Royals on the Farm 5/31 -- May wrapup

AAA - Omaha: Round Rock 4, O-Royals 2

RF Gordon 1-3, HBP, RBI (23) -- .371
3B Maddox 1-3, SF, RBI (19) -- .248
1B Ka'aihue 0-3, BB, K -- .333
SS Falu 1-3, BB, RS -- .307
LF Lough 1-3, S -- .274

Mendoza 4 IP, 4 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 2 K, HRA -- L, 3-3, 3.25 ERA
Castaneda 3 IP, H, K -- 3.15 ERA
Holland 2 IP, 2 K -- 4.05 ERA

* The Royals saw their 8-game win streak vanish into memory on Memorial Day as Round Rock beat Luis Mendoza. Both teams stranded 2 in the 1st and Round Rock churned out 3 runs in the 2nd as Mendoza served up a 2-run homer in the rally. Alex Gordon hit an RBI single in the 3rd but the Express got the run back in the 4th. Marc Maddox hit a sac fly in the 4th to cut it to 4-2 but Omaha left 2 in scoring position in the 8th for their last, best chance. Starter Polin Trinidad allowed 2 ER over 8 IP to improve to 3-2. RF Andrew Locke and 2B Marcos Cabral had 2 hits each. Cabral hit the 2-run homer for his 1st of the season for the Express. Omaha is 27-22. A 4-game set at the New Orleans Zephyrs (22-26, AAA Marlins) starts Tuesday as Gaby Hernandez starts the opener. A quick glance at the team leaders through May (stats are after Sunday) : OPS -- (no shocker) Alex Gordon 1.221 (.372/.508/.713, 15 XBH, 22 RBI, 22 BB/24 K in 25 games/94 ABs, a run of play like that makes you figure he's gonna work out the kinks in the majors some day soon); Kila Ka'aihue 1.173 (.342/.507!/.667, 10 HR, 33 RBI, 38 BB/26 K in 34 G/114 ABs); Ed Lucas is at .928 in only 14 G; Jordan Parraz .769 (.259/.374/.395, 16 XBH, 21 BB/31 K in 46 G/162 ABs, had OPS over 1.000 in May after ungood April); moving down the line....David Lough .725 (.790 OPS in May, 16 XBH, 9 BB/27 K in 47 G/198 ABs)...Jai Miller .715...Irving Falu .709...no other active guys are above .601. WHIP -- Bryan Bullington 0.93 (1.60 ERA, 45 IP, HRA, 12 BB/31 K, hope he can put it together in the majors); Federico Castaneda 1.06 (2 HRA, 5 BB/11 K in 17 IP); Phil Humber 1.17 (3.82 ERA, 9 HRA, 10 BB/37 K in 10 starts/61 1/3 IP); Luis Mendoza 1.18 (2.28 ERA, 2 HRA, 3 BB/12 K in 6 games/23 2/3 IP); Greg Holland 1.22 (HRA, 9 BB/17 K in 24 2/3 IP)....Anthony Lerew is basically 6th at 1.27 (2.77 ERA, 15 BB/29 K in 55 1/3 IP), Gaby Hernandez is at 1.45 (6.59 ERA, 14 HRA, 20 BB/33 K in 54 2/3 IP, yeesh), Chris Hayes is at 1.64 in 11 IP.

AA - NW Arkansas: Midland 9, Naturals 1

RF Orlando 2-4, 2B (7), K -- .304, hot streak continues
3B Seratelli 1-4, RBI (10), K -- .203
CF D. Robinson 0-5, K -- .302
2B Giavotella 0-5, 3 K -- .279
1B C. Robinson 0-3, 2 BB -- .257
LF Smith 1-3, BB, K -- .309
NWA stranded 12, and Moustakas DNP'd again.

Crow 4 IP, 7 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 3 K -- L, 2-5, 5.04 ERA, sigh
Swaggerty IP, ER, 3 H, K -- 5.40 ERA
B. Johnson 2 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 K -- 6.14 ERA
R. Hardy IP, H -- 6.10 ERA

* As much as I should like Aaron Crow -- Topeka guy, Royals top 2009 draft pick, one of the so-called best prospects in the organization -- I'm just indifferent for some reason. Maybe it's because I thought they should go SS, maybe because I don't trust the FO in drafting pitchers high. Either way, he's not convincing me otherwise. He got blistered Monday for his 5th loss of the season as Midland took the series. Four singles scored 3 Midland runs in the 3rd and the Nats stranded the bases full in the 4th before the RockHounds scored 4 to make it 7-0. Ben Swaggerty allowed a run in the 5th and Anthony Seratelli singled in the Nats' only run in the 6th before they left the bases full again. Midland made it 9-1 in the 6th. NWA stranded 2 more in the 9th. Midland SP Anthony Capra pitched 5 scoreless innings to move to 4-6. Five Midland batters had multiple hits as 3 hit 3, and 3 drove in 2 runs. The Naturals are 29-21. They have Tuesday off. NWA stat check -- OPS: Mike Moustakas 1.224 (.374/.459/.764, 32 RS, 24 XBH (split evenly between 2B/HR), 41 RBI, 17 BB/20 K, 6 E in 33 G/123 ABs, get well soon, you're almost the entire offense); Jeff Howell .927 (.333/.390/.537, 5 BB/14 K in 14 G/54 ABs); Tim Smith .874 (.309/.380/.495, 10 XBH, 11 BB/11 K in 28 G/97 ABs); Clint Robinson .797 (.257/.360/.437, 27 RS, 23 XBH (18 2B), 26 BB/35 K, 5 E in 48 G/183 ABs); Paulo Orlando .796 (.304/.348/.448, 12 XBH, 3 BB/19 K, 6/10 SB in 40 G/125 ABs, hit .400 with 1.057 OPS in May). Others...Derrick Robinson .784 (5 3B, 26/34 SB, .394 OBP in 48 G/182 ABs, .286 BA/.713 OPS in May), Manny Pina .753, Johnny Giavotella .708 (only .250/.632 OPS in May, still has .350 OBP overall), Nick Van Stratten .694 (.243/.662 in May, .354 OBP not bad). WHIP: Blaine Hardy 0.73 (0.69 ERA, 4 SV, 8 BB/16 K in 26 IP, hope he does well in AAA); Louis Coleman 0.92 (2.27 ERA, 3 SV, 3 HRA, 9 BB/28 K in 31 2/3 IP); Edgar Osuna 1.05 (1.71 ERA, 5 HRA, 8 BB/38 K in 58 IP, K rate not great but K/BB is great); Brandon Sisk 1.19 (1.67 ERA, 4 SV, 3 HRA, 10 BB/21 K in 27 IP); Mike Montgomery 1.22 (2.84 ERA, HRA, 9 BB/22 K in first 25 1/3 AA IP, looking good so far). Others.... Mario Santiago 1.29 (2.82 ERA, 2 HRA, 18 BB/30 K in 51 IP), Everett Teaford 1.34 (4.88 ERA, 5 HRA, 6 BB/32 K in 31 1/3 IP, has looked better than these #s), Eduardo Paulino 1.44 (3.98 ERA, 15 BB/29 K in 43 IP), Aaron Crow 1.55 (5.04 ERA, 8 HRA (worst on team), 28 BB/39 K in 64 1/3 IP, not much good to see there, 5.97 ERA, .298 OAV in May).

A - Adv. - Wilmington: Kinston 4, Blue Rocks 1

3B Romak 2-4, RBI (30), 2 K -- .240
LF Ortiz 2-4 -- .274
1B Hosmer 0-4 -- .349
C S. Perez 1-4, E (5) -- .289
RF Francis 0-3 -- .091
SS Navarro 1-3 -- .198

Caldera 5 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 2 HRA -- L, 4-3, 3.12 ERA, run of good starts comes to abrupt halt
Baez 2 IP, H, BB -- 5.31 ERA
Lafferty IP, H, 2 K -- 4.30 ERA

* Alex Caldera had a mediocre start for a change and got no run support as Kinston took the series opener. Caldera gave up a solo homer in the 1st and 2 runs in the 2nd as the K-Tribe took an early lead. Caldera staggered through a scoreless 3rd and then gave up another solo homer in the 4th. Wilmington didn't get a runner past second until the 9th when Jamie Romak hit an RBI single to drive in Patrick Norris. The Rocks stranded 2. Kinston SP T.J. McFarland allowed an ER over 8 2/3 IP to improve to 6-1 with a 1.78 ERA. SS Karexon Sanchez had 3 hits while two other Tribe batters had 2 hits. The Rocks are 22-30. John Lamb starts Tuesday. Stat check for Wilmington -- OPS: Eric Hosmer .924 (.349/.416/.508, 22 XBH (16 2B), 30 RBI, 22 BB/18 K, 7/7 SB, 4 E in 50 G/189 ABs, hope late slump is just minor hiccup); Salvador Perez .775 (.289/.328/.446, 13 XBH, 7 BB/11 K, 5 E in 35 G/121 ABs, doing pretty well for second youngest player in Carolina League); Anthony Seratelli .772 (.277/.346/.426, 6 XBH, 4 BB/16 K in 13 G/47 ABs); Ben Theriot .688 (.265/.321/.367, 4 BB/11 K in 15 G/49 ABs, team is 2-12 when he starts); Eddie Prasch .683 (11 XBH, 13 BB/29 K in 28 G/93 ABs). Others...Adrian Ortiz .682 (only .319 OBP, 29 RS, 12 XBH, 13 BB/35 K, 17/26 SB in 48 G/190 ABs, underwhelming, tho not as bad as last year), Patrick Norris .609 (17 BB/41 K, 11/17 SB, only .289 OBP in 46 G/184 ABs), nobody else is above .600, Rey Navarro .476 (8 E in 26 games). WHIP: Patrick Keating 0.79 (0.96 ERA, 5 SV, 2 HRA, 7 BB/40 K in 28 IP, very nice); Caldera 1.16 (3.12 ERA, 5 HRA, 13 BB/59 K in 10 G/57 2/3 IP, could be next in AA rotation); Barry Bowden 1.25 (1.66 ERA, 4 SV, HRA, 9 BB/25 K in 21 2/3 IP); John Lamb 1.25 (1.50 ERA, 3 BB/12 K in first 2 Rocks starts/12 IP); Brendan Lafferty 1.30 (4.30 ERA, 2 HRA, 4 BB/12 K in 14 2/3 IP). Others... Chris Dwyer 1.44 (4.03 ERA, 3 HRA, 26 BB/48 K in 10 G/51 1/3 IP), Tim Melville 1.54 (6.85 ERA, 3 HRA, 21 BB/42 K in 10 starts/47 1/3 IP, at least K rate is fairly healthy), Ivor Hodgson 1.68.

A - Burlington: Quad Cities 7, Bees 5

2B Hall 2-4, BB, 2 RBI (19), 2 K, RS, CS (4) -- .238
LF Testa 2-4, RBI (18) -- .266
C Myers 1-4, 2 RBI (33), 2 K, RS, PB (12) -- .282
CF Richardson 1-4, 2B (6), RS, 2 SB (18) -- .195

Wooley 6 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 10 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 HRA, WP -- 5.58 ERA
Odenbach 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, K -- BS, 1, L, 2-4, 4.78 ERA
Encarnacion 1 1/3 IP, K -- 4.60 ERA
Frost IP, K -- 0.00 ERA, second straight good outing for position player

* A Bees lead totally fell apart in the 7th as the Bandits came back for the win. Quad Cities got a solo homer in the 3rd to take the lead but the Bees answered with 4 runs on a Gerard Hall RBI single, 2-run Wil Myers single and Carlo Testa RBI single to take the lead. Hall hit another RBI single in the 4th to make it 5-1. Nick Wooley had pitched well but probably shouldn't have come out for the 7th as 3 runs were in with 1 out when he was pulled for Dusty Odenbach. A 2-run double and RBI single later, Odenbach was pulled for Rodolfo Encarnacion, who got out of the inning. The Bees didn't threaten again, although Hilton Richardson did get in scoring position a couple times. RP Scott Schneider pitched 5 hitless innings with 7 Ks to move to 4-1. SP Deryk Hooker allowed 5 runs (4 ER) over 4 IP. 3B Niko Vasquez and RF Ryde Rodriguez had 3 hits for QC. Vasquez hit his 7th HR with 2 RBI (31). The Bees are a lowly 17-34. A 3-game set at the West Michigan Whitecaps (20-31, A Tigers) starts Tuesday. Bees stat check thru May (almost) -- OPS: Wil Myers .862 (.283/.386/.476, 19 XBH, 31 RBI (now 33), 28 BB/34 K, 7/9 SB, 4 E, buncha passed balls in 46 G/166 ABs, but still, best prospect on team is leading in OPS, gotta like that); Carlo Testa .830 (.260/.356/.473, 18 XBH including 6 3B, 17 RBI, 23 BB/47 K in 43 G/150 ABs, not great but not bad in pitchers' league); Joey Lewis .741 (.247/.328/.414, 17 XBH, 24 RBI, 20 BB/56 K in 44 G/162 ABs); Adam Frost .722 (.263/.322/.400, 6 BB/18 K, 6/7 SB in 22 G/80 ABs); and Juan Graterol .693 (.310/.348/.345, 4 BB/6 K in 24 G/87 ABs). Others...Juan Bonilla .662 (only hitting .237 but has .357 OBP), Hilton Richardson .602 (rough), Fernando Cruz .557 (turning out to be another rough pick from rough '07 draft for Dayton, but still young). WHIP: Bryan Paukovits 0.99 (3.61 ERA, 3 HRA, 14 BB/48 K in 9 G/42 1/3 IP, gotta like the K rate and K/BB); John Lamb 1.08 (17 BB/43 K in 40 IP, deserving of call up); Brendan Lafferty 1.21 (3.12 ERA, HRA, 7 BB/19 K in 17 1/3 IP); Kelvin Herrera 1.28 (4.35 ERA, 2 HRA, 15 BB/40 K in 8 starts/41 1/3 IP, hope he can get past injury problems); and Rodolfo Encarnacion 1.33 (surprised me, 5.02 ERA, 9 BB/13 K in 14 1/3 IP). Others...Mitch Hodge 1.39 (14 BB/20 K in 23 2/3 IP, best stretch of his career I can remember)...Tyler Sample 1.52 (4.20 ERA, HRA, 38 BB/41 K in 10 starts/49 1/3 IP, yowza on the K/BB)...Matt Mitchell 1.58 (5.77 ERA, 8 HRA, 19 BB/34 K in 9 starts/43 2/3 IP, not awful on comeback trail, numbers were better in May)...Dusty Odenbach 1.62 (pre-Monday)...Mike Lehmann 1.91...Keaton Hayenga 2.47 in first 11 1/3 IP.