KC Royals: Week 2 Minor League Breakdown

A+ – Wilmington Blue Rocks (7-7)

The Wilmington Blue Rocks started off the week right, taking 3 of 4 from the Potomac Nationals.

After losing the first games of the series in which one of the top pitching prospects for the KC Royals, Scott Blewett, delivered a rough 4.1 innings, the Blue Rocks took the next two, winning games with Emilio Ogando, A.J. Puckett, and Christian Castillo on the hill.

Playing the Salem Red Sox on Monday, Wilmington had a tough game all around. After looking fantastic in his first couple of starts, Foster Griffin was tagged for 8 runs in 1.1 innings.

Salem ended up finishing off the sweep in the next two games.

The highlight of the week came Wednesday night though. Struggling in a tough hitting league to start the year, catcher Chase Vallot, one of the KC Royals top hitting prospects, hit his first home of the year. The DH Roman Collins also went deep for the second time this year.

On Thursday, Wilmington took the first game of the series against the Winston-Salem Dash, barely etching out a 1-0 win. The lone run in this game came on a Elier Hernandez RBI single. What was eye-catching though was the start by the 2015 draftee, A.J. Puckett. Puckett hurled 7 scoreless innings, striking out 8 in what might have been the best start of his professional career.

Overview:  The bullpen has looked amazing. Jared Ruxer, Richard Lovelady, Jake Kalish, and Jacob Bodner have all pitched well.

Player of the Week – A.J. Puckett: His first start was less desirable, allowing 10 baserunners in 5 stressful innings. But what earns him this though is his performance on Thursday night. Eight scoreless in a 1-0 win.