's time to take a look at where the Royals stand heading into this season. With the help of two great player projection systems (Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA and Dan Szymborski's ZiPS), I'll be discussing the state of the organization position-by-position over the next few days. We've covered the catchers, the corner infielders, and the middle infielders, and continue today with a discussion about the outfield:

DAVID DEJESUS  CF  AGE: 26             REGGIE SANDERS  RF  AGE: 38  
==================================     ==================================
PROJECTION     AVG     OBP     SLG     PROJECTION     AVG     OBP     SLG
PECOTA        .286    .356    .430     PECOTA        .267    .323    .458
ZiPS          .295    .372    .442     ZiPS          .245    .308    .462
==================================     ==================================
AVERAGE       .291    .364    .436     AVERAGE       .256    .316    .460
-
EMIL BROWN  LF  AGE: 31                MATT STAIRS  LF/RF  AGE: 38
==================================     ==================================
PROJECTION     AVG     OBP     SLG     PROJECTION     AVG     OBP     SLG
PECOTA        .268    .321    .427     PECOTA        .261    .350    .438
ZiPS          .283    .346    .440     ZiPS          .254    .338    .412
==================================     ===================================
AVERAGE       .276    .334    .434     AVERAGE       .258    .344    .425
-
CHIP AMBRES  LF/CF/RF  AGE: 26         SHANE COSTA  RF  AGE: 24
==================================     ==================================
PROJECTION     AVG     OBP     SLG     PROJECTION     AVG     OBP     SLG
PECOTA        .249    .332    .414     PECOTA        .266    .315    .386
ZiPS          .249    .351    .406     ZiPS          .256    .314    .356
==================================     ===================================
AVERAGE       .249    .342    .410     AVERAGE       .261    .315    .371
-
AARON GUIEL  LF  AGE: 33
==================================
PROJECTION     AVG     OBP     SLG
PECOTA        .231    .297    .383                   
ZiPS          .248    .334    .425                    
==================================
AVERAGE       .240    .316    .404

After the Royals played their final game of the 2004 season (a 5-0 loss to Jose Contreras and the Chicago White Sox), my roommate and I made our way to the players’ parking lot, hoping to end the mother of all disappointing seasons on a good note by getting a ton of autographs. Along with about 30 other folks, we were pleasantly surprised that almost every player on the roster signed and chatted as long as it took for everyone to go home happy. Zack Greinke, Mike Sweeney, Joe Randa, and the rest of the players were outstanding and very generous with their time.

However, none of those guys were more outstanding than centerfielder David DeJesus, who came out of the tunnel with two fistfuls of game-used batting gloves and tossed them over the chain-link fence and into the crowd of fans. Like David settling under a fly ball, I caught one of those gloves before it hit the ground, and even got DeJesus to sign it later:

If anything’s cooler than game-used memorabilia, it’s game-used memorabilia that comes straight from a pro baseball player. And if anybody’s cooler than a pro baseball player, it’s DeJesus, who’s on the fast track towards becoming one of the hippest athletes Kansas City has ever seen.

Between rockin’ the sideburns and the shades like few others, DeJesus is as cool on the field as he is off it, blending improving power, solid bat manipulation skills, and above-average speed to make him one of the best overall centerfielders in the American League. In a division loaded with talents like Torii Hunter and Grady Sizemore patrolling center for their respective teams, that’s quite the compliment.

In his one-and-a-half seasons since permanently replacing Carlos Beltran in June of 2004, DeJesus has given the Royals all they ever could’ve asked for out of their leadoff man offensively, as the 26-year-old has hit .290 with a .361 on-base percentage and a .427 slugging percentage in 946 career plate appearances. Although he doesn’t really draw a lot of walks, he’s certainly patient, and he has a really good idea of what he’s doing at the plate.

DeJesus essentially personifies Royals GM Allard Baird’s desire that his offensive players be "selectively aggressive." In other words, he can differentiate between a ball, a "pitcher’s pitch" strike, and a strike he can hit very hard. To illustrate that point, take a look at the chart below:


         ISO     BB/PA
======================
2004    .116      .081
2005    .152      .081
======================

As a general rule, for a spike that great in power to be legitimate, it has to be accompanied by a spike in the player’s walk rate. I think what we saw out of DeJesus in 2005 bucks that trend, as he’s most likely a perfect example of what happens when a talented player with a great swing grows into his natural power. Expecting a 20-homer season might be asking a little bit much out of him, but given the improvement he made from 2004 to 2005, it’s definitely within the realm of possibility.

Also encouraging is the big step forward DeJesus took against left-handed pitching in 2005, as his OPS against southpaws jumped from a downright-pitiful .528 in 2004 to a decent .740 in 2005. Ultimately, that’s a tribute to his work ethic moreso than talent.

Although DeJesus’ above-average wheels probably won’t ever translate into stolen bases, they serve him well in the outfield, a facet of his game in which I think he’s pretty underrated. In addition to making the diving, tumbling catch his forte, DeJesus threw out seven runners in 2005, tying him for the fourth-most assists among center fielders in all of baseball. He’s probably a grade below Beltran defensively, but he gets the most out of his instincts, range, and speed.

The bottom line is that DeJesus is the most complete player on the team, and a guy whose skillset is nothing less than rock solid. If the Royals can convince DeJesus to sign a reasonable contract that would buy out the first year of his free-agent eligibility, they shouldn’t think twice about the long-term risks of locking him up. He’s almost a sure bet to continue marching towards becoming one of the elite leadoff hitters in the American League.

Speaking of sure bets, none are more certain than Baird using the player-related term "dependable production" at least once in every interview. By now, Royals fans know that a "dependable production" player is, obviously, a guy who can be counted on to make positive contributions to the team in every single game. Baird has been seeking a guy like that to man right field in the long-term for some time now, but since every potential trade to acquire Austin Kearns or Jason Michaels fell through, he turned to 38-year-old Reggie Sanders, signing him to a two-year, $10 million contract this offseason.

Bringing Sanders on board wasn’t a popular move, as many believed that a team in the midst of a rebuilding project has absolutely no business signing an aging outfielder to a multi-year deal. That would be a fair criticism if Sanders’ presence were blocking a young player who was ready to play at the Major League level immediately, but it isn’t, so the pickup makes sense already on that level.

When it comes to his on-field performance, much shouldn’t be expected of him beyond providing opposing pitchers a reason to throw Mike Sweeney strikes. A number of obstacles are going to be in his way of hitting like he did for the Cardinals in 2005, most notably playing half his home games in a Kauffman Stadium that’s infinitely more pitcher-friendly than it was prior to the 2004 season. That he’ll also be facing American League pitching for the first time in his career will also slow him down, albeit probably for a short period of time before he makes the necessary adjustments.

Sanders is one of the streakiest hitters in all of baseball, so Royals fans are going to have to be patient with him whenever he falls into a slump and can barely make contact. Once he pulls himself out of it, he’ll start hitting homers and drawing walks like crazy. As long as the hot streaks are longer than the cold ones, I think Sanders will slightly out-perform his projection average by a few points of on-base percentage. He’ll also be a big upgrade defensively in right field.

Beyond that, the most important thing Sanders brings to the table is leadership and a winning attitude towards the game, two traits the Royals’ young clubhouse really, really lacked last year. I’ll qualify that statement by saying that winning baseball games happens because of talent and not because of any kind of magical veteran Jedi mind tricks. However, when a team has a ton of inexperienced players on their roster, it’s absolutely vital to have guys with legitimate track records around to keep the club’s spirits afloat when struggles come. Baseball Prospectus’ Derek Jacques agreed in an e-mail exchange about the team:

There's a temptation -- particularly among the more sabermetrically-minded folks in the media -- to reflexively rankle when a team brings in "proven veterans" on a club that's considered too young. However, if ever there was an argument for more veteran players, it was probably the 2005 Royals. There were a couple of Royals games I saw where the Yankees staged big comebacks in consecutive games. [...] Each time, you could see these terribly young Royals players [...] with body language that spoke to such thorough defeat that even though I was rooting for the other team, I felt sympathy for them. [...] Maybe these new veterans won't turn the Royals around, but at least they'll be better equipped to deal with losing, and maybe take some of the heat off the youngsters.

Sanders wasn’t first on Baird’s outfielder shopping list this winter. However, as one of the most respected players in the game, his presence in the clubhouse will be felt. Although they overpaid to get him, the Royals won’t regret investing a couple of years in Reggie Sanders while Billy Butler, Chris Lubanski, Shane Costa, and Mitch Maier continue to develop.

The Royals targeted a right fielder also so they could move incumbent Emil Brown –- who struggled defensively in 2005 –- to left field, an easier position to handle. Still, as much as the Royals struggled last season, almost none of their on-field transgressions can be pinned on Brown, who came out of nowhere to lead the team in a number of offensive categories.

Baird has a knack for finding players who are undervalued in the marketplace, and Brown was no exception. He won the right field job by blistering spring training pitching, and although he struggled to get out of the box early in the season (he posted a .593 OPS in April), the Royals stuck with him, believing they had another Raul Ibanez. That, or Raul Ibanez himself:


============MINOR LEAGUE STATS============
                AB     AVG     OBP     SLG  
EMIL BROWN    2922    .295    .365    .452
RAUL IBANEZ   2323    .295    .365    .473
==========================================

It isn’t common for guys who’re picked up off the scrap heap to repeat career years, but the Royals are hoping Brown can follow Ibanez in another way and continue to hit after his breakout season, as they brought him back for another year and $1.4 million after Brown won his arbitration case.

Can he do it? After seeing him hit for a full season, I’m pretty confident that he can have another .800 OPS year as long as he makes the necessary adjustments. This is a guy who, like DeJesus, is selectively aggressive, works the count, and can hit a pitched baseball a country mile because of his raw strength and solid hitting mechanics. Still, the Royals could lower their risk of Brown tanking by platooning him with righty-masher Matt Stairs.

By no means is Brown an ideal starting left fielder, but in a world where inferior players like Quentin McCracken have made comparable money to produce quite a bit less, he’s a very good second-tier talent to have on a team. Like Sanders, he’s simply keeping the seat warm while the Royals wait for one of their outfield prospects to step up in the minor leagues.

In fact, Brown would be the club’s fourth outfielder if one of those prospects was ready, but the competition for that job is between Aaron Guiel, who’s currently playing for Canada in the World Baseball Classic, and Chip Ambres, who’s already shown that he wants the job with two home runs in 13 spring training at-bats.

While RC is pulling for Guiel to win the job, I’m firmly entrenched in Ambres’ corner. Despite his defensive shortcomings, Ambres is out of minor-league options, and the risk of losing the 26-year-old Ambres greatly outweighs the rewards of having Guiel (who provides the exact same things Stairs does) on the 25-man roster.

Throughout his minor-league career, Ambres has shown a good knowledge of the strike zone, some base-stealing ability, and moderate power. In his 145 at-bat tryout with the Royals in 2005, he maintained his solid walk rate and showed decent power (.158 ISO) despite his .241 batting average.

As RC pointed out in a recent spring training report, Ambres is still struggling even with catching routine fly balls, but I'm willing to put up with that just to get a longer look at his hitting ability. If the Royals give him a chance, he has a good chance of matching his projection average.

RC Spring Training Report -- Part IV

2006-03-06T01:08:00.000-05:00

RC returned to Eastern Command this evening, and we immediately began compiling all the data and photos we collected during our five days in Arizona. All told, we took 969 photographs and collected over 100 MB of digital video. As you can imagine, figuring out how to organize the massive quantity of information and provide it to our readers in a coherent format can be a nightmare of a task, but it is truly a labor of love.

After much internal debate, we've decided the best way to proceed is to break down our report over a few days -- there is simply too much information to digest in one post. Today we've decided to discuss the position players, including a breakdown of those who most impressed us. In the coming days, we'll report on the pitchers we saw. Most of the video we shot will be used for other RC features down the line, but we are including a few clips here.

In addition, before the season begins, RC will unveil a revised top 30 prospect list, which will incorporate everything we saw in Arizona, as well as photos of nearly every top prospect in the organization. On Thursday, RC hit the photo jackpot, as we watched every minor league pitcher and catcher in the organization work out, and we can't wait to provide you with the first look (including some video) at players such as Brent Fisher, Billy Buckner, Kiel Thibault, Danny Christensen, Chris Nicoll, and many more.

Anyhow, there's much more to come, but it's time to proceed with today's post:

---The position players who most impressed us---

Mark Teahen

There are several rules when it comes to evaluating players during Spring Training, but perhaps the cardinal law is to not put too much stock in a player's March performance -- the numbers a player puts up during Spring Training have not historically correlated well with his performance during the season.

Nevertheless, RC came away from the desert with a firm belief that the Mark Teahen of September will be the Mark Teahen of 2006. He looks much stronger this season, and he's pulled the ball with authority in batting practice and in the first four games of the Cactus League schedule. George Brett watches Teahen like a hawk during BP, and we think that -- along with the threatening presence of Alex Gordon -- have helped Teahen take his offensive game to a new, productive level. RC expects a major improvement from Teahen this season, and we're probably more excited about what we saw from him than anyone else on the Major League roster.

Shane Costa

The knock on Shane Costa has always been that he doesn't use his natural strength to pull the ball (much like Teahen), instead being content with serving line drives to the opposite field. We saw Costa play extensively when he was with Wilmington, and we don't recall ever seeing him really get into a pitch. He began turning the corner last season with Wichita, improving his slugging percentage in the jump to AA, but his power numbers were still more indicative of a future fourth outfielder.

For a short Shane Costa video, click here.

After watching Costa launch home runs with ease during batting practice, and after seeing him knock the snot out of the ball to all fields in the games, RC now believes Costa may actually shed the fourth outfielder label this season. He looks like a completely different hitter this year, and when he connects, the ball jumps off his bat. Ironically, the two hits we saw him collect during the games were two of the weakest balls he hit, but it seemed like most of the outs he made were on hard line drives. He'll most likely head to Omaha this season, but we won't be at all surprised to see him make a lot of noise in the Pacific Coast League. We don't think 20+ HRs is out of the question. A bold prediction, yes, but Costa just has that look.

Mitch Maier

RC made no secret in the past of our disappointment with Mitch Maier. We saw Maier play in Wilmington in 2004, and we were thoroughly unimpressed. For a player out of college with such a strong resume, Maier just didn't stand out at all, and we had doubts that he'd ever develop into the type of player that would justify a late first round pick.

For a short Mitch Maier video, click here.

Maier this week shook that pessimism to its core. The first thing we noticed is that he's a hell of a lot bigger and stronger than he was two years ago...And then we saw him hit. During batting practice, we saw impressive power, as his fly balls had good carry and his line drives had a nice zip to them. He was equally impressive in the games, showing good plate discipline and a sweet line drive stroke that produced his first spring training hit, a scorching triple down the RF line. We also got a good look at his defense, watching him effortlessly glide through the outfield while tracking fly ball fungoes. During one game, he even made a beautiful diving catch on a low line drive to right field.

RC now believes that Maier may in fact have the tools to become a solid Major Leaguer. While we already expected to see improved numbers from him this season as he repeats AA Wichita, the massive physical improvement we saw from him has provided us with a renewed optimism about his chances of success at the big league level.

Alex Gordon

There really isn't much more to say about Alex Gordon that we didn't already cover in our Arizona Fall League report. The bat speed is still there, as is the fantastic approach at the plate and the tremendous power to all fields. If anything surprised us about his what we saw from him this week, it's just how Major League ready he looks. Honestly, RC thinks the Royals could probably plug him into the lineup right now and get quality production from him. Of course we're not advocating that, but the presence and tools that he shows suggests to us that it won't be long before Gordon begins appearing in All-Star games.

During batting practice, nobody hits the ball harder more consistently. In the first game, Gordon smashed a key two-run single to left with the bases loaded (video here), and he flew out to the left-center wall in the deepest part of Surprise Stadium. He seemingly never swings at a bad pitch, and he already looks like a Major League third baseman. During one game, Gordon snared a grounder on the line about 10-15 feet behind third base, and he threw a perfect strike to first base to nail the runner by a couple steps.

We actually overheard one coach tell an onlooker that the Royals feel they may have drafted another George Brett. It's far too early to make that comparison, but the excitement that Gordon generates throughout the organization is very real, and very justified.

---Also Impressive---

David DeJesus is another player who reported to camp looking much stronger, and he's off to a great start. As we mentioned on Friday, DeJesus hit a 420 ft. bomb (RC's guess) to right center, and we don't recall ever seeing him hit a ball that far.

Esteban German's speed is every bit as advertised, and he figures to be a near lock at the utility infield position. We saw him easily swipe two bases during the games, including a steal of third base on Saturday. He played at both second and third, and he looked comfortable at both positions.

Reggie Sanders is more physically fit than 99.9 percent of his fellow 38-year-olds, and he looked solid in the few at bats we saw, pumping two singles through the hole between third and short. Let's hope he can stay healthy.

Doug Mientkiewicz had a nice game on Saturday, collecting two hits (including a double to right center off the wall) and three RBIs. We didn't, however, get a chance to see any of his dandy glovework.

---Other Notes---

Chip Ambres certainly hasn't impressed anyone with his glovework thus far, and his baserunning has also been a problem early this spring. He dropped a fly ball during the simulated game, and he just hasn't looked comfortable tracking fly balls. He had a nice game on Thursday, reaching base four times, but he'll need to show improvement if he wants to make the team as the Royals' fourth oufielder. We only saw Aaron Guiel play in the simulated game before he departed for the WBC, but he's a better defender, and he was hitting everything hard. RC gives the early edge to Guiel, but that can still change.

The Kerry Robinson "craze" in the KC media is a joke. Anyone who has ever seen the ridiculous swings by Robinson while trying to hit a decent offspeed pitch knows there is no way that Buddy Bell and Allard Baird are going to put him on the roster. With the exception of an opposite field line drive single, none of Robinson's hits were hit hard, including his well-placed triple down the LF line.

John Buck also has us mildly concerned. With the exception of his towering home run in the intrasquad game, he's looked pretty bad at the plate thus far. Of course, it's so ridiculously early that it's probably silly to even bring it up. If he had a track record of offensive success in the Majors, we wouldn't have even mentioned it. But he doesn't, and we haven't noticed any difference in his approach at the plate.

Well, that's it for today. Stay tuned for our report on the pitchers, which will appear in the next couple days.

RC Spring Training Report -- A Pictoral

2006-03-04T04:30:00.000-05:00

In lieu of a detailed report today, we felt it would be best to present some original RC photos from the last two days. Following tomorrow's game, RC will provide a detailed report on days 3-5 of our official Spring Training trip. We have much to report, but for now, please enjoy some of the photos we've taken thus far.

**Update - March 4**
Due to some annoying problems with RC's official laptop, we were unable to provide today's promised post. We return to RC Headquarters on Sunday evening, when we should be able to provide commentary on the Royals' first three games of the Spring. We apologize for the delay.

Chip Ambres scores the game-tying run in the ninth inning on Thursday.

Unfortunately, a familiar sight. Affeldt was ultimately OK, but his pitching wasn't.

Ambiorix Burgos had his splitter and his fastball working, completing a scoreless inning in Friday's game while picking up the win.

Juan Cedeno looked good in his outing on Friday, despite allowing a three-run HR.

Shane Costa has impressed RC with his power displays in batting practice, and his solid contact through the first two games.

David DeJesus rounds third after launching a 420 ft. homer to right-center on Friday.

Alex Gordon on Thursday showed the Royals that he's not too far from the Majors, knocking in two runs with a key base hit in the eighth inning and hitting the ball hard all day.

Mitch Maier has officially gotten RC's attention, putting on impressive displays during batting practice and launching a triple (pictured here) in his first Spring Training at bat.

Mike MacDougal looked solid, tossing a scoreless inning while dialing his fastball up to 97 mph.

Joel Peralta was amazing on Thursday in his Royals debut.

Mark Teahen has been showing impressive power during batting practice, and he's crushed a few balls already this spring, including this double on Friday.

After coming back from a 5-0 deficit on Thursday to force a tie, the Royals on Friday won their first game of the spring with a 7-6 victory over the Rangers.

RC Spring Training Report -- Day 2

2006-03-02T04:02:00.000-05:00

RC arrived at camp today just as the gates opened, and we watched infield and batting practice for a couple hours. Buddy Bell ran the show on the main field, and after about half an hour of fielding drills, the players broke into four groups to take batting practice. Mark Teahen, Mike Sweeney, and John Buck were hitting the snot out of the ball, each sending several balls over the fence. After BP, RC watched as the Royals conducted a simulated game. The game was interesting, primarily because we'd never before seen one take place. The Royals in the field were the following:

1B - Justin Huber
2B - Donnie Murphy
SS - Angel Sanchez
3B - Alex Gordon
LF - Shane Costa
CF - Kerry Robinson
RF - Chip Ambres

Most of those seven remained in the field for the entire game -- the only players who rotated in and out after each half inning were the pitchers and catchers. Buck and Paul Phillips took turns catching the pitchers, who worked in pairs. Scott Elarton and Mike Wood threw the first two innings, with Joe Mays, Runelvys Hernandez, and Luis Cota finishing out the game, each throwing an inning apiece.

Our notes from the game:

Among the few players who actually got to bat, Aaron Guiel and Murphy had the best at bats and made the best contact. Murphy hit a double to deep center and a sacrifice fly to left.

Angel Sanchez looked great at short, displaying soft hands and a good arm. Gordon had a couple nice plays, the only flaw being a throw a bit to the right of the second base bag on a potential double play. Justin Huber flawlessly handled the three grounders hit to him at first base.

Chip Ambres took a poor route to an Aaron Guiel fly ball, and it hit off his glove for a two-base error, eerily similar to his infamous error from last season. Bell didn't look too happy about that.

Hernandez and Cota were both popping the mitt. Hernandez struck out Kerry Robinson on a nasty changeup to end his inning, and Cota finished the day by striking out his final batter. Wood's sinker was working well, and Elarton and Mays both looked good. None of the pitchers who threw struggled at all against a collection of minor league players trying to make the roster.

Tomorrow the real fun begins, as the Royals take on the Rangers in the first Cactus League game of the season. RC will be watching from our official box seats behind the third base dugout, and we'll be sure to take careful notes, along with tons of photos and video. In the meantime, here are some photos from today's action.

Donnie Murphy rips a double to center as Dick Kaegel watches in the background.

Angel Sanchez looked smooth at short.

From RC's vantage point, it looked like Hernandez was throwing hard today.

Obligatory Alex Gordon photo

RC was thrilled to get our first look at Luis Cota.

Justin Huber is heading to Florida tomorrow to join up with his mates on the Australian WBC team.

Kansas City Royals Transactions

2006-03-01T13:03:00.000-05:00

04/14/2006 - Wichita placed IF Brett Groves on the 7 day DL and recalled IF Walter Sevilla from High Desert

04/13/2006 - Steve Andrade cleared waivers, was refused by Toronto and was assigned to AAA Omaha

04/12/2006 - Wichita activated 1B Kila Kaaihue from the 7 day DL, placed IF Donnie Murphy on the 7 day DL

04/05/2006 - Wichita placed P Colt Griffin, P Thad Markray, P Devon Lowery and 2B Carlos Febles on the DL; Omaha placed 1B Ken Harvey, 3B Mike Coolbaugh and P Derrick DePriest on the DL

04/04/2006 - Signed OFs Juan Senreiso and Carlos Arroyo and RHP Cody Smith. Released 2B Darren Fenster, SS Benji Gil, LHP Nick Touchstone, OFs Cody Cure, Darwinson Salazar and Kenard Springer, C Felipe Del Rosario, RHPs George Wilkerson, Nelson Trifolio and Cesar Herrera, 1B Chris Richard and IF Justin Schuda. C John Draper and RHP William Dossett have retired.

04/01/2006 - Designated for assignment RHP Steve Andrade; Optioned RHP Joel Peralta to Triple-A Omaha; Optioned RHP Runelvys Hernandez to Triple-A Omaha and purchased the contract of RHP Luke Hudson and RHP Steve Stemle; Placed RHP Mike MacDougal (shoulder) and LHP Mark Redman (knee) on the 15-day disabled list and placed RHP Zack Greinke (psychological) on the 60-day disabled list.

03/31/2006 - Traded INF Wilson Valdez to the Dodgers for Minor League RHP Jarod Plummer, who will be assigned to Double-A Wichita.

03/30/2006 - Traded INF Joe McEwing to the Astros for a player to be named.

03/29/2006 - Optioned OF Aaron Guiel to Triple-A Omaha and RHP Leo Nunez to Double-A Wichita. Reassigned INF Joe McEwing to Minor League camp.

03/28/2006 - Claimed INF Tony Graffanino off waivers from Boston; Claimed RHP Steve Andrade off waivers from San Diego; Designated OF Chip Ambres for assignment; Placed LHP Bobby Madritsch on the 60-day disabled list (recovering from November 2005 shoulder surgery).

03/27/2006 - Reassigned 3B Alex Gordon to Double-A Wichita; Reassigned INFs Chris Clapinski, Wilson Valdez, Benji Gil, and Mike Coolbaugh and C Paul Phillips to Triple-A Omaha. Placed RHP Runelvys Hernandez on the 15-day disabled list due to lack of stamina.

03/23/2006 - Minor league transactions - Royals release minor league first baseman Blake Adkison, infielder Jon Aughey, pitcher Brandon Brantley, catcher Luis Gonzalez, catcher Robert Grana, catcher Jefferson Infante and third baseman Eddie Solis.

03/20/2006 - Reassigned RHPs Kyle Snyder, Adam Bernero, David Elder, Bobby Keppel, Joe Nelson and OFs Chad Allen and Kerry Robinson to Triple-A Omaha. Reassigned C Mark Tupman to Double-A Wichita. Optioned LHP J.P Howell and INFs Andres Blanco, Ruben Gotay and Justin Huber to Triple-A Omaha.

03/13/2006 - Signed RHP Luke Hudson to a Minor League contract with an invitation Spring Training; Optioned 2B Donnie Murphy and RHP Brian Bass to Triple-A Omaha; Optioned SS Angel Sanchez and LHP Juan Cedeno to Double-A Wichita; Re-assigned 1B Chris Richard, C Adam Donachie, RHP Luis Cota and RHP Ryan Baerlocher to Minor League camp.

RC Spring Training Report -- Day 1

2006-03-01T02:20:00.000-05:00

The first day of RC's Official Spring Training Trip went well. We arrived at camp shortly after 10 AM, and we moved back and forth between the four fields on which the Royals were taking batting practice. After figuring out who was where, we began taking photos and observing the action. George Brett was throwing BP on one of the fields, and it appeared that almost every Royal in camp was either hitting or shagging. Unfortunately, the workout was cut short due to the intrasquad game scheduled for 1 PM, but we still managed to take some pretty nice photos in the hour or so we had.

We assumed the intrasquad game would be open to the public, but of course, it wasn't. RC was relegated to watching the action through the left field gate, which offers a relatively poor view of the field from about 500 feet away. Nevertheless, we did see Ruben Gotay's homerun, which was a laser to right center off of Denny Bautista. John Buck's dinger was true no doubter to center off of J.P. Howell, and Justin Huber looked like he was swinging the bat well.

After a couple innings, half of the RC delegation left the game to see if there was anything interesting happening on the practice fields, which were still open due to a tryout on one of the fields. And it was then that we got our first look at Jeff Bianchi and Jeffery Howell, along with Shawn Hayes and a couple of other minor leaguers. We watched Bianchi and Hayes go through infield drills and batting practice, while Howell was working on his throws and footwork with John Mizerock on an adjacent field.

After adjourning to RC's official hotel for a couple hours, we drove to Tempe to watch Arizona State take on Texas Tech. We came away very impressed with a pair of Sun Devil players -- junior outfielder Colin Curtis and freshman pitcher/DH Ike Davis. We'll have more to say about them later, but for now, please enjoy some of the photos we took today at Spring Training.

Jeffrey Howell hit .346/.455/.449 last season at Idaho Falls.

Bianchi looked good working out at short, and he showed his quick line drive stroke during BP.

Mitch Maier looked much stronger than he was when RC last saw him in Wilmington, and he was hitting rockets during BP.

Justin Huber stopped by to say hello.

RC was also treated to our first look at Mark Grudzielanek in a Royals uniform.

Be sure to stop by again tomorrow for more photos and commentary.

Greinke leaves camp...RC set to arrive...

2006-02-26T21:05:00.000-05:00

RC was alerted this afternoon that Zack Greinke left camp over the weekend to return home to Orlando. The Royals have indicated that he had permission to leave in order to take care of "personal matters," but they refused to speculate further, beyond saying it was not injury-related. They have also refused to speculate on how long Greinke will be out, but they didn't rule out that it might be for an extended period of time.

This is obviously not good news. We cannot even begin to guess what the problem is, but clearly Greinke has something he needs to work out for himself. Though you won't often hear us admit it, there are more important things than baseball, and we hope Greinke takes care of his problem -- whatever it is -- and gets back on the mound quickly. Speculation about the cause of Greinke's departure at this point is pointless, so we're not going to do it. We're all curious, of course, but RC just hopes that Zack is OK.

On a more cheerful note, RC tomorrow afternoon will depart for our Official Spring Training Trip. We will be in Surprise until Sunday afternoon, and we are scheduled to go to three spring training games, two intrasquad games, and two Arizona State games (vs. Texas Tech and Auburn). As always, we promise frequent updates right here on Royals Corner throughout the week, including scores of original photos and videos. Stay tuned!

We had heard that Runelvys Hernandez reported to camp in horrible shape, but we had no idea how much weight he actually gained. The few small photos we'd seen of him didn't make him look too much bigger, but a search for Photo Day shots of the Royals today revealed the truth about Hernandez. And oh my! RC is in no position to make fun of fat people, so we won't go there, but Hernandez is really starting to look like a Domincan Bob Wickman. Check out the photo here. Also, Royals Authority has an interesting take on Hernandez's weight, so we recommend you check that out as well.

RC is pleased to announce that we've updated our College Prospect Tracker, which includes a quick recap of last week's action and stats through this weekend's games. Missouri's Max Scherzer had the weekend's most impressive performance, picking up a win against the nation's #1 ranked team, the Florida Gators. Not to be outdone, North Carolina's Andrew Miller had a dominating performance today against George Washington University, striking out 11 in seven innings pitched while allowing only two hits and no runs. Be sure to check the page frequently as we track the progress of the nation's top collegiate talent throughout the season.

As you probably know by now, RC takes great pride in the original photographs we provide. Through our travels, RC has built up quite a catalog of quality photos of many, if not most, of the best prospects in baseball. We often offer other sites the use of our photos, and a few, such as Inside the Dugout, have taken us up on those offers. We're pleased to announce that our photos will soon appear on two of baseball's best and most popular sites.

In addition to our reporting on the Royals while in Arizona, we're planning to snap some photos of Rangers prospects for the Newberg Report. The Newberg Report has an insane following of Rangers fans, and we look forward to seeing our photos appear on that site.

Also, John Sickels today published one of our photos on his blog, Minor League Ball. The shot of Adam Jones certainly isn't one of our best efforts, but we plan to continue providing John with more photos in the coming months. If you've never before checked out John's site, we highly recommend you do so. He combines traditional scouting techniques with sabermetrics, and his Prospect Book is one of the best around.

RC reports on Daniel Bard...

2006-02-22T23:40:00.000-05:00

Daniel Bard is congratulated by teammates after his first victory of the 2006 season.

Daniel Bard

On Sunday afternoon, Daniel Bard took the first step toward putting his lackluster 2005 effort behind him, picking up a victory against Seton Hall. Bard opened the season by going seven strong innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits while striking out five and walking none. RC kept a pitch count for Bard's performance, and 60 of the 81 pitches he threw on the afternoon went for strikes. In fact, Bard went to a three-ball count only once, before retiring the batter on a soft liner to the first baseman.

For the most part, Bard kept the ball down while working to both sides of the plate, retiring more than twice as many batters on ground balls than fly balls. His mechanics looked pretty flawless, as his delivery is smooth and efficient. He's got a high (but not obnoxious) leg kick, and he gets good drive toward the plate with his legs.

His primary breaking ball is a hard slurve which he throws from the same arm slot as his fastball (The velocity and delivery is indicative of a slider, but the break is similar to a curve, and RC just isn't certain what he calls it. Actually, he could have been throwing both a curve and a slider, but we didn't note any real variation in velocity. After reviewing our video again, it looks as though he may have mixed in a slower curveball that we missed during the game. In fact, we think the third pitch in the video we've provided may have been such a curve.). It has a late sharp break, and he was throwing it at 81-82 mph. We saw him use it on both sides of the plate, back-dooring lefties and moving it in and out on righties. It's definitely a plus pitch, but like Andrew Miller's slider, we're curious how much effect the raised seams on the ACC balls have on his breaking ball(s).

Bard's fastball is a very good pitch as well. We saw several with nice tailing action, and he was throwing 92-93 mph all afternoon. In the sixth inning, we saw him hit 94 a couple times, which was the fastest we saw from him, although we didn't have access to a radar gun for his entire outing.

Bard's other pitch is his changeup, which he didn't seem to use much in the game. It has the tailing movement of a circle change, and we saw him leave it up a few times, once for an RBI triple (394 ft. shot to dead center) off the bat of Seton Hall's best player, Dan McDonald. In fact, McDonald had Bard's number all afternoon, lacing a double to left center in addition to the triple, and scoring two of the three runs against Bard while knocking in the other. Other than McDonald, Bard had a very easy time with the weak Seton Hall lineup.

RC really likes Bard -- he showed us easy velocity on his fastball in combination with a very nice breaking ball. He's got a good pitcher's build, and he's very athletic. He'll need to add another quality pitch to become a frontline starter, but if he makes some strides with his changeup, he should have everything he needs to do very well as a professional pitcher.

For more photos of Bard, click here, here, here, and here.

We are also pleased to announce that we're ready to unveil our newest feature: RC's Top 10 College Prospect Tracker. Click on the hyperlink or the box on our sidebar to view the page. RC Correspondent Chris Ray has promised to update the stats frequently, so you'll be able to view the progress of the nation's best collegiate talent right here on RC throughout the season.

Our Top 10 list is below. RC has ranked these players as being the most likely to draw serious attention from the Royals for the first overall selection in the June draft. We believe the Royals will most likely select a pitcher or outfielder, but players like Matt LaPorta, Evan Longoria, and Wes Hodges may prove, with great seasons, to be too good to pass up. There are a few high school players who are likely to draw attention as well, but access to their stats is very limited, so we've decided to focus solely on college players.

1) Andrew Miller - LHP - University of North Carolina
2) Max Scherzer - RHP - University of Missouri
3) Ian Kennedy - RHP - University of Southern California
4) Drew Stubbs - OF - University of Texas
5) Evan Longoria - 3B/SS - Long Beach State University
6) Daniel Bard - RHP - University of North Carolina
7) Matt LaPorta - 1B - University of Florida
8) Wes Hodges - 3B - Georgia Tech
9) Dallas Buck - RHP - Oregon State University
10) Joba Chamberlain - RHP - University of Nebraska

Be sure to check out our College Prospect Tracker page frequently for statistics and updates.

RC reports on Andrew Miller...

2006-02-20T22:32:00.000-05:00

As promised, we are proud to present our scouting report on Andrew Miller. We initially planned to discuss Daniel Bard as well in this post, but we'll give you our take on his first start of the season either tomorrow or Wednesday. Also, a slight snag has caused us to delay the launch of our Top 10 draft prospects feature, but that too will be unveiled in the next couple days.

Andrew Miller

Miller, the pre-season favorite to be selected by the Royals with the first overall pick in the draft this June, began his 2006 campaign with a dominating performance over a very weak Seton Hall squad. Miller tossed six innings, yielding four hits, one walk and no runs while striking out nine. Run support was not a problem, as the game became a laugher in the fifth inning, the second consecutive inning in which the Tar Heels batted around the order (destroying RC's official scorecard in the process).

Miller left the game with a 13-0 lead, and the final result was a ridiculous 21-2 North Carolina victory. Miller was very efficient with his pitches after the second inning, and he probably could have gone another frame or two if it weren't for the consecutive half hour breaks on the bench in sub-40 degree weather spent watching his team assault Seton Hall's thin pitching corps. In fact, through six innings, Miller only faced two batters over the minimum.

Mechanically, we liked what we saw from Miller. He's got an easy arm action, and he doesn't seem to have any problem repeating his delivery. The arm angle on his slider is identical to his fastball, and he retains good balance throughout his delivery. One thing we did notice, however, is that Miller doesn't step directly toward home plate on his delivery. Rather, his front foot lands a few degrees to the first base side, and he then rotates his body and whips his arm around that point. It's certainly not the most efficient delivery, but it clearly adds to his deception, and it doesn't seem to affect his control. Here's a photo we took that does a fine job explaining what we're talking about:

Actually, that photo might make his stride look a little more extreme than it actually is. As you can see in the video we shot behind the plate, it's far less noticeable from a perspective better than the one we had while observing his warmups, but it's still a motion that could put pressure on his arm.

Stuff-wise, Miller was pretty much as advertised. His fastball velocity wasn't great -- he was at 88-92 mph all afternoon -- but that can probably be largely attributed to the seasonably cold temperature (or by another factor discussed below). He located the fastball well on both sides of the plate, and he used it to set up his other pitches. He also showed a nice changeup (we have to assume it was a change), which had good tailing movement and sat at 81-82 mph. Of course, his money pitch is his slider.

The nastiness of his slider is hard to describe with words, but "unfair" probably does it justice. Miller used it frequently during the game, and nobody put solid wood (or metal, for that matter) on it all day. The velocity on his slider was 77-78 mph all day, and nobody on the Seton Hall team had any chance against it. The first pitch you see on the video shows you the insane movement on his slider, and the last two strikeouts show the type of futile swings offered at it all afternoon.

Of course, we did uncover one thing that gives us some cause for concern. Just as we were getting ready to leave, a Tar Heel batter fouled a pitch off in our direction, and RC retrieved the ball. We immediately noticed that the ball felt funny in our hand, and upon closer inspection, we realized the seams on the ball were raised. It came as a bit of a shock to us, because we assumed that all college conferences used a standard ball with the same specifications as a professional ball. When a Tar Heel player came out of the clubhouse to search for foul balls, RC started asking questions, and we learned that all ACC balls have raised seams.

"The pitchers don't like them," explained the player. "They help breaking balls, but they make fastballs seem very sluggish and knock some velocity off the pitch." Indeed, anyone who has ever pitched knows that raised seams improve movement on breaking balls. We have no idea why the ACC uses those balls, but it definitely makes it harder to evaluate pitchers. Does Miller's slider become a more human pitch when thrown with a standard ball? We have no idea, but it's definitely something to consider, as it just might be a factor. Or it could be nothing.

Nevertheless, RC came away from the game very high on Andrew Miller. Much is still left to be determined throughout the course of the season, but the Tar Heels probably couldn't be more pleased with Miller's first start of the year, even if it was against a rather pathetic Seton Hall lineup. We'll continue watching him closely throughout the season, and we hope to get another look at him later in the year. For more photos of Miller, click here, here, here, here, and here. And we agree...the mustache HAS to go.

Sunday surprise! RC sees both Bard and Miller in NC...

2006-02-20T05:58:00.000-05:00

On a cold Sunday afternoon in Chapel Hill, NC, RC was on hand to see future first rounders Daniel Bard and Andrew Miller mow down an overmatched Seton Hall squad. We arrived at the park expecting to see only Bard, and we were pleasantly surprised when Miller emerged from the dugout after the first game to begin warming up for game two. The Tar Heels prevailed in both games behind the solid performances of both starters, and RC got an excellent look at two of the best amateur pitchers in the country.

We'll have our scouting reports and video ready later today, but in the meantime, here are some photos we took of Bard and Miller:

Spring Training is finally here!

2006-02-17T18:30:00.000-05:00

** Update - 2/18/06 ** As expected, today's game was a washout. RC drove through the night, only to be turned away at the gate. It will be made up tomorrow as part of a doubleheader, beginning at 11:00 AM. Usually, doubleheader games are limited to seven innings apiece, but RC was pleased to learn today that both of tomorrow's games will be full-length, nine-inning games. That's a hell of a lot of baseball, and we're looking forward to it.
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It's been almost five agonizing months since the Royals last took the field, but alas, pitchers and catchers officially reported to camp today. You may have deduced that RC isn't all that thrilled with the senseless distractions of football, basketball, and hockey seasons, and today marks the first day of 2006 that we feel "whole" again. The Royals take the field at 9:15 AM tomorrow morning, and from that point, "March Madness" is the only remaining nonsense baseball fans must suffer through before the world becomes right again on Opening Day.

About the same time the Royals hit the field tomorrow, RC will be in Chapel Hill watching pitcher Daniel Bard go through his pre-game routine before he makes his first start of the season for the Tar Heels. We pushed back our departure to North Carolina when we learned that neither he or Andrew Miller would start today, and we extended our trip when we found out Miller is scheduled to go on Tuesday vs. Coastal Carolina. Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow, so RC wouldn't be shocked if the game is rescheduled as part of a Sunday doubleheader, but since the whole point of the trip is to see Miller and Bard, we're not taking any chances. Keep checking back with us all weekend, as we'll post photos and video as soon as we get them.

We are also pleased to announce yet another feature to the site. As part of our 2006 draft coverage, RC has picked out the 10 collegiate players we feel are most likely to be selected by the Royals in June. On Monday, we will debut our list, and we'll add a link on the sidebar that will take you to a page that provides updated stats for all 10 players. RC Correspondent Chris Ray has agreed to update the stats daily, so our readers will be able to track the progress of the nation's premier amateur players throughout the season. This promises to be an excellent new feature to RC, and we're very excited about it.

Speaking of Chris Ray, we have some new photos of his son, the Official Baby of Royals Corner. We understand young Brett already gets fussy when he sees a Yankees logo, and while his raw power hasn't yet developed, he makes good contact and shows signs of becoming an excellent switch hitter.

That's it for today. Be sure to tune in throughout the weekend for our updates from North Carolina.

Season in Preview: Middle Infielders

2006-02-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

As Opening Day 2006 is right around the corner, it's time to take a look at where the Royals stand heading into this season. With the help of two great player projection systems (Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA and Dan Szymborski's ZiPS), I'll be discussing the state of the organization position-by-position over the next few days. We covered the catchers on Monday and the corner infielders on Wednesday, and continue today with a discussion about the middle infielders:

MARK GRUDZIELANEK  2B  AGE: 35         ANGEL BERROA  SS  AGE: 28  
==================================     ==================================
PROJECTION     AVG     OBP     SLG     PROJECTION     AVG     OBP     SLG
PECOTA        .280    .317    .394     PECOTA        .262    .299    .379
ZiPS          .290    .330    .394     ZiPS          .276    .318    .401
==================================     ==================================
AVERAGE       .285    .324    .394     AVERAGE       .269    .309    .390
-
RUBEN GOTAY  2B  AGE: 23               DONNIE MURPHY  2B  AGE: 22
==================================     ==================================
PROJECTION     AVG     OBP     SLG     PROJECTION     AVG     OBP     SLG
PECOTA        .260    .327    .404     PECOTA        .257    .318    .415
ZiPS          .255    .330    .380     ZiPS          .231    .285    .354
==================================     ===================================
AVERAGE       .258    .329    .392     AVERAGE       .244    .302    .385
-
ANDRES BLANCO  2B/SS  AGE: 21          ESTEBAN GERMAN  2B/SS  AGE: 28
==================================     ==================================
PROJECTION     AVG     OBP     SLG     PROJECTION     AVG     OBP     SLG
PECOTA        .244    .286    .309     PECOTA         ----UNAVAILABLE----
ZiPS          .237    .286    .284     ZiPS          .261    .338    .348
==================================     ===================================
AVERAGE       .241    .286    .297     AVERAGE       .261    .338    .348

In a 2005 season preview article, my good friend and longtime Cardinals fan Spencer Hendricks predicted that St. Louis second baseman Mark Grudzielanek and shortstop David Eckstein would "hammer thirty homers apiece and become forever christened ‘The Unstoppable Grudstein.’" Sarcastic as the prediction was, each player fell only 22 home runs short of making Spencer look like a genius. I guess that would make them "The Passable Grudstein."

I’ll make no such prediction in this space, although I do like the idea of new Royals second baseman Grudzielanek and incumbent shortstop Angel Berroa being so much fun to watch defensively, they’re dubbed "The Incredible Acrobats of Berzielanek" by season’s end. That scenario may have to unfold for the Kansas City starting middle infielders to avoid dragging their team’s chances at winning into the muck.

For Grudzielanek, we’ll look at the good news first: Signed for one year and $4 million, the 35-year-old native of Milwaukee has made a name for himself with solid defensive play at second base since he shifted there from shortstop in 2000 while playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The numbers bear it out: in 775 games, Grudzielanek has posted a .984 fielding percentage, a 4.58 Range Factor (with the league average over that time being 4.30), and a Zone Rating of .844, which is approximately equal to three-time Gold Glove winner Luis Castillo’s .843.

Not only does Grudzielanek do a terrific job of getting to a good number of batted balls and making the play afterwards, he also has a cannon for an arm and a willingness to stay in on the double play pivot that Royals GM Allard Baird described as, at times, reckless. By all accounts he’s also a player with fantastic character and leadership skills, but I don’t think I’d blame any young Royals infielder if he doesn’t follow Grudzielanek’s lead and gets out of the way of a runner sliding in spikes up.

The bad news has to do with Grudzielanek’s offensive skills, but while his plate discipline and power are both underwhelming, I’m less concerned with that and more concerned with the way the Royals plan on utilizing him at the plate. Ever since the day he signed, the Royals have made it known that he and his career .330 on-base percentage will enter 2006 as the second hitter in the lineup behind David DeJesus. That’s bad enough as-is, but the reason that’s being given for the decision is even more baffling:

"He's a pretty good No. 2 hitter. He just grinds out at-bats -- I think that's the best way to describe him, offensively."
- Scott Elarton
kcroyals.com

"He's just solid. He's a ballplayer."
"He's [hit second] before, he understands situations. He doesn't freak out."
- Buddy Bell
kcroyals.com

"I'll let Buddy (Bell) make that call but he sure fits nicely as the No. 2 guy."
- Allard Baird
kcroyals.com

I’ve made mention of this before, but I’ll repeat it here: Being a "grinder" or a "ballplayer" are not justifiable reasons for a mediocre offensive player like Grudzielanek to be in a position to accumulate the second-most plate appearances on the team. Craig Biggio has also been dubbed a "grinder" and has hit high in the order for his entire career too, but players like him also have the on-base and power skills that are necessary to rightfully bat leadoff or second.

Grudzielanek is more than capable of doing the things number two hitters are "supposed" to do, like getting a bunt down, moving a runner over, or not striking out, but the Royals’ brass should be entirely too smart to fall for idiotic and archaic baseball adages such as those. Besides, while he was never the type to avoid outs in the first place, his batting average and on-base percentage have steadily declined three years in a row, and a move to the spacious Kauffman Stadium is not going to reverse that trend.

Still, the bottom line is that when everything is taken into consideration, Grudzielanek isn’t a bad baseball player. Given the situation the Royals are in, the decision to sign him wasn’t a bad one either. However, it’s necessary for his team to use him correctly – read: hit lower in the order – so his tendency to make weak contact doesn’t become a hindrance on the offense.

From both offensive and defensive standpoints, the Royals are hopeful that Grudzielanek’s presence will help Berroa elevate his game back to the level he displayed in 2003 when he won the American League Rookie of the Year award by hitting .287 with 17 home runs, all the while showing massive improvement at shortstop. Then 25 years old, Berroa played an integral role in the Royals’ unlikely run to a division title and, aside from Carlos Beltran, was easily the most electric player on the roster. Thinking they had their shortstop for the foreseeable future, the Royals rewarded Berroa with a four-year, $11 million contract in May of 2004.

Unfortunately (but perhaps not unexpectedly), Berroa hasn’t returned the favor in any way, shape, or form since that time. In the past two seasons, Berroa’s posted on-base percentages in the low-.300s, has hit for absolutely no power and, worst of all, doesn't really seem to care about how sub-par his play has been. Or perhaps even worse, he's totally ignorant to the whole situation. It’s probably a combination of both. Last September, Berroa told the Kansas City Star’s Bob Dutton that "You’re never going to see me walk a lot. Because there are times, if I’m trying to get a walk, I’ll get good pitches and not swing. That’s not good."

Spoken like a man who walks up to the plate without a plan of attack or any idea of what a strike zone is, which his low walk totals bear out. Though their patience with Berroa’s lack of patience is odd, the Royals and Baird have at least recognized that he’s never going to be willing to take a walk, and have dumbed down their organizational offensive approach to Berroa’s level, something to the tune of "Stop swinging at sliders that are headed for the backstop." In other words, all they’re asking of him is to only swing at strikes. It’s mind-blowingly simple, stuff kids know when they play in any youth league, but for whatever reason, Berroa just can’t understand anything beyond that.

The tragic part in all of this is that Berroa’s lack of understanding of how to prepare for his at-bats totally undermines his strength at the plate. Despite being listed at just 6-0 and 180 lbs., Berroa can hit a pitched baseball a very long way. Thanks to his poor approach at the plate, moments like his 427-foot bomb off Detroit’s Ugueth Urbina last April 15 are few and far between, happening only when he guesses right and gets a fastball. That physical talent will be enough to boost his numbers closer to his ZiPS projection; PECOTA is far too pessimistic.

Berroa’s defense is just like his offense: very intriguing at times, but also wildly inconsistent. The tools are all there; his arm is well above-average, as is his range to both his right and left. However, it’s been an inability to concentrate and make the routine play – he almost never uses two hands to catch a pop-up – that’s caused him to be charged with 77 errors since 2003. That’s a shame; because of the outstanding percentage of batted balls that Berroa gets to, he and Mark Teahen could legitimately make the left side of Kansas City’s infield golden.

If he’d just apply himself, Berroa is a player who could be as good as he wanted to be. That isn’t likely to happen. Additionally, seeing as he’s already hit the age range (27 to 32) in which most players’ production levels off, I don’t think any kind of a big improvement would be in the cards anyway. Is he the Royals’ biggest problem? No, but he definitely isn’t part of the solution. That player could very well be waiting in the wings in the minor leagues.

When it comes to organizational rebuilds like the Royals started in 2003, there’s typically one component that must be in place for the movement to be successful: depth. In a general sense, having talented depth on a 25-man roster is important to avoiding large productional dropoffs when a key player or two have to spend a month on the disabled list. However, depth is that much more important to youth movements succeeding. The more talented young players a team has, the better a chance one of them will turn into a reliable everyday player.

The Royals are still in the process of accumulating talent at some positions (most notably in starting pitching), but they’ve become very well-stocked with a bevy of pretty talented middle infielders. A trio of homegrown players and one intriguing offseason acquisition each have their own unique set of skills, giving the Royals options if Grudzielanek or Berroa go down because of injury.

Interestingly, the most exciting player of the entire group may be the one who practically gets the bat knocked out of his hands on a regular basis. Soon-to-be 22-year-old Andres Blanco can’t and perhaps never will hit at the Major League level (he’s managed only 50 extra-base hits in 1,298 career minor-league at-bats), but make no mistake: the kid is a freaking witch with a baseball glove on his left hand. Just take a look at this play from a game last September against Minnesota:

Since RC’s own Dave Sanford captured that graphic, I’ll let him describe the play:

It was amazing enough that Blanco was able to catch Teahen's throw while keeping his left foot on the bag long enough to retire Cuddyer, who was quickly bearing down on him to break up the double play. Most second basemen in this position would have no choice but to put the ball in their pocket...but not Blanco. In one smooth motion, Blanco made the acrobatic catch, somehow leaped OVER Cuddyer, and threw a hard strike to Matt Stairs in an attempt to complete the twin-killing. Morneau beat out the throw by a half step, but if he had been a tad slower, this play would have gone down as the double play of the year.

Amen to that. Blanco’s range, arm, and ability to leap over baserunners trying to take him out at second base are all freakishly-good talents, but he may never get a chance to display them every day if he doesn’t improve offensively. The Royals are planning to send him back to Triple-A Omaha to start the year to work on gaining strength in a low-pressure environment, hopefully as a shortstop where he can really show off. I wouldn’t doubt him. Most of Blanco’s walks are a result of his inability to make solid contact, but there was a time that Omar Vizquel was an awful offensive player too, and things worked out for him pretty well. He’s that good, and the shortstop of the future.

Moving over to second base, Ruben Gotay and Donnie Murphy have seemingly been linked together at the center of "Who’s better?" debates between fans and, in all likelihood, front office members as well.

Gotay, 23, has long been considered the better offensive player of the two, while Murphy’s defense has been equally praised. Thus far, Gotay’s performance with Kansas City hasn’t justified his label, although there are positives here: He’s shown decent plate discipline for a very young player, drawing 31 walks in 483 career plate appearances, as well as posting a .407 on-base percentage and a .490 slugging percentage in 145 at-bats during the Puerto Rican League’s recently-concluded regular season.

To me, Gotay’s bat speed leaves something to be desired, and he very well could be a Quadruple-A player. But I’m not about to totally give up on a guy who won’t turn 24 until this December and who’s shown solid knowledge of the strike zone and good power for a middle infielder in the minor leagues. If everything goes according to plan, he’ll go back to Omaha when the Royals break camp, and will probably be the first guy called up if and when Grudzielanek gets hurt.

The 22-year-old Murphy struggled to do much of anything during his 32-game callup, hitting just .156/.241/.260 in 77 at-bats. However, he did hit his first home run, taking Cleveland’s C.C. Sabathia out of the yard to dead center field. It was an impressive homer, something I think Murphy’s capable of doing as an everyday player.

A career .285/.356/.424 hitter in the minor leagues, Murphy’s power took a major step forward in 2005, as he posted an isolated power figure of .210 for Double-A Wichita. That he was playing in the hitter-friendly Texas League is reason for skepticism, but any time a player in his early 20s improves that much is only good news. Long-term, he’ll probably become a poor man’s Marcus Giles, and will come very, very close to nailing his 2006 PECOTA.

Finally, Esteban German lit up the Dominican Winter League with a .443 on-base percentage and 30 steals in 181 regular season at-bats, and he’ll come into camp as the favorite to win Joe McEwing’s job as the jack-of-all-trades infielder.

Acquiring him for Rule 5 draftee Fabio Castro might have been Baird’s best acquisition of the winter. German won’t hit for much power, but his hit frequency, on-base ability, speed, and defense are all assets on a Royals team that could use as much of each as possible.

RC scouts some draft prospects...

2006-02-11T16:05:00.000-05:00

RC, along with about 20 scouts, saw VCU pitching prospect Harold Mozingo on Friday.

Before the blizzard hit the D.C. area this weekend, RC drove to the tiny community of Farmville, Virginia, to see a pair of Top 100 college players in the country. Virginia Commonwealth University this season boasts two players ranked in the Top 55 by Baseball America, pitcher Harold Mozingo (#55) and second baseman Scott Sizemore (#48). The VCU Rams prevailed in the game 6-0 over Longwood University (Michael Tucker's alma mater), with Mozingo picking up the win after tossing six shutout innings, scattering three hits and no walks while striking out 10. Neither Mozingo or Sizemore figure to be drafted in the first round, but both could potentially be third or fourth round picks. As promised, RC took careful notes while watching both, presented below.

Harold Mozingo

Despite a somewhat rough 2005 season (8-4, 5.17 ERA, 92.1 IP, 101 K), Mozingo entered this year as one of the better pitching prospects in college baseball. Much of his 2005 trouble may be attributable to the tiny ballpark (just 375 ft. to CF) at which VCU last season was forced to play their home games. This season the Rams have moved back to The Diamond in Richmond, home of the AAA Richmond Braves, and the spacious ballpark figures to greatly help out the VCU pitching staff.

Mozingo features three pitches, all of which he used effectively against the overmatched Longwood hitters. He located his fastball very well on both sides of the plate, and it sat in the 89-91 mph range all afternoon. His changeup is perhaps his best pitch, as he's able to repeat his arm angle well while subtracting about 10 mph. It has a nice tailing and slight sinking action, and we saw Mozingo use it effectively at 79-81 mph against both righties and lefties on both sides of the plate. His chief strikeout pitch is his curveball, which has a 10-to-4 break, and he seemed to use it mostly on the outside corner vs. righties and inside corner vs. lefties. He throws his curve at 70-71 mph, and it kept the Longwood batters off balance all afternoon.

One area of concern might be the arm angle on his curve. He doesn't hide the pitch well, and it's often easy to see his arm drop a few degrees when he's throwing his breaking ball (click here for an example of what we're talking about). He doesn't do it all the time, but RC can't help thinking that a better offensive team could exploit that pretty easily. Nevertheless, the pitch has nice movement, and Mozingo locates it quite well.

All told, Mozingo is a pitcher who RC would like to get another look at. Approximately 15-20 scouts were in the stands on Friday watching him pitch, and while we don't know if any were working for the Royals, we think Harold Mozingo is worthy of being on the radar. For more photos of Mozingo, click here, here, here, here, and here.

Scott Sizemore

Scott Sizemore last season put up a line of .364/.464/.673 with 12 HR in 214 ABs, and for his efforts was named a third team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). This year, the NCBWA has named Sizemore a pre-season second team All-American, and many people are expecting big things from him.

RC really isn't sold on him. It's tough to write much of a report after seeing a player only once, but our initial impression is that Sizemore's power last season HAD to largely be the product of aluminum and the short field on which he played home games. He's got a short, quick stroke, but RC didn't see any kind of raw power that figures to translate well to the professional ranks, either in batting practice or the actual game.

He's not a very big guy, and we just didn't see the type of carry on his fly balls that would suggest anything more than average power at second base. He could, however, be a solid line drive hitter. In the game, Sizemore went 1-for-4 with a double (on a well-placed fly ball down the LF line) and a walk.

Defensively, Sizemore does have a nice arm, but only when he's able set up and throw overhand. We saw him practice his double play turns during BP, and he wasn't able to get much on the throw to first base, nor did he look very smooth. He wasn't terrible, and we didn't get a chance to see him do anything during the game (nor did we get any solid idea of his range), but our initial impression is that his defense isn't much of an asset.

Again, this was merely a one-game look, so we could be completely off, especially when you consider that this was VCU's first game of the season. Sizemore does have some traits we like, and we'll keep an eye on what he does this season. For more excellent photos of Sizmore, click here, here, here, and here.

That concludes our first two scouting reports of the season. RC should undergo radical changes in the coming weeks, so we'll hopefully be able to come up with a better format/location for future reports (instead of plopping them front-and-center on the homepage). Up next, RC heads to North Carolina next weekend to see the 2006 debuts of potential first rounders Andrew Miller and Daniel Bard. We promise similar in-depth reports, photos, and video, so stay tuned!