I know it is hard to believe, but the Kansas City Royals have actually been a very competitive team for the last month and a half. Since starting 3-14 they’ve gone 19-15, against a much tougher stretch of competition than they’re preparing to face. Even at that pace they’d finish the season with 84 victories at the end of the year. In theory, if they do continue playing the same level of baseball, they’ll win many more than 84 games. Why? Take a look at the winning percentages for the Royals past and future opponents:

Last 34 games (19-15 stretch):  .521

Rest of June: .457

That’s a huge difference in quality of opponent. Even after another disastrous start by Luke Hochevar against the worst offense in the American League, the Royals still find themselves in prime position to climb back to .500 by the end of June. Their next 10 games are against teams with losing records, before they face the fading Cardinals on back-to-back weekends. The opponent in between those weekend match ups is none other than the Houston Astros, picked by many to be the worst team in baseball in 2012. In fact, the only formidable opponents the Royals face in June are the Tampa Bay Rays, and they get three against the hapless Twins right after that. All told that leaves 25 games remaining in June, with 22 against teams you could argue the Royals are equal with or better than. Now of course, that only puts the club at .500, does that really even matter?

Yes, when you consider…

-          Salvador Perez is playing in extended spring training games and expected to be back with the club in the next month

-          Jonathan Sanchez is dominating at AAA, looking like his DL stint may have actually helped

-          Wil Myers continues to force the Royals hand, and could be playing center field in Kansas City by the beginning of July

-          Their July schedule is not much tougher as their July opponents currently have a .466 winning percentage

The only good thing about all of the Royals injuries is that they will have a mid season injection of talent without having to trade any of their best prospects. Perez makes this team considerably better, so does Sanchez if he can harness 2010. Does this team look like a contender with those two? Not even close, unless Eric Hosmer wakes up and Wil Myers comes up and mashes. That is the thing about this club, as young as they are, for many of them we are just waiting for the light bulb to switch on. Hosmer could put together a June that almost completely erases April and May. In fact against the teams he is about to face, I would almost be more surprised if he didn’t.

Okay, I’ll pause the hyperbole and get back to math. If the Royals win at a .558 clip against opponents with a .521 winning %, they should in theory play .625 (17-10) ball based on the winning % of their June opponents and .619 (16-9) in July. That would put the Royals at 55-48 on August 1. From August 1^st through the end of the year, the Royals play 29 games against the Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, and Chicago White Sox. At the very least they would control their own destiny; they may even be in the driver’s seat.

As Royals fans we’ve been promised a competitive team “in the future” since before the Allard Baird era, and for the most part, the club has failed to deliver. In my opinion, that future starts right now…in June…it’s our time.

SPRINGDALE, AR - The Naturals’ parent club, the Kansas City Royals announced a pair transactions on Wednesday morning affecting the Northwest Arkansas roster.  Outfielder Wil Myers has been promoted to Triple-A Omaha, and outfielder Nick Van Stratten has been transferred from Extended Spring Training to Northwest Arkansas.

Myers spent the early part of the 2012 season terrorizing Texas League pitching.  At the time of his promotion he ranked tops in the league in hitting at .343, extra base hits (25), and runs scored with (32) second in home runs (13), third in RBI (30), second in hits (46).

The outfielder leaves Northwest Arkansas with 21 career home runs with the Naturals.  The 21 home runs tie him for the sixth most in Naturals history with Corey Smith, and current Kansas City Royal Mike Moustaksas.  Myers was originally selected by the Kansas City Royals in the third round of the 2009 draft.

Odorizzi, 22, leaves Northwest Arkansas with a 4-2 record and 3.32 ERA in seven starts.  He is second in the Texas League in strikeouts (47) and fourth in WHIP (0.97).  He has been most impressive over his last four starts, going 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA, allowing six earned runs in 27.1 innings for a 1.98 ERA while fanning 33.  Odorizzi has limited opposing hitters to a collective .191 batting average through his first seven assignments.  He was acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers on December 19, 2010, along with Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar and Jeremy Jeffress in exchange for Zack Greinke and Yuniesky Betancourt.  Odorizzi was the 32^nd overall pick of the Brewers in the 2008 First Year Player Draft and he also had a taste of big league spring training this year as a non-roster invitee.

Nick Van Stratten returns to Northwest Arkansas after starting the season in extended spring training, after suffering a spring injury.  Van Stratten spent parts of the last two seasons in Northwest Arkansas appearing in 68 games in 2011, and 86 games in 2010.  The outfielder’s best year in Double-A came in 2010 when he hit .262 with two home runs and 34 RBI for the Naturals.  Van Stratten was originally selected by the Kansas City Royals in the tenth round of the 2006 draft.

Van Stratten will wear number nine for the Naturals, and there is another number change to report as Ethan Hollingsworth will now wear number 36.  Following the transaction, the Naturals’ roster is at the Texas League limit of 25 active players.

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark, located in Springdale.  Visit our website, nwanaturals.com, for information on season tickets and ticket plans.

Royals Sign Seven Players To Minor League Contracts For 2012

KANSAS CITY, MO (December 1, 2011) — The Kansas City Royals announced today that the club has signed seven players to minor league contracts for the 2012 season, including re-signing right-handed pitcher Zach Miner and infielder Jamie Romak, who both played in the organization in 2011.

Left-handed pitcher Marlon Arias, 27, currently is 0-0 with a 3.00 ERA in five relief outings with Estrellas de Oriente in the Dominican Winter League. Arias last pitched professionally in 2009 for the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, reaching the Triple-A level with Albuquerque. He is 31-19 in his minor league career with a 5.19 ERA in 100 games, including 75 starts. The 6-foot-3, 168-pounder from Bani, Dominican Republic was signed by the Dodgers as a non-drafted free agent on March 11, 2003.

30-year-old left-handed pitcher Tommy Hottovy, a native of Kansas City, Mo., and current Parkville, Mo., resident, received his first taste of the big leagues in 2011 with the Boston Red Sox, appearing in eight contests. The 6-foot, 195-pounder also pitched at Portland (AA) and Pawtucket (AAA) last season, combining for a 2-0 record with a 2.47 ERA in 32 relief stints. Hottovy graduated from Park Hill South High (Kansas City, Mo.) and attended Wichita State University before being selected by the Red Sox in the third round in 2004. He is currently pitching for Aguilas in the Dominican Winter League and is 0-0 with one save and a 3.52 ERA in 12 appearances.

Zach Miner, 29, was re-signed by the Royals after splitting his 2011 campaign between Northwest Arkansas (AA) and Omaha (AAA). He began the season in extended spring training as he continued his recovery from Tommy John surgery on May 28, 2010. Miner made his debut with the Naturals on May 16 and was 1-6 with a 7.16 ERA in 11 starts before going 2-1 with a save and a 1.59 ERA in 12 relief appearances for Omaha down the stretch. Miner has made 157 career Major League outings, including 35 starts, for the Tigers from 2006-09. The Royals initially signed him as a minor league free agent on January 3, 2011.

27-year-old infielder Tony Abreu spent his entire 2011 season with Triple-A Reno in the Arizona organization. Playing mostly second base and shortstop, the switch-hitter batted .292 (141-for-483) with 26 doubles, five triples, 10 home runs, 72 RBI and 83 runs scored in 120 games. The 5-foot-9, 200-pounder appeared in the Major Leagues for parts of three seasons with the Dodgers (2007, ’09) and D’Backs (2010), hitting .251 in 146 games while playing second, short and third base. The Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic resident missed the entire 2008 season after having hip surgery.

Infielder Eric Duncan, 27, hit .274 (96-for-351) with 21 doubles, a career-best 22 home runs and 62 RBI in 103 games with Springfield (AA) in the St. Louis Cardinals system in 2011. The former first-round pick of the New York Yankees in 2003 played first base, second base, third base and left field last season. The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder is a left-handed hitter and resides in West Orange, N.J.

26-year-old Jamie Romak has re-signed with the Royals after serving as the first baseman and designated hitter with Northwest Arkansas in 2011, batting .251 (110-for-439) with 21 doubles, 23 home runs and 71 RBI in 123 games. The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder from London, Ontario, Canada, helped Team Canada to the Gold medal at the Pan-Am Games this fall. He originally signed with the Royals as a minor league free agent on October 24, 2010.

Infielder Sharlon Schoop, 24, spent the entire 2011 campaign with Double-A Richmond in the Giants system, batting .218 (45-for-206) in 80 games. The middle infielder and right-handed hitter is a native of Willemstad, Curacao, and competed in the 2009 World Baseball Classic for the Netherlands. Schoop, 6-foot-2 and 191 pounds, originally signed with the San Francisco on March 30, 2004.