SB Nation - Travis Metcalf

Royals Minor League Roundtable: An Improving, But Far From Finished Player Development System

royalsreview — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:00:27 -0000

Now, more than ever, the ability of the Royals player development system to produce both stars and useful Major Leaguers, stands out as the question dictating the viability of the Moore regime. Last week, I contacted two Royals bloggers who follow the minors closely, as well our own RR contributor and "minor league guy" Darren/nwroyal.

Keith is the man behind The Royal Tower, while Kenneth writes The Pipeline, two well-run and regularly updated sites that make the lives of all of us easier. Meanwhile, Darren can be credited with not only raising the bar on prospect coverage here at RR, he's spared you all from Will overload. You can read Darren's work on Royals Review here.

Unfortunately, I bothered these guys BEFORE the Betancourt trade, although in some ways that may be a good thing. Dan Cortes comes up a few times, so you can consider this a time capsule of what we thought before the trade that shook the faith of millions took place.

RR: Do you have a particular team or element of the system (pitchers, position players, high school guys, etc.) that you really like to follow?

Keith@ The Royal Tower: I enjoy following the whole system, but I think I like to follow the pitchers just a bit more. I love nothing more than to watch a pitcher's duel. I'd like to think I know a little bit more about pitching than hitting, so naturally it's more interesting for me to predict, project, and follow.

Kenneth@ The Pipeline: Every level has its attractions for me. At AAA, you hopefully have the guys who are close to making it, even though with the Royals the last few years it's mostly been retreads with a couple C-level prospects at Omaha. AA seems to be where the Royals like to put their prospects to the test -- if you remember, a few years back, Baird seemed to like to ignore AAA and move guys straight from Wichita to KC. It's not quite like that nowadays under Dayton Moore, but NW Arkansas is now usually the team to watch each year in the minors part of the organization. The Carolina League is a competitive league, so you get the feeling the prospects that make it at Wilmington are worth their salt. Unfortunately, that hasn't always been the case for KC -- take Rowdy Hardy, for example, who dominated the Carolina League a couple years back but couldn't hack it at AA. Dan Cortes also hasn't exactly excelled in AA. Burlington is also a good test, more for hitters than pitchers as it's a good pitchers' league. I had hoped Moustakas would do better there this year -- his lacking OBP has been a disappointment. The rookie leagues are a crapshoot -- you've got Idaho Falls in the hitter-friendly Pioneer League, which I think veils a little bit what a guy is bringing with the bat, kinda like when the High-A team was in High Desert. You've got Burlington in the Appalachian League, which may be the most competitive rookie league, and then you've got the AZL Royals in another very hitter-friendly environment.

I guess that's a long way of saying, no, there's no particular team I like to follow. I'd say at the moment, I'm wanting desperately to see some good position prospects emerge. You've got Hosmer doing OK, not great at Burlington, and you've got Moustakas scuffling along in Wilmington, and then it's level. Chris Lubanski had me going early in the year until his mysterious hamstring injury that he's missed a great deal of time for. I'd rather see the Royals take a couple good college position players early in the draft, just one time, and work the pitchers around that rather than the other way around. I can understand, I guess, going after Aaron Crow, but with Grant Green, a bonafide top college SS on the board? Wow. I guess I see the organization's needs differently than the front office.

Darren @ Royals Review: I've gravitated towards following the draft. The interest level and amount of information about it has exploded in the past couple of years. The Royals drafts use to be a one player affair--our top pick and then a bunch of junk after that but the Royals have had some deep drafts the past few years. Teams are figuring out that the current slotting system is an uneven playing field and it will reward those who are willing to buck the system. The Royals are one of those teams and I think its a really smart move. And what other area of the Royals organization can you say "they are doing something really smart"?

RR: Who would you label as the top prospect in the system?

Darren@ Royals Review: I go with Eric Hosmer. He hasn't taken off yet but he gets on base and supposedly has huge power potential. John Sickels reported just the other day that he talked to a scout who was still high on Hosmer but thought he had developed some mechanical issues that were hurting him. I think (or perhaps hope) that he will break out in the 2nd half like Moustakas last year. I think when he get up and running he will be a classic slugger like we haven't seen on a Royals team in a long time: big power, lots of walks and doesn't hurt you in the field.

Kenneth@ The Pipeline: Right now I'd have to say Wilmington lefty Danny Duffy, his recent struggles aside. The easy answer is Moustakas or Hosmer, but I really think Duffy can be something special. Moustakas had a great second half at Burlington last year but it looks at this point, with a .300 OBP and 18 BB/51 K in 77 G/297 ABs at Wilmington, that he's not exactly tearing up Advanced-A ball, but, then again, it is the Carolina League, so all is not lost. Hosmer has a similar BA, better OBP and worse SLG at a level one lower and has shown much more patience at the plate. It's easier to see the power coming along with time with Hosmer, and it has to be taken into account how the Midwest League favors pitchers. The only other top prospect candidate at this point is Dan Cortes, and his struggles with command have seemed to come back -- 35 BB/32 K over his last 10 starts. In my mind, I can see Duffy being a top-two starter, maybe a third starter eventually in KC. I don't see Cortes being any more than a back-of-the-rotation guy at this point, if that. On another note, I like what we've seen out of Mike Montgomery this year in Burlington. Another win tonight (July 9) and 1 or less earned runs in 9 of his last 10 starts. He's gonna be rocketing up a lot of Royals prospect charts.

Keith@ The Royal Tower: For me, it's Aaron Crow. Partially due to the lame season's of Hosmer and Moustakas, but it's more a credit to Crow's talents. He throws three above average pitches with command. The layoff is going to affect him initially, but he's going to get to KC quickly once he's back in the groove.

RR: Do you have a favorite "sleeper" prospect?

Keith@ The Royal Tower: I think saying Disco Hayes would be kind of lame at this point...who doesn't love him? I'll throw out two -- Keaton Hayenga and John Lamb. Hayenga's got fantastic stuff and it'll be interesting to see how his command comes along as he continues to get further away from labrum surgery. Lamb is more of a pitchability guy now, but he's tall and lanky and could add some ticks to the fastball. He already "knows how to pitch," and if his stuff can come along...he could really be a good one.

Darren@ Royals Review: David Lough has been someone I've liked--he's in the middle of what looks to be a breakout season. He's kind of a David DeJesus guy--not huge power and kind of a tweener in the OF--but his bat will play and he will give good production at a low cost. I'll throw out one more guy who I'm big on is Yowil Espinal. He was a big (for us, at least) international signing for us 2 years ago. He's a SS who is having a great year for the Burlington Royals. He has big time tools on offense and defense. Every part of his games has taken a big step forward and I don't think he'll be a sleeper for very long.

Kenneth@ The Pipeline: I suppose Montgomery isn't really a sleeper at this point. He was a supplemental 1st rounder, after all. How about NWA OF David Lough or Burlington (A) OF Nick Van Stratten? Lough had a great start at Wilmington and has continued to hit at NW Arkansas in his first taste of AA. Plus he seems to have a decent arm and defense. Van Stratten doesn't hit for power but has speed and defense and has stayed on the field while keeping his BA over .300 at Burlington. Lough doesn't walk much, tho, and Van Stratten has shown some good discipline. I'd like to see what Van Stratten could do in the Carolina League.

RR: Who has been the most disappointing prospect this season?

Kenneth@The Pipeline: Probably Cortes, who has been touted as the top pitching prospect just in time for all his command problems to resurface. The recent arrest is just the cherry on top, even if it was somewhat innocuous. Mario Lisson would be a close second, but I don't know how seriously anyone took him as a prospect. He got a 40-man slot to keep him out of the rule 5 draft, then stunk in AA last year, stunk AGAIN in AA this year, then got a promotion to Omaha for some reason, where he has somehow stunk slightly less than he did in AA. Then you've got the Wilmington trio of Moustakas, Derrick Robinson and Adrian Ortiz, Moustakas being the biggest disappointment there. A .300 OBP, and leading the team in errors, meaning he's probably gonna need to be moved off 3B too? If that's not disappointing... Robinson's BA has declined, his steal rate is down, so he's now a 2-tool player -- speed and D. I had high hopes for Ortiz this year, too, and he hasn't hacked it in Wilmington, and doesn't have the excuse of a lack of playing time.

Keith@ The Royal Tower: There have been more than a few disappointments, but I'll say Derrick Robinson. I've been touting him for a while, but his bat just isn't progressing as it should. If anything he has gone backwards.

Darren@ Royals Review: Dan Gutierrez--simply because he hasn't thrown a pitch this year and I predicted before the season began he would be our top prospect when 2009 ended. He has battled injury, personal issues and had a spat with the Royals regarding his recovery from injury. Also, Moustakas and Hosmer apparently talked him into joining Scott Boras Corp.--but that also has a positive side because Boras wouldn't take him unless they thought he had potential.

RR: Typically, the Royals' system is presented as improving, but still immature. In particular, is there anyone in Omaha (other than Kila) who we should be excited about, or who at least could help the team soon?

Darren@ Royals Review: "Disco" Hayes is down there and he could help the team but I'm not sure how much the Royals believe in him. Mario Lisson is better than TPJ...(crickets chirping). Omaha is kind of a wasteland but we have got some talent starting to show up in Northwest Arkansas.

Kenneth@ The Pipeline: My answer would be, not that I see, or at least nobody that's a "prospect". If the Royals hang on to lefty Lenny DiNardo, he could help some maybe at the MLB level, but then again, why wouldn't he be there already if they thought he could help? Chris Hayes is a cult hero among Royals fans, but I'm unconvinced. He's gotten guys out at every level, but at some point his speed is gonna meet its match with the bats. I'd love to see him become the next Quiz, tho. With his blog, he could be the Quiz's match in several ways.

I like to think the Quiz could have written a good blog. I thought going into the year that Carlos Rosa could maybe chip in in KC, but he has really struggled out of the pen for Omaha. I'd rather they had kept him in the rotation, but he wasn't staying healthy there, so that's a tough situation. Position-wise, it's pretty bereft in Omaha. Tug Hulett has done nothing in his sparse chances, Irving Falu has had a solid year in AAA but doesn't dazzle, Lubanski and Shane Costa have been hurt, Ryan Shealy too, I also had hopes (I've been saying that a lot) that Travis Metcalf would be a good pickup from the Rangers, but that hasn't panned out, either. Scott Thorman, a Dayton-ex-Brave pickup, has been great for Omaha but I have a feeling he'd probably struggle in KC.

Keith@ The Royal Tower: A few relievers come to mind, namely Disco and Carlos Rosa. I know Rosa's had a down season, but the stuff is still plenty there. He's hit 96 and 97 multiple times on the stadium gun at the games i've been to. Infielder Irving Falu would be a better option than the two no-hit SS's were currently employing. He can play all over the infield and has even played some right field. He might be a switch hitting Bloomquist type, which has a bit of value. Injuries really hurt Chris Lubanski's shot to potentially help the big league team earlier this year as he was having a nice little opening to the year. Overall there are some guys that could play roles on the Major league roster, but no one other than Ka'aihue that will likely make a major impact.

RR: How would you describe the state of the system as a whole right now? How confident are you in Dayton Moore's ability to build a strong enough minor league/player development system for the Royals to win the AL Central and beyond?

Keith@ The Royal Tower: System is doing well, but it could be a whole heck of a lot better. Unfortunately our three top prospects coming into the year have stumbled a bit in Moustakas, Hosmer, and Cortes. On the other side of the coin, other young players have emerged as very real prospects such as Bianchi, Lough, Parraz, and Espinal. I'm going to cop out a little here, but I think we still need a couple more years to see how Dayton & Co. (the "Co." are the people who make the picks) will really do with the minor leagues. What I do know is him and his staff are not afraid to take who they truly believe is the top talents in the draft, not just in the first round, but in subsequent rounds as well (highlighted by this year's draft). Not only that, but they have heavily increased efforts to find talent in the international field (also highlighted this year with Korean C Shin Jin-Ho and Nicaraguan 3B Cheslor Cuthbert). More talent is coming into the system now than at any point in the past two decades, and while there will be busts/disappointments, this is the way to build long time because some players will work out, and not just work out, but become star players.

Kenneth@ The Pipeline: The state of the system is better than the Baird years, which isn't saying much, but I wouldn't exactly put the Royals in the upper echelon of major league systems. I'd give it a solid C, when the Royals need it to be at least a B to compete. I think Moore has concentrated too much in recent times of building up the pitching side of the ledger and leaving the position side as an afterthought. As others (namely Rany Jazayerli, but others) have pointed out, he seems to have a good idea of potential future value but horrible idea of present value of certain players. Signings like Guillen and Farnsworth trouble me, as does the Jacobs trade when the Royals had Kila Ka'aihue waiting for a chance to play, at a much cheaper cost. Obviously the Royals aren't gonna be able to buy their way to the top, so they have to build it. I wrote recently I think Moore is a good assistant GM, but he hasn't convinced me that he's a good GM yet. The whole ex-Braves thing aggravates me, too. Are we really gonna build our way to the top using players the Braves get rid of? He basically uses his 25-30 draft signings each year, plus picks up whoever the Braves don't want anymore in the offseason and during the season. My confidence in Moore is low, but I'm waiting to be convinced.

Darren@ Royals Review: The state of the Royals system continues to improve. The Royals have several good prospects on each team from Northwest Arkansas, Wilmington, Burlington-IA, Idaho Falls, Burlington-NC. The Royals last two drafts look very good so far and we are seeing fruit from their increased budget on the International front. The Royals have a lot of pitching depth and their hitting depth is improving.

I think Dayton Moore can build a minor league system that is as strong as any in the AL Central--but it won't matter if we keep signing the Guillens and Farnsworths of the world. A very good farm system--by itself--probably won't translate into a division title. I don't see Moustakas and Hosmer being ready in time to help while Greinke is still here (I hope I'm wrong). David Glass won't want to keep spending record amount on the draft if we don't start seeing wins as the big league level. Also, the Royals need to have the guts to flip some guys for prospects this year. So I would say I'm torn--I really like the direction of the minors but loathe the direction of the big league club--I have a hard time reconciling those two things. I guess I keep hoping that Moore will have an epiphany about the big league club.

I hope I didn't jumble up anyone's answers! Thanks again to Keith, Kenneth, and Darren. Be sure to visit The Royal Tower and The Pipeline the next time you surf.

Tony Thompson's 3rd Inning Grand Slam sets new KU record.

James Quinn — Sat, 23 May 2009 15:17:03 -0000

Tony Thompson, Kansas' single season home run king. via media.kansan.com

View full size photo »

Tony Thompson hit a grand slam in the top of the third inning in Kansas' Big-12 Tournament game vs. Baylor. The homerun was Thompson's 19th of the season, setting a new school record. The single season homerun record had previously been held by Travis Metcalf, set in 2003. Thompson now has 78 RBI's on the year, the second highest single season total in KU history. Josh Kliner brought in 85 in 1996 to set the record. Counting today's hits Thompson has collected 168 total bases on the year. This is also a school record, passing Kliner's total of 161, which was also set in 1996.

Thompson, a sophomore third baseman, entered the game hitting .370/.425/.718.

Thompson's grand slam cut the BU lead down to 6-4. Thompson also hit a single in the 2nd inning. Watch the rest of the game live here.

Kansas evens up Sunflower Showdown 9-3 in front of packed house.

James Quinn — Sun, 17 May 2009 16:42:32 -0000

Preston Land brought the record crowd at Hoglund to their feet when he put the Hawks up 2-0. Land knocked the ball out of Wildcat catcher Rob Vaughn's hands in a play at the plate in the 2nd inning. Preston is one of four Jayhawk seniors on a mission this weekend. via media.lawrence.com

View full size photo »

The fans showed up and the Jayhawks delivered. In front of a Hoglund Park record 2,438 fans (I had no idea that many people could fit into the park!) the Jayhawks pounded Kansas State 9-3 to even up the Sunflower Showdown series at one game apiece. KU head coach Ritch Price knew the players were very aware of the support, “It was really a big-league atmosphere with the crowd tonight. I think our players fed off of it; it really got them jacked up.”

The win improved KU’s Big-12 record to 14-12 and insured the Jayhawks of their first winning conference record since the inception of the Big-12. Kansas State fell to 14-10-1. The two teams will meet for the final KU home game of the year Sunday at 6PM. If you plan to attend the game come early to get a ticket, and make sure you are in your seat by 5:40. It is senior day and there will be a pre-game ceremony honoring Buck Afenir, Preston Land, Paul Smyth and Nick Faunce for their four years at KU.

Starting pitcher T.J. Walz (8-1) was wicked good on the mound. In six innings Walz gave up five hits and a run while striking out a career high 12 batters. While Walz kept the Wildcat offense in check the Jayhawks pounded the visitor’s pitching staff. Kansas built a 9-1 lead by scoring in five of the first six innings. During the game Kansas pounded out seven singles, four doubles and two homeruns. Kansas opened the scoring in the first when Robby Price came home on a Tony Thompson ground out, Thompson’s 72 RBI on the year. They added three more in the second on a Zac Elgie double, David Narodowski sac fly and Lance Hoge wild pitch. Thompson scored in the 3rd on Zac Elgie’s second double of the game. Buck Afenir’s 8th home run of the season broke the game open in the fourth, putting KU up 7-1. Robby Price added a solo shot in the 6th, his fifth homerun on the year, and Casey Lytle wrapped up the home scoring with an RBI single plating Buck Afenir four batters later.

Walz started to lose steam after four innings but he never let the Wildcats claw their way back into the game. KSU drunked the bases in the 5th and 6th innings but Walz did not allow them to score either time. T.J. worked in the low 90’s most the game and had a lot of movement. He struck out five of the first six batters he faced and didn’t give up a good swing until the 3rd inning when KSU catcher Rob Vaughn homered to left. Walz didn’t let this mistake pitch throw him off his game. He struck out the next two batters. His twelve strikeouts are the most by a KU pitcher since Mike Zagurski struck out the same number of Missouri batters on May 14, 2005. Colton Murray, Brett Bochy and Paul Smyth each pitched one inning in relief to close out the game.

After the jump, additional game notes and the box score.

Buck Afenir going out strong: Buck had the only KU RBI on Friday night and Saturday he went 4-5 with his 8th homerun of the year and two RBI’s. For his career Buck now has 29 home runs (tied for 3rd place on KU’s all-time list with Travis Metcalf) and 152 RBI’s (10th place overall.)

Big-12 POY race: Tony Thompson went 1-3 with a double and two walks on the night. He brought home one run, giving him 72 RBIs’s. Tony’s main competition for Big-12 player of the year, J.T. Wise of Oklahoma, had a similar night, going 1-3 with two RBIs.

T.J. Walz the team "ace:" Over the last two weeks I have been hearing Walz referred to as the team’s ace even though he is the Saturday rather than the Friday starter. The team released a few quotes by Head Coach Ritch Price that add a little clarity to how he sees the rotation at this point.

[T.J.]’s pitched better than anyone on our staff has pitched all year. Usually that guy pitches on Friday night, but the reasoning behind it is that Shaffer [Hall] is a fly-ball pitcher. We try to pitch him at night when the wind’s not blowing out, which happens a lot in Kansas. He also eats up innings, because he’s a strike-thrower. He protects our bullpen and we know we’re going to get six innings out of him every time we give him the ball. If Shaeffer doesn’t sign [a professional contract this off-season], then we intend to move T.J. to Friday night and put Shaeffer in-between the two right-handed pitchers (Walz and Ridenhour) next year. If we were starting the season over today we would do that now. If we get into a [post season NCAA tournament] regional, we may switch (the rotation). We’ll look at our match-ups. If we’re facing a team that’s got five or six left-handed hitters in their line-up we’ll leave it with Shaeffer. But the bottom line is that we have confidence whenever either guy is on the mound for us.

The Omen: During the sixth inning a hawk circled the infield and then flew low over the crowd behind home plate before settling on a support beam to the 3rd base side of the press box. Cool stuff. A picture of the new mascot can be found here at shot number 11.

Tough day for Rob Vaughn: KSU catcher Rob Vaughn is going to have some bruises today. He took a check swing ball off his right knee in the second inning and was in the dirt for a minute or two. Later in the inning he had the crazy notion of blocking the plate with Preston Land bearing down on him. Land was attempting to score all the way from first on Zac Elgie’s double and he arrived at the plate a bit behind the throw. Even though Preston slid low he simply is a big dude and even the half contact rang the Wildcat catcher’s bell for the second time in the inning. Vaughn impressed by hitting a solo homerun the following inning but he was noticeably limping as he made his way around the bases. So, tip of the cap to the KSU backstop.

Notice of the "little things:" In the bottom of the first inning with the bases loaded and one out Tony Thompson hit a ground ball to short that looked like the double play ball which would get the Wildcats out of the inning. Brian Heere moved off second base, took a pause stutter step in front of the ground ball, then broke for third. KSU shortstop Drew Biery fielded the ball cleanly and got it to second baseman Carter Jurica in time for the force but the relay throw to first was off-target allowing the run to score. No one can be sure, but my thinking is that Heere’s heads up play here broke up the rhythm of the middle infielders and collapsed that double play. The Hawks put on a defensive clinic in the 7th inning in support of Colton Murray. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and one out Nick Martini (who has the coolest name in the Big-12 this year) hit a ground ball well to the right of second baseman Robby Price. Price again showed that he has range+wow by getting to the ball and throwing Martini out at first while falling backwards. The gold glove bug hung around for another batter. Justin Bloxom hit a slow ground ball to third which Tony Thompson scooped up and delivered to first. Because the ball arrived slow Thompson had to rush his throw. Preston Land, who is an outstanding defensive player at times like this, extended and picked the ball inches above the dirt to nip Bloxom and prevent a run from scoring. Note to Colton Murray, you own Price, Land and Thompson lunch (or another item of similar value) next time you are out.

Link to KU recap.

May 16, 2009 at Lawrence, KS (Hoglund Ballpark)

Kansas State 3 (39-14-1,14-10-1 Big 12)
Player	ab	r	h	rbi	bb	so	po	a	lob
Muenster, Adam dh	4	1	1	0	1	2	0	0	0
Jurica, Carter 2b	5	0	2	0	0	2	5	2	3
Martini, Nick lf	4	0	1	1	0	2	2	0	0
Bloxom, Justin 1b	5	0	0	0	0	2	6	0	2
King, Jason 3b	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	1
Biery, Drew ss	4	1	2	1	0	1	0	5	0
Cruz, Jordan rf	3	0	2	0	1	0	2	0	0
Vaughn, Rob c	4	1	1	1	0	2	7	0	3
Yelovich, Dane cf	4	0	0	0	0	3	1	1	1
Hoge, Lance p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Marshall, Evan p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Daniel, Ryan p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Bahramzadeh, Kayvon p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Hunter, Kyle p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Totals	37	3	10	3	2	14	24	10	10

Kansas 9 (36-19,14-12 Big 12)
Player	ab	r	h	rbi	bb	so	po	a	lob
Narodowski, David ss	3	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	0
Price, Robby 2b	4	2	2	1	1	0	2	1	1
Heere, Brian rf	5	1	2	0	0	1	2	0	0
Afenir, Buck c	5	2	4	2	0	0	14	0	1
Thompson, Tony 3b	3	1	1	1	2	0	1	2	0
Lytle, Casey lf	4	0	1	1	0	1	3	0	3
Land, Preston 1b	3	1	0	0	1	1	4	0	2
Elgie, Zac dh	4	1	2	2	0	1	0	0	0
Brunansky, Jason cf	4	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	1
Walz, T.J. p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Murray, Colton p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Bochy, Brett p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Smyth, Paul p	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	35	9	13	8	5	6	27	3	8

Score by Innings R H E ------------------------------------------- Kansas State........ 001 000 110 - 3 10 0 Kansas.............. 131 202 00X - 9 13 2 -------------------------------------------

E - Narodowski(18); Thompson, T.(9). DP - Kansas State 1. LOB - Kansas State 10; Kansas 8. 2B - Martini, Nic(14); Thompson, T.(21); Elgie, Z. 2(4). HR - Biery, Drew(9); Vaughn, Rob(4); Price, Ro.(5); Afenir, B.(8). HBP - Martini, Nic. SF - Narodowski(3). SB - Cruz, Jordan(15).

Kansas State	ip	h	r	er	bb	so	wp	bk	hbp	ibb	ab	bf	fo	go	np
Hoge, Lance L,5-4	2.0	5	5	4	3	2	0	0	0	0	10	14	3	1	57
Marshall, Evan	2.0	4	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	10	2	3	40
Daniel, Ryan	2.0	3	2	2	1	2	0	0	0	0	9	10	2	2	38
Bahramzadeh, Kayvon	0.2	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	2	3	0	0	15
Hunter, Kyle	1.1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	4	2	1	17

Kansas	ip	h	r	er	bb	so	wp	bk	hbp	ibb	ab	bf	fo	go	np
Walz, T.J. W,8-1	6.0	5	1	1	2	12	0	0	1	0	23	26	5	1	103
Murray, Colton	1.0	2	1	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	5	5	1	2	16
Bochy, Brett	1.0	2	1	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	5	5	1	0	25
Smyth, Paul	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	4	1	2	19

Win - Walz, T. (8-1). Loss - Hoge, Lance (5-4). Save - None. WP - Murray, C.(1). HBP - by Walz, T. (Martini, Nic). PB - Vaughn, Rob(2). Pitches/strikes: Hoge, Lance 57/33; Marshall, Ev 40/27; Daniel, Ryan 38/22; Bahramzadeh 15/8; Hunter, Kyle 17/10; Walz, T. 103/61; Murray, C. 16/10; Bochy, B. 25/16; Smyth, P. 19/12.

Umpires - HP: Randy Bruns 1B: Scott Wilkerson 3B: Chris Coskey
Start: 6:05 pm Time: 3:02 Attendance: 2438
Weather: Clear, 64 degrees, Wind NNE 10
Hoge, Lance faced 1 batter in the 3rd.

Kansas splits two rivalry games. Jayhawks sweep Wichita State then lose opener to Missouri.

James Quinn — Sat, 09 May 2009 15:40:56 -0000

Even though KU lost last night they clinched a spot in the Big-12 post-season tournament when OSU lost to OU. So, if you’ve been holding off, it’s time to make plans to visit Oklahoma City May 20th – 24th. via www.big12sports.com

View full size photo »

Kansas baseball is into the rivalry section of their schedule. Emotions run high during the final two weeks of the season and over the last three days the team has experienced both ends of the spectrum. On Wednesday night the Jayhawks went to Wichita and wore down the Shockers en route to a convincing 8-3 victory. Coupled with an 8-0 Kansas win over Wichita State in Lawrence in March this gave Kansas their first season sweep of the Shockers since 2000. Friday night KU packed up their momentum and #23 national ranking and headed down I-70 to Columbia. The Missouri Tigers, after starting the year in horrible fashion, regrouped over the last month and the Border Showdown series promised to be a battle between two teams both looking to put their final touches on their NCAA tournament resumes. Kansas hit MU ace Kyle Gibson pretty well but Missouri gave better then they took last night. The Tigers scored seven runs on Shaeffer Hall over 5.2 innings and won the surprisingly high scoring affair 8-5 in front of 1,774 fans.

Kansas now sits at 34-17 overall and 12-10 in the Big-12. Texas beat Texas A&M last night in an exciting extra innings game, and Texas Tech shocked just about everyone by getting to Kansas State ace A.J. Morris last night while shutting out the Wildcats 6-0. (Big-12 Hardball Scoreboard) These two results actually allowed Missouri to move into second place in the conference at 15-10. Kansas and Missouri continue the series today with a 2PM first pitch.

Links to the KU recaps and box scores of the 8-3 win over Wichita State on Wednesday and 8-5 loss at Missouri on Friday.

Tony Thompson is on fire, … again: Wednesday T-squared went yard in the seventh inning, hitting a three run home run to blow the game open 6-2. Thompson went 2-5 with 4 RBIs in the game. Friday Tony went 2-4 with a double and another homerun giving him 16 on the year. This total put him on top of the Big-12 alone for all of about 15 minutes. Oklahoma catcher J.T. Wise hit his 16th homerun in Tulsa in the sixth inning to put the Sooner ahead. The KU record for homeruns in a single season is Travis Metcalf’s 18 set in 2004. With Kansas likely to play at least 10 more games this year Tony will have plenty opportunity to put his name in a prominent place in the KU record book. Thompson’s 67 RBIs is the fourth highest single season total in KU history. Next on the list is Sean Richardson’s 2004 total of 69. Darryl Monroe collected 71 in 1994. Thompson seems likely to pass both those marks. The top spot all time, Josh Kliner’s total of 85 in 1996, might even be threatened before the year is out. Tony Thompson is a beast this year. If he finishes strong and KU lands in the top four of the conference there is a good chance a Jayhawks will be named Big-12 player of the year in a few weeks.

Buck Afenir is making plenty noise himself: Afenir put the Hawks up on Friday night with a three run homerun in the third inning. It was Afenir’s 7th of the year, and 28th of his career. This ties the senior catcher with Ryan Baty (2000-2004) for fourth place all time in career homers. Still ahead of Afenir, Travis Metcalf (29), and two guys he played alongside for three years, Erik Morrison (31) and Ryne Price (35). Afenir’s 51 RBIs this year are 9 more than his previous season high (he collected 42 last year) and give him 147 for his career. He only needs two more to move onto KU’s top-10 career RBI leader board.

Jason Brunansky injury: Brunanksy had to leave the game in the bottom of the sixth inning last night after injuring himself while trying to make a play on a deep fly ball to centerfield hit by Greg Folgia. Brunanaky was unable to make the catch and the play turned into an inside the park homerun for Folgia, one of two homeruns he hit yesterday. Nick Faunce entered the game in place of Brunansky following the injury. It was Faunce's first action since fracturing his finger in the final game of the OSU series. The KU outfield is pretty beat up now. Hopefully Brunansky's injury was not serious and he will be back in action soon.

Thursday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:09:44 -0000

More photos » by Gus Ruelas - AP

Todd Coffey: Unsung Hero.

Browse more photos »

Some things to read while watching Seinfeld with Coco Crisp.

Yovani Gallardo's performance from last night is drawing a fair amount of attention around the web this morning. A small sampling:

Tom H. notes that Gallardo's home run was the first ever hit off of Randy Johnson by a pitcher.
Circling the Bases notes that Gallardo has a .726 career OPS, fourth best among all active pitchers with at least 50 at bats.
Quevedo at the Buffet compares Gallardo's at bat to what one would have expected from Ben Sheets under the same circumstances.

However, all of Gallardo's heroics may have been for naught if not for Todd Coffey, who got the Brewers out of a bases loaded jam in the seventh and pitched a perfect eighth. Coffey's efforts did not go unnoticed, as Ken Macha said the Brewers had two saves last night.

Carlos Villanueva was also perfect in the ninth last night, picking up his first save. If last night is any indication, a Brewer bullpen that goes 7-8-9 with Coffey, Villanueva and Trevor Hoffman might be ok after all. Hoffman's rehab continues apace, and he'll begin playing catch more seriously today.

Will Hoffman's rehab lead him to Appleton? At the Timber Rattlers' Lead Off Experience yesterday, Gord Ash said it will depend on the weather. Hoffman could pitch in Arizona or Brevard County if the team is concerned about conditions in Appleton.

Mike Cameron continued his hot start last night, hitting a home run off of Randy Johnson that accounted for the only Brewer run not driven in by Gallardo. Cameron has yet to strike out in the Brewers first two games. Some fans are praising Cameron's increased plate discipline, but Jack Moore of Right Field Bleachers refutes the notion, pointing out that Cameron has always been patient.

Cameron was also a key part of a Brewer offense that stole four bases on Opening Day. The Official Site says not to get too excited: the Brewers plan to jump on opportunities to run when they arise this season, but don't plan on running that much everyday.

Sometimes a milestone just slips by: Prince Fielder's eighth inning single off of Jeremy Affeldt on Tuesday was the 500th hit of his career, but no one in the dugout knew about it. I'm guessing Fielder would have traded it for a win anyway. He's the third youngest Brewer to reach 500 hits.

Some Brewers would settle for 500 plate appearances: Fresh off a spring that saw them play every day, Tom H. caught up with Casey McGehee, Chris Duffy and Brad Nelson, who have some time on their hands these days.

Some minor league notes to pass along:

The Appleton Post-Crescent has a nice profile of Appleton native and former Brewer Matt Erickson, the hitting coach for the Timber Rattlers.
Beyond the Box Score has a look at the defensive skills of Angel Salome and Jonathan Lucroy, along with some of baseball's other catching prospects.

The Brewers have played about 1.2% of their schedule, so I guess it's time to update the rankings: MLB FanHouse downgraded the Brewers from 12th to 21st in their power rankings, and MLB Playoff Odds gives the Brewers a 26.8% chance at making the postseason.

Are you in the Milwaukee area and looking for something to do after tonight's game? Fox 6 will be airing their Brewer preview show live at 9:30.

In another TV note, as mentioned in Tuesday's Game Thread, Tuesday's game broadcast started without a graphic to show baserunners, but that was a technical issue that has been resolved.

These guys will also show up on your screen a fair amount this season: Mental Floss takes a look at seven stadium icons, including "The Doorman" at Miller Park.

Elsewhere around the league:

A's: Claimed reliever Dan Giese off waivers from the Yankees.
Cubs: Ted Lilly allowed four solo home runs in last night's win over the Astros. He also allowed five in 11 spring innings.
D-Backs: Brandon Webb will miss his next start with shoulder stiffness. Ken Rosenthal is reporting that concerns with Webb's arm ended talks of a new contract last season.
Nationals: Released pitcher Gustavo Chacin, who then signed with the Phillies.
Pirates: Third baseman Andy LaRoche, who made three errors in the team's first two games, has been benched.
Royals: Claimed third baseman Travis Metcalf off waivers from the Rangers.

Every year about this time we get a story like this one, but I don't think anyone expected the Pirates to be the story: At 2-1, playing the Cardinals this afternoon and with the Cubs having an off day, the Pirates could move into sole possession of first place in the NL Central with a win.

And another thing I never expected to see in print: Peter Angelos may not be involved enough in the operation of the Orioles.

Here's some sabermetric work we don't normally do in this space: Gaslamp Ball used the Golden Ratio to give Brian Giles a 76.8% attractiveness rating.

Look forward to some extra split-squad games and a day off or two next spring: Twins Now takes a look at the scheduling issues that will come up when the Cactus League and Grapefruit League each have 15 teams next season.

Oh, and Snuggies are coming to get our children.

Drink up.

Welcome Home Travis Metcalf! Former Jayhawk great claimed by the Kansas City Royals

James Quinn — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 23:27:54 -0000

via farm4.static.flickr.com

The Kansas City Royals claimed former KU great Travis Metcalf today off waivers from the Texas Rangers. Metcalf (26) plays third base and is considered an above average defender with some good pop in his bat. His major league batting line is .249/.300/.475 in 242 plate appearances.

Metcalf owns the University of Kansas single season home run record with 18 in 2004. He was an 11th round draft choice that year.

Oddly enough Mom and Dad Metcalf were in Lawrence just a few weeks ago. Travis' younger brought Tyler plays for the Western Illinois Leathernecks. The Metcalfs came to Hoglund to cheer on Tyler during WIU series against Kansas. Tyler looked plenty good in his own right. He hit three homeruns in two games.

Career Statistics from KU to present after the jump.

Batting Statistics

Year	Team	Lg	Age	Org.	Level	Unif	Pos	Ln	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	HBP	IBB	SH	SF	DP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2002	KAN	Big12	19	-	NCAA				27	78	13	21	5	1	0	3	2	0	5	14	0		1	0	3	.269	.313	.359	672
2003	KAN	Big12	20	-	NCAA				55	198	40	57	14	1	11	44	0	0	12	48	2		3	2	3	.288	.332	.535	867
2004	KAN	Big12	21	-	NCAA				63	221	51	63	16	0	18	58	6	2	41	51	8		0	5	5	.285	.407	.602	1009
	SPO	Nwst	21	Tex	A-	-	3b		72	290	48	78	21	1	15	62	1	2	37	74	3	1	1	6	6	.269	.351	.503	854
2005	BKR	Calif	22	Tex	A+		3b		132	505	80	147	32	7	22	94	8	2	49	129	6	0	1	5	14	.291	.358	.513	871
2006	FRI	Tex	23	Tex	AA	11	3b		121	425	51	94	16	2	8	37	9	7	45	112	3	1	0	4	9	.221	.298	.325	623
2007	FRI	Tex	24	Tex	AA		3b		55	200	38	56	18	0	7	34	2	1	21	44	1	2	0	4	3	.280	.345	.475	820
	OKL	PCL	24	Tex	AAA	-	3b		18	61	2	9	3	0	0	6	0	0	7	17	0	0	1	1	3	.148	.232	.197	429
	TEX	AL	24	Tex	MLB	30	3b	9	57	161	25	41	12	1	5	21	0	1	13	41	0	0	5	2	6	.255	.307	.435	742
2008	OKL	PCL	25	Tex	AAA		3b		71	265	36	67	14	1	5	37	0	1	18	59	1	0	1	3	6	.253	.300	.370	670
	TEX	AL	25	Tex	MLB	30	3b	9	23	56	11	13	2	0	6	14	0	0	3	12	1	0	0	1	2	.232	.279	.589	868

Major League Totals - 2 Season(s)									80	217	36	54	14	1	11	35	0	1	16	53	1	0	5	3	8	.249	.300	.475	775
Minor League Totals - 5 Season(s)									469	1746	255	451	104	11	57	270	20	13	177	435	14	4	4	23	41	.258	.328	.428	756

A couple of transactions of note

Adam J. Morris — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 22:08:30 -0000

A couple of transactions of note this afternoon, while I've been out and about...

Travis Metcalf has been claimed on waivers by the Kansas City Royals. Given that the Royals have Alex Gordon pretty well entrenched at third base, I don't know that this is going to do much for Metcalf's career, but the Royals now have a backup option in AAA for Gordon.

And more importantly, Brett Perryman (aka zywica) is going to start blogging at the DMN Rangers blog. Congrats to z on the gig, and congrats to the DMN for picking up a solid addition to their blogging roster.

Kansas Baseball Notes. Where the Hawks stand after half a season.

James Quinn — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:39:47 -0000

After winning their first three conference games Kansas lost five of their next six. This dropped them all the way down to a tie for 7th place in the Big-12. Only the top eight teams make the Big-12 tournament so Kansas has no saftey cushion left from their sweep of Texas. On the positive side all three teams Kansas has played had been predicted to finish near the top of the Big-12. Oklahoma State comes to Lawrence next weekend and the Cowboys are plenty tough, but after that the schedule should ease up a bit. OSU is tied with KU at 4-5 in the Big-12 but the Cowboys have the best RPI at #12 so don't let their conference record fool you into thinking they are not a terrifying team.

Current Big-12 Standings

	Big 12	Pct	Overall	RPI
Oklahoma	6-3	.667	25-7	28
Baylor	7-5	.583	20-8	14
Texas A&M	7-5	.583	20-11	25
Kansas State	5-4	.556	24-8	40
Texas	6-6	.500	20-8	17
Texas Tech	6-6	.500	14-19	107
Oklahoma State	4-5	.444	21-10	12
Kansas	4-5	.444	18-12	60
Missouri	5-7	.417	15-16	55
Nebraska	4-8	.333	16-14-1	66

Right now Kansas is on the cold side of the NCAA bubble. Kansas will need to win about 13 Big-12 games and continue to take care of business during mid-week games to attract attention at the end of the season.

Check out Big-12 Hardball for weekly updates on all conference teams. You can take part in a weekly Pick 'em contest at the site. Leave your predictions each Friday, gather up praise or shame each Monday.

More KU Baseball notes after the jump. Former Jayhawks in Pro Ball, Nick Faunce's journal, a nice story about the Yips and KU pitching and defense.

No former Jayhawks will be on MLB opening day rosters this year. The Rangers designated Travis Metcalf for assignment to remove him from their 40 man roster on Saturday. During the next ten days the Rangers might trade him. If he is not traded he can be released or optioned to AAA. The Phillies placed Mike Zagurski on the 15-day disabled list. Hopefully Mike will be ready to pitch again before the all-star break. Earlier in the month the Pirates sent Tom Gorzelanny down to their AAA club.

Nick Faunce has been posting a journal throughout the season at the KU baseball home page. It is worth checking out. His March 31st entry about how he and some teammates had to help the grounds crew tame the field tarp on a windy Kansas day is a good read. The Hawks had to ask the visiting Northern Colorado players to lend a hand.

For local Lawrence baseball news, last year Lawrence High pitcher Andy Urban had the "Yips" so bad he could hardly play catch with his father in the back yard. On Friday he threw a no-hitter against Shawnee Mission North. Nice story here.

And in case you were wondering, the average score of an NCAA D-I baseball game this year is 9-4. On average NCAA D-I teams give up 6.8 runs per game. That number really brings KU's outstanding pitching and defense this year into context. Even after the massacre on Sunday Kansas is only surrendering 4.9 runs per game against D-I opponents, almost two runs under the national average.

Travis Metcalf designated for assignment

Adam J. Morris — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 20:17:08 -0000

To make room for the 6th non-roster player on the 40 man roster, Travis Metcalf has been designated for assignment, along with Eric Hurley and Joaquin Benoit going to the 60 day d.l. (as expected).

Not surprising news vis-a-vis Metcalf, who seemed the obvious choice to drop, given the plethora of utility infielders and the fact that Michael Young is going to be at third base for quite a while going forward.

Metcalf getting DFA'd, rather than simply put on waivers (as Kason Gabbard and Joe Koshansky were), suggests that the Rangers think Metcalf may get claimed, and are possibly trying to work out a trade.

Or maybe not.

Evan Grant defends Travis Metcalf

Adam J. Morris — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:47:28 -0000

Evan Grant responds to Mike Hindman's analysis of the 40 man roster situation, and says that while Hindman would have Metcalf as the first guy off the 40 right now, he thinks Luis Mendoza, Dustin Nippert, and Greg Golson should all get put on waivers prior to Metcalf.

His argument is two-fold -- first, if Michael Young gets hurt and misses a significant amount of time, the Rangers would need Metcalf, and second, some team -- probably the Yankees -- would claim Metcalf on waivers, because Metcalf has a career 775 major league OPS and would be an upgrade over Cody Ransom.

I have to disagree with both of those items, though. First, if Young (for the first time in his major league career) has to go on the d.l. and miss a significant amount of time, I think you probably either go with German Duran, or shift Chris Davis over from first base on an interim basis and get an extended look at Max Ramirez. The Duran option would be the preferred one, but I don't think if Young is going to miss a couple of weeks, I don't think it would kill you to make the position switch for a short period of time.

On the second part...yes, Metcalf has a 775 OPS in a limited amount of major league ABs, driven largely by a bunch of homers. I don't think anyone thinks his .475 slugging percentage is sustainable. His minor league OPS from 2006-2008 has been 623, 729, and 670, and as a result, the projection systems generally see him as mid-600 OPS guy this season in the majors.

What it boils down to is a question of whether you believe in the bat, and whether what he's done in the majors is more indicative of his talent level that what he's done in the minors the past several years.

SB Nation - Travis Metcalf

Royals Minor League Roundtable: An Improving, But Far From Finished Player Development System

Tony Thompson's 3rd Inning Grand Slam sets new KU record.

Kansas evens up Sunflower Showdown 9-3 in front of packed house.

Kansas State 3 (39-14-1,14-10-1 Big 12)

Kansas 9 (36-19,14-12 Big 12)

Kansas splits two rivalry games. Jayhawks sweep Wichita State then lose opener to Missouri.

Thursday's Frosty Mug

Welcome Home Travis Metcalf! Former Jayhawk great claimed by the Kansas City Royals

A couple of transactions of note

Kansas Baseball Notes. Where the Hawks stand after half a season.

Current Big-12 Standings

Travis Metcalf designated for assignment

Evan Grant defends Travis Metcalf