Royals on the Farm 6/7 -- back in action

NOTE: What a difference a week makes, in several ways. I go off to sunny, humid Florida for a week and return to find the Royals having won a few games, Angel Berroa finally gone, and the MLB draft in the books. I figgered what I'd do here is recap yesterday's game and then shortly sum up the last week for each minors affiliate. Sound OK?

AAA - Omaha: Iowa 4, O-Royals 3

1B Butler 2-4, HR (2), 2 RBI (5), RS -- .375
SS Smith 1-3, BB, HR (13), RBI (40), K, RS -- .266
CF Maier 0-4, CS (2), E -- .304
DH Shealy 1-3, BB, 2B (6) -- .218, back from shelf
LF Lubanski 1-3, 2 K -- .273, on hot streak lately
3B Lucas 0-3, 2 K -- .105

Rosa 4 IP, nothing -- 3.96 ERA, pulled while throwing a perfecto because of rain delay
Colon 4 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, BB, K -- L, 1-1, 5.70 ERA
Salmon IP, BB, K -- 5.02 ERA

*** The O-Royals mounted a rally in the 9th but it wasn't enough to snatch a win from Iowa. Carlos Rosa made an excellent start for Omaha but was pulled after 4 perfect innings and 45 pitches because of a 67-minute rain delay. He got no run support in his stint, and Roman Colon came in for the 5th. A 1-out single broke up the no-no/perfecto and Colon lost the shutout in the 6th as the Cubs scored 3 runs on a walk, 3 hits, a sac fly and Mitch Maier error. Omaha was being shut out on 3 hits going into the 7th before Jason Smith clubbed a 2-out solo homer for his 13th of the season. The Cubs scraped together another run off Colon in the 8th. With 1 out in the 9th, Dave Matranga singled and Billy Butler smoked his 2nd AAA homer of the season to right to cut it to 4-3 Iowa. Ryan Shealy and Jason Smith drew walks but Damon Hollins hit into a game-ending DP as Iowa's Jim Brower got his 2nd save. RP Mike Burns got the win with 3 1/3 IP of an ER on a hit with 2 Ks to improve to 4-4 with a 2.59 ERA and Iowa starter Justin Berg went 3 2/3 IP and allowed 3 hits with 2 Ks to drop his ERA to 5.52. CF Felix Pie was 2-4 with his 5th double, 12th RBI, 2 RS and his 3rd SB to move to .191. LF Matt Murton drove in 2 runs.

Omaha is 29-31 and 4.5 games out after going 3-4 on the week. The O-Royals are 2-5 versus the I-Cubs going into today's series finale. Pitchers: Iowa LH J.R. Mathes (2-3, 2.86) vs. Omaha lefty Horacio Ramirez making his organizational debut after KC picked him up following his release by the Mariners. A few roster moves were made over the week, as Berroa was shipped to the Dodgers for a somewhat weak-hitting middle infielder ("not that" Juan Rivera), Ed Lucas was called up from NW Arkansas, Neal Musser came back to town as Kyle Davies got the call, and the Chin-hui Tsao experiment ended as the Royals released the Taiwanese reliever. Devon Lowery and Shane Costa (sore wrists) hit the DL as Billy Butler made his Omaha return (with Mike Aviles finally getting his shot at KC) and waiver wire addition C Brayan Pena was DFA'd and got through waivers to Omaha. He makes his first Omaha start today. Through May and the first week of June, Omaha's hot hitters are Jason Smith (.868 OPS includes .555 SLG, 13 2B, 6 3B, 13 HR, 40 RBI, 16 BB/69 K, 10 E in 57 games and 211 ABs), Shane Costa (.865 OPS with .518 SLG, 15 2B, 9 HR, 32 RBI, 15 BB/24 K, 6/7 SB in 49 games and 195 ABs), Chris Lubanski (.860 OPS including .519 SLG, 9 2B, 3 3B, 8 HR, 29 RBI, 17 BB/49 K, 3 E in 47 games and 158 ABs, nice to see him showing signs of getting AAA down), and Mitch Maier (.826 OPS including .485 SLG, 11 2B, 6 HR, 23 RBI, 9 BB/19 K in 41 games and 167 ABs). Billy Butler is hitting for a 1.026 OPS through his first handful of games, Ryan Shealy is now hitting for a .746 OPS with a sub-.300 OBP, and, in a couple others of note, C Matt Tupman is hitting for a .660 OPS (also with a sub-.300 OBP) and 1B Mike Stodolka is hitting for a .623 OPS with a .285 OBP. Carlos Rosa leads active Omaha pitchers with a 1.12 WHIP (plus a 3.96 ERA, 2 HRA, 4 BB/20 K in 5 starts and 25 IP), Devon Lowery is next at a 1.25 WHIP (1.47 ERA, 2 SV, 1 HRA, 10 BB/11 K in 10 appearances and 18 1/3 IP), and then Neal Musser at a 1.29 WHIP (3.24 ERA, 6 SV, 6 HRA, 18 BB/43 K in 21 appearances and 33 1/3 IP). Matt Wright is sitting at a 1.47 WHIP and 4.85 ERA with 14 HRA, 20 BB and 31 K in 11 starts and 55 2/3 IP and, even uglier stat-wise, Tyler Lumsden has a 1.85 WHIP and 7.15 ERA with 10 HRA, 31 BB and 19 K in 11 starts and 56 2/3 IP. I'll let those numbers speak for themselves.

AA - NW Arkansas: Arkansas 4, Naturals 3

LF Suero 2-4, HBP, K, RS, SB (27), E (4) -- .285
2B Falu 2-3, BB, RBI (10), CS (2) -- .270
CF Duarte 1-3, BB, S, HR (4), RBI (25), RS -- .257
3B Richardson 0-3, SF, RBI (30) -- .296
SS Sanchez 0-4, S, K -- .254
1B Kaaihue 0-2, 2 BB -- .287
RF McFall 1-2, 2 BB, 2B (10), RS -- .247

Cortes 5 1/3 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 10 H, 2 BB, 4 K -- L, 2-3, 3.52 ERA
Atencio 2 2/3 IP, H, K -- 4.26 ERA
C. Hayes IP, K -- 2.21 ERA

*** Dan Cortes got smacked around, mostly for singles, as Arkansas pulled into a tie for the division lead. A triple and single got Arkansas on the board before Cortes recorded an out. Brian McFall doubled and Geraldo Valentin singled with 1 out in the 2nd and Irving Falu singled in a run to tie the game but the rally stopped there. Cortes stranded 2 in the 3rd and NWA moved ahead in the bottom of the inning as Juan Richardson hit a bases-loaded sac fly but the Naturals left the bases full. Cortes allowed the tying run in the 4th on 2 hits and a walk but Jose Duarte put NWA back up with his 4th homer to lead off the 5th to make it 3-2 Nats. Cortes continued to struggle in the 6th as Arkansas got 2 singles and an Ovandy Suero error before a 1-out single scored 2 runs to give the Travelers a 4-3 lead and Greg Atencio came in for Cortes. The Naturals stranded 2 in the 7th and the last 6 Nats went down in order as RP Kevin Jepsen got his 11th save. Starter Fernando Rodriguez got the win with 5 IP of 3 ER on 6 hits and 4 walks to move to 5-4 with a 5.32 ERA. Three Travs had 2-hit games, including SS Wilberto Ortiz, who was 2-4 with 2 RBI (2) to set a .500 BA and had the game-winning hit.

NWA is 31-29 and tied with the Travs for first after going 2-5 on the week, including 1-3 versus Arkansas. The first half ends June 17. A 4-game set at the Tulsa Drillers (22-38, AA Rockies) starts today. Probable starters: NWA's Julio Pimentel (3-5, 5.29) vs. Tulsa's Alan Johnson (2-6, 5.59). The Naturals are 7-1 versus Tulsa. Over the past week, seven Naturals (tied for most in the league) were named to the Texas League All-Star Game, which is set for June 25 in Springfield, Mo. 1B Kila Kaaihue and DH Juan Richardson will start for the TL North team and SS Angel Sanchez and OF Ovandy Suero will be on the bench. Righties Dan Cortes and Blake Johnson were named to the squad as was lefty Dusty Hughes. NWA's top hitters are Kila Kaaihue (.995 OPS including .421 OBP, .574 SLG, 3 2B, 13 HR, 39 RBI, 33 BB/22 K, 3 E in 46 games and 148 ABs -- time to make a move with Shealy), Juan Richardson (.838 OPS, 14 2B, 5 HR, 30 RBI, 26 BB/41 K in 56 games and 203 ABs) and Brian McFall (.827 OPS, 9 2B, 9 HR, 32 RBI, 27 BB/45 K in 54 games and 168 ABs). After that it's a dropoff to Marc Maddox at a .735 OPS (he does have a .383 OBP, tho). Other notable players are Geraldo Valentin at a .716 OPS, Angel Sanchez at a .658 OPS (slugging only .312 with 9 E in 49 games), Jose Duarte at a .638 OPS, and 40-man sluggard Mario Lisson at a .595 OPS (15 of 44 hits for extra bases but only 8 walks and 48 Ks). Pitching-wise, reliever Jarod Plummer has a 1.06 WHIP and 3.80 ERA with 3 SV, 4 HRA and 2 BB/20 K in 13 appearances and 23 2/3 IP; Dusty Hughes has a 1.12 WHIP and 2.66 ERA with 2 SV, 2 HRA, 13 BB/38 K in 16 games (4 starts) and 47 1/3 IP; Chris Hayes has a 1.19 WHIP and 2.33 ERA with 4 SV, 2 HRA and 6 BB/14 K in 12 appearances and 19 1/3 IP; and Dan Cortes had a 1.24 WHIP and 3.27 ERA (excluding Saturday's start) with 3 HRA and 17 BB/31 K in 7 starts and 33 IP. Blake Wood is off to a great start at AA with a 0.90 WHIP, 2.03 ERA and already a complete game shutout to his credit with 2 BB and 16 Ks in 2 starts and 13 1/3 IP, Blake Johnson has a 1.27 WHIP and 3.90 ERA with 12 BB and 43 Ks in 12 starts and 67 IP, Julio Pimentel has a 1.39 WHIP and 5.29 ERA with 22 BB and 48 Ks in 12 starts and 66 1/3 IP, and Rowdy Hardy has a 1.50 WHIP and 5.08 ERA with 8 BB and 30 Ks in 12 starts and 67 1/3 IP.

A-Adv. -- Wilmington: suspended (rain)

*** The Rocks' game versus Potomac was suspended with Wilmington holding a 2-0 lead in the 3rd. That marked the third time a Rocks game has been suspended by weather over the past week as the Rocks have gone 4-4 over the week. The game is set to be completed today before the series finale with the Nationals. The Rocks are 30-31 and 7 games back in second place. Probable starters for the regularly scheduled game are Rocks right-hander Mario Santiago (3-3, 4.50) vs. Nats righty Joe Norrito (3-0, 3.00). The Nats' magic number for clinching the first-half title is 3.

Top hitters at Wilmington are 3B Josh Johnson (.907 OPS including .476 OBP plus .302 BA, 8 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 46 BB, 36 K, 4 E in 49 games and 139 ABs), RF Joe Dickerson (.887 OPS plus team-leading .312 BA, 7 2B, 7 3B, 5 HR, 34 RBI, 22 BB, 34 K, 23/32 SB in 59 games and 202 ABs), 2B Kurt Mertins (.782 OPS including .367 OBP, 15 2B, 4 3B, HR, 21 RBI, 23 BB, 42 K, 11/14 SB, 9 E in 54 games and 188 ABs), C Jeff Howell (.738 OPS, 10 2B, 2 HR, 20 RBI, 11 BB, 29 K in 37 games and 130 ABs), and 2B Jeff Bianchi (.701 OPS including .417 SLG but only .284 OBP, 11 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 7 BB and 34 K in 38 games and 144 ABs). Other notables are SS Chris McConnell at a .699 OPS with a team-leading 17 doubles and 26 BB with 22 Ks and 12 E in 56 games and 203 ABs. He's also a paltry 15/27 in SB. CF Derrick Robinson has a .653 OPS with 9 2B and 3 3B, 17 BB and 53 Ks and 28/34 SB in 55 games and 226 ABs. 1B/DH Anthony Seratelli is the only other player with an OPS over .600 at .611. Among pitchers, RP Gilbert de la Vara has a 1.02 WHIP and 3.72 ERA with 2 SV, 1 HRA and 10 BB/28 K in 19 games and 36 1/3 IP; starter Everett Teaford has a 1.11 WHIP, 2.57 ERA, 1 SV, 5 HRA and 16 BB/39 K in 12 games (7 starts) and 56 IP; Chris Nicoll has a 1.15 WHIP, 3.13 ERA, 1 SV, 7 HRA and 11 BB/40 K in 17 games and 37 1/3 IP; and starter Matt Kniginyzky has a 1.22 WHIP, 3.51 ERA, 1 HRA and 21 BB/42 K in 12 starts and 59 IP. Others of note are Ed Cegarra, who has a 0.85 WHIP and 2.77 ERA in 2 starts and 13 IP in his first taste of advanced-A action; Greg Holland, who has a 1.23 WHIP and 3.98 ERA with 3 saves and 17 K/49 BB in 40 2/3 IP; Tyler Chambliss, who has a 1.34 WHIP and 1.86 ERA with 9 SV and 12 BB/21 K in 29 IP; Jason Godin, who has a 1.48 WHIP and 5.78 ERA with 4 HRA and 19 BB/39 K in 12 starts and 62 1/3 IP; and Mario Santiago, who has a 1.73 WHIP and 4.50 ERA with 4 HRA and 15 BB/37 K in 11 starts and 52 IP.

A - Burlington: Cedar Rapids 5, Bees 1

SS Moustakas 0-4, K -- .232
DH Martin 2-4, RBI (7), K -- .333
LF Ortiz 1-4 -- .297
3B Taylor 1-1, 3 BB, RS, CS (7) -- .216
1B C. Robinson 0-4, K -- .233
RF Van Stratten 0-3, BB, 2 K -- .200
* C Todd Balduf picked off 2 baserunners.

Caldera 5 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, 7 K, WP -- L, 3-5, 3.47 ERA
Arias and Z. Peterson each IP scoreless relief
C. Chavez 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 4 H -- 3.33 ERA
Baldwin 1/3 IP, nothing -- 0.00 ERA

*** A slim 1-0 Kernels lead was blown open with a 4-run 8th as the Bees dropped their third straight. The Bees left the bases full in the 2nd and the Kernels got a triple and sac fly off Alex Caldera in their half of the inning to take a 1-0 lead. Todd Balduf picked off two runners in the 3rd to keep the Bees down 1 but the Burlington offense sputtered. In the 8th, Zach Evangelho led off with a single but was thrown out trying to stretch it to 2 and it was costly as Balduf was hit by a pitch and Adrian Ortiz singled. The Bees failed to rally as David Lough hit into a double play and the Kernels got to Chris Chavez in the 8th as they loaded the bases with 1 out and got two 2-out, 2-run singles to make it 5-0. Chavez was ejected after the second of those singles. Kyle Martin hit a 2-out RBI single in the 9th but that was it. Cedar Rapids starter Trevor Reckling got the win with 8 IP of 5 hits, 3 walks and 5 Ks to improve to 3-2 with a 2.64 ERA. 2B Hector Estrella and 1B Efren Navarro had 2 RBI each.

The Bees are 25-37 and 16 games back in last place after going 4-4 over the week. The series at the Kernels ends today as Sam Runion (1-3, 4.57) takes the mound for Burlington vs. Kernels SP Robert Fish (3-2, 5.31). Wilson Tucker was put on the inactive list as Zach Evangelho was activated from the DL. Also, Shawn Hayes hit the DL as Nick Van Stratten joined the roster. Two Bees made the MWL All-Star game as OF Adrian Ortiz will start for the ML West and righty Joe Augustine will be in the pitching corps. New addition Juan Rivera, who wasn't hitting that great at Great Lakes for the Dodgers, will join the Bees roster at some point as well. Top hitters for Burlington are 1B Clint Robinson (.790 OPS including .467 SLG, 6 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 14 RBI, 14 BB/18 K in 35 games and 120 ABs), 3B Jason Taylor (.741 OPS including .360 OBP despite only .216 BA, 3 2B, 4 3B, 7 HR, 23 RBI, 40 BB/46 K, 20/27 SB, 12 E in 59 games and 194 ABs), and OF David Lough (.741 OPS, 8 2B, 6 3B, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 15 BB/38 K in 56 games and 213 ABs). Mike Moustakas has improved to a .678 OPS (.390 SLG/only .287 OBP) with 8 doubles, 2 triples and leads the team with 8 HR and 28 RBI. He has 15 walks and 38 Ks and is 4/7 in SB with 12 E in 58 games and 228 ABs. IF Kyle Martin has hit for a .919 OPS with a .519 SLG, 6 XBH and 6 E in his first 17 games at the level. OF Adrian Ortiz is also hitting for a .691 OPS with 7 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 16 RBI with 8 BB and 42 Ks and is 21/29 in SB in 61 games and 256 ABs. Among pitchers, Chavez leads the way despite Saturday's bad outing with a 1.03 WHIP, 3.33 ERA, 2 SV and 4 BB/19 K in 12 games and 24 1/3 IP; Tony Bradley has a 1.22 WHIP and 1.42 ERA with 3 SV, 12 BB/19 K in 16 games and 25 1/3 IP; Joe Augustine has a 1.27 WHIP and 2.22 ERA with 4 SV, 2 HRA and 19 BB/45 K in 12 games (3 starts) and 48 2/3 IP; and Caldera has a 1.27 WHIP and 3.47 ERA with 4 HRA and 18 BB/67 K in 12 starts and 70 IP. Matt Mitchell has a 1.31 WHIP and 4.05 ERA with 4 HRA and 10 BB/40 K in 12 games (9 starts) and 53 1/3 IP. Eduardo Paulino has a 1.37 WHIP and 4.10 ERA with 7 HRA and 14 BB/50 K in 12 games (10 starts) and 63 2/3 IP; Runion has a 1.38 WHIP and 4.57 ERA with 2 HRA and 5 BB/3 K in his first 4 starts and 21 2/3 IP; and Dan Duffy has a 1.44 WHIP and 5.71 ERA with 2 HRA and 8 BB/21 K in his first 4 starts and 17 1/3 IP. Gotta like that K rate.