Kansas City Royals Announce Minor League Award Winners

Rookie Ball — Pitchers of the Year

Delvin Capellan (Dominican)

Capellan could not have pitched much better in his first professional season. The 18-year-old posted a 3-2 record with a sparkling 0.48 ERA and 0.63 WHIP over 12 games (all starts).

The right-hander added an absurd 48:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio, while allowing the opposition to hit just .164.

Capellan actually finished the year on a 27-inning scoreless streak. According to the Kansas City Royals’ release, his 0.48 ERA over 56 frames ranks as the single-season record among the franchise’s minor leaguers who threw at least 50 innings.

Charlie Neuweiler (Surprise)

A right-hander, Neuweiler made five starts among his 12 appearances in the Arizona League after being taken in the fifth round of the 2017 draft.

He finished with a 3-3 record but had an impressive 1.76 ERA over 41 innings pitched. According to the release, he might have led the league in ERA but fell four innings shy of qualifying.

The 18-year-old could have had a better strikeout-to-walk ratio (34:12), but he still managed a stellar 0.98 WHIP.  Neuweiler held opponents to a .192 batting average.

Sal Biasi (Burlington)

After just four appearances with Surprise, Biasi received a promotion to Burlington. In his time in the Arizona League, Biasi had a 1-0 mark with a 2.31 ERA. During his time in the Appalachian League, the right-hander wound up 3-2 with a 2.44 ERA.

With Burlington, he started seven games and appeared in two others. An 11th-round pick this summer, Biasi had some control issues, walking 15 batters and hitting four over 44 1/3 innings. The 21-year-old did hold his opponents’ batting average to .186.

According to the release, Biasi tossed five scoreless innings—without allowing a hit or a walk—in an Aug. 18 win to earn Appalachian League Pitcher of the Week honors.

Janser Lara (Idaho Falls)

After spending last season in the Dominican Summer League, Lara came to the United States to pitch in the Pioneer League. His two professional seasons have seen the right-hander post similar statlines.

Last year, he posted a 4.09 ERA and 1.64 WHIP with a 2.14 strikeouts per walk. With Idaho Falls, Lara finished with a 4.13 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and a 1.97 strikeouts per walk. His record, though, did improve significantly from 0-1 to 4-2.

Lara’s numbers suffered a lot due to one horrendous outing. On Aug. 24, he allowed nine runs (six earned) on 13 hits in 5 2/3 innings. Take away that outing, Lara’s ERA falls to a much better 2.59.