It’s week two of the I70 Baseball Royals Power Rankings, and to say this week didn’t go well would be an understatement.  The Royals defense was atrocious and their hitting and pitching weren’t too far behind. Let’s take a look at the power rankings through May 12.

#5 Ervin Santana- (Previously: #2) Santana saw his ERA “balloon” to 2.79 with a couple of mediocre starts this week. The right hander gave up seven runs on 15 hits in 12 1/3 innings of work against the Orioles and Yankees. On the positive side he only walked one in the two starts and now sports a 39-6 K-BB ratio.

#4 Lorenzo Cain- (Previously: #1) Cain was due for a cold streak, and boy did he find one. He was just 4/20 on the week with two walks and five strikeouts. Cain is still amongst the team leaders in most every offensive category, but he only has one RBI in his last seven games.

#3 James Shields- (Previously: #5) Shields moves up in the rankings after allowing two runs over 16 innings in two fantastic starts. The week started off in controversy for Shields when he was pulled after 8 shutout innings against the White Sox. Of course, the bullpen lost that game and set the tone for a treacherous week. Shields now sits at 2-3 with a 2.48 ERA and 53 Ks in 58 innings.

#2 Jeremy Guthrie- (Previously: #3) Guthrie didn’t have his best stuff against his former team, but still managed six innings with only one run allowed. He’s now gone 18 starts without a loss and leads the team with a 2.28 ERA. One concern for Guthrie moving forward is his recent control issues. He’s averaged nearly three walks per outing in his last four starts.

#1 Alex Gordon- (Previously: #4) Alex Gordon responded to being moved to the three-hole with a bang and a hot week rose his average from .306 to .320. The 29 year-old right fielder now leads the team in doubles (8), home runs (6), RBI (28), average (.320), and slugging % (.548). Gordon has been the lone bright spot in an increasingly bad offense.

Honorable mention: Luke Hochevar- Before you throw anything at me, yes Hochevar has been terrible at letting inherited runners score BUT he’s been outstanding outside of that. In 12 1/3 innings, Hochevar has allowed 10 baserunners and struck out 13 batters. He has an ERA of 0.73 and a WHIP of 0.81. If we could simply convince Ned Yost not to bring him in with runners on, Hochevar may actually be an asset.

The Cardinals completed their most dominant weekend in recent years over the weekend, completing the rare four-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers. The potential of the team has never been in doubt, yet the reality of it had been. The team put that to rest for the moment, as the offense woke up in a major way, cranking out 48 hits across the series, while surrendering only 12 runs across the series. These runs surrendered actually came from the starting rotation mostly, as the bullpen, propelled by some new additions, became a strength for the team, holding the lead in a way that has been uncharacteristic far too often this season.

All in all, the team leaves for the next stop on its current NL Central road spin, firmly ahead in the division and tied with the Boston Red Sox for the best record in baseball. The current six-game win streak the club is on is its second longest in the last four seasons, and also gives them four more road wins than any team in the National League. Here are three of the major factors that have played into the series that was.

1. Heart of lineup wakes up: Many of the struggles of the offense getting started this year has come at the heart of it. Matt Holliday has hit at a rate much lower than his average career output, and Allen Craig was a cleanup hitter than couldn’t hit the ball over the fence…or do much else of anything unless there was already somebody in place. And quite often, Holliday’s issue spilled into Craig’s, and it was just as frustrating to get them started as watching somebody try to bite their own ear.

Well, the power source of the club got to their job over the weekend, and it was no coincidence at all that the team had its best production of the year thus far as well. Holliday stepped into his usual role as a hammer, rocking the Brewers to the tone of a .333 average, 5 RBI and two home runs, including a monstrous 460 foot shot on Friday. Cardinal left fielder also scored seven runs in 3 games, and Craig is the cause of several of those. Craig had a prolific series, driving in seven runs on eight hits, including a double, triple and his first home run of the season. Overall, he hit .470 for the series, and got his clutch-hitting stats up to 22 RBI and a .412 average with runners in scoring position.

2. Baby Birds Hatched: The two most shocking moves of the season were both the comings and goings from the bullpen. In mercifully moving the struggling Mitchell Boggs and Marc Rzepczynski to Memphis to work out their issues, the club brought up two of its best minor league starters to boost the pen. Seth Maness and, more shockingly, Carlos Martinez came up and immediately showcased why they have the billing they brought with them.

Maness, the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year in 2012, made two appearances, and quickly earned his stripes. He induced a bases-loaded double play in the eighth inning in his second appearance to hold off the Brewers and set up the club’s third win of the series. Martinez made a stunning impact, showcasing the high-90’s fastball that made him a Top 25 prospect in all of baseball a year ago. Both showed that the potential of the much-hyped Cardinal system is living up to the eye test standard as well.

3. Thawing Out: After entering the series in the worst stretch of his career, David Freese joined the break out party as well. He had three multi-hit games to start the series, and looked much more comfortable than he had all season. It was an encouraging effort from the laboring Freese to come to life and beginning to bring the much needed balance to the lower half of the Cardinal lineup.

The Cardinals won their third consecutive series over the weekend, and second consecutive against a division foe, by taking down the Milwaukee Brewers. In a series that was consistently spectacular early, yet ended in a manner that’s becoming quickly familiar in a not so positive way, the Cardinals finished their first home stand with a 4-2 record, and in sole possession of first place in the NL Central. While it was (nearly) a completely smooth ride, here are three things to pull away from the series, as the club heads out to tough 10 game road stretch.

1 .Big Inning Birds: The Cardinals are living, and dying, by the big inning thus far. When it works in their favor, it’s been potent. On Saturday, the Cardinals exploded for seven runs in an inning to put down Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo. This marked the fourth time in a week that the team topped at least four runs in an inning to put itself ahead for good. This has been by and large the way that the offense has worked, as it has hit a MLB-best .400 with runners in scoring position. However, the lineup has struggled to produce otherwise, has the team’s average falls to .208 with no runners on, 13^th best in the National League.

What does this say? Considering they are winners of their previous three series and atop the National League Central, at face value, not much. However, digging deeper it is clear that this trend cannot keep up. The team has to start producing more steadily. This can be achieved by getting Jon Jay going better at the top of the lineup (.245 average) and Allen Craig and Carlos Beltran (both at .222) getting more sporadic hits, over just clutch production.

On the flip side, the bullpen is becoming prone to the big inning as well. Mitchell Boggs blew his first save of the season on Sunday, while watching his ERA rise to 9.95. He split his save chances in the series, and didn’t make easy work of the one that went over. Torches are beginning to spread for his head amongst the town people. Overall on the season, the bullpen is sporting an NL-worst 6.09 ERA, along with three losses and supporting a .278 batting average against. While it is early, it’s never too soon to figure out how to stop a leak before it sinks the boat.

2. They went streaking: Until Ryan Braun’s two-run, eighth inning homer, the Cardinals held the Brewers scoreless for the first 25.1 innings of the series, and it was due to a remarkable three start effort from Shelby Miller, Adam Wainwright and Jaime Garcia. If Jake Westbrook’s shutout of the Reds on Wednesday is factored in, Cardinal starters are currently on a 32-inning shutout streak.

The back-to-back efforts of Miller and Wainwright were the two of the most masterful starts of the season, overall. Miller tossed seven shutout innings of one-hit baseball, retiring 17 consecutive at one point and running his record up to 2-0. Wainwright followed the next afternoon by throwing as dominant of a shutout as possible, striking out 12, surrendering only four hits and finishing what he started to seal the series win for the Cardinals. Garcia had a more laboring effort, surrendering seven hits over as many innings, but still kept the Brewers off the board as well.

3. The long and winding road: Friday brought an appreciation of the life (and musical acumen) of Stan Musial, but it also brought back Kyle Lohse, who opposed the club for the first time since his much discussed foray through free agency. In what was sure to be a mixed emotional start, Lohse took the mound against the Cardinals less than a month after finding a new home within the division he has spent the majority of his career.

On his first at-bat, he received roughly a 30 second standing ovation from Cardinal fans, appreciative of both his work for the club from 2008 to 2011 (55 wins, 3.90 ERA) and his difficult road to finding a new home. He fared well against his former teammates, throwing seven innings, surrending only six hits and two runs. He completed the cycle of closing out his moving on process, by visiting with his former teammates and manager before Saturday’s game in the Cardinals clubhouse.

The Cardinals opened their home season with the usual rolling out of the red carpet with Clydesdales, Hall of Famers and currently conquering heroes, as well as a touching look back at the impact of Stan Musial. However, it also featured a tough match up against their chief division rivals in the Cincinnati Reds.

After a late inning implosion cost them game one by an ugly 14-3 tilt, they came out flat in for the first half of game two as well. However, after breaking up just over 5 perfect innings Bronson Arroyo framed on Tuesday, the club owned the Reds to the tone of a 15-1 split over the final 13.2 innings of the series, and took two of three to win the series. They head into this weekend winners of their previous two series against two playoff teams from a year ago, and tied for first place in the National League Central. But before setting sites on the upcoming series with the Milwaukee Brewers in town, here’s three points to walk away from the just finished 3-game set with the Reds.

1. Adams forces his point: Matt Adams solidified the fact that he has an everyday caliber bat during the series. He had a ridiculous 2013 performance escalated with a pinch-hit home run that blew open Tuesday’s game and a 416-foot shot on Wednesday afternoon. For the season, in 14 at-bats he has nine hits (a .643 average) with two home runs, two doubles, four runs scored and seven runs batted in.

The big question coming into 2012 was how to get at-bats for Allen Craig with the presence of Lance Berkman and Carlos Beltran looming on the club. Fast forward a year, and Adams has created the same dilemma this season, with Craig playing the role of Berkman. While the future is what it is, the now finds the Cardinals with a plus bat that will keep the heat on to find more chances for his undeniable skill set to play.

2. Mitchell Boggs will be okay: On the heels of his blown save in Arizona and follow up implosion during the ninth inning of Monday’s opener, the already hot question about if he is suited for the ninth inning continued. When compounded with the confirmation of the torn elbow ligament for Jason Motte, and the debate on Boggs role on the club hit a fever pitch. Taking full advantage of Mike Matheny’s decision to put him back on the bump just a day after his disastrous outing, Boggs put plenty of confidence in his ability to deliver once again. In setting down the Reds in order to close out Wednesday’s win, and in impressive fashion (12 pitches, eight strikes, one strikeout), he put arm’s length between himself and the growing sentiment for Trevor Rosenthal and his 100-mph excitement (to over exaggeration creating) fastball, to take over the role he hasn’t even had much of a chance to prove himself unworthy for yet.

3. Warrior Westbrook: The best arm in the young season has been Jake Westbrook. With his complete game shutout on Wednesday, he ran his 2013 total to 15.2 innings, and he is yet to surrender an earned run. Yet what’s more than the result however is the method that he’s gone about it. While he has struggled with walks some (11 in total, one more than total hits he’s surrendered), he’s taken on a solid innings load when it has been needed. In the two games prior to his starts, the bullpen has pitched a total of 14.1 innings, using a total of seven different relievers.

The strength of what Westbrook brings to the middle of the rotation is a workhorse that can lower the sometimes heavy load the bullpen carries behind Lance Lynn and Jaime Garcia’s starts, and potentially a day before Shelby Miller’s as well, who will have his innings monitored closely. If Westbrook can keep up his effective innings-eating efforts, the ripple effect through the rest of the pitching staff is full of positive scenarios.

The St. Louis Cardinals returned from the All-Star break in third place in the NL Central, 2.5 games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates, and they had an opportunity to quickly jump back ahead with their first nine games after the break against division teams.

Photo by Chris Reed

Unfortunately, the Cardinals won just two of the first seven of those games heading into play Saturday. They were unceremoniously swept by the Cincinnati Reds and lost two of three to the Milwaukee Brewers before beating the Chicago Cubs 4-1 Friday. That stretch dropped them five games behind the division-leading Reds.

It would be easy to sound the alarms and demand an overhaul at the trade deadline. People say the bullpen is terrible, Jon Jay can no longer hit and the team could use another starting pitcher. However, those problems need only minor solutions, not major changes.

It would be short-sighted to say the Cardinals are a bad team. This team still has as much talent on its roster as any team in the National League. The problem of late has been they just haven’t come up with the key hit.

The Cardinals went 1-5 on their road trip to Cincinnati and Milwaukee to begin the second half of the season, but they were outscored by only seven runs in those six games, and three of those losses were by one run where the Cardinals had men on base in the ninth with a chance to win.

A stretch where a team can’t come up with a timely hit doesn’t mean the team is bad. That is just part of the ebb and flow of a major league season. Too bad we live in a world where every move a player or manager makes is scrutinized to the point where it sounds like people are shocked these players are good enough to be in the big leagues.

For example, Lance Berkman returned to the Cardinals lineup July 14. He went his first 10 at-bats after he came back before he got a base hit.

OK, he went on an 0-for-10 stretch. So what? By the reaction of fans and media folks, one would have thought Berkman was on the verge of announcing his retirement because he could no longer life a baseball bat. Yes, he didn’t go on a rehab assignment, and I’ll give the critics the benefit of the doubt and say maybe that would’ve helped his return. But it was only 10 at-bats. Shoot, Tyler Greene sometimes goes 30 at-bats without more than a hit or two and nobody says anything. Why panic this time?

More than anything, be thankful the pitching has been good so far in the second half. The Cardinals haven’t given up more than four runs in all but one game since the All-Star break.

The Cardinals are still a good baseball team, folks. All it takes is one two-week stretch when the Cardinals win three of every four games, and they will be right back in the thick of the division race.

Sure, the Cardinals still need some help in the bullpen and another starting pitcher would comfort the minds of Cardinals fans everywhere, but the trade deadline is still more than a week away. A lot of moves will happen between now and then, and the Cardinals are likely to make a move of some kind.

So, instead of panicking that the Cardinals, can’t hit, can’t hold a lead can’t beat anybody in their division, how about we sit back and allow the team to play the remainder of its schedule. The Cardinals still have more than 65 games left to play.

It’s not fun to be patient, but the Cardinals are not as bad of a team as people make them out to be. They have a talented team, and with an addition or two through trades they will be likely be playing extremely important, exciting games at the end of the season.

Just wait, it will be fun.

The Royals’ rookie league teams have several youngsters taking the field who are worthy of note. Unfortunately, thus far, Bubba Starling hasn’t been one of them.

The youth movement in KC may not be over. The host of youngsters pumping new life into the Royals ballclub may have company in a few years.

But staring Royals fans in the face, sitting atop the list of their top minor league prospects, is Starling. Long on promise but totally lacking in performance, Starling keeps us all waiting.

After months of contract negotiations, Nebraska Cornhusker football practices, a fall season cut short by injury and marred by an arrest, Starling can finally start proving that the Royals were smart to select him fifth in the 2011 draft.

But a hamstring injury kept him out of the first week of games for the Burlington Royals. The wait, and the drama, is starting to make fans wonder if he’ll ever live up to his billing.

While not headline grabbers, there were other noteworthy unveilings at the rookie ball level of the Royals franchise.

Still to be announced is where first rounder Kyle Zimmer will land. But in the meantime, Idaho Falls and Burlington will bear watching.

Idaho Falls:

Bryan Brickhouse – nowhere to go but up for the third round pick from 2011. Seven runs in 1.2 innings isn’t exactly what he had in mind. He’s now on the Kane County roster. Hope he merits the promotion.
Sam Selman – this season’s second round pick should move quickly because he’s 21 and experienced pitching in the tough SEC. He was good in his 2.2-inning debut.
Adalberto Mondesi – still a month away from his 17^th birthday, bloodlines make the son of Raul Mondesi an interesting shortstop to follow. So far so good, he hit .400 in his first week.
Eliar Hernandez – a big-dollar signee of a year ago finally takes to the field. He didn’t disappoint, hitting .364 with four doubles in his first week. And he’s just 17.

Burlington:

Humberto Arteaga –the 18-year-old Burlington shortstop is highly regarded for his defense.
Cameron Gallager – the Royals thought enough of him to take him in the second round in 2011, all the while grooming Salvador Perez to be their catcher for a long, long while.
Kenneth Diekroeger – the 21-year-old Stanford product will be an interesting case. He was a collegiate star early on, but slipped in production. Some scouts thought the Royals got a steal by taking him in the fourth round.

The Omaha Storm Chasers (Pacific Coast League) went 2-4 over their last eight games and now sit at 27-18 on the season as they finish up a trip to the west coast.  The Storm Chasers have the third best record in the PCL trailing Sacramento and Fresno, but lead their division by eight games.

Who’s Hot
Offensively for the Storm Chasers Tony Abreu and Clint Robinson each have continued to swing hot bats.  Robinson is hitting .351 with 10 RBI over his last ten games.  Abreu is hitting at a .324 clip over his last ten contests and has two home runs, six RBI, and seven runs scored in that time.  Both players have been hot all season offensively with Robinson hitting .315 with 29 RBI, and Abreu checking in at .333 with 24 RBI.  Will Smith has been getting things done on the mound in Omaha.  He has allowed just three runs in 14.2 innings over his last two starts.  Smith is 1-3 on the season with a 4.01 ERA in nine starts this season.

Who’s Not
Jason Bourgeois has continued to struggle at the plate after being sent down to Triple-A.  Bourgeois was one of the players acquired in Spring Training from the Houston Astros in exchange for left-hander Kevin Chapman.  He is hitting .135 (5-for-37) over his last ten games with two RBI.  Vin Mazzaro also had a tough outing his last time on the mound for the Storm Chasers.  In his last Triple-A start Mazzaro went five and a third inning allowing nine hits and five runs, despite striking out seven.

Double-A

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Texas League) are now 24-coming off of their best road trip of the season.  The Naturals went 5-3 on the trip, including a sweep of the Tulsa Drillers, that has pulled them within one game of the lead in the North Division.

Who’s Hot
Catcher Julio Rodriguez is more known for his defense than his offense, but he has had one of the hottest bats in the Texas League over the past week.  Rodriguez is hitting .409 (9-for-22) over his last eight games with three runs scored and two RBI.  Yem Pradesis seeing his bat heat up again as well going 6-for-16 (.375) over his last five contests.  Prades also hit his second home run of the season during that span.  On the mound for the Naturals Patrick Keating has been lights out in May.  The right-hander has appeared in six games, tossing seven innings, and allowing just two hits, while striking out 10.

Who’s Not
First baseman Johnny Whittleman has hit his first slump of the season.  Whittleman is just 5-for-30 over his last nine games (.167), but when he has hit the ball it has been hard.  He has hit two home runs over that stretch to give him seven on the season.  Elisaul Pimentel had his strongest outing of the season in his first start of the year against Tulsa, but struggled his last time on the hill against the Arkansas Travelers.  Pimentel went three and two-thirds innings allowing five hits and three runs in his second start of the season.

Class-A Advanced

The Wilmington Blue Rocks (Carolina League) went 5-2 last week and are now 20-23 on the season and in second place in the Carolina League’s Northern Division.  The Blue Rocks are trailing the Lynchburg Hillcats by four game and open the week with a series against third place Potomac.

Who’s Hot
Brian Fletcher and Kevin David have been providing the offense for the Blue Rocks over their last ten games.  David is hitting .417 (10-for-24) with a home run and six RBI.  The catcher has also scored four times in his last eight games.  Fletcher is continuing to be a force at the plate hitting .325 in his last ten games with one home run, seven RBI, and eight runs scored.  The outfielder has pulled his average up to .308 for the season with three home runs and 19 RBI in 42 games.  Yordano Ventura has been hot on the mound for the Blue Rocks.  The starting pitcher has gone 2-0 in his last two trips to the hill allowing only five hits and one run in 13 innings, while striking out 13.

Who’s Not
Outfielder Geulin Beltre, who appeared in some spring training games with the Naturals, has gone 4-for-32 (.094) over his last nine games with one home run and two RBI.  Tyler Sample continues to bounce back and forth between the hot and not lists.  In his last two outings Sample has logged nine innings of work allowing 12 hits and nine runs.

Class-A

The Kane County Cougars went 3-4 over the past week and they now sit at 23-22 on the season.  The Cougars are in third place in the Midwest League’s Western division, but are just 5.0 games behind the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers for the division lead.

Who’s Hot
Infielder Michael Antonio has been hitting everything in sight over his last nine games.  Antonio has gone 13-for-35 (.371) with eight runs scored, two home runs, and 10 RBI.  Jorge Bonifacio is back on another one of his hot streaks as well.  The young outfielder is hitting .341 (14-for-41) over his last ten games with nine runs scored, a home run and five RBI.  On the mound for the Cougars Edwin Carl has continued to be one of the best pitchers in the Midwest League.  In his last two outings Carl has logged 13 innings allowing 12 hits and three runs, while striking out seven.  The right-hander is 4-2 on the season with a 1.79 ERA in 50.1 innings of work.

Who’s Not
Shortstop Orlando Calixte, who was on the hot list just two weeks ago, has cooled off recntly.  He is 4-for-34 (.118) over his last nine games.  On the mound for the Cougars Kellen Moen is coming off one of his worst outings of the season.  Moen allowed ten hits and five runs in four and two-thirds innings.  He is 2-2 on the season with a 5.05 ERA in 46.1 innings of work.

Alumni Report (Former Naturals outside the Kansas City organization) 

Who’s Hot
Ernesto Mejia is putting together his best month of the season, so far in May.  The first baseman is hitting a blistering .357 (25-for-70) so far in May with four home runs and 17 RBI.  He has 32 RBI on the season, which ranks him sixth in the International League.  Outfielder Tim Smith, who was recently signed by the Atlanta Braves, was promoted to Double-A Mississippi last week.  In two games with the Braves Smith has gone 2-for-4 with a run scored an RBI and two walks.

Who’s Not
Josh Johnson who is now with Triple-A Syracuse in the Washington Nationals organization is 5-for-28 (.179) over his last nine games, but has managed to score eight runs and knock in four over that stretch.   Chris McConnell, who is also in the Nationals organization with Double-A Harrisburg is struggling at the plate as well.  He is hitting just .167 over his last seven games.

Kila Ka’aihue has been struggling recently in the major leagues with the Oakland Athletics.  The first baseman is 3-for-20 in his last seven games, but does have two RBI, including a game winner over that stretch.

Photo Courtesy of Minda Haas

Triple-A
The Omaha Storm Chasers (Pacific Coast League) has posted the second best record in the PCL going 17-8 trailing only the Fresno Grizzlies who are 19-6 on the campaign.  The Storm Chasers have remained hot despite having send several players up to Kansas City, some of which have since returned.

Who’s Hot

The offense has slowed down a touch, but is continuing to carry Omaha to victories.  A pair of former Naturals have been leading the charge over the last week.  Anthony Seratelli is hitting .412 for the season, and posted his first four-hit game of the season back on April 27 against Memphis.  Terry Evans, who began the season in Northwest Arkansas has been red hot since being called up.  The outfielder has posted a .378 batting average and has belted a pair of home runs in 11 games.  On the mound for the Storm Chasers Mike Montgomery has been brilliant as of late.  The left-hander has turned in three straight quality starts (at least 6 innings and three earned runs or less).  He has allowed just seven runs in his last 20 innings of work after giving up the same number in his first 7.2 innings to start the season.

Who’s Not

Jamie Romak is in limited playing time (29 at bats) is hitting just .172 with no home runs and two RBI.  On the mound for the Storm Chasers Francisely Bueno  has surrendered five runs, only two of which were earned, in his last two outings, which have totaled three innings.

Double-A
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Texas League) are back to .500 after at 12-12 after a 7-1 homestand that put them back in second place in the Texas League North.  The Naturals are heading out on the road to Springfield for four games.  They are just 2-8 away from Arvest Ballpark this season.

Who’s Hot

Wil Myers who was named the Texas League Player of the week (April 23-29) has been leading the charge for the Naturals.  The outfielder is hitting .349 while leading the Naturals in home runs with six and RBI with 15.  Another outfielder made a name for himself over the last homestand Carlo Testa.  Testa hit three home runs on the homestand including a grand slam on April 27 and two more home runs on April 30.  He is now tied for second on the team in RBI after driving home 10 runs in his last four games.

Who’s Not
Rey Navarro had a three hit game on April 26, but has been cold since.  The second baseman has gone 1-for-17 over the last four games.  On the mound for the Naturals Bryan Paukovits allowed just one run of his own in his last appearance, but did allow all three runners he inherited to cross the plate as well in two thirds of an inning.

Class-A Advanced
The Wilmington Blue Rocks (Carolina League) went just 2-5 last week and after getting back to .500 the week before.   The Blue Rocks are now 10-13 on the season and sit in second place in the Carolina League’s North Division.

Who’s Hot

Brian Fletcher has turned his season around in a matter of days.  The corner outfielder has hit in eight of his last nine games and collected multiple knocks in seven of those contests.  He has raised his batting average from .152 to .305 over that same stretch.  Nick Rogers has continued to be as close to perfect as anyone on the mound, and has yet to allow a run this season.  The right-hander has allowed just six hits over nine innings walking just one and striking out nine.  His opponents are hitting just .182 against him and he has converted both of his save opportunities.

Who’s Not

Outfielder Geulin Beltre had a tough week, but showed signs of breaking out of his slump with his game yesterday tallying three hits in that contest, prior to that he had been mired in an 0-for-12 slump.  Tyler Sample allowed a season high five runs in his last outing on April 27 against Winston Salem.  Sample issued three walks and five hits in that contest.  The rough outing for Sample followed his best outing of the season, which came on April 17, when he worked six innings allowing just one run and fanning a season high seven.

Class-A
The Kane County Cougars also went 2-5 over the past week and now sit at 11-14 on the season.  They are sitting in sixth place in the Midwest League’s Western division, but are just three games behind Quad Cities for the division lead.

Who’s Hot

Starting pitcher Alexander Scott has been on point for the Cougars as of late.  Scott made his first two appearances out of the bullpen, before starting in two of his last three appearances.  In his two starts Scott has worked ten innings allowing just eight hits and two earned runs, while striking out eight.  He has posted a 1.04 ERA in five appearances.  Outfielder Jorge Bonifacio has continued to carry the bulk of the load offensively.  He is leading the team with a .340 batting average, and has nine extra base hits in 24 games this season.

Who’s Not

Right-hander Michael Giovenco has hit a rough patch in his last two outings.  The 6’6” relief pitcher has giving up seven runs over his last three innings of work.  These two outings are coming after he had allowed just two earned runs over his first seven and a third innings.  Cather Jin-Ho Shin is stuck in an 0-for-16 slump over his last five games.  The South Korean born backstop has seen his average dip down to .179 after it had been up at .258 back on April 19.

Alumni Report (Former Naturals outside the Kansas City organization)

Who’s Hot

Jordan Parraz continues to be hot for the Triple-A Gwinnett Braves.  The outfielder is leading the team with a .367 batting average in 22 games.  Parraz has been his best against left-handed pitching hitting a scalding .600 (15-for-25) against them on the season.  A teammate of Parraz Dusty Hughes seems to have found a spot in the bullpen late in games.  Hughes earned three saves in his last four outings and has continued to see his ERA be one of the top ones in all of minor league baseball.  The left-hander has allowed just one run in 12.2 innings, while striking out 11, posting an ERA of just 0.71.

Blake Johnson has continued to be one of the top pitchers for Double-A Chattanooga in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.  Johnson has appeared in eight games, and worked 15.1 innings allowing just three earned runs while striking out 14.  He also ranks second on the Lookouts with a 1.76 ERA.

Tim Smith, who was released by the Kansas City Royals following spring training, has signed a deal with the Atlanta Braves.  The veteran outfielder made his debut with Class-A Advanced Lynchburg this past week going 2-for-3 with two walks and a run scored against Frederick on April 29.

Who’s Not

Ernesto Mejia had been off to a hot start for the Triple-A Gwinnett Braves, but has cooled off of late.  The first baseman is just 4-for-28 over his last eight games with the Braves.  He has provided some power though with five doubles and three home runs to go along with 15 RBI.

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.

This past week the Kansas City Royals ended a twelve game losing streak. A streak that was so bad it included a winless ten game home stand. Twelve games! That’s hard to do. The Royals have had more double digit losing streaks than any other team in Major League Baseball history! As Royals fans we’ve come to expect stuff like this, but for some reason this losing streak was especially hard to swallow.

Royals fans have been hearing for thirteen months about how their organization has the best farm system in baseball. If it wasn’t the best it was certainly near the top. This was not Kansas City media and Royals Public Relations saying this trying to make the Royals more relevant that they deserved. This was baseball experts from multiple organizations, whose job it was to opine on all things baseball, giving the Royals organization some genuine positive feedback. Since Kansas City has nowhere near the largest fan base in baseball, and thus these experts were not trying to boost advertising numbers, I have to assume that their assessment is genuine. Then you add the momentum of the first crop of prospects arriving at the big league level and playing well. I looked back to some of last season’s stories and you can see the momentum building. Royals fans, and even some non Royals fans began to buy in. I thought the days of 19 game losing streaks and other historical futility were behind us…at least for a few years. As it turned out, “a few years” was only three games on a west coast road swing.

That’s what made this losing streak so hard to take. After six years of the Dayton Moore Era this what Royals fans have? Players getting picked-off bases left and right, opponents scoring seven runs in the first half inning of the home schedule, bad starting pitching, bad bullpen, untimely hitting, and fielding lapses so preposterous little leaguers should know better? This is what the first harvest from the best farm in baseball looks like?

This losing streak certainly ran off any casual Royals fans for the entire summer. It made me and other die hard Royals fans that I know question why we are Royals fans in the first place, and whether we should remain a Royals fans going forward. The Royals have done a good job of dwindling it’s fan base over the years. It seems like in the last six months, starting with the Frank White firing, that the organization has tried to chip away at the bed rock of it’s fan base on purpose.

As soon as the Royals get back to .500 I'll turn this tag right side up. Until then it's a distress signal

I’m a firm believer that once you’re a fan of a team, you are a fan of that team for life barring contraction or moving to another city. So I shall remain a Royals fan, it’s part of my identity. However, sports franchises are businesses. The relationship between fan and organization is more complicated than just a strait business-customer relationship. There is some non-rational emotional attachment involved. You can get mad and write David or Dan Glass, call a sports radio station, complain on blogs and message boards, or tweet “You Suck” to the Royals organization. You can do all those things. In this case I’m going to treat the Royals like I treat any other business that makes me mad; complain with my wallet. If the Royals think I’m going to drive three hours to watch mistake filled deplorable baseball while paying outrageous prices for concessions they are sadly mistaken.

It’s not just the losing; it’s the losing in spectacular fashion. It’s the annoying and astonishingly misplaced “Our Time” slogan. It’s the rambunctious cheerleading in the broadcast booth and social media. Everything about this organization seems to miss the mark with me. I would be lying if I said I’m never going to go to another Royals game, or buy anymore Royals gear. But I am a scorned and bitter fan right now, and it might be a while before I do any of those things. Three wins isn’t going to solve this. An exceptional twelve games winning streak probably will. That’s the funny thing about winning baseball games, it solves a lot of problems for an organization and it’s fans. However, this organization does not have a track record of quick recoveries on the field or being progressive in reaching out to fans off the field. I don’t know why I would expect a new behavior to start now. To me, the Royals have a long way to go, but they won’t be using my time or money to get there.

Triple-A
The Omaha Storm Chasers (Pacific Coast League) have started off another very strong season going 9-3 over the first week plus. The Storm Chasers are an even more impressive 7-1 while playing at Werner Park. They will look to defend their Pacific Coast League Championship and certainly have the talent to do so.

Who’s Hot
The offense has carried Omaha early in the season and a pair of former Naturals, Clint Robinson and Derrick Robinson have been right in the middle of things. Clint hit a pair of home runs in the team’s most recent series against the Albuquerque Isotopes and is hitting .320 on the young season. Derrick spent the first few games hitting in the number two spot in the order behind Jarrod Dyson, but since Dyson’s call-up to Kansas City has moved to the lead-off spot. Derrick has scored nine runs on the young season, driven home four, stole four bases, and is hitting .364 at the top of the lineup for the Storm Chasers. On the mound Jeremy Jeffress has gone 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA in five games out of the bullpen, already having worked 11 innings on the young season. Nate Adcock is also off to a good start. He has yet to surrender a run in his first two starts over 11.1 innings allowing only three hits.

Who’s Not
Mike Montgomery is off to a tough start in 2012. He has started two games for Omaha lasting 7.2 innings and allowing 14 hits and seven runs while walking seven and striking out five. At the plate for the Storm Chasers, Cody Clark is hitting .194 (6-for-31) on the young season, but has hit a pair of doubles.

Double-A
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Texas League) are off to a 4-7 start so far this season. The offense has started to pick things up after a slow start this season boosting the team batting average up to .254 on the season. The pitching staff has been nearly unhittable when they have thrown strikes, but have gotten into trouble when issuing walks.

Who’s Hot
Wil Myers has been on fire to start the year in Northwest Arkansas. He has a hit in all nine games that he has appeared in, and had a career game on Saturday April 14. He went 4-for-5 with a home run and a career best five RBI. He leads the Naturals in home runs and RBI so far in 2012. On the mound for the Naturals, Kendal Volz has been unhittable so far this season. He has appeared in three games out of the bullpen and thrown 7.2 innings allowing just one hit, no walks, and struck out seven. He is the Texas League leader in batting average against a reliever at .042.

Who’s Not
Third baseman Kurt Mertins has made some spectacular defensive plays this season, but has struggled at the plate. He is hitting .097 (3-for-31) on the season with a pair of sacrifice flies. A couple of members of the bullpen have been roughed up to start the season. Elisaul Pimentel has surrendered 13 runs, 12 of which have been earned in just 3.2 innings out of the pen this season. Bryan Paukovits, in his first season at Double-A has allowed nine earned runs in 5.2 innings of work, but did have a scoreless outing in the second game of a double-header against San Antonio on Monday April 16.

Class-A Advanced
The Wilmington Blue Rocks (Carolina League) have started the season 4-6 and are tied with the Potomac Nationals for third placed in the North Division. Wilmington has pitched well on the young season, and the bats are starting to heat up. Brett Eibner rejoined the team this past week and has already made an impact on the lineup offensively.

Who’s Hot
Starting pitcher Jason Adam, who spent last season with Kane County is off to a great start this season. He has yet to record a win or loss in his first two starts, but has gone 10 innings allowing eight hits and just one earned run, walking two and striking out 11. Catcher Kevin David has been getting it done at the plate going 4-for-4 on April 16 against Carolina. David’s big night included two doubles and a season high four RBI. He is hitting .304 so far in 2012.

Who’s Not
Outfielders Brian Fletcher and Roman Hernandez have struggled at the plate on the young season. Fletcher, who had a torrid spring, is hitting .184 this season as he continues to make the transition to first base. He has seen plenty of time in the outfield this season as well, but many believe his future is at first base. Hernandez has gone 4-for-33 (.121) as he continues to make his transition to playing baseball in the states. He defected from Cuba and was signed by the Royals on February 1 of this year.

Class-A
The Kane County Cougars have won three straight and are 6-4 on the young season. That mark puts them just a half game behind Quad Cities in the Western division of the Midwest League. The Cougars had their most recent contest on April 16 in Beloit postponed due to weather, but will play a double header on April 17.

Who’s Hot
Outfielder Jorge Bonifacio is arguably of to the best start of any player in the Royals entire organization. He is hitting a robust .410 (16-for-39) over the first 10 games of the season. He has five extra base hits including one home run and seven RBI. He has also walked seven times while striking out just six. He also has recorded seven multi-hit games in 10 games so far this season. Jonathan Dooley has gone 1-0 in relief for the Cougars and has posted a 1.00 ERA out of the pen. He went a season long four innings allowing three hits and no walks, while fanning three at Burlington.

Who’s Not
Infielder Henry Moreno has been struggling at the plate so far this season. He has only hit safely in one of his seven games this season. Moreno did show signs of breaking out of his slump getting three hits on April 14. He is sporting a .115 average and has gone (3-for-26). Eric Cantrell has struggled in relief in four games this season posting and has a 14.54 ERA. He has worked 4.1 innings allowing 10 hits and seven runs on the young season.

Alumni Report (Former Naturals outside the Kansas City organization)

Who’s Hot
Several former Naturals now find themselves in Triple-A with the Braves in Gwinnett. Dusty Hughes has transitioned into the bullpen and has a 1.17 ERA in five games for the Braves. He has allowed just one run over 7.2 innings of work. Ernesto Mejia has split time between first base and designated hitter for Gwinnett and is hitting .311 in eleven games with a home run and six RBI. Outfielder Jordan Parraz is not far behind hitting .310 in Gwinnet with a home run and three RBI.

The Washington Nationals have four former Naturals in their system. Josh Johnson, Jeff Howell. Johnson started off the season on fire with Double-A Harrisburg hitting .395 with seven RBI in 11 games. Howell has appeared in just three games, but has been good at the plate hitting .364 (4-for-11) with two RBI.

Jeff Bianchi is off to a hot start for Double-A Huntsville in the Milwaukee Brewers system. He is hitting .326 with five runs scored in the first 11 games of the season. Bianchi has started all 10 of those games at shortstop. Ed Lucas has had a recent streak to lift his average to .278 for Salt Lake, the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate.

Who’s Not
Jose Duarte is now in the Miami Marlins organization and is off to a rough start with Double-A Jacksonville. Duarte is batting .176 (3-for-17) in nine games thus far for the Suns. He has appeared in four of those games as a pinch-hitter, and did hit a two run home run on April eighth off the bench against Huntsville. Juan Abreu is 2-for-3 in save chances for Triple-A Oklahoma City (Astros), but has an ERA north of 15.00 and has allowed three homers. Slick-fielding infielder Chris McConnell was recently re-assigned from Triple-A Syracuse to Double-A Harrisburg in the Nationals system.

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.