Royals on the Farm 7/5 -- MoustakasMoustakasMoustakas!

The Royals have been shown some love by BP's Kevin Goldstein in recent days. Five farmhands -- Moustakas, Hosmer, Myers, Lamb and Montgomery -- were mentioned on his top prospects still in the minors post 7/1, and then today he calls the Royals' system the "game's best farm system." Dayton's got a little traction here with how the big shots are playing, let's hope he can do something with it rather than slide back down the hill of public opinion. Let's start by jettisoning some guys. Edwin Bellorin doesn't count.

AAA - Omaha: New Orleans 5, O-Royals 0

1B Ka'aihue 2-4 -- .313
RF Parraz 2-4, K -- .270
CF Lough 1-4 -- .274
DH Ankiel 0-4, K -- .290
LF Gordon 0-3, BB, K -- .320
2B Lucas 1-4, 2 K -- .315
C Pina 0-3 -- .000, Omaha debut

Baez 5 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, BB, 4 K, HRA -- L, 1-1, 4.79 ERA
Castaneda 2 IP, ER, 2 H, 2 K, HRA, WP -- 3.40 ERA
Hayes IP, H, K -- 3.55 ERA

* All the game's runs came in one half-inning as New Orleans got the win. Omaha stranded 2 in the 2nd and Manauris Baez pitched well through 5. The Royals left the bases full in the 6th and a leadoff homer off Baez in the 6th seemed to open the floodgates. Three more singles and a run sent Baez to the showers and ushered Federico Castaneda in, and Castaneda gave up a 3-run homer to the first batter he faced -- Marlins prospect LF Logan Morrison -- to cap the scoring. Omaha stranded 2 in the 7th and that was their last chance, really. Former Royal Brian Lawrence hurled 6 1/3 scoreless IP to improve to 8-5. Morrison was 2-4 with his 5th homer and 3 RBI (33). Omaha is 43-40. Bryan Bullington starts Tuesday.

AA - NW Arkansas: Naturals 10, Corpus Christi 9

3B Moustakas 4-4, BB, 2 HR (21), 5 RBI (75), 3 RS -- .358
CF Orlando 2-4, BB, HR (6), 2 RBI (35), K, RS -- .326
2B Giavotella 2-5, 2B (18), RBI (31), K, 2 RS -- .283
LF D. Robinson 2-5, 2 2B (15), K, 2 RS -- .298
1B C. Robinson 2-5, 2B (29), RBI (54), 2 K, RS -- .316
DH Smith 1-5, 3 K, SB (10) -- .297

B. Johnson 4 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 4 K, HRA -- 6.00 ERA
Teaford 3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 4 K, HRA, balk -- W, 7-3, 5.47 ERA
Caldera IP, 3 ER, 4 H, K, HRA -- 5.40 ERA
R. Hardy IP, ER, 2 H -- SV, 2, 4.87 ERA

* Eight early runs came in very handy for the Naturals as they fended off the Hooks once again. The Naturals wasted no time as Derrick Robinson led off the Nats 1st with a double, Johnny Giavotella singled and Mike Moustakas jettisoned a 3-run homer for his 20th on the campaign. Clint Robinson followed with a double and Paulo Orlando went yard for a 2-run homer for his 6th of the season. Blake Johnson gave up a 2-run homer in the 2nd but the Nats answered with 3 runs on RBI singles by Moustakas and Clint Robinson and a run-scoring balk. The Hooks got a run in the 4th but Johnson induced a bases-loaded double play to cut the rally short. Moustakas led off the NWA 4th with his 2nd longball of the game and 21st of the season to make it 9-3 NW Arkansas. It was Everett Teaford's turn to induce a bases-loaded double play to end the CC 5th and he left the bases full again in the 6th as the Nats pitching staff didn't have the steadiest night. Teaford gave up a 2-run homer in the 7th (to 1B Koby Clemens) but Giavotella doubled in a key insurance run in the bottom of the inning to make it 10-5. Alex Caldera allowed a run in the 8th and then gave up a 2-run homer, again to Clemens, in the 9th to bring in Rowdy Hardy with a 2-run lead. He tiptoed to his 2nd save as he allowed a run before finishing it. Starter Henry Villar allowed 7 ER over 1 IP to fall to 1-5 for the Hooks. Five Hooks had 2 hits led by Clemens' 2 HR (18) and 4 RBI (57). NW Arkansas is 10-2. Mario Santiago was named TL Pitcher of the Week after his scoreless start Sunday. Also, Clint Robinson was named Topps' TL Player of the Month for June for the reasons documented in my 6/30 post. The man was a beast last month. That makes it two in a row for the Nats as Moustakas earned the award for May.

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Potomac 5, Blue Rocks 0

1B Hosmer 1-4, K -- .351
SS Colon 1-4, K -- .143
DH Myers 0-3 -- .421
C S. Perez 1-3 -- .261
CF Dyson 0-4, K -- .304
3B Romak 1-4, 2B (22) -- .305, only 1 XBH on night for Rocks
LF Ortiz 1-3, CS (11) -- .299

Melville 5 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 3 BB, 2 K -- L, 2-10, 5.72 ERA, not a good start, but can't win with a goose egg on your side of the board
Mozingo 3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 K -- 4.33 ERA

* Brad Peacock stifled the Rocks to the tune of a 5-hit shutout Monday. The Nationals got all the offense they needed in the 1st with 2 runs on 2 hits and a walk off Tim Melville. Potomac added a run in the 3rd and the Rocks only had 1 hit after the 4th. Harold Mozingo gave up a 2-run triple in the 9th and Peacock retired the last 11 Rocks to improve to 3-9. Three P-Nats had 2 hits and former Royal farmhand Josh Johnson had 2 walks and his 2nd error. The Rocks are 7-5. Ivor Hodgson starts Tuesday's series finale.

A - Burlington: Quad Cities 5, Bees 1

LF Testa 1-4, 3B (9), K -- .254
1B Lewis 0-2, 2 BB, CS (2) -- .251
CF Richardson 1-3, SB (24) -- .200

Sample 6 IP, 5 R (2 ER), 6 H, 2 BB, 8 K, HRA, WP -- L, 3-5, 3.97 ERA, at least Ks were there
Runion IP, 2 K -- 7.30 ERA
Hodge IP, K -- 5.79 ERA

* The Bees managed only 4 hits as the offensive struggles in certain parts of the organization continued. A Deivy Batista caught stealing hurt the Bees in the 1st as Carlo Testa tripled and, for some reason, Joey Lewis walked but was caught stealing to end the inning. The Bandits followed with 2 runs off Tyler Sample in their half of the 1st. Both teams were quiet until the 6th when the Bees notched their run on a wild pitch. Quad Cities answered with 3 runs in the bottom of the inning to finish Sample's night. The Bees got a Gerard Hall triple in the 8th but made nothing of it and that was their last best chance. Starter Eric Fornataro allowed 1 ER over 5 IP to improve to 6-7. RF Ryde Rodriguez had 2 hits for the Bandits. The Bees are 6-5 as their 6-game tear came to an end. The series wraps Wednesday.

Rookie - Idaho Falls: Ogden 14, Chukars 1

RF Adams 3-4, SB (2) -- .316
2B C. Figueroa 2-4, K, 3 E (5) -- .400
DH Watts 1-4, RBI (14), 2 K -- .286
SS Trapp 0-3, BB, 3 K, RS, E (4) -- .233
1B Kuebler 0-2, 2 BB, 2 K, E (3) -- .300
LF Ferguson 0-4 -- .313
C David 1-3, K, E (2) -- .370

Garrido 2 IP, 9 R (8 ER), 9 H, BB, 2 K, 2 HRA, WP -- L, 1-1, 9.00 ERA
De La Rosa 3 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K, WP, balk -- 5.25 ERA
Morizio 2 IP, H, 2 K, WP -- 0.00 ERA
Graham 2 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K, WP -- 3.00 ERA

* Ogden scored 8 in the 1st to all but put it away. Santiago Garrido gave up the 8 runs on 8 hits, including 2 homers, as the Raptors sped to the 8-0 lead. Ogden added a run in the 2nd and Starling De La Rosa took over in the 3rd. IF stranded 2 in the 3rd and Ogden churned out 3 more runs in the 5th to make it 12-0. Murray Watts singled home the Chukars' only run in the 6th. IF stranded 2 in the 7th and hit into DPs in the 8th and 9th. Starter Red Patterson pitched 5 scoreless innings to improve to 1-0 for Ogden. 2B Pedro Guerrero had 4 hits and 2 RS for the Raptors. I believe he's a junior, but I'm not sure. CF Leon Landry had 3 hits, including a 3-run homer. Five others had 2 hits for Ogden. The Chukars are 8-7. A 2-game set versus Casper (7-8, Rookie Rockies) starts Tuesday.

Rookie - Burlington: B-Royals 7, Elizabethton 1

C Jenkins 2-4, 2B (5), HR, 3 RBI (4), K, 2 RS -- .286, first pro dinger
CF Llanos 2-4, 2B (6), 2 RBI (7), 2 K -- .321
SS McClure 1-4, RBI (5), RS -- .209
RF Taylor 1-4, RBI, 2 K, RS, SB -- .111
3B Piterson 0-3, HBP, K -- .444
1B Stovall 1-3, BB, 2B (5) -- .333

Avinazar 6 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, 4 K, HRA, pickoff -- W, 2-0, 0.56 ERA
Penny 3 IP, H, BB, 2 K -- SV, 1, 5.87 ERA

* The B-Royals went on an offensive roll in the middle innings to once again stifle the Twins behind Willian Avinazar. The Royals stranded 2 in the 1st and Avinazar gave up a homer in the 2nd to make it 1-0 Twins. He responded by retiring 11 in a row and the Royals broke through for 5 in the 4th on an Alex McClure RBI single, 2-run Ryan Jenkins double, Reggie Taylor RBI single and Alex Llanos RBI double. Jenkins led off the 6th with his 1st pro homer and Llanos hit another RBI single to finish the scoring. Twins SP Manuel Soliman allowed 5 ER over 5 IP to drop to 1-2. Only 4 Twins had a hit. The B-Royals are 9-5 and on a 6-game winning streak.

Rookie - AZL: The Royals are up, 2-1, on the Angels in the 7th. (wait, now 4-1 in the 8th)

DH Shin 1-3, BB, RBI (7) -- .323, he's been producing
CF Conner 0-4, RBI (4), K -- .211
3B Cuthbert 2-4, 3B, 2 RS -- .294
1B Furmanek 2-4, 2B (2), RBI, E (2) -- .364
RF Alcantara 1-4, 3B, RBI (6), K, RS -- .276
LF Blanco 0-3, OF assist at first -- .185
C Marquez 1-2, BB -- .500

Martin 5 IP, ER, 4 H, BB, 6 K -- 3.75 ERA, nice night
J. Sanchez 2 IP, 2 K -- 0.00 ERA

* The Royals have overcome an early Angels run to carry a lead into the late innings. Starter Brennon Martin allowed a run on 2 hits in the 1st but would only allow 2 more hits and a walk over the next 4 innings. Cameron Conner tied it with an RBI groundout in the 3rd and the Royals moved ahead in the 6th as Cheslor Cuthbert led off with a triple and scored on a Jin-Ho Shin single. As I've typed this, the Royals have added 2 runs in the 8th as Cuthbert had a 2nd hit and Ysmelin Alcantara and Sean Furmanek added RBIs.