Minor League baseball is truly a joy.  Seeing a combination of players that may or may not be the next best thing in your organization can carry a feeling of something special on any given night.

Last night in Omaha, the AAA affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, the stars aligned in a way that happens very seldom.  A combination of rehabbing major leaguers, top prospects, and an ace level starting pitcher just starting his 2012 conditioning converged on Werner Park to put on a show for a sell-out crowd.

Roy Oswalt would toe the mound for the visiting Round Rock Express, finding Royals prospect Jake Odorizzi opposing him in relief of another rehabbing major leaguer, Everett Teaford.  The Storm Chasers’ lineup would feature Chris Getz and Salvador Perez beginning their rehab assignments for the parent club as well as one of the top professional hitters at any level, Wil Myers.  The game would not disappoint in any way, especially for the home crowd.

After Teaford got his work in over two innings, Odorizzi would throw six and two-thirds innings of one run baseball to ensure a win for the home team.  Odorizzi would string together 10 strikeouts over only two walks on his way to a victory over the opposing ace.  Roy Oswalt?  He did not fare so well.

The third inning would be the downfall of Oswalt as he would give up a lead-off double to Anthony Seratelli he would get one out before surrendering three consecutive base hits loading the bases.  With bases juiced full of Storm Chasers, Wil Myers stepped to the plate.  In just 18 AAA games, he has already hit five home runs, adding to his 13 home runs in 35 AA games this season.  His 19th homer of the season would come on a 2-0 count as a grand slam off one of the most successful major league pitchers in recent memory.

The Storm Chasers would put a win on the board with a final score of 7-2 over the Round Rock Express.

Our favorite Royals photographer, Minda Haas, was on hand last night in Omaha to catch all the action and fun.  Below you will find a photo gallery of 50 pictures from Minda, with everyone from Teaford and Myers to Sal Perez and Roy Oswalt featured.  Enjoy the look at a truly special night through a very talented eye.

Feel free to use the buttons below to scroll through all the photos.

Anthony Seratelli Double Down The Line

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All rights reserved by Minda Haas

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.
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It has been 12 years since the Royals have had multiple players in the MLB All-Star Game, but this could be the year that streak ends.

The 2012 All-Star Game will be played at beautiful Kauffman Stadium on July 10. For 3 days, the city of Kansas City and the Kansas City Royals organization will take center stage in the baseball world. The hope was that the Royals would have an exciting young team that would be in contention at that point in the season. And while there is still time for that to happen with just under 2 months to go until the game, things have gone mostly poorly for the Royals so far this season. There was the injury to Catcher Salvador Perez, the injury to Closer Joakim Soria, the comical Broxton beanball walk-off loss in Oakland, the disastrous first inning the team played in front of its home crowd, the injury to Center-fielder Lorenzo Cain, the slow start by Alex Gordon, the 12 game losing streak, the Hochevarity of SP Luke Hochevar, the sub-.200 batting average of Eric Hosmer, Jonathan Sanchez becoming the pitcher version of Juan Gonzalez, and most recently the season-ending elbow injury to SP Danny Duffy. Nobody expected this season to go perfectly, but certainly nobody could have expected all of that disaster to hit before May 15. But despite all of that, there have been several bright spots for the Royals so far this season. And while it is extremely unlikely that any Royal gets voted in as an All-Star starter, it is not far-fetched to think that there are as many as FOUR players who could be deserving of selection as a reserve. Let’s take a look at these players, one by one, along with their primary competition to this point at their respective positions.

Designated Hitter

Billy Butler-Kansas City Royals

Avg: .285
R: 13
HR: 6
RBI: 25

David Ortiz-Boston Red Sox

Avg: .348
R: 24
HR: 7
RBI: 25

Edwin Encarnacion-Toronto Blue Jays

Avg: .276
R: 21
HR: 11
RBI: 29

Adam Dunn-Chicago White Sox

Avg: .250
R: 20
HR: 11
RBI: 26

Analysis: While “The Butler” is having a very nice year to this point, unless he goes on a surge and separates himself from this group in some way it is going to be very difficult for him to get selected out of this group. It is pretty clear that based on the numbers at this point, he would be the 4th most deserving candidate of these four players.  Not to mention, the likelihood of two DH’s being selected is not good.

3rd Base

Mike Moustakas-Kansas City Royals

Avg: .308

R: 14

HR: 4

RBI: 15

Miguel Cabrera-Detroit Tigers

Avg: .294

R: 17

HR: 7

RBI: 29

Evan Longoria-Tampa Bay Rays

Avg: .329

R: 15

HR: 4

RBI: 19

Adrian Beltre-Texas Rangers

Avg: .302

R: 19

HR: 6

RBI: 21

Analysis: With the type of defense he’s been playing, and the fact that statistically nobody is separating themselves from the pack here, Moose has a very good chance at being selected as a reserve.  Cabrera will likely get voted in as the starter, and the numbers at this point are close enough that is easy to see defending American League Champions manager Ron Washington going with the hometown guy in Moustakas.  Unfortunately, it is also easy to see him going with his own guy in Beltre.

Shortstop

Alcides Escobar-Kansas City Royals

Avg: .296

R: 12

HR: 1

RBI: 10

SB: 7

Derek Jeter-New York Yankees

Avg: .372
R: 24
HR: 5
RBI: 15

Elvis Andrus-Texas Rangers

Avg: .328
R: 24
HR: 1
RBI: 17

SB: 6

Mike Aviles-Boston Red Sox

Avg: .261
R: 22
HR: 5
RBI: 21

SB: 5

Analysis: Clearly Derek Jeter is deserving of the starting spot he will surely be voted into.  And while Aviles is having a very solid year to this point, his relative anonymity and the fact that he is extremely unlikely to continue to put up numbers like this make him the odd man out of this group.  So once again, that would leave Ron Washington deciding between one of his own players and one of the host city’s players.  Though he lacks the power numbers, the defensive reputation combined with the average, steals, and home-field advantage give Escobar a very good chance of being selected.

Outfield

Alex Gordon-Kansas City Royals

Avg: .256
R: 22
HR: 4
RBI: 16

Adam Jones-Baltimore Orioles

Avg: .291
R: 27
HR: 10
RBI: 21

SB: 5

Josh Hamilton-Texas Rangers

Avg: .402
R: 30
HR: 18
RBI: 44

Curtis Granderson-New York Yankees

Avg: .258
R: 23
HR: 11
RBI: 20

While Gordon’s numbers don’t stack up at this point, this selection was taking into consideration the fact that he got off to such a slow start to begin the season and has hit put up very good numbers to get up to the respectable level he’s at now.  If he continues at the pace he’s been on since he broke out of his funk, he will be right in the mix come decision time.  And given the fact that he deserved to make it last year and didn’t (with Washington also being the manager who snubbed him), he should have a very good chance of being selected.

It’s been a long time since Jermaine Dye started the 2000 All-Star game and Mike Sweeney made the team as a reserve.  But 2012 may just be #OurTime to have multiple All-Stars once again.

Despite being swept by the Cleveland Indians while playing in front of their home crowd for the first time in 2012, the Kansas City Royals provided some reasons for optimism.

Photo Courtesy of Minda Haas

After what the box scores would tell fans was an absolutely miserable weekend for Royals fans at the K, the easy thing to do would be to point out all of the things that went wrong (which were many), all of the players that need to be sent packing (one already was, there may be few more), and all of the reasons Royals fans should be concerned for the rest of the season. But now is not the time to be dwelling on Jarrod Dyson’s defense, the Royals’ starting pitching, Mitch Maier’s relief pitching appearance, or the distance of Travis Hafner’s home run on Sunday. Sure, Luke Hochevar had a bad half inning. Though he wasn’t helped by his defense or an accidental check-swing bloop hit to right by Shelley Duncan, he needs to be able to limit the damage and pitch his way out of those situations without giving up 7 runs. Sure, after a decent first showing against the Los Angeles Angels, Jonathan Sanchez was erratic agains the Indians on Saturday, lost control of his pitch count, and couldn’t find the plate, unless it was being met by a Cleveland Indians’ player’s bat. Did fans really expect anything different? If Sanchez goes out and throws a 2-hitter with 11 K’s in his next outing, he will have, in 3 outings, perfectly exemplified both why the Royals wanted to acquire him and why he was available in the first place. That is who he is. Was anyone really surprised when, on Sunday, the imposter who had been running around in the Mendoza jersey revealed his true identity to be none other than Luis Mendoza himself? He of the 7.21 career ERA?

A message to Royals fans: let’s take a deep breath, back away from the ledge, and focus on the things that went well over the weekend, of which there were several:

1. The Royals did not quit in any of the 3 games. Some might consider putting Maier in as a relief pitcher on Sunday as a sign of quitting, but when the bullpen has been exhausted the way it was all weekend, and with no day off on Monday, that was about survival and living to fight another day. The Royals gave up 7 runs in the first game, and lost 8-3 with the final Indians’ run being scored on a Home Run in the 9th inning. Watching the game, you had the feeling they might have a big inning in them that could get them back in the game. They threatened several times, but couldn’t make it happen. Imagine what the final score would have been had the 2005 Royals gotten down 7-0 in the top of the first…ok, never mind. The next night, the Royals fought back from a 9-2 deficit to tie the game at 9-9, before losing 11-9 in extra innings. That speaks for itself. And on Sunday, even with the game getting out of hand, the Royals still managed to put up 7 runs.

2. Mike Moustakas appears to have grown up quickly. Despite ending the weekend with his batting average sitting at just .257, Moustakas is hitting the ball extremely hard, playing amazing defense, and does not seem to resemble the awestruck rookie he appeared to be much of last season.

3. Billy Butler is still Billy Butler. With 8 RBI’s in the first 9 games of the season, Butler is on a torrid run-producing pace. He appears poised for a true breakout season. It is hard to believe he is still only 25 years old (for 2 more days-Happy early birthday, Country Breakfast!). Butler is certainly the most underrated hitter on this team.

4. The Royals have something in Everett Teaford. What his role might be in the future will be determined, but the performance he put up in 4 innings of relief on Friday (1 Hit, 2 Walks, 3 SO, 0 Runs) was impressive.

5. Kelvin Herrera is flat out nasty. Though the radar gun at Kauffman is less than trustworthy, it had him clocked as high as 102 over the weekend. He gave up the home run on Friday night to the first batter he faced, but after that, he was un-hittable.

So settle down, Royals fans. This may not be the last weekend we see like this. There will be more bumps in the road. And though it may be time to hit the reset button on your expectations, just enjoy watching what is still the most exciting collection of young talent in all of baseball.

1985 World Series

Kansas City Royals vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Game 3 – October 22, 1985

Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Mo.

Attendance: 56,634

Recap: The Cardinals went into Game 3 with a 2-0 advantage and the opportunity to play three straight in front of a home crowd, but Game 3 was all Kansas City. Bret Saberhagen was brilliant, throwing a complete-game six-hitter and giving up just one run. On the other side of the ball, Joaquin Andujar fell apart and was lifted after just four innings of work. The Cardinals’ bullpen was no help, either. Offensively, the Royals got a boost from cleanup hitter Frank White, who went two for four with three RBIs and the series’ first home run.

Line Score:

TEAM R H E

Kansas City 6 11 0

St. Louis 1 6 0

Winning pitcher: Bret Saberhagen

Losing pitcher: Joaquin Andujar

Notables: Saberhagen struck out 8 and allowed only one walk, while the Cardinals’ pitching staff struck out 8 and allowed 8 walks; no Cardinals batter had more than one hit; Jack Clark knocked in the Cards’ RBI; on the Kansas City side, White, Lonnie Smith, Willie Wilson, George Brett and Buddy Biancalana had two-hit games.

Tomorrow: A recap of Game 4.

Matt Kelsey is a Royals writer and the content editor for I-70 Baseball. He can be reached at mattkelsey@i70baseball.com.