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%.

AA – Northwest Arkansas Naturals (18-12)

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals started the week in the third game of a series against the Springfield Cardinals. They fell 9-1 with Matt Tenuta and the bullpen getting rocked. Cardinals pitcher Matt Pearce pitches a gem, giving up one run in eight innings.

The Naturals fell the next day too, splitting the four game series.

The Naturals would then return home for a home series with the Arkansas Travelers. This would be their second straight four game series. The team would got back on track, prevailing 4-0. The bottom of the order would do all the dirty work this series with Mauricio Ramos, Allan de San Miguel, and Humberto Arteaga all collecting multiple hits. Ashton Goudeau collected the fourth save of his minor league career.

The pitching staff would stay hot for the Naturals the rest of the series, only giving up three runs the rest of the way. This would include a great bullpen performance on Sunday after Miguel Almonte had to leave after one inning with a fingernail issue. Sam Selman provided 3.2 scoreless innings.

This would also include a bounce back performance by Matt Tenuta. He threw six scoreless, only allowing four baserunners. Put that along with Frank Schwindel’s sixth homer of the year and the Naturals found victory, 3-1.

Player of the Week – Frank Schwindel: What a season Frank Schwindel has had. Not really considered on the prospect radar, Schwindel is spending his third season in the Texas League. Put he has now found dominance. Schwindel is 4th in the league in OPS, 7th in wOBA, and 3rd in average.

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.