Ryan Verdugo is back in the Omaha starting rotation and he allowed all six runs on six hits and two walks over five innings. The bullpen trio of Jeremy Jeffress, Brandon Sisk, and Vin Mazzaro allowed just one hit (and no walks) over the final three innings. They combined to strike out five.

Wil Myers hit a solo homerun, but struck out with two men on base to end the game. Myers and Tony Abreu collected two hits each.

Michael Mariot in 2011 with Wilmington

NW Arkansas broke their nine game losing streak to Springfield with a 12-4 win. The Naturals scored eight runs in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back. Mario Lisson hit a three-run homerun in the first (he fell a double short of the cycle).

The Naturals collected 16 hits, as six players had multi-hit games. Lisson, Manny Pina, and Christian Colon all collected three hits. CC, since his return from the DL, has moved to second base.

The burst of offense made a winner of Michael Mariot, who did not allow a hit until there was one out in the 5th inning. He then allowed three straight, but induced an inning-ending double play to escape. Mariot pitched six scoreless innings in his start and only allowed those three hits.

Wilmington and Carolina played a rain shortened game, as the Mudcats won 8-4 in seven innings. The Blue Rocks out-hit the Mudcats 10-8, but went just 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position. The Blue Rocks led 4-1 heading into the 6th inning, but the Mudcats scored five runs and another two runs in the 7th inning.

Leondy Perez returned to the mound after spending close to two months on the DL. He allowed one run on two hits and a walk over four innings. The Blue Rocks defense (well just shortstop Orlando Calixte, who cost them four runs) and the bullpen blew the game.

Matt Fields continues his torrid pace, as he hit another homerun (his 13th) and went 2-for-4. Juan Graterol also hit a homerun, a two-run shot in the 2nd inning. Luis Piterson, who is playing alot with the injuries to Angel Franco and Roman Hernandez, went 3-for-3.

Down 2-1 heading into the bottom of the 9th inning, Kane County came back with a 3-2 victory over Quad Cities in the first game of their three-game series. Henry Moreno started off the inning with a single and was sacrificed to second base. He scored to tie the game on pinch-hitter Daniel Mateo‘s RBI triple. With two outs and runners at the corners, Jack Lopez delivered the game-winning single.

That late comeback made a winner of Jason Mitchell, who pitched two scoreless innings of relief. He allowed three hits and struck out three. Over 11,000 Cougars fans went home happy.

Bubba Watch: Bubba Starling went 1-for-5 with a run scored in Burlington’s 7-6 loss to Pulaski (in walk-off fashion).

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.

You can stay current on all the Kings of Kauffman content and news by following us on Twitter, Facebook, or by way of our RSS feed. 

(more…)

(more…)