(This is Part Two of our interview with Vance Vizcaino, whose roller-coaster 2019 led him finally to a Rule 5 selection by the Chicago Cubs, and closer to the majors than ever.) Vizcaino found himself facing the possibility of joining another team, though this time under different circumstances, as the Rule 5 Draft approached. A…
It was a strange trip for former Kansas City Royals (and now, former Colorado Rockies) outfielder Vance Vizcaino, in 2019. From his release by Kansas City, to being contacted by the Rockies while he was on the road heading back home, to his eventual success and subsequent selection in the Rule 5 Draft by the…
It should be noted at this point that Marklund wasn’t exactly a mystery as a prospect; coming out of St Thomas Aquinas HS in Vancouver in the Class of 2014, he had been scouted during his appearance in the 2013 Northwest Showcase. Among these notes, scouts mentioned that his fastball peaked at 85, and that…
(This is part one of a two-part interview with Brandon and Joe Marklund, recorded at their home in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, as Brandon had just recently returned from the Premier-12 Tournament in Japan.) Twenty-seven kilometers east of Vancouver, on the north bank of the Fraser River in British Columbia, sits Port Coquitlam, a town…
Charlie Neuweiler had a really interesting 2019 season for the Royals Low-A affiliate, the Lexington Legends. Neuweiler had a dominant start to 2019, had a weird 7-start rough patch in May and June, and then was really really good again to close out 2019. Neuweiler, a 5th round pick back in 2017, has always piqued…
(This is the third and final part of a three-part series of articles, chronicling Chase Vallot‘s history in the Kansas City Royals organization. In this article, we take a look at Vallot’s 2019 performance, his struggles in 2018, how he worked through them, and his outlook on the game, in general.) Back in Lexington for…
(This is Part Two of a three-part series on former Top-30 Royals prospect Chase Vallot, documenting his time with the Wilmington Blue Rocks and his 2019 return to the Lexington Legends.) When Vallot advanced to Wilmington for 2017, he continued to follow his familiar pattern at the plate: lots of strikeouts (127), but an .818…
