I meant to get this published last night, but that was before my Market Fresh Update took twice as long to pull together than I though it would.

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The “Big” News:

According to Bob Dutton 3B-Mike Moustakas may miss the first two weeks of the regular season.  Apparently Moose strained his right oblique on a swing earlier this week and now his debut for Northwest Arkansas will be delayed.  J.J. Picollo recapped the action:

He felt something and the next swing, with two strikes he hit a single, but you could see that his swing was a little funny. He jogged down the line and called the trainer out.

Moustakas becomes the 3rd top-12 prospect in the organization, joining Danny Duffy and Jeff Bianchi, to be cut down by the injury bug this spring.

Also of note is the report that the Colorado Rockies have shown interest in RHP-Juan Cruz.  Personally, I think Dayton should try to move him in a deal and eat some of his contract if necessary.  Cruz strikes me as a good bet to bounce back this season after a dismal 2009 campaign anyway but a return to the NL would likely help him find his way a little faster.  He never seemed to settle in or get all that comfortable in Kansas City last season.

If this deal actually happens, the open bullpen slot could be used to evaluate one of the younger arms in the system with Blake Wood and Carlos Rosa being the two guys I most want to see in the Royals pen right now.  Since this is Dayton Moore we are talking about, we’d probably end up with on of the guys who were signed to minor league contracts this offseason like Brad Thompson or Josh Rupe.  I’ve got nothing against either Thompson or Rupe, and they really aren’t that old (28 and 27 respectively) but I don’t view either player as part of the team’s future.  Rosa and/or Blake Wood could be but we will never really know unless they are actually given a chance.

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Royals Bloggin’:

Royalscentricity – Logjammin: Middle-Infield Style

Royals Authority - Taking Stock of Spring

Royals Junkie – Anxiety in Baseball: Modern Techniques Can Ease The Burden

14 for 77 – Bees rotation as intriguing as any in the system

The Hardball Times – Five Questions: Kansas City Royals

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Transactions:

On Monday, LHP-Noel Arguelles was optioned to high-A Wilmington and SS-Jeff Bianchi was optioned to Double-A NW Arkansas.

On Tuesday the Royals optioned RHP-Carlos Rosa and RHP-Victor Marte to Triple-A Omaha.  I’m not surprised by either player being optioned down, especially Marte who has been battling injury.  I am however surprised that Rosa wasn’t given a longer look this spring.  It should be sink or swim time in the majors for Carlos, but Dayton and Trey won’t even let him get into the water.  Matthew Pouliot of Hardball Talk* took notice of the move as well.

*When did Circling the Bases become Hardball Talk?

On Wednesday the Royals optioned RHP-Aaron Crow to Double-A NW Arkansas.  Like the Rosa and Marte moves, this certainly didn’t come as a shock.  I have been extremely impressed by Crow thus far between his AFL and spring training innings and he is further along than I thought he would be.  I know some people wanted him to make the opening day roster, and some people believe the Royals should be conservative and keep him in the minors all season.  Typically I’d be in league with the latter group, but when it comes to Aaron Crow I hope the Royals let his pitching determine how quickly he moves up instead of sticking to a preconceived plan, time frame, or basing it on need at the major league level.  If Crow is the special talent we all hope and think he is, I wouldn’t be at all opposed to seeing him in Kansas City before the All Star break.

OF-Rene Oriental (25) is back with the Royals after a very bizarre detour.

According to Baseball America, the Royals signed LHP-Oswaldo Bravo at the end of February.

The latest from Baseball America Minor League Transactions indicates that the team signed LHP-Jose Sanchez last week and also released RHP-Deybi de la Cruz, LHP-Aneidy Toribio, 3B-Josh Johnson, and OF-Shawn Griffin.

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Former Royals:

Everyone’s favorite, RHP-Sidney Ponson, has signed with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League.  The linked MLB Trade Rumors post on the topic sums it up perfectly with the following:

He became a free agent in August after Kansas City designated him for assignment, and this is the first time we’ve heard his name since.

Blue Jays C-John Buck hit two home runs yesterday and is now hitting 0.375/.375/.875 through 16 spring at bats.

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Random Stuff:

Remember the A.J. Ellis for Alberto Callaspo trade rumors?  Thanks to the pulled groin of catcher Russell Martin, it looks like we’re going to find out if Ellis has what it takes to survive in the major leagues.  He’s going to get his shot wearing a Dodgers uniform instead of a Royals one and I am completely okay with that.

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen tells it like it is in his own very unique way.

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are going to try and set the world record for the “largest gathering of people wearing fleece blankets.”  Tim Lincecum in a Giants knock-off Snuggie is cool.  Tens of thousands of Angels fans showing up to a game to don their own Hideki Matsui “blankie”?  Not so cool.  Snuggie-mania is running wild throughout this great country and I refuse to get on board.

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I should be back with more tonight including the latest edition of the Baseball Side of FanSided and the reveal of KoK Prospect #8.

(Wally Fish is the lead blogger for Kings of Kauffman and FanSided’s MLB Director.  Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily.)

OF-Malcolm Bronson (11th Round/325th Overall) Jasper HS (Texas)
Did not sign with the Royals
Signed to play baseball and football for McNeese State University

OF-Keven Allen Caldwell (12/355) Spartanburg Methodist College (South Carolina)
Rookie – Burlington Royals
Season does not start until June 23rd
Caldwell hit .201/.268/.327 in 199 AB for the Burlington Royals in 2008.  He played in 54 games, drew 17 walks, and struck out 44 times.

LHP-John Flanagan (13/385) Southwestern Illinois JC
Rookie – Burlington Royals
Season does not start until June 23rd
Flanagan pitched for the Burlington Royals in 2008.  In 45.2 innings pitched, he had a 2.56 ERA, 14 BB and 43 SO.  He appeared in 12 games, 7 of them as a starter.

RHP-Chase Hentges (14/415) Shakopee HS (Minnesota)
Rookie – Arizona League Royals
Season does not start until June 21st
Hentges pitched 15.1 innings, all in relief, for the AZL Royals in 2008.  He had a 4.11 ERA with 3 BB and 11 SO.

1B-Alberto Espinosa (15/445) Broward CC (Florida)
Rookie – Idaho Falls Chukars
Season does not start until June 23rd
Espinosa hit .216/.275/.296 in 199 AB for Idaho Falls in 2008.  He played in 56 games, drew 16 walks, and struck out 45 times.

LHP-Derrick Saito (16/475) Cal Poly (California)
Low-A – Burlington Bees
In 2008 Saito pitched for Idaho Falls where he pitched 33.0 innings with a 4.36 ERA, 19 BB, and 37 SO.  The Royals moved him up to Low-A to start the 2009 season and he is performing well against more advanced competition while improving his numbers across the board.  In 27.2 innings pitched this season he has a 3.90 ERA with 25 SO and 7 BB.

3B-Jacob Kuebler (17/505) Lincoln Southeast HS (Nebraska)
Rookie – Arizona League Royals
Season does not start until June 21st
Kuebler hit .187/.231/.244 with 5 SB in 123 AB for the AZL Royals in 2008.  He played in 35 games, drew 6 walks, and struck out 23 times.

OF-Carlo Testa (18/535) Belmont College (Tennessee)
Rookie – Idaho Falls Chukars
Season does not start until June 23rd
The Royals started Carlo Testa off in Low-A with the Burlington Bees, but he lasted only 7 games there.  In his 16 AB with Burlington, he hit .188/.350/.313 with 4 BB and 5 SO before he was demoted.  Instead of letting the demotion consume him, Testa performed well in Idaho Falls.  He hit .304/.395/.462 in 171 at bats with the Chukars.  In his 51 games in rookie ball, he drew 25 walks, struck out 51 times, and stole 12 bases.  He will begin the season in Idaho Falls again, but a quick promotion to Burlington is probably in his future if he continues to perform.

C-Miguel Moctezuma (19/565) University of Central Oklahoma
Rookie – Burlington Royals
Season does not start until June 23rd
Moctezuma hit .158/.211/.218 in 101 AB for the Burlington Royals in 2008.  He played in 31 games, drew 6 walks, and struck out 31 times.  While catchers aren’t relied on to hit, putting up numbers like Moctezuma did in 2008 will end a professional career in a hurry.

OF-Shawn Griffin (20/595) University of Tennessee
Rookie – Idaho Falls Chukars
Season does not start until June 23rd
Griffin played in 69 games for Idaho Falls in 2008.  In 257 AB, he hit .249/.346/.389 with 14 SB, 38 BB and 83 SO.

Thoughts:
It is always hard to judge players based on how they do in their 1st season of professional ball.  Not only are they playing against the best competition of their life, they are also having to adapt to a new environment socially, physically, and mentally.  3 players of the 9 stand out among the rest, LHP-Derrick Saito, OF-Carlo Testa, and OF-Shawn Griffin.  Not surprisingly, all 3 played college baseball giving them a leg up on their typically younger competition. Reliever Derrick Saito is the most promising of all. In addition to already advancing a level and improving his ERA and SO/BB in the process, Saito is left- handed which will help him climb the minor league ladder.  Baseball America ranks Saito as the 2nd best LH reliever in the Royals minor league organization.  The Royals #1 LH Reliever prospect is Ben Swaggerty who is pitching for High-A Wilmington after being signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2007.  Swaggerty has a 2.51 ERA in 14.1 IP this season, but his 9 BB and 12 SO are not as impressive.