AAA Omaha (11-12): W 7-4
The Storm Chasers offense came to life this weekend, scoring 19 runs in the final two games of their series against Toledo, after scoring just three runs in the first three games. On Sunday, Vinnie Pasquantino and Nick Pratto each homered for the second game in a row. After Cam Gallagher was removed from the big league lineup with a hamstring strain, MJ Melendez was removed from the lineup in Omaha. Shortly after it was announced that Gallagher would be going on the IL and Melendez was getting the call to make his big league debut sometime this week. I know folks will be curious to see how much Melendez will play in the early going, but I really do not believe that the Royals would call him up if we wasn’t going to play most days. Sebastian Rivero could easily get to Kansas City by Tuesday, he’s still on the 40-man roster, and he’s already got big league experience. I know Melendez has struggled a little bit at Omaha this year, but he’s been better the last couple weeks and his BABIP is still low for a guy who hits the ball as hard as he does. I do not believe the Royals would pull him out of Omaha if he wasn’t going to play a lot in Kansas City.
Box Score:
– Clay Dungan: 0-4, BB, K
– Nick Pratto: 2-4, HR, 2 K
– Vinnie Pasquantino: 1-2, HR, BB
– Brewer Hicklen: 2-4, 2B, K
– MJ Melendez: 1-3, 2B, K
– Brady Singer: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 ER
– Josh Dye: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 0 R
AA Northwest Arkansas (10-11): W 9-5
Michael Massey has gone absolutely berserk over the Naturals’ last nine games, hitting .405 with five home runs, four doubles, and posting a 214 wRC+ in 42 PA. That has translated to 7 wins in their last 11 games. Maikel Garcia got back on track this week as well, hitting .375 in the series against Amarillo with a 1.25 BB/K. Drew Parrish made two good starts, allowing just 2 ER in 11 IP with 10 K and ZERO walks. Northwest Arkansas will hit the road this week, but they’ll actually be closer to us in Kansas City as they’re travelling to Springfield, MO, to take on the Cardinals. That series begins on Tuesday at 6:35 pm.
Box Score:
– Maikel Garcia: 4-5, 2B, SB
– Nate Eaton: 1-4, 2 K
– Michael Massey: 2-3, HR, BB, SB
– Seuly Matias: 0-4, 3 K
– John Rave: 0-4
– Robbie Glendinning: 2-3, HR, 2B, BB, K
– Tucker Bradley: 0-4
– Drew Parrish: 5 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, 4 K, 2 ER
– Yefri Del Rosario: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 0 R
A+ Quad Cities (9-12): W 11-7
After losing seven games in a row, Quad Cities has now won five of their last seven and will now hit the road to take on Cedar Rapids for a six game set. On Sunday, Tyler Tolbert finished 2-4 with a walk to cap off a seven-game hitting streak in which he has hit .464 with four extra-base hits and five stolen bases. He’s now hitting .310 on the year with an OPS of .842. He’s 24 playing in High-A, and he’s still striking out quite a bit (26.2%), but there aren’t many guys in the system with his skill set. Tolbert is a legitimate 80-grade runner with some sneaky pop and plays legitimately plus-defense in the middle infield with the ability to move to CF on occasion. His big league opportunity, if he gets one, would come somewhere between Terrance Gore and Jarrod Dyson, which makes him a name to keep an eye on for sure as he continues moving through the system.
Box Score:
– Tyler Tolbert: 2-4, BB, K
– Diego Hernandez: 2-5, 2B, 3 K
– Herard Gonzalez: 2-5, 2 2B, 2 K
– Luca Tresh: 2-4, BB, 2 K
– Kale Emshoff: 1-4, 2 K
– Burle Dixon: 2-4, 2B, SB, K
A- Columbia (7-14): L 0-8
Well. It’s been better for the Fireflies this season. They got no-hit on Sunday capping off a rough week where they went 1-5 against Myrtle Beach. They’ve now lost 12 of their last 16 games after winning three of their first five. It’s early, but the offense and pitching staff have not been able to match up their good games very often this year. John McMillon did throw a perfect inning with two strikeouts on Sunday, so it wasn’t all bad. His season ERA is now 1.50 in Columbia.
Royals Farm Report 