After just a horrendous month of July, the Kansas City Royals start off the month of August on a good note.  A sweep, after a bad road trip and an even worse 30 days, is exactly what the Royals needed to get them back on the winning side of the game of baseball.  With timely hitting and some pretty good pitching the Royals started the month of August with two momentum shifting wins.

The month of July ended with the Royals trading their closer Jonathan Broxton to the Cincinnati Reds for two pitching prospects. The prospects look to be a good return for a guy that would, it seems, only be a Royal for two months.  Turning a two month closer into two guys who may or may not make it to the majors seems to be very welcoming by fans in Kansas City.  In the trade the Royals received Class AA right-handed starter J.C. Sulbaran and Class AAA lefty reliever Donnie Joseph. Joseph seemed to be the straw that broke to camels back in the trade.  A guy who by all accounts is a strike out king who may pair well with fellow lefty Tim Collins in the bullpen of the future.  Sulbaran projects to be a back of the rotation guy who won a state championship with first basemen Eric Hosmer in 2008 at American Heritage High School in Florida. So the Royals continue to put guys on a team that have won together before and could win together in years to come.

With Broxton gone and Joakim Soria recovering from season ending Tommy John surgery, right handed reliever Greg Holland assumes the role of closer which he stepped into Wednesday night as he got his first save of the season against the Cleveland Indians in a 5-2 Royals victory.

The stand out development of the Royals beginning to the month of August is the benching of both second basemen Yunieksy Betancourt and right fielder Jeff Franceour.  The problem with them being on the bench is that they may not see much more playing time since both Chris Getz, who took Betancourt’s spot in the order, and Jarrod Dyson, Franceour’s spot, have taken their opportunity by the reigns and excelled with it.  Getz went 3-9 with 4 runs scored and 3 RBI in the three game sweep of the Indians while Dyson went 7-12 with 2 runs scored and two RBI both contributing to run production with stolen bases in the series as well.  So the spots that seem to have been lost by the lack of productivity by Betancourt and Franceour have been given away and so far earned with Getz and Dyson.

After a road trip that saw barely any offense outside of designated hitter Billy Butler, the start of the home stand saw a resurgence in the Royal’s offense, scoring 20 runs in the last three games, with the absence of Billy Butler’s bat.  Butler having only two hits in the series and only driving in one run. The brightest spot, outside of the fact that the Royals came back from the dumps and have now won three games in a row, of the sweep of the Indians has to be the walk off win the Royals secured on Thursday.  After jumping out of the gates with 6 runs in the first, highlighted by a lead off home run by Alex Gordon and a three run shot off of the bat of Eric Hosmer, the Royals and struggling starter Bruce Chen let the Indians all the way back and it took extra innings to seal the win.  But it is how they won it in the 11th inning that stands out the most.

After late game at bats in crucial situations that did not see any success, manager Ned Yost had to keep reiterating that the need for shortstop Alcides Escobar to get the experience of late game at bats that could win or lose a ballgame for the Royals club.  Well that all came to fruition on Thursday.  Escobar has come up with clutch hits late in games all season long but none bigger than his walk off single in the 11th inning. It has been a season of firsts for Escobar after his first multi-homerun game of his life, as he stated, and now his first walk off win in the major leagues. To top all of that off he is having a season at the plate that no one saw coming but it needs to continue.

The Royals have done it once again.  They have hooked everyone right back on to what they are doing.  Now that does no mean that they have a chance at the division, which would take a Herculean effort from all 25 men on the roster, but they can give us that little tease that gets us all hyped and ready for the 2013 season.  Maybe then it will be “Our Time.”

Just before Tuesday afternoon’s trade deadline, the Royals traded closer Jonathan Broxton to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for two minor league pitchers, righty J.C. Sulbaran and lefty Donnie Joesph. The Royals were also willing to trade Yuni Betancourt, Jeff Francoeur and Jose Mijares, but Broxton was the only player traded by the deadline.

The Reds lead the National League Central and were looking for a leadoff hitter to bolster their lineup. They weren’t able to get a leadoff hitter, so they made a trade for Broxton, who will join an already strong Reds bullpen as a setup man for lefty closer Aroldis Chapman. Broxton will be at least a two month rental for the Reds before becoming a free agent in the offseason. In return, the Royals get two young, controllable pitchers for the next few years.

The 22 year old Sulbaran is a starting pitcher with a 4.04 ERA, a 9.5 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 ratio and a 2.06 strikeout to walk ratio. Sulbaran pitched 104.2 innings over 19 starts and a 7-7 record for the AA Pensacola Blue Wahoos. Baseball America ranked Sulbaran 12th among Reds prospects, while MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo ranked him fifth among Reds prospects.

Sulbaran’s best pitch is his curveball. Scouts say he’s a highly competitive power pitcher with good stuff, but there are some concerns about his maturity and secondary pitches. Sulbaran was a teammate of Eric Hosmer at American Heritage High School, winning a state championship during Hosmer’s senior year. The Royals assigned Sulbaran to AA Northwest Arkansas. He projects to be a No. 3 starter, and is likely a year or two away from the Majors.

The 24 year old Joseph is a relief pitcher with a 1.72 ERA, a 11.7 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 ratio and a 2.44 strikeout to walk ratio. Joseph pitched 22 innings over 18 games with a 4-1 record and five saves for the AAA Louisville Bats. Baseball America ranked Joseph 27th among Reds prospects and MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo ranked Joseph seventh among Reds prospects. He was also the Reds Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2010.

Joseph is a power lefty with a mid 90s fastball, a hard slider and curveball. If Joseph can improve his mechanics, scouts say he could be a power reliever in the Majors. The Royals assigned him to AAA Omaha and it’s possible Joesph could be with the big club this year.

The Royals wanted a Major League ready starting pitcher, but to be honest, giving up Broxton to get Sulbaran and Joesph was a better deal. If the Royals got a Major League starter, they probably would get another pitcher like Sean O’ Sullivan, Vin Mazzaro, Jeremy Guthrie or Jonathan Sanchez. The Royals have enough of these type of pitchers. At least with this trade, the Royals have a potential No. 3 starter and a power lefty reliever for the future.

It’s unlikely Sulbaran and Joseph will be star players and the Royals still need to sign or trade for a front line starter this offseason. But fans should be glad the Royals traded for the pitchers they got for Broxton, who was going to be a one year player for a losing team if he stayed. And it gives Greg Holland a chance to be the closer for the Royals, which is another plus.

PLAYER PROFILE
Eric Hosmer
First base
AA-Northwest Arkansas Naturals
20 years old
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 215 lbs.
Drafted by the Royals in the 1st round of the 2008 MLB Draft

To get to know the third overall pick in the 2008 draft, one needs to look no further than this:

That’s Eric Hosmer. And to Royals fans, he represents the middle-of-the-order power hitter the team has been sorely lacking since the days of Bo Jackson.

The 20-year-old first baseman not only hits like a big leaguer. At 6’4’ and 215 pounds, he’s also built like a big leaguer.

Hosmer was a star at American Heritage High School in Plantation, Fla., when he was selected third overall by the Royals in 2008, which could go down as one of the best baseball draft classes in years. Besides Hosmer, the first round also featured Pedro Alvarez (2nd overall), Brian Matusz (4th), Buster Posey (5th), Gordon Beckham (8th) and Ike Davis (15th), all of whom have already made huge impacts for their respective big-league teams.

But Hosmer’s slower progress should not be a point of concern. First of all, he’s younger than all of those players, who were drafted out of college. Second, he has dominated this season at two levels in the minor leagues.

With the A+ Wilmington Blue Rocks, Hosmer batted an eye-popping .354 and slugged .545, earning a mid-season promotion to AA-Northwest Arkansas. With the Naturals, he’s been even better, bashing 12 home runs (19 total for the season), and his slugging percentage has climbed to .614. He’s also driven in 83 home runs on the season and has stroked 42 doubles.

What’s next for the young first baseman? The road ahead is chock-full of obstacles. At the major league level, Billy Butler seems to have the first base job sewn up until someone takes it from him. Kila Ka’aihue, another first baseman, is likely going to be the leading candidate to be the DH out of Spring Training next year.

Between the Majors and Double A, though, there’s not much competition. In fact, Hosmer and first baseman Clint Robinson, who’s also been raking this year (.33 average, 28 home runs, 94 RBIs), are both likely candidates to take over the starting first base job at Omaha.

After that, the sky’s the limit. If Ka’aihue flames out, Hosmer could quickly become a viable option. Also, there’s an above-average chance that Hosmer could be converted to a corner outfielder.

Either way, look for him to make a play for the big league team as early as 2012.

MiLB WEEKLY ROUNDUP
AAA – Omaha Royals
Record to date: 78-62, third place in the PCL American North
The past week: 5-2, including a 23-5 victory over Round Rock (see “Position Player of the Week,” below)
Transactions: Luke Hochevar was sent from Kansas City to Omaha on a rehab assignment.
Coming up: The O-Royals are visiting Oklahoma City this week to finish the season. Currently sitting in third place, Omaha will likely miss the playoffs.

AA – Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Record to date: 41-25 in the second half (first place), 83-53 overall
The past week: 5-2, with a doubleheader sweep against Arkansas
Transactions: None.
Coming up: The Naturals finish the regular season at home against Tulsa. They are guaranteed a playoff spot.

A+ – Wilmington Blue Rocks
Record to date: 34-31 in the second half (second place), 66-69 overall
The past week: 3-4, splitting a four-game series with Myrtle Beach
Transactions: None.
Coming up: The Blue Rocks finish the regular season at home vs. Frederick. Wilmington is one game out of first and could grab a playoff spot over the last series of the season.

POSITION PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Mike Moustakas

Mike Moustakas, Third base, AAA-Omaha Royals

.400 (12-for-30), seven home runs, 21 RBI

This is a no-brainer. Mike Moustakas may have had the best week by a Royals minor leaguer in… well, ever. Moustakas clubbed seven dingers over the one-week stretch, including Monday night’s game against Round Rock, which included three round-trippers and a cool 11 RBIs in a 23-5 Omaha victory. Not too shabby for the player who may be the Kansas City Royals’ starting third baseman next season.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Everett Teaford, AA-Northwest Arkansas Naturals

1-0, 6.1 IP, 1 earned run

Teaford leads the Royals’ organization in victories this year with a 14-4 record. His most recent victory, at home vs. Arkansas, was a quality start where Teaford fanned six and walked only two.