Happy National Drug Testing Day!
Be sure to check out the first edition of our 2022 MLB Draft rankings.
Cross has been mocked to the Royals at #9 a couple of times by Baseball America, and while it wouldn’t be my *favorite* pick at the moment, there’s certainly a ton to like about the 6′ 3″ lefty. Cross’ exit velocities are among the very best in the entire draft class, and he’s cut way down on his strikeouts this spring with just a 9.7% K% in 30 games for the Hokies this spring.
How much do you think it would cost to get our “RFR” logo on the Royals uniforms next year?
Corporate sponsor logos are here, whether you like it or not. The new collective bargaining agreement gave owners approval to put advertising patches on uniforms, an initiative that could generate $250-300 million per year in revenues, according to one estimate.
Everyone else is below 100. I think you can probably argue that Michael A. Taylor at a 96 wRC+ isn’t a problem either given that he’s there to play top end defense and hit at the bottom of the order.
But it’s pretty easy to see why they’re not scoring when you realize that’s it for bright spots. Whit Merrifield has a .176 OBP from the leadoff spot with a -11 wRC+.
AAA Omaha (7-7): W 9-6
Omaha had themselves a day at the plate yesterday, despite what was a pretty consistent rain in Memphis. Brewer Hicklen and Freddy Fermin each went deep twice. Emmanuel Rivera hit his third HR of the year. Clay Dungan had a good game. Daniel Mengden struggled a bit, but the bullpen was nails AGAIN allowing 0 ER in 6 innings of work. The Storm Chasers are back at it tonight at 6:45.
Box Score:
– Clay Dungan: 2-4, 3B
– Brewer Hicklen: 2-5, 2 HR, 3 K
– MJ Melendez: 0-4
– Emmanuel Rivera: 4-4, HR
– Vinnie Pasquantino: 1-4
– Freddy Fermin: 3-3, 2 HR, BB
– Foster Griffin: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 0 R
– Colten Brewer: 2 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 R
AA Northwest Arkansas (4-7): W 7-2
Another explosion on offense from a Royals affiliate. The Naturals clobbered three home runs last night en route to their fourth victory of the season. Nick Loftin and Seuly Matias combined for 910 feet of home runs, Robbie Glendinning added another, and the pitching staff was excellent. NWA is back at it tonight at 6:35 pm.
Box Score:
– Maikel Garcia: 0-4, BB, K
– Nick Loftin: 2-3, HR, 2 BB, K
– Michael Massey: 1-5, K
– Seuly Matias: 2-5, HR, 2 K
– Nate Eaton: 1-3, BB, SB, 2 K
– Drew Parrish: 5 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 4 K, 1 ER
– Yefri Del Rosario: 3 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 0 R
A+ Quad Cities (4-7): L 9-10
Yet another offensive explosion from a Royals affiliate yesterday, only this time the bullpen wasn’t able to hold the lead. Kale Emshoff hit his second home run of the season, Diego Hernandez had a pair of hits including a double, and the bullpen allowed 8 runs in 5.1 IP to end the game. They’re back at it tonight at 6:40 pm.
Box Score:
– Diego Hernandez: 2-4, 2B
– Tyler Tolbert: 1-4, BB, SB, 2 K
– Herard Gonzalez: 1-4, 2B, BB
– Luca Tresh: 1-5, 2B, 3 K
– Burle Dixon: 1-5, 2B, SB
– Kale Emshoff: 2-5, HR
– Christian Chamberlain: 1.1 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 R
– Kasey Kalich: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 R
A- Columbia (4-7): L 0-7
It has been rough sailing for the Fireflies of late. They’ll look to get back on track tonight at 6:05.
Box Score:
– Edgar Martinez: 1-2, 3B, 2 BB, K
– Carter Jensen: 0-3, BB, K
– Darryl Collins: 0-3, BB, K
– Erick Pena: 0-3, BB, 2 K
– Omar Hernandez: 1-3, K
– Wilmin Candelario: 0-3, BB
– Noah Cameron: 4 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 R
Photo Credits: Josh Franzen (@PrtTimeFranimal)
Royals Farm Report 