Beginning on Memorial Day, the St. Louis Cardinals-Kansas City Royals rivalry will be rekindled in the 2013 season with a four-game home-and-home series. The first two games of the series will be played in Kansas City on Monday and Tuesdaywhile the final two games of the series will be played down the road in St. Louis. This unique four-game set is similar to the Battle of the Beltway, which will feature the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals playing a home-and-home.

Entering the weekend, the St. Louis Cardinals had the best record in Major League Baseball and led the N.L. Central. Their pitching staff, which has allowed the fewest runs in the majors, and a potent offense, which has scored the third most runs in the National League, primarily drives this. One of the most pleasant surprises for the Cards has been the performance of Shelby Miller who boasts a 5-3 record with a 1.74 ERA. Entering this year, Miller had only started one game and pitched thirteen career innings, yet has been able to vex opposing hitters so far in 2013.

In the other dugout, the Kansas City Royals will look to continue on their surprising start and shorten the gap in the A.L. Central behind the division-leading Cleveland Indians. Despite dropping four of the last five series, the Royals remain in third place in the division. For the most part the team has struggled to score runs, but has been led by a strong pitching staff. Alex Gordon has been one of the sole bright spots on offense and leads the team in average, home runs, RBI’s, and runs. Pitchers Jeremy Guthrie, Ervin Santana, and James Shields headline a staff, which has allowed the second-fewest runs in the American League. Despite boasting a 2-5 record, Shields has a minuscule .96 WHIP to go along with a 2.47 ERA on the year and has been primarily hindered by a lack of run support.

 The first two games of the series in Kansas City currently carry an average price well above the average price for Royals tickets this year ($54). Monday’s Memorial Day afternoon start has tickets going for an average of $80 with a get-in price of $16. This $80 average is 48% above the home season average. Game two’s tickets are currently being sold at an average of $70 with the least expensive tickets costing $15. The prices for these two games are 14% less than the games played in Kansas City between these two teams last year, but are 34% more expensive than 2010, and 38% more expensive than in 2011.

The final two games of the series in St. Louis are going for $42 and $45 respectively. This season, the average price for Cardinals tickets is $68 and the prices for these two games between the teams will be 38% and 34% below that average. Tickets are still readily available for the two games and can be acquired for a low price of $6 for Wednesday and $8 for Thursday. These prices reflect a continued downward trend for tickets in St. Louis between the Cardinals and Royals as the prices are 24% less expensive than 2011 and 16% less expensive from just one year ago.

The battle for the Midwest will feature two teams heading in two different directions. The Cardinals will be seeking to stretch out their divisional lead and improve upon the best record in Major League Baseball while the Royals will be trying to turn around a recent slide which put a damper upon one of the most surprising starts in the majors.

The fine folks at the Northwest Arkansas Naturals provide us with a brief rundown of the Royals farm system every week. The details are listed below:

Triple-A

In an abbreviated week of baseball, the Omaha Storm Chasers (Pacific Coast League) went 2-2 before breaking for the Triple-A All-Star Game. The Storm Chasers still stand a game and a half ahead of the Memphis Redbirds in what is essentially a two-team race in the American Northern Division. Omaha will head to Memphis for a pivotal four-game set that begins on July 18.

Who’s Hot

One of three Storm Chasers named to the PCL’s All-Star team, second baseman Johnny Giavotella had seven hits in the last three games before the break. He leads the team with a .328 average and 26 doubles. Fellow All-Star Clint Robinson broke out of a mini-slump with four straight two-hit games, and though he has not homered in a month, Robinson’s .542 slugging percentage leads all of the team’s qualifiers. Right-hander Luis Mendoza, the team’s final All-Star, tossed seven innings of one-hit ball (allowing only an unearned run) against Oklahoma City in his last start.

Who’s Not

Lance Zawadzki is one of the few Storm Chasers currently struggling at the plate. Now playing third base, Zawadzki is just 3-for-24 in his last eight games. Also in a bit of a slide is outfielder Paulo Orlando, who is batting .235 and does not have a multi-hit game since June 22.

Double-A

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Texas League) followed a 3-3 homestand with a 3-3 road trip, as the team took two of three in San Antonio before falling twice in three games to the Corpus Christi Hooks. The Naturals are tied for third place in the North Division’s second-half standings, but still hold the edge in a potential wild-card race.

Who’s Hot

Few players in the Texas League are hotter at the plate than Nick Francis, who is batting .362 since his latest promotion from the Carolina League. Derrick Robinson has put together a five-game hitting streak that has included four multi-hit contests, a stretch that has raised his batting average to .280. Right-handerJake Odorizzi made his first two Double-A starts on the road trip, winning his first before delivering a quality start in what was ultimately a Natural loss.

Who’s Not

Wil Myers’ road trip was interrupted by a trip to Arizona to compete in the All-Star Futures Game, and perhaps as a result, the outfielder did not find a rhythm at the plate, going 2-for-18 on the road trip. On the mound, Chris Dwyer did not get out of the third inning against Corpus Christi (though the Naturals came back to win), while Zach Miner allowed eight runs in his most recent outing.

Class-A Advanced

The Wilmington Blue Rocks (Carolina League) went 4-1 last week, bringing their overall record back over the .500 mark. Though the team is just 9-10 in the second half, Wilmington sits just two games out of first in what is a crowded Northern Division.

Who’s Hot

Right-hander Justin Marks delivered one of his best starts of the year on July 11, firing six shutout innings against Myrtle Beach. Marks lowered his season ERA to 4.28 and now has 84 strikeouts in 88.1 innings. The next day, Tyler Sample topped Marks’ effort with seven scoreless innings against the Pelicans. Fellow starterElisaul Pimentel gave up just two unearned runs in six innings against Frederick on July 11.

Who’s Not

After a scorching start to his Carolina League season, Nick Van Stratten has slowed down a bit at the plate, going 1-for-13 in four games last week, while Kurt Mertins is hitting .188 in nine games with the Blue Rocks. Tim Ferguson (.202) and Deivy Batista (.198) have also struggled to get it going for a Wilmington club that has collectively hit just .239 this season.

Class-A

The Kane County Cougars (Midwest League) continue to lead their division’s second-half standings with an outstanding 13-6 mark. That comes thanks in part to a week that saw the Cougars go 4-2, including a three-game sweep of the first half champion Burlington Bees.

Who’s Hot

There are few players in the system in more of a groove than Cheslor Cuthbert is right now. The 18-year-old third baseman has hit safely in eight straight games, racking up multiple hits in five of those contests. Cuthbert drove in 10 runs in a three-game span and is now hitting .342. Righty Greg Billo fired six scoreless against Wisconsin on July 8, and now leads all qualifiers across affiliated baseball with a 1.37 ERA. Though he does not have enough innings to qualify, relieverChase Boruff lowered his earned run average to 1.30 with two scoreless innings of his own.

Who’s Not

Righty Leondy Perez lost both of his starts last week, including a forgettable performance on July 7, when he gave up nine runs on 13 hits against Wisconsin. He appears on the way to putting that behind him, however, as Perez tossed a quality start in a losing effort his last time out. At the plate, Juan Graterol and Yowill Espinal both have gone 1-for-11 in their last three games.

Short Season

The Idaho Falls Chukars (Pioneer League) endured a five-game losing streak last week before beating Helena on Wednesday night. One of the team’s biggest issues is consistency on the mound, as the team is carrying a 5.72 ERA through 23 games. At 10-13, the Chukars sit in third place in the league’s South Division.

Who’s Hot

The Chukars’ struggles on the mound have not extended to the batter’s box, as the team has posted a collective .291 batting average. In particular, Daniel Mateohas five hits in his last three games to bring his average to .387, while Richard Espy cranked three home runs last week, raising his team-leading total to four. Reliever Edwin Carl has yet to allow even a single run in eight appearances, converting both of his save opportunities.

Who’s Not

Starter Robert Penny got knocked around by the Orem Owlz on July 10, allowing eight runs in just two innings of work. Jonathan Dooley also had a rough go against Orem as he yielded five runs one day later. Catcher Tyler Smith will look to get his bat started, as he has just one hit in 13 at bats for the Chukars this season.

The Burlington Royals (Appalachian League) put together what was easily their best week of the season, going 4-2 as the team looks to erase their slow start to the 2011 season. Though the the team currently resides in the basement of the circuit’s East Division, they are only four games out of first with plenty of baseball to be played.

Who’s Hot

Any offensive struggles the Royals may have had are not the fault of Murray Watts, who racked up four straight-two hit games from July 8-11. He also cranked his ninth home run in 22 games and now has more than twice as many home runs as any of his teammates. Matt Ridings turned in a solid start his last time out, yielding two runs – both unearned – in five innings against the Bristol White Sox.

Who’s Not

Catcher Jin-Ho Shin had just two hits in five games last week, as his batting average fell from .211 to .189, while Kenny Swab is just 3-for-16 since joining Burlington on July 7. On the mound, Andrea Pizziconi has allowed at least two runs in each of his last three appearances, raising his ERA to 9.00.

In complex league action, the AZL Royals (Arizona League) went 3-2 over the last seven days, closing the week with back-to-back wins. At 8-10, the club sits 3.5 games out of first in the league’s West Division.

Who’s Hot

Somehow, Nick DelGuidice improved on his torrid start to the season, raising his batting average from .444 to .453 over the last seven days. Riding a nine-game hitting streak, DelGuidice has driven in 10 runs in his last five games. Nicholas Cuckovich has not kept up quite the pace of his teammate but is batting .358 with an active six-game hitting streak. On the mound, Julio Morales allowed just two hits in 4 1/3 scoreless innings last week.

Who’s Not

Right-hander Fernando Cruz had a rough outing on July 8 against the AZL Padres, allowing five runs in just an inning and a third. He has now been tagged for 13 earned runs in six innings with the club. Behind the plate, Alexander Marquez is off to a slow start with just one hit in five games this season.

Former Naturals outside the Kansas City organization

Released by Kansas City in late June, right-hander Blake Johnson signed with the Colorado Rockies organization and was assigned to Triple-A. Johnson debuted with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox on July 9, tossing a scoreless inning against Salt Lake. Also in the Pacific Coast League, Dan Cortes allowed three runs in one inning during his lone appearance last week, while Corey Smith has five hits in his last six games for the Albuquerque Isotopes.

In the International League, outfielder Jordan Parraz had a nine-game hit streak snapped in his last game but is now hitting .305 for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Meanwhile, in Gwinnett, Juan Abreu fired another scoreless inning in his lone outing last week and has still not allowed a run since June 8. Fellow G-Brave Ed Lucas had just two hits last week, but both of those came against Charlotte on July 10, the last time he took the field.

Down in the Southern League, Rowdy Hardy, Ben Swaggerty and Ernesto Mejia are all on the Mississippi Braves’ roster. Coming out of the bullpen, Hardy allowed one run in three innings spread over two appearances last week, while Swaggerty has not pitched since July 5. Mejia had a monster week at the plate, homering four times in a six-game span to raise his season total to 15. Mejia is now batting .314 in 2011.

In the Eastern League, Chris McConnell had just two hits last week for Harrisburg, lowering his batting average to .219.

Finally, Jose Duarte has hit safely in three straight games and is now batting .250 for the Florida State League’s Jupiter Hammerheads.

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.

The Cardinals have settled into a pattern of winning. That is great news for them and for the fans, but it makes it tough to come up with fresh material for a blog post such as this one. There is no real controversy, other than the continued beating of the dead horse that is Ryan Franklin. So while trying to think of something new and exciting to write about today I says to my self, “Self—instead of one story, why not touch on several?” Away we go…

–The Cards have now won eight of their last nine series, and the ninth one was a split of a four-gamer against a pretty good (no, really) Florida Marlins club. Entering Friday’s action the Cards were 22-16, which is good for third-best in the National League behind the Marlins (told ya) and the Philadelphia Phillies.

–The series against the Cubs was an interesting one. Going into the series, the two teams were #1 and #2 in the majors in team batting average. The Cardinals scored a total of 19 runs on 36 hits; the put up Cubs 16 runs on 39 hits…but the only home run in the three-game set was the solo shot that landed in the street by Matt Holliday in Thursday’s finale.

–Speaking of Holliday, he was the only member of that game’s starting lineup that was not drafted and developed by the Cardinals’ farm system.

–A lot of Reds fans hate the Cardinals. I mean, really hate them. During the series at Busch, I spent the entire game online both crafting a blog post and monitoring Twitter topics #stlcards and #reds. The vitriol coming from Reds fans was really quite unbelievable. It was hate the Cardinals this, little bitches that, expletives and wishes for injuries to various players…it was non-stop. I thought maybe this was something every rivalry experienced, and I know the fringe is often the loudest no matter how many of them there are. So I did the same thing for one of the games against the Cubs. I did see a lot of “Cardinals suck” and things of that nature, but nothing like what was coming from Reds fans. Maybe those people are not truly representative of the majority of Reds fans. But I even saw this after the series was over! What could be the cause of this hatred? Is it resentment because of all the time the Cards spent winning division titles, league championships, and a World Series over the past decade or so? Did all of that really stem from the fight last season? If anything, I would think Cards fans would hate the Reds rather than the other way around. After all, the Reds were the ones doing all the kicking and screaming. Of course, some fans understand what it means to win with class…

–If you have not seen the video of Kyle Lohse’s impersonation of Tony LaRussa on Thursday, your assignment from me is to go to the cardinals.com video page (after finishing this article, of course) and watch it.

–The Cards have a chance to put a little distance between them and the Reds this weekend, and if recent history holds true they will do just that. The Cards won two of three at Busch Stadium a couple of weeks ago and 12 of 18 throughout 2010. The Reds won the NL Central crown, of course, and that’s what ultimately matters. First place is nice but means very little in May…remember, the Cards were in this position this time last year. It will truly come down to which team stays healthy. The Reds just got Scott Rolen, Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey back from the DL, so they will likely get a boost. Likewise, the Cards have had most of their success with key players like David Freese, Skip Schumaker, and of course Adam Wainwright on the shelf. Unfortunately, Freese and Schumaker will not see action for quite a while yet this season and Wainwright will not be back at all. So it will be interesting to see how sustained the Cards’ attack will be, and what will happen should anyone else go down.

–Barring something unforeseen, I do not expect any extracurricular scrapes between the Cards and Reds this weekend. I probably would not think this way if Cueto and Chris Carpenter were facing each other in this series.

Chris Reed also writes for InsideSTL Mondays and Bird Brained whenever he feels like it. Follow him on Twitter @birdbrained

Where did this come from? The Angels and the White Sox looked slightly puzzled this week facing a revamped Royals team. This is definitely not the team from a year ago. They have exhibited a bite and determination in the late innings that was not there last year unless Joakim Soria was pitching.

The Royals are only a half a game out of first after this afternoon’s loss to the Tigers, which is encouraging to the entire organization. The young hitters are hitting pretty well (ranked in the top 8 in both average and home runs) and the defense right in the middle of the pack (14th ranked field percentage).

The Royals won four in a row after losing their home opener before losing the second game of a two-game series with the White Sox and again this afternoon in Detroit. The Royals still have a solid chance to take the series with two games remaining in Detroit before a day off.

After Monday, the Royals will travel to Minnesota for a quick two game set, which begins a thirteen-day stretch in which the Royals will play. After Minnesota the Royals will travel back home to host the Mariners (four games) and the Indians (3 games) before traveling down to Texas to face the Rangers.

The Royals have been fortunate so far in avoiding injuries. Currently the only one on the disabled list is veteran Jason Kendall, who is expected to be return as soon as he has been deemed ready. His return, like Jeff Suppan’s, should provide veteran leadership to a very youthful team (especially the pitching staff). His contributions at the plate are significant but not nearly as significant as those behind it.

The pitching staff both starters and bullpen have been shaky the last couple of games but kept the games within reach (three runs or less) during every single contest. However one or two mistake pitches is all it takes to make the difference in this game. If the pitching staff falls into sync, the defense will naturally improve as the season goes along.

Taking the season one game at a time is working for these young players. A loss or two in a row is expected for any team. They are young and ambitious at this point. The fans eagerly want this team to stay hungry but also are skeptical because they have been burned by many previous Royals’ teams that have come before that showed this kind of promise. If they keep it up, they will earn back the respect of their city and fan base that after last year, had all but given up on them.

Welcome to the start of Fantasy Baseball. Hopefully you enjoyed your opening weekend festivities and are ready for a title chase of your own. Here’s a look at the Royals this week:

The Royals got off to a nice start at home this weekend taking three of four from the Angels. They have Monday and Thursday off this week, so if you have daily line-ups be sure and have them set. They will face a White Sox squad for a two-game set drawing Gavin Floyd and Mark Buehrle. They will then head to Detroit who will counter with Scherzer, Coke and Porcello.

The Royals defeated the Angels on their final at-bat three days in a row. The big reason for this opportunity has come on the shoulders of a talented bullpen. Joakim Soria is one the elite closers in baseball. Now, with young arms like Aaron Crow, Tim Collins, and Jeremy Jeffries, the Royals bullpen may be the brightest spot of this young team. Nothing worth grabbing here just yet, but it will be interesting to watch these young arms mature. Be sure to scout these three and keep a pulse on the ever-changing (as with any team) dynamics of this pitching staff.

HOT:

Jeff Francis began his Royals career with a nice 7 IP, 4 K and 1 BB allowing only 5 hits against the Angels. He’s worth a look in AL only leagues.

Going 6-19, including a 4-6 outing Sunday, Alex Gordon has one of the hottest bats for KC out of the gates. His 0-5 performance on Thursday and 0-4 showing on Saturday defines some of what we can expect from him this year. He will have some ups and downs. However, he has a firm grip on the left field position and has batted third all season. He’s a must own in AL only leagues and is at the very least a 5^th outfielder in mixed leagues.

NOT:

Bruce Chen gave up three home runs Sunday as the ball was flying out of Kauffman. It remains an ugly rotation in Kansas City. Steer clear of this situation until some of the young talent arrives.

Many fantasy owners in drafts have coveted Alcides Escobar as a sleeper this season. After slugging 5 home runs in 60 spring at-bats while hitting .364, the hype got pretty high. While his average should rebound over last season, Escobar is still tough to count on in mixed leagues. He’s not a bad $1 sleeper or keeper, but don’t expect a huge breakout just yet.

September brings playoff hopes to many teams. It has cities across the country getting ready for deep runs and World Series dreams. In Kansas City in 2011, it brings something much more important. The rosters expand.

The team will bring to the Major League level some of the best talent the area has seen and people might just flock down to the ballpark. They may not be playing winning baseball and it may be a bit early to anoint any of these players the next George Brett, but they will be exciting, and with the NFL Lockout, they may be the only game in town.

Anthony Lerew by Erika Lynn

September Breakdown:

Total Games: 24

Home: 11

Road: 13

Vs teams with winning records in 2010: 15

Vs teams with losing records in 2010: 11

Vs teams in the AL Central: 17

Key Series:

September 15-18 vs Chicago – the White Sox will come to The K for a four game set that will bring a buzz to the city. The rivalry will be revisited, the team will have play off hopes and the young guns of the Royals will look to prove themselves. Add this in with no football and Kansas City may be a volatile place to visit.

September 26-28 @ Minnesota – the final series of the year sees the young Royals take on the perennial contenders in the Minnesota Twins. The Twins will be making a playoff push and the Royals will be looking to end 2011 on a high note. The Royals may benefit from a division race that may be decided before this date, giving them the opportunity to play the Twins while they are not at their best.

Key To a Hot September:

Let the kids play. The young guys will put butts in the seats and score some runs. It could be the most exciting baseball that Kansas City has seen in quite sometime.

At the end of September:

If the Royals have 15+ wins… then the farm system is all it is promoted to be and then some. It is a lofty goal, but with some big bats and big arms on the way, the Royals need to start dreaming and start dreaming big.

If the Royals are above .500… they will have, honestly, proven enough. This team does not need to over-achieve right now, they simply need to prove they can compete. This is not about win now, it’s about proving to the division and the league that 2012 will see the Royals no longer being American League whipping boys.

If the Royals are below .500… most people would expect this outcome, but I would think it would be slightly disappointing. It could also mean that the team did not jump on the youth movement this year and chose to keep the kids in the minors and under wraps.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.