KC Royals: Breaking Down the Minor Leagues One Month In

Another inconsistent week by the KC Royals has put doubt in the heads of many fans. With a summer of moves possibly on the way, we look down on the farm.

A month into the minor league season and we have seen many disappointing starts and many promising starts for some KC Royals farmhands. Let’s take a look at how some of the teams are doing.

AAA – Omaha Storm Chasers (14-17)

Starting week five off for Omaha was a home series at Werner Park against the Memphis Redbirds. The first game of the week featured a barnburner, we the Redbirds prevailing 12-9. Corey Toups and Billy Burns collected multiple hits in the contest. Ryan O’Hearn went deep for the sixth time this year. Erik Skoglund did have his first rough start of the year, giving up nine runs in 4.2 innings. Minor league free agent Onelki Garcia made his debut in the KC Royals organization, pitching 2.1 scoreless innings.

Omaha finished off this series, getting swept in four games.

The Storm Chasers then went on the road, playing the Angels AAA team, the Salt Lake Bees. It was another game, another loss for Omaha though, as they lost the series opener 5-2. KC Royals top pitching prospect Josh Staumont was on the hill, only walking two in 6.1 innings (!).

The Storm Chasers finally got a victory on Sunday, winning 6-1. Christian Binford stayed hot in his first AAA start of the year, pitching seven innings of one run ball. The former top prospect has regained some success recently.

Raul Mondesi, Paulo Orlando, and Ramon Torres all collected multiple hits in Sunday’s win.

Omaha couldn’t keep the momentum going though, as Salt Lake regained the series lead, plucking the Storm Chasers 5-3. MLB veteran Bobby Parnell struggled in relief, raising his ERA to 5.65. Paulo Orlando added two doubles.

The Bees ended up taking the series with a 9-1 victory on Tuesday.

Omaha got a needed off day Wednesday. They now face the Las Vegas 51s. Josh Staumont is back on the hill. Look closely at his control.

Player of the Week – Ramon Torres: Torres collected four multi-hit games this week. Torres, the KC Royals #30 prospect according to MLB.com, is putting together one of his best seasons in his career at the plate. He is noticeably striking out less. After a K% of 19.7 in AAA last year, Torres has the lowest K% in the Pacific Coast League, coming in at 5.5%.

A+ – Wilmington Blue Rocks (13-19)

The Wilmington Blue Rocks kicked off their week playing the Down East Wood Ducks. They started the series off on the right foot, winning 10-0. This was a relieving performance by a Blue Rocks offense that had been struggling. Everybody in the lineup, but Roman Collins, got a hit. One of the better pitching prospects in the KC Royals organization, Scott Blewett, threw seven zeros.

The Blue Rocks ended up winning 3 of 4 against Down East. Led by the offense, the lineup averaged eight runs per game in this series.

An off day on Monday cooled the team off. That got back at it on Tuesday, this time against the Potomac Nationals, only scoring three runs in the series opener. The Blue Rocks got to see one of the best prospects in all of baseball this series, facing Victor Robles. That didn’t scare Foster Griffin though, as he led the KC Royals High-A team to the victory. Yunior Marte pitched the ninth, getting his first win.

Making up a game from earlier in the year against Potomac, Wilmington played a doubleheader on Wednesday. Losing the first game 6-1, Scott Blewett couldn’t put together two good starts.

The Blue Rocks ended up splitting the doubleheader, winning 4-3 in the second game.

Player of the Week – Foster Griffin: Griffin continued his fine season Tuesday, pitching well against a good Potomac lineup. He went eight innings, allowing two runs, striking out six. Griffin now has the 10th best FIP in the Carolina League, along with the 10th best K/9.

A – Lexington Legends (13-20)

The KC Royals Class-A team started their week in the final game of a series against the Greensboro Grasshoppers (fun name).

After winning the first two games in the series, the Legends dropped game #3. Righty prospect Gerson Garabito threw six innings of one run ball.

The Legends then stayed on the road for a series with the West Virginia Power. Friday night’s contest was a high scoring affair, with the Legends falling 12-6. The Legends tried big international signee Marten Gasparini, now playing outfield, at leadoff. He responded with a two hit game. Travis Eckert and Ofriedy Gomez struggled though, giving up 16 hits and 12 runs.

It was then more of the same on Saturday night. Good hitting, bad pitching. Even though he didn’t get a hit, Khalil Lee impressed at the plate, walking three times. Chris DeVito and Meibrys  Viloria also continued to kill the ball, each going deep.

The Legends then split the next two games and ended up splitting the series with the Power.

They judged started a new series, playing the Grasshoppers again, this time at home. They fell 12-1 last night, with the bullpen really struggling.

Player of the Week – Meibrys Viloria: After a rough start to his first full season in the minors, Viloria went on a tear this week. He was named the Sally League Player of the Week, collecting 8 hits in 15 at bats, slugging two homers.

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