Royals on the Farm 5/1 -- April is a wrap

All stats in the April wraps are thru yesterday.

AAA - Omaha: Iowa 7, Storm Chasers 5

2B Giavotella 2-3, 2 BB, RBI (14), RS -- .310
SS Falu 2-3, 2 BB, 2 RBI (7), SB -- .282
3B Moustakas 1-5, 2 RBI (20), RS, E (7) -- .227
CF Lough 1-5, 2B (6), RS, SB -- .295
DH Hosmer 1-3, 2 BB, K, RS -- .407
1B C. Robinson 0-4, BB, K -- .318
Omaha stranded 12.

Suppan 6 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 4 K, HRA -- L, 2-3, 5.81 ERA
Holland 2 IP, H, BB, 5 K -- 1.64 ERA
Mendoza IP, UER, 2 H, BB, 3 K -- 2.70 ERA

* Omaha almost dug its way out of a 6-run hole but didn't quite on Sunday. Mike Moustakas made an error in a 6-run Iowa 2nd as the Cubs rapped out 4 hits and a 3-run homer from RF Brad Snyder. Omaha stranded 2 in the 4th as the bats stayed quiet. That ended in the 5th as Omaha scored 4 runs on a 2-run Moustakas single and a 2-run Irving Falu single. Omaha would leave the tying run at second. Johnny Giavotella singled in a run in the 8th to cut the Iowa lead to 1 but Omaha would strand 2 once more. Luis Mendoza gave up an insurance run in the 9th as the run scored on a Lucas May throwing error. Omaha stranded 1 in the 9th. LF Lou Montanez had 3 hits and his 28th RBI, while three others had 2 hits. Snyder's homer was his 2nd. Omaha is 14-9. A 4-game set at the Albuquerque Isotopes (13-9, AAA Dodgers) starts Monday. Kevin Pucetas (2-0, 4.12) is set to start.

Omaha OPS leaders
1. 1B/DH Clint Robinson 1.080 -- .333/.413/.667, 16 RS, 6 2B, 7 HR, 16 RBI, 10 BB/17 K in 21 G/81 AB, another great month for Clint
2. 1B Eric Hosmer 1.027 -- .410/.485/.542, 18 RS, 5 2B, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 13 BB/13 K, 3/3 SB, 2 E in 22 G/83 AB, staking a claim as top prospect early
3. OF David Lough .883 -- .301/.342/.542, 18 RS, 5 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 6 BB/13 K in 21 G/83 AB, holding his own
4. OF Gregor Blanco .751 -- .225/.426/.325, 10 RS, 4 2B, 3 RBI, 14 BB/10 K, 8/9 SB in 16 G/40 AB, one of the Chasers I haven't really been tracking, but that's a crazy OBP with a .225 BA
5. 3B Mike Moustakas .714 -- .229/.304/.410, 15 RS, 1 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 9 BB/15 K, 6 E in 21 G/83 AB, still leads team in RBI, hopefully gets it going in May.
Others -- OF Lorenzo Cain .709 (.241/.339/.370, 4 XBH, 7 BB/15 K, 4/4 SB, only 14 G because of early injury, we'll see how May goes); 2B Johnny Giavotella .703 (.296/.345/.358, 4 XBH, 13 RBI, 6 BB/12 K, 1/1 SB in 21 G/81 AB, not much power but he hasn't looked overmatched); nobody else is above .604.

Omaha WHIP leaders
1. Everett Teaford 0.88 -- 2-1, 3.26, 2 HRA, 4 BB/16 K in 5 G (3 starts) and 19 1/3 IP, didn't expect him to lead going into April
2. Kevin Pucetas 0.88 -- 2-0, 2.12, 2 HRA, 3 BB/14 K in 5 G (2 starts) and 17 IP, solid
3. Danny Duffy 0.90 -- 1-0, 0.90, HRA, 4 BB/24 K in 4 starts/20 IP, re-establishing his rep
4. Jesse Chavez 1.11 -- 1-0, 0.00, 2 SV, 4 BB/9 K in 8 games/12 2/3 IP, can't complain about his pen work thus far
5. Blaine Hardy 1.18 -- 1-0, 1.93, 5 BB/8 K in 6 G/9 1/3 IP, still looks like he may end up in KC at some point in 2011
Others -- left out Blake Wood (0.40) and Louis Coleman (1.14) as they're already in KC; Mike Montgomery 1.30 (1-1, 2.67, HRA, 15 BB/23 K in 5 starts/27 IP, walks have definitely been a problem); Vin Mazzaro 1.76 (1-0, 4.66, HRA, 13 BB/22 K in 4 starts/19 1/3 IP, suffered from a couple bad starts).

AA - NW Arkansas: rainout

* Sunday's game with Arkansas will be made up in a June 8 twinbill. The teams will play the series finale Monday with a morning start. John Lamb (0-1, 3.86) starts.

NWA OPS leaders
1. IF Mario Lisson 1.239 -- .310/.453/.786, 14 RS, 2 2B, 6 HR, 12 RBI, 9 BB/14 K, 1/1 SB, 2 E in 14 G/42 AB, that's a beast line, but he's been playing AAA last couple seasons
2. 1B Jamie Romak .812 -- .269/.319/.493, 8 RS, 6 2B, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 4 BB/16 K, 1/1 SB, 1 E in 18 G/67 AB, not great that that's #2 on the team, but he's doing his part, needs to get on base more
3. SS Jeff Bianchi .769 -- .271/.312/.457, 9 RS, 6 2B, 2 3B, HR, 8 RBI, 5 BB/20 K, 2/2 SB in 19 G/70 AB, not a bad first month coming back from injury, also needs to get on more
4. OF Nick Van Stratten .745 -- .246/.319/.426, 9 RS, 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 7 BB/6 K, 2/2 SB in 19 G/61 AB, more BB than K is nice, hitting 20 points worse than Romak or Bianchi but has similar OBP
5. UT Anthony Seratelli .744 -- .245/.310/.434, 10 RS, 4 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 5 BB/11 K in 17 G/53 AB
Others -- left out C Ben Theriot at 1.045 as he only has played 5 games; C Salvador Perez .736 (.271/.295/.441, 4 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB/5 K, 3 E in 16 G/59 AB, only 3 RBI somehow, not striking out but not getting on base either); OF Wil Myers .735 (.261/.300/.435, 2 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 3 BB/12 K, 2/3 SB, 1 E in 12 G/46 AB, seems to have been dealing with nagging injury, has room for improvement); IF Christian Colon .657 (.208/.310/.347, 9 RS, 2 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 9 BB/9 K, 6/8 SB, 2 E in 20 G/72 AB, had hot first week then cooled off bigtime, if he can figure it out at the plate he'll be in the top 5 by June 1); and OF Derrick Robinson .643 (.254/.361/.282, 10 RS, 3B, 5 RBI, 12 BB/18 K, 9 SB, 2 E in 20 G/71 AB, he's getting on base better than I thought he was, but still struggling).

NWA WHIP leaders
1. Mario Santiago 0.89 -- 2-0, 1.42, HRA, 6 BB/17 K in 6 G (1 start) and 19 IP, good month
2. Blake Johnson 0.96 -- 1-0, 0.00, 2 SV, 5 BB/14 K in 7 G/16 2/3 IP, found his niche out of the pen, it appears
3. Brandon Sisk 1.32 -- 1-0, 5.40, HRA, 3 BB/6 K in 6 G/8 1/3 IP, that's a jump of 36 points from #2 to #3
4. Chris Dwyer 1.34 -- 1-2, 4.19, 1 CG, 8 BB/14 K in 4 starts/19 1/3 IP, best of the regular starting roto
5. Patrick Keating 1.34 -- 0-1, 6.52, 3 SV, 3 HRA, 2 BB/9 K in 7 G/ 9 2/3 IP, longball has been a problem
Others -- Heath Rollins 1.35 (second best starter, 0-2, 6.35, 11 BB/7 K in 17 IP); Edgar Osuna 1.44 (3-0, 4.67, 4 HRA, 4 BB/15 K in 17 1/3 IP); John Lamb 1.53 (0-1, 3.86, 2 HRA, 9 BB/12 K in 4 starts/16 1/3 IP, chalk it up to an AA adjustment period?); Will Smith 1.92 (1-2, 6.48, 4 HRA, 2 BB/11 K in 4 starts/16 2/3 IP, finished rough month with nice start, K/BB is still good).

A-Adv. - Wilmington: Blue Rocks 4, Winston-Salem 2

DH Testa 2-3, 2B (3), RS -- .265
LF Merrifield 1-3, BB, RBI (8), RS -- .312
RF Francis 1-4, RBI (15), 2 K -- .259
2B Navarro 0-3, BB -- .400

E. Pimentel 7 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB, 5 K, WP -- 5.91 ERA, retired last 16 he faced
Herrera 2 IP, H, 2 K -- W, 2-1, 0.84 ERA

* Both teams had 4 hits but the Rocks had a big 8th to get the win. The Dash got 3 of their hits in the 2nd as they scored 2 runs off Elisaul Pimentel to take the lead. Dash SP Andre Rienzo had a no-hitter going in the 5th, but that went bye-bye as Carlo Testa ripped a 2-out double and a wild pitch scored Alex McClure to get Wilmington on the board. Rienzo handed the ball off to RP Taylor Thompson in the 8th and, with 1 out and 2 on, Whit Merrifield singled and 2 runs scored on a Dash error to make it 3-2 Rocks. Nick Francis added a 2-out RBI single before the Rocks left the bases loaded. Kelvin Herrera pitched 2 solid innings of relief to get the win. Rienzo allowed an ER on a hit with 2 walks and 9 Ks over 7 IP to lower his ERA to 2.36. Wilmington is 15-7. A 3-game home set with the Lynchburg Hillcats (7-13, A-Adv. Braves) starts Monday as Tim Melville (2-2, 3.80) starts. IF Adam Frost has been released and OF Adrian Ortiz is coming off the shelf and should make his 2011 debut soon.

Wilmington OPS leaders
1. SS Rey Navarro 1.102 -- .416/.452/.649, 12 RS, 7 2B, 4 3B, HR, 11 RBI, 4 BB/8 K, 4/6 SB, 3 E in 20 G/77 AB, that one month alone was worth Angel Berroa, I doubt he sustains it but would like to see it
2. 1B John Whittleman .855 -- .253/.321/.533, 12 RS, 4 2B, 3B, 5 HR, 16 RBI, 8 BB/18 K, 2 E in 21 G/75 AB, providing some punch
3. OF Nick Francis .824 -- .260/.278/545, 13 RS, 8 2B, 3B, 4 HR, 14 RBI, 2 BB/22 K, 3/3 SB, 3 E in 20 G/77 AB, doesn't mention at least 7 OF assists, that's how an .824 OPS can be deceiving, all power, no OBP
4. OF Whit Merrifield .790 -- .311/.398/.392, 13 RS, 6 2B, 7 RBI, 11 BB/20 K, 5/6 SB in 20 G/74 AB, doing OK in leadoff spot, hopefully picks up power a little
5. 1B Joey Lewis .740 -- .250/.311/.429, 9 RS, 4 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 5 BB/16 K, 1 E in 16 G/56 AB
Others -- OF Carlo Testa .720 (.226/.333/.387, 3 XBH, 4 BB/12 K, 3/3 SB in 31 AB, Pipeline favorite needs to pick it up); OF Tim Ferguson .624 (.300 OBP but only batting .191); three guys are under a .500 OPS.

Wilmington WHIP leaders
1. Mike Mariot 0.63 -- 3-0, 0.63, 1 SV, 1 HRA, 4 BB/15 K in 4 G/14 1/3 IP, been lockdown as Robin to Arguelles' Batman
2. Noel Arguelles 0.79 -- 1-0, 1.02, 1 BB/15 K in 4 starts/ 17 2/3 IP, gotta like 1 walk thus far, has been better than I expected
3. Kelvin Herrera 0.81 -- 1-1, 1.04, 1 SV, HRA, 2 BB/7 K in 5 G and 8 2/3 IP
4. Ryan Dennick 0.88 -- 1-0, 1.59, 1 SV, HRA, 2 BB/3 K in 4 G and 5 2/3 IP
5. Jake Odorizzi 0.95 -- 1-0, 2.25, HRA, 4 BB/30 K in 4 starts and 20 IP, what a K rate and K/BB!, thanks for playing, Zack
Others -- Tyler Sample 1.34 (1-1, 1.72, HRA, 9 BB/9 K in 15 2/3 IP, walks have been a problem); Justin Marks 1.38 (1-1, 6.20, 1 CG, 4 HRA, 4 BB/16 K in 4 games (3 starts) and 20 1/3 IP, K/BB is nice for fruit of DeJesus trade); Kevin Chapman 1.50 (4.91, 5 SV, 4 BB/12 K in 7 1/3 IP); Elisaul Pimentel 1.53 (2-0, 7.53, 4 HRA, 2 BB/11 K in 3 starts/14 1/3 IP, K/BB also nice); Tim Melville 1.83 (2-2, 3.80, HRA, 9 BB/12 K in 4 starts and 21 1/3 IP, bringing up rear on team in WHIP, room for improvement).

A - Kane County: Cedar Rapids 5, Cougars 4 (12)

DH Beltre 2-5, 2 2B (3), 2 RBI (5), 3 K -- .202
LF Fletcher 2-5, 2B (6), RBI (13), 2 K -- .361
CF Llanos 2-6, 2B (7), K, RS, SB (4), OF assist at second -- .297
1B Watts 1-5, RBI (8), 3 K, E (4) -- .194
3B Stovall 1-4, BB, K, SB (2) -- .373
SS Hall 1-4, BB, picked off, E (4) -- .299
Kane County stranded 10.

L. Perez 6 1/3 IP, UER, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 K, pickoff -- 3.28 ERA
Mitchell 1 2/3 IP, 2 H, 2 K, pickoff -- 4.63 ERA
Odenbach 2 2/3 IP, 3 R (2 ER), H, 2 BB, 3 K -- 3.00 ERA
Wooley 1 1/3 IP, ER, 2 H -- L, 0-2, 4.85 ERA

* A pitchers' duel thru 9 went through a wild 11th before the Kernels won it in 12. An error scored the Kernels' run in the 2nd. The Cougars stranded 2 in the 2nd and Cedar Rapids SP Justin La Tiempa handed a 1-hit shutout to the pen in the 6th. Doubles by Alex Llanos and Brian Fletcher scored the tying run. The Cougars left the bases full in the 7th and the game went to extra innings. Dusty Odenbach came on for his 3rd inning of work in the 11th and loaded the bases with 1 out before a triple by 2B Wes Hatton cleared the bases. The Cougars got 3 straight singles, including an RBI base hit by Murray Watts, to start the bottom of the 11th and Geulin Beltre hit a clutch 2-run double to tie the game once more. KC would strand 2. Nick Wooley allowed a run on 2 hits in the 12th and the Cougars left the would-be tying run at second in the bottom of the inning. La Tiempa allowed a hit with 6 K over 5 IP to drop his ERA to 3.05, and RP Daniel Tillman allowed an ER over 4 IP with 7 K. The Kernels combined to strike out 15 Cougars. 3B Jeremy Cruz had 3 hits and 2 others, including Hatton, had 2 hits. Hatton also had his 3 RBI (17). Kane County is 8-16. Game 2 is Monday afternoon. Robert Penny will make his 1st 2011 start. Keaton Hayenga has been placed on the DL to make room.

KC OPS leaders
1. 3B Ryan Stovall 1.043 -- .382/.407/.636, 7 RS, 4 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 2 BB/14 K, 1/3 SB, 3 E in 17 G/55 AB, if he stops hitting hot, rates are gonna drop because he isn't taking BB
2. OF Brian Fletcher .956 -- .359/.405/.551, 13 RS, 5 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 5 BB/18 K, 4/5 SB, 4 E in 21 G/78 AB, more impressed with his play thus far
3. OF Alex Llanos .884 -- .294/.354/.529, 13 RS, 6 2B, 3B, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 8 BB/17 K, 3/7 SB in 23 G/85 AB, not exactly leadoff #s but this has been one of the best months of his pro career
4. IF Gerard Hall .795 -- .302/.366/.429, 9 RS, 6 2B, 3B, 9 RBI, 7 BB/16 K, 3 E in 21 G/63 AB, those are 9-slot numbers, so he could probably move up a little
5. C Ryan Jenkins .703 -- .279/.354/.349, 6 RS, 3 2B, 4 RBI, 5 BB/12 K, 3 E in 13 G/43 AB
Others -- left out Brett Eibner, who is at 1.333 but has only played 2 games, and IF Mike Liberto, who is at 1.056 after 6 games; 1B Murray Watts .565 (that's #6 after Jenkins, yeesh, Cougars offense has had its struggles, batting .194 with .341 OBP, 15 BB/30 K); four guys are under a .500 OPS and only one other is above .550 (Yowill Espinal at .560).

KC WHIP leaders
1. Jon Keck 1.09 -- 0-0, 0.82, 7 BB/9 K in 6 G/11 IP, decent pen work
2. Chaz Byrne 1.18 -- 0-1, 4.09, 1 SV, HRA, 1 BB/15 K in 7 G/11 IP, can't argue with K rate and K/BB
3. Leonel Santiago 1.19 -- 2-2, 3.90, 2 HRA, 7 BB/29 K in 5 starts/27 2/3 IP, proving good Appy League season wasn't a fluke
4. Leondy Perez 1.20 -- 0-3, 4.42, 5 BB/12 K in 4 starts/18 1/3 IP, OK
5. Chase Boruff 1.30 -- 2-1, 0.90, 6 BB/15 K in 7 G/10 IP
Others -- Sugar Ray Marimon 1.35 (1-2, 4.18, HRA, 11 BB/19 K in 5 starts/ 23 2/3 IP, ended month with great start, needs to cut down BB); Keaton Hayenga 1.40 (1-1, 5.85, 7 BB/11 K in 4 starts and 20 IP); Greg Billo 1.64 (0-0, 2.45, HRA, 6 BB/15 K in 14 2/3 IP); and Crawford Simmons 1.84 (0-3, 6.97, 6 BB/12 K in 3 games (2 starts) and 10 1/3 IP, K rate solid, has ended month on shelf).