KC Royals: Breaking Down the First Week of Minor League Action

A – Lexington Legends (2-5)

The Lexington Legends opened their season against the Charleston River Dogs, affiliate of the New York Yankees.  What stood out in the opener to everyone was the full season debut of the 2016 3rd round pick, Khalil Lee. In his first game in Lexington, he went 3 for 4 with a homer and a walk. Watch out for him, as I think he could sore up the prospect rankings this year if he keeps hitting well.

The pitching struggled in the first week of the season, with a 5.40 ERA. A bright side though is Nolan Watson. He has a 2.00 ERA through 2 starts, but at the same time has a 1.444 WHIP with 7.0 BB/9.

Garrett Davila struggled in his two appearances, as did reliever Julio Pinto.

The bullpen did have some good performances though. Walker Sheller, Grant Gavin, and Jose Veras are all scoreless so far.

Overview: Lexington has had a lot of its prospects play poorly, such as Meibrys Viloria, Marten Gasparini, and Ricky Aracena.

Player of the Week – Emmanuel Rivera: Rivera’s .440 batting average is good for fourth in the Sally League. This is Rivera’s second straight year in which he has gotten off to a scorching start. Last year in Burlington, Rivera batted .536 in the first month of the season.