Princes of Kauffman – 4/15/2011

Your Weekly Minor League Update:

In order to keep everybody in the loop about what is going on down in the minor league system we here at Kings of Kauffman have decided to start giving weekly minor league updates.  We will be giving you the results of all the games for all the minor league affiliates (at least Low A-AAA), with a couple of the players that stood out from the game and a small recap with some tidbits about how the game went.  It’s especially prominent now with all the attention the Royals farm system is getting but it’s even without that it’s always fun to see what’s coming down the pipeline and what we can expect in the future.  Hopefully you all will find it informative and interesting, if there is any other information you would like in these posts just let me know in the comments and we can start adding them.  Enjoy.

Minor League Club Records (note all records and stats obtained from respective team websites):

Kane County Cougars: 3-5 (6th place)

Wilmington Blue Rocks: 4-2 (1st place)

Northwest Arkansas Naturals: 5-2 (1st place)

Omaha Storm Chasers: 2-6 (4th place)

Low-A (Kane County):

4/10/2011 – Kane County Cougars defeat Wisconsin, 9-5

Ryan Stovall – 3/4, HR, 4RBI; Alex Llanos – 2/5, HR

Keaton Heyenga – 5 IP, 2 R, 1 ER,

Ryan Stovall had a huge game and showed some good power.  Keaton Heyenga also pitched well retiring the final 11 batters he faced. 

4/11/2010 – Kane County Cougars lose to Quad City (IA) River Bandits, 8-3

Jon Keck – 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER

Not much to say here.  Not too many highlights on this one as the Cougars get whacked.

4/12/2011 – Kane County Cougars lose to Quad City (IA) River Bandits, 5-3

Not much good to look at here again.  The Cougars have gotten off to a bit of a slow start as they have struggled through some pitching woes.

4/13/2011 – Kane County Cougars lose to Quad City River Bandits, 2-1

Ray Marimon had a no hitter through 4 1/3 innings but ended up taking the loss in a close one.

4/14/2010 – Kane County Cougars defeat the Quad City River Bandits, 1-0 (10)

The Cougs finally picked off the River Bandits with a walk off win in the 10th.  Yowill Espinal singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 10th which preserved a solid 3 hitter thrown by the combination of pitchers Leondy Perez, Nick Wooley, and Chase Buroff.  Leondy Perez has pitched his last 12 innings scoreless.

High A (Wilmington):

4/10/2011 – Wilmington Blue Rocks lose to Myrtle Beach, 4-3

Jake Odorizzi – 4 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 6 K

Rey Navarro – 2/3, 1 R, 1 RBI

The Royals first look at Jake Odorizzi was a good one as he put in 4 solid innings of work in his debut.  Although the Blue Rocks weren’t able to hold on for the win, there were some promising things being shown.  Rey Navarro showed some solid skills at the bat and has had an impressive start to the season so far.

4/11/2011 – Wilmington Blue Rocks defeat Kinston Indians, 4-1

Noel Arguelles – 4 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 SO; Michael Mariot – 5 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 1 HR

John Whittleman – 2/3, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO; Deivy Batista – 2/3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 SO; Rey Navarro – 2/4, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 SO

Noel Arguelles proved to Royals fans, emphatically, that he does exist.  With a solid outing from Jake Odorizzi the day before, Arguelles was not to be outdone giving up no runs in his 4 innings of work.  He was buttressed by a solid outing from Michael Mariot coming in and finishing the final 5 innings while only giving up one run.  The AAA and AA pitchers are getting all the attention but this High A rotation has some intriguing prospects that could factor into the Royals future.

4/12/2011 – Wilmington Blue Rocks defeat Kinston Indians, 7-6

Elisaul Pimentel – 3 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 7 H, 1 SO, 2 HR; Bryan Paukovits – 3.1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 3 SO

Rey Navarro – 2/5, 1 R, 1 SO; John Whittleman – 3/5, 1 R, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 2 SO; Nicholas Francis – 2/5, 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 SO

Rey Navarro continues to light the High A ranks on fire.  As of the end of this game, Navarro is currently leading the team with a .524 average.  Going with that his triple slash line is just nasty sitting at .524/.565/.905!  We all know it’s early but that is showing some serious skills at the plate and if he continues this he could be looking at a quick move to AA.  Getting some help from others in the lineup they cover up from some shaky pitching from Elisaul Pimental in his first showing for the Blue Rocks.

4/13/2011 – Wilmington Blue Rocks beat Kinston Indians, 2-1

Tim Melville – 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO, 1 HR

Rey Navarro – 1/4, 1 R, 1 3B

Tim Melville wins this pitcher duel as the Blue Rocks complete the sweep of the Indians.  Rey Navarro continues to be solid in his scorching start to the low A season.  He is carrying the Blue Rocks on his back offensively and if he keeps it up will be looking at a quick jump to AA. 

4/14/2011 – Off Day

Double A (Northwest Arkansas):

4/10/2011 – Northwest Arkansas Naturals defeat the Corpus Christi Hooks, 3-2

Heath Rollins – 6 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 K

Will Myers – 3/6, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO; Salvador Perez – 2/5, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 SO

Just like their major league brethren the Naturals won in an extra innings nail biter.  Will Myers showed positive signs as he is leading the Naturals with a .333 average on the season.  Salvador Perez used his solo blast late in the 12^th to tie the game and the Naturals closed it out 2 innings later in the 14^th.

4/11/2011 – Northwest Arkansas Naturals defeat the Corpus Christi Hooks, 4-3

Edgar Osuna – 5.2 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 4 SO; Buddy Bauman – 3.1 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 3 SO

Tim Smith – 2/3, 1 R; Nick Van Stratten – 1/3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 SO

Continuing to follow the lead of the big league club the Naturals pulled out another close one over the Hooks.  The Naturals are off to a 4-1 start and are continuing their dynasty.  After moving from Wichita, in their 4^th year they are gunning for the third trip to the Texas League finals.  But it’s a long season, lot of baseball to play.

4/12/2011 – Northwest Arkansas Natruals rip the Corpus Christi Hooks, 14-4

Chris Dwyer – 3.1 IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 2 SO; Mario Santiago – 3.2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 3 SO

Will Myers – 3/5, 2 R, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 0 SO; Mario Lisson – 1/1, 3 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB; Jamie Romak – 2/5, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 1 SO

There wasn’t even enough room to show all the players that went off at the plate this game.  The Naturals blew it open early and never looked back.  Chris Dwyer got touched up early but Santiago was able to come in and calm things down as his offense took it to the next level.  Lots of exciting things going on in AA right now as the Naturals are off to their best start ever and are sitting at 5-1.

4/13/2011 – Off Day

4/14/2011 – Northwest Arkansas Naturals lose to the San Antonio Missions, 7-4

John Lamb – 3.2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 5 BB, 1 SO; Blake Johnson – 2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 W, 1 SO

Jeff Bianchi – 2/4, 1 R, 1 RBI

The Naturals drop only their second game of the season to the Missions.  Lamb struggled a bit with his control but was able to keep the runs down.  Blake Johnson came in to relive him and was able to keep the Missions in check offensively and it was Patrick Keating who gave up 4 runs in the bottom of the eigth that the Naturals were never able to quite recover from.  Lamb’s control issues are a small concern, but it’s early and a pitcher of his caliber will be able to make the adjustments.

Triple A (Omaha):

4/10/2011 – Omaha Storm Chasers defeat the Albuquerque Isotopes, 9-6

Blake Wood – 3 IP, 1 H, 2 SO

Mike Moustakas – 2/5, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI,

The Storm Chasers were able to “storm” back after an awful outing by Vin Mazzaro.  Blake Wood was impressive in 2 innings of relief showing yet another young reliever that might be a part of the Royals future on the major league level.  Moustakas finally woke up from his slow start and got a homerun to help the Chasers to victory.  Hopefully this will wake him up and he will catch up to the level of hitting that Eric Hosmer is displaying while currently leading the team with a .444 average.

4/11/2011 – Omaha Storm Chasers lose to the Round Rock Express, 5-2

Everett Teaford – 4.2 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 HR, 7 SO; Greg Holland – 2 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 SO

Clint Robinson – 1/3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 HR, 1 BB, 1 SO

Teaford took a no-no into the 4^th only to lose it on a pop up that Paulo Orlando lost in the sun.  The Express were able to keep the Triple A bats in check for most of the game.  They gave up a homerun to Robinson but were able to control the rest of the lineup and pull out the victory 5-2.  Clint Robinson is destroying the ball to the tune of a .947 slg and 1.382 OPS on the season so far.  He’s hitting .316 but with his power numbers makes you wonder if he will actually be a stud or if he’ll end “the Revenge of Kila.”  Time will tell, but I do know that I would like to get him up and take a look sooner than Kila got up.

4/12/2011 – Omaha Storm Chasers lose to Round Rock Express in 13 innings, 3-2

Mike Montgomery – 4 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 5 SO; Jesse Chavez – 3 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 SO

Clint Robinson – 2/5, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO; Johnny Giovatella – 3/5, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SO

Eric Hosmer has cooled off after his hot start and Moustakas continues to struggle in the early going here but Clint Robinson continues to mash leading the team in nearly all statistical categories.  Mike Montgomery came out and performed much better than his first shakey outing showing good command of all 3 of his pitches and looking like the starter we thought he would be.

4/13/2011 – Omaha Storm Chasers fall to the Round Rock Express, 2-0

Jeff Suppan – 5.1 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 6 H, 2 SO; Luis Mendoza – 2.2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 SO

Mike Moustakas – 1/3; Eric Hosmer – 1/3

Jeff Suppan pitches surprisingly well giving up only one run in 5.1 innings.  It wasn’t enough though as the Express got 6 solid innings from Neil Ramirez and kept the Storm Chasers bats in check.  The Triple A club is off to a really slow start offensively with only two players above a .300 batting average.  Hopefully they will start to pick it up moving forward.

4/14/2011 – Omaha Storm Chasers defeated by the Round Rock Express, 7-5

Kevin Pucetas – 5.0 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 4 SO

Lorenzo Cain – 2/5, 1 2B, 1 RBI; Clint Robinson – 2/3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI; Eric Hosmer – 1/4, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Just like the Naturals the Storm Chasers lost the game by giving up a big inning in the bottom of the eigth.  Louis Coleman came on in relief and gave up 3 runs to let the Missions take a 7-5 lead that they never relinquished.  This was a good new bad news game for the Storm Chasers, good news Eric Hosmer hit his first ever AAA home run (a 2 run blast that was originally ruled a double until it was overturned by the umpires to be a homerun), Clint Robinson hit another home run as he continues his tear in the early going upping his total to 4 so far on the season, and Lorenzo Cain came off the DL and into the starting lineup batting leadoff and going 2/5 with an RBI.  Now the bad news, Clint Robinson got hit by a baseball in the elbow and appeared to be in quite a bit of pain.  He was taken out of the game at that point and there hasn’t been news since.  Hopefully it’s just a bruise and not something too serious because CRob has been on a tear so far.

Minor League Pitcher of the Week:  Noel Arguelles – Wilmington (High A) – Stats for the Week: 4 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 SO; Season Stats: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.5 WHIP, 4 IP, 1 SO

Noel Arguelles signed a major league contract worth $7 Million dollars after defecting from Cuba in 2010.  This was a big new international signing that the Royals made and one that they haven’t made in the past.  It’s good to see Royals go out and get talented international players like this.  The only issue to this point was a shoulder injury causing him to miss the entire 2010 season.  Royals fans excited to see the player they signed this large of a contract for were now weary hoping this wouldn’t be something that follows him throughout his career.  Hopefully it was an isolated incident and he definitely showed in his first outing that he has some skills to bring to the table and if he continues only adds to the ridiculous amount of left handed pitching depth this system has.

Minor League Hitter of the Week:  Rey Navarro – Wilmington (High A) – Stats for the Week: 7/16 (.438), 3 R, 3 3B, 2 RBI; Season stats: .480/.519/.880/1.399, 5 R, 1 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 3 RBI

Navarro is a SS who was acquired in May 2010 in the Carlos Rosa trade so he has had limited time in the system before this year, but he’s off to a quick start.  His numbers have been underwhelming so far in his career and this appears to be more than likely a blip but it’s encouraging anytime you see someone get off to a start like Navarro is.  Formerly one of the Diamonbacks top 10 prospects, Navarro finds himself in the middle of a log-jam at middle infield with Christian Colon, Johnny Giovatella, and Jeff Biachi all vying for spots on the big league club in the future.  Not to mention Alcides Escobar already in the majors and doing some major work defensively up the middle.  It will be tough for Navarro to break through and it’s a long shot he factors in to the long term goals of the club but he does provide some nice speed (3 triples already), good depth, and if he continues to hit like this at other levels he can either force the Royals hand or be a valuable trade chip.

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