Royals Claim Texeira Off Waivers

The Royals claimed 24-year old right-hander Kanekoa Texeira off waivers and designated Brad Thompson for assignment. Texeira had a 5.30 ERA in 16 appearances for Seattle with a 1.714 WHIP. Thompson had a 6.41 ERA for the Royals in 16 games as well, but was coming off a pretty bad week. He’d given up 8 earned runs in 1.2 innings until getting one out on Monday and two scoreless innings last night. He’ll have a chance to clear waivers and go back to Omaha to join Josh Rupe and Bryan Bullington who’ve already made the trip from Triple A to KC and back.

Texeira’s an interesting young pitcher. Ranked #26 in Seattle’s farm system entering 2010 by Baseball America, he’s a 6’2″ 190 lb righty who Seattle acquired from the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft. Baseball America’s scouting report credits him with a “nifty” slider and a high-80s fastball with sinking action. They also mention he mixes in an occasional changeup and has a short, deceptive delivery.

Year	Tm	Lev	W	L	ERA	G	IP	WHIP	H/9	HR/9	BB/9	SO/9	SO/BB
2006	2 Teams	Rk-A	1	2	1.52	23	29.2	0.978	7.0	0.3	1.8	9.4	5.17
2006	Bristol	Rk	1	2	0.76	19	23.2	0.845	5.7	0.0	1.9	11.0	5.80
2006	Kannapolis	A	0	0	4.50	4	6.0	1.500	12.0	1.5	1.5	3.0	2.00
2007	Kannapolis	A	5	2	3.69	39	53.2	1.323	8.2	0.0	3.7	9.7	2.64
2008	2 Teams	A+-AA	6	3	1.33	51	61.0	1.098	6.8	0.3	3.1	8.9	2.86
2008	Winston-Salem	A+	3	1	0.93	36	38.2	1.086	6.5	0.0	3.3	8.4	2.57
2008	Birmingham	AA	3	2	2.01	15	22.1	1.119	7.3	0.8	2.8	9.7	3.43
2009	Trenton	AA	9	6	2.84	41	101.1	1.312	8.0	0.6	3.8	7.8	2.05
4 Seasons	21	13	2.49	154	245.2	1.221	7.6	0.4	3.4	8.7	2.58
A (2 seasons)	5	2	3.77	43	59.2	1.341	8.6	0.2	3.5	9.1	2.61
AA (2 seasons)	12	8	2.69	56	123.2	1.278	7.9	0.7	3.6	8.2	2.24
Rk (1 season)	1	2	0.76	19	23.2	0.845	5.7	0.0	1.9	11.0	5.80
A+ (1 season)	3	1	0.93	36	38.2	1.086	6.5	0.0	3.3	8.4	2.57

His minor league numbers look good, and he’s still quite young. In fact, when I came up with some ideas for potential trades with Seattle, Texeira was one of the guys who didn’t make the first cut but his minor league numbers do show promise. He’ll probably project into a swingman or spot starter at the major league level and for the Royals he should fit into the same long relief type of role played by Bryan Bullington and Thompson earlier in the year.

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