The Royals start out undefeated in Cactus League play and we decided to figure out if it meant anything. Or even a little bit of anything.

Does it improve the team’s confidence? Is it a sign of good things in 2013? How did we think the rotation did the first time through?

Anthony Seratelli rounds third after a homer. (Photo: Minda Haas – @minda33)

We covered all of those topics and marveled at the Chris Getz homer and what it means for the second base battle. We also talked a bit about what the World Baseball Classic means for the rest of spring training. Paul McCartney even showed up*.
*Paul McCartney did not show up. It was just a poor impersonation.

The best part of the week, though, was our discussion with Anthony Seratelli of the Omaha Storm Chasers. He shared his story of how he got to be a part of professional baseball and the twists and turns that landed him in the Royals organization. He’s an easy guy to root for and his story is a fun one to listen to. Check him out on Twitter at @ars1productions.

On the end, we also included a clip of an interview with Royals Hall of Famer John Mayberry where he discusses home run hitting in Kauffman Stadium. The full interview will be replayed on The Ballgame on ESPN 1510 AM in Kansas City on Wednesday, March 6th starting at 4 p.m. CST.

You can catch up on old episodes of the Kansas City Baseball Vault here on Kings of Kauffman. Episodes of the Royalman Report are available on the site as well.

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That offense made a winner of Nate Adcock, who allowed two runs on four hits and a walk over six innings.

Alex McClure

NW Arkansas needed a two-out, RBI single from Alex McClure to walk off against Arkansas, 3-2. After Ryan Dennick blew Sugar Ray Marimon‘s first Double-A victory (6IP, 4H, R, OBB, 4K) in the top of the 9th inning, the Naturals came through in the bottom of the inning, With two outs and nobody on base, Carlo Testa was hit by a pitch. Despite the fact that Mario Lisson was the only Natural to not record a hit, he did walk to bring up McClure and his heroics.

Wilmington finally won a game in the second half, as they beat Potomac, 7-3. They scored three runs in the 8th inning and four runs in the 9th. Orlando Calixte hit his first homerun for the Blue Rocks, a three-run shot that broke the 3-3 tie.

Yordano Ventura was solid, as he allowed two runs on four hits over seven innings. He walked two while striking out seven. The P-Nats runs against Ventura came via a two-out, two-run homerun in the 2nd inning.

Kane County scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning, but could not hold on, as they lost to Beloit, 4-2. They unfortunately went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

The bullpen duo of Cody Fassold and Malcom Culver did not allow a hit over the final four innings. Only one man reached base (via a Fassold walk).

The top of the order, Derrick Robinson and the rehabbing Chris Getz, went 6-for-8 with three RBIs and four runs scored. Irving Falu hit a two-run homerun in the 5th inning with two outs (he went 2-for-3). Anthony Seratelli hit his 11th homerun of the season. He has homered in three of his last four games (two straight).

That made a winner of Ryan Verdugo, who was recently sent back to Omaha from the big leagues (where he didn’t pitch). He allowed two unearned runs on four hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out four.

NW Arkansas has now won seven in a row with a win against Arkansas, 6-4 on Saturday night. They moved into first place in the Texas League’s North Division (as Tulsa lost again).

The Naturals scored four runs in the first inning on three hits, three walks, a passed ball, and a sac bunt. The big first inning held up, as Ryan Dennick picked up his first save in Double-A (3IP, 2H, 1R, 0BB, 3K).

Jason Adam

The Wilmington Blue Rocks dropped to third place in the Carolina League’s Northern Division (four games back) with about a week to go in the first half. They lost at Winston-Salem, 7-2. Jason Adam fell to 1-9 on the season, as he was bit by the long ball. He allowed three homeruns, two of which were the firsts of the players’ season. Adam struck out six over six innings and did not walk a batter.

Brett Eibner returned to the lineup and hit a solo homerun (his 8th of the season) and drove in the other run with a double. He also did not strike out.

Prior to the game, starter Greg Billo was placed on the DL with a stiff elbow and Brooks Pounders was promoted from Kane County.

Kane County lost the first game of their road trip, 4-1 to Peoria. Starter Scott Alexander lasted just 2/3 of an inning and allowed four runs (though only one was earned).

Jason Mitchell followed with 5.1 shutout innings of relief while striking out six. However the Cougars only collected four hits.

Kelvin Herrera hopes that a strong offseason results in major league time. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

The Caribbean Series ended on Tuesday, wrapping up most of the Royals involvement in offseason leagues (catcher Kevin David, a 19th round pick in 2010 is playing for Melbourne in the Australian Baseball League Championship Series that starts on Friday). With spring training coming up, players are gearing up for a trip to Surprise and getting in work with the rest of their team.

Some of those players are going to be looking to build on their offseason performances and move up the ladder.

Wil Myers rebounded from his first season of Double A ball with 31 hits in 86 at bats in the Arizona Fall League. Over the 23 games, he produced a 1.167 OPS, walked more than he struck out and added 14 extra base hits. He shook off a lot of questions about the knee injury (and infection) that slowed him at Northwest Arkansas and the 21-year-old got his first invite to big league camp. Brian Poldberg told Paul  Nielsen of NWAOnline.com that he thinks Myers will get a chance at Triple A.

Mario Lisson could be headed to Omaha as well. The 27-year-old third baseman hit .293/.372/.527 for the Naturals, then kept hitting in the Venezuelan League, hitting 11 homers in 50 games with an OPS of .877.

Anthony Seratelli can play multiple positions (he’s one of those “played everywhere but catcher and pitcher kinda guys) and was an organizational All-Star in the Royals system according to MILB.com. After a solid year in Northwest Arkansas, Seratelli had an even better time in the Arizona Fall League, hitting .317/.426/.429. When he’s not playing all over the field, he also produces a weekly video as a hobby. He also received the Royals Willie Wilson Award last month as baserunner of the year.

On the mound, Kelvin Herrera, who went from A ball to the majors last year, continued the momentum, throwing 17.1 innings, striking out 15 and walking just one while compiling a 0.51 ERA. He has a strong chance to break camp in the Royals bullpen.

Francisely Bueno had a 1.90 ERA in 42.2 innings, which was good enough to get him an invite to big league camp. He’ll be 31 years old in March, so he’s hoping to get a shot as bullpen depth after a strong showing in the Dominican League.

It’s worth noting that in 48.2 innings, Manauris Baez had a 1.66 ERA, but he also walked 25 batters during Dominican League play. When the Royals signed him, they converted him from an everyday player to a pitcher, so at 25 years old now, he’s working his way up the ranks. He’s pitched as high as Triple A and may start there or see time there again this year.

Antonio Cruz, one of the players the Royals received from Detroit for Wilson Betemit, only threw 2.2 innings, but did so over seven games, recording five strikeouts.

Everett Teaford, who’ll compete for a spot on the Royals pitching staff this spring, had a 29 to 3 strikeout to walk ratio in the Dominican League in 23 innings. He’s also one of the better Royals players to follow on Twitter at @teaparty61.

Most of these players will serve the purpose of minor league depth and will need a few things to break their way to get into the big leagues, but some, like Teaford and Herrera, certainly didn’t hurt their odds of starting the year in Kansas City. Myers was one of the better players in Arizona during Fall League play, which is a great sign for the organization.

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Royals prospects join those of the Rays, Braves, Marlins and Rangers to form the Surprise Saquaros.

They play their fourth game tonight after winning their first three. Not every Royal has seen action, but early on, Wil Myers has had the best showing, going 3-8 with a homer and three RBIs. He’s also walked twice.

Other Royals AFL performances:

Anthony Seratelli: 0-2 with two walks.
Christian Colon: 2-10 with a double.
Bryan Paukovits: 1 IP, 1 BB 1 K 0 ER
Brendan Lafferty: 1 IP 0 ER

Nathan Adcock and Jeremy Jeffress, the only two Royals in Surprise with major league experience, have not made it into a game.

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Will Smith pitched 6.2 scoreless innings with six strikeouts to earn the clinching win.  Smith, you’ll remember, was one of the arms the Royals got from the Angels in return for Alberto Callaspo.
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