Baseball America makes a list of the Top 30/31 prospects for each team prior to each season.  I thought it would be proper after each month to give the most loyal Royal fans in the world an update on how those hopeful Royals are doing.

via img.listal.com

If you don't like prospects well at least I can toss something at you to look at.

 

1. Mike Moustakas 3b Wilmington Blue Rocks A+ Ball

via web.minorleaguebaseball.com

The Moose is off to a decent start to the season leading all minor leaguers in the Royals org with 4 home runs.  From the way it sounds he is consistently making solid contact after the initial slow week.
'09 Blue Rock Totals .274/.321/.507 4 Hr 5 2b 5-12 BB/So 15 Rbi

2. Eric Hosmer 1b Burlington Bees A ball

 

via media.scout.com
Eric is off to a very similar slow start to his career that Moustakas was.  No need to panic though as he is a Florida kid who probably is just not used to the weather or the rise in competition yet.  Hosmer should rebound nicely when the weather warms up.
Moustakas April '08 16h 84ab 0-2b 1-HR 11k 7 Bb .190/.253/.226 9.6 Ld%
Hosmer April '09 14h 63ab 4-2b 0-HR 21k 12Bb .222/.342/.286

3. Daniel Cortes P NW Arkansas Naturals AA Ball

 

via web.minorleaguebaseball.com

Cortes on the surface looks to be having a bad second trip thru AA but beneath the surface things aren't all that bad.  Cortes continues to struggle with control as evident with a 4.63 BB/9 but his other peripherals appear rather strong.  7.79 K/9 a 1.69 GB/FB ratio and only one homer allowed over 17.1 IP are all very good signs for Cortes.

Stats so far
0-3 15 K 21 H 9 Bb 15 R 12 ER .296 BAA 6.23 ERA 4.00 FIP
v. Lefties 9.1 IP 11 H 6 Bb 3 K .324 BAA 2.67 GB/FB
v. Righties 8.0 IP 10 H 3 Bb 12 K .270 BAA 0.86 GB/FB

NW Arkansas has a lot of so called good individual defenders (McConnell, Lisson, Duarte, Parraz, Dickerson) but they have struggled defensively allowing 16 unearned runs and averaging 1.3+ errors per game.  Cortes might be feeling some of that with a heavier dose of groundballs allowed.

6. Danny Duffy P Wilmington Blue Rocks A+ Ball

via www.baseballamerica.com

 

After a great start to the season Duffy fell victim to his flyball tendencies at one of Carolina's only hitting friendly stadiums as he gave up his 2nd, 3rd and 4th homers of the seasons at Winston Salems hitter friendly park.

 

Season stats thru far 4 starts 2-1 20K 5 Bb 19 H 4 HR 4.35 ERA 4.77 FIP
Prior to Winston Salem start 2-0 11 H 1 HR 19K 3 Bb hopefully he can rebound in his next start against the same team at friendly Frawley stadium.

 

8. Carlos Rosa P Omaha Royals AAA Ball
Rosa got off to a shaky start in the bullpen for the ORoyals but don't expect that over the course of the season for the hard throwing Royal right hander.  Righties did much of the early damage in Round Rock and against the Isotopes. 
'09 ORoyals Totals 6 G 11 IP 10 H 11 K 3 Bb 1 Hr 4 Er 3.27 ERA 3.66 FIP

9. Kila Ka'aihue 1b/DH Omaha Royals AAA
New season and same old Kila.  April is his worst month historically and his BA is pretty low with not many HR's.  Not a terrible month though considering his OBP.  May means warmer weather in Omaha and probably more long balls for the KilaMonster.
April Splits Career .224/.345/.401 BABIP .236
Omaha '09 Totals .238/.425/.476 3 Hr 4-2b 1-3b 22 Bb 18 K
That's right a .901 OPS with only a .238 BA.  I'm pretty confident Kila is the only one in the organization that could pull that off.

10. Blake Wood P NW Arkansas Naturals AA
Wood has continued his struggles in AA from last year.  Wednesday night was one of his worst performances yet, unable to get out of the second inning while surrendering 7 Runs and 8 hits.  Blakes ERA plummeted to 7.56, the lone bright side is that he has recorded 14 K's in 16.2 innings.  Blake suffers from many of the same problems that Cortes does having inconsistent breaking stuff and trouble locating the fastball.  Like Dan he has only given up one home run on the season but isn't having the same luck inducing groundballs.
'09 Naturals Totals 16.2 IP 4 GS 14k 6 Bb 14 ER 20 H 1 Hr

 

11. Johnny Giavotella 2b Wilmington Blue Rocks A+

via web.minorleaguebaseball.com

 

Gio is victim of a low BABIP total so far and his totals should climb rather fast once that gets closer to the norm.  "Lil Italy" is still drawing walks thru his slow start a good sign for the '08 2nd rounder.
'09 Rocks Totals .227/.358/.424 3-2b 2-3b 2-Hr 12/11 Bb/So
Prior to Thursdays games a .238 BABIP

 

15. David Lough OF Wilmington Blue Rocks A+
Lough has been the best offensive performer thus far among the Blue Rock 4x100 outfielders.  I targeted Lough for a possible breakout performer in Stix breakout list due to his limited previous baseball experience, Lough was a walk on baseball player at Mercyhurst college.  Lough had a solid second half last season for the Bees and has carried that over so far with the Rocks.  He is forced to play corner outfield due to the speed Robinson and Orlando possess but he might be the best centerfield option longterm in the KC system considering his overall tools. 
'09 Rocks totals .338/.413/.465 6-2b 1 Hr 5/8 Bb/So

 

16. Derrick Robinson CF Wilmington Blue Rocks A+
DRob was picked as a potential breakout candidate by JJ Picollo prior to the '09 season and while the Blue Rocks Centerfielder hasn't been extremely impressive his plate discipline is a welcome start to '09.  Derrick continues to show little in the way of pop at the plate and is gonna need to cut his strikeout totals if he is gonna be able to get his OBP high enough to offset his low SLG rate and be a worthy contributor longterm.  DRob leads the Royals org in stolen bases but has been picked off by the pitcher 4 times this season as he is still learning to steal bases.
'09 Rocks Totals .222/.292/.235 1-2b 8/12 So/Bb 11 Sb 4 CS (I believe most at least 3 are pitcher pickoffs)

 

19. Salvador Perez C Burlington Bees A
Salvador, #26 Bonilla and Sean McCauley are all splitting the catcher/dh duties at low A Burlington.  None of the three are off to good offensive starts but considering their ages 18-20 there is little need to worry.  Perez is the youngest of the group and also has the most projectable size at 6'3 175 lbs.  Perez early stats aren't showing much in a way of plate discipline but that really shouldn't be all that surprising for a young Latin American prospect.  Perez and the whole Bees roster is really struggling with the exception of Nick Francis, hopefully as the weather warms up so will the bats and arms of the defending midwest champs.
'09 Bees totals .122/.143/.146 1-2b 1/8 Bb/So

22. Adrian Ortiz OF Wilmington Blue Rocks A+
Just from listening to the games it sounds like Adrian is still going with the drag bunt slap hit approach.  I personally don't like that type of hitting style but with Adrian and DRobs speed and lack of power maybe they believe this is their best approach to reaching base.  Adrian isn't show as much patience as DRob however as his walk totals aren't quite the same.
'09 Blue Rocks Totals .258/.261/.333 1-2b 2-3b 1/8 Bb/So

23. Mitch Maier OF Omaha/KC
Mitch was off to a fast start in Omaha and earned a quick promotion when Guillen went down.  He continues to struggle to show any pop in the majors but appears to show a bit more plate discipline earning 4 walks in his 18 PA's.
Omaha '09 10-27 2-2b 2-hr 9 rbi 3bb

Maier should probably remain with the big club until Alex comes back as a late inning defensive replacement for JoGui.

24. Joe Dickerson OF NW Arkansas Naturals AA
Ole Joe "The 4th Outfielder" is off to a slow April start in his first tour of AA ball.  Hopefully he'll get it figured out and show a little more pop than he did in the Carolina league.
'09 NW Arkansas Totals .217/.329/.300 3-2b 1-3b 0 HR 9/11 Bb/So

26. Jose Bonilla C Burlington Bees A
Bonilla's totals are similar to that of the rest of the Bees roster.  He has shown a little more pop in his bat than Perez and McCauley so far in the '09 season but still nothing to write home about.
'09 Bees Totals .216/.256/.351 2-2b 1Hr 1/9 Bb/So

27. Kyle Martin  IF Burlington Bees A
Kyle was a bit of a surprise when placed in the top 30 by BA.  Also a surprise to repeat A ball after his solid season last year and his decent Hawaiian and ST outings.  Kyle hasn't responded well to the Burlington trip struggling with a bad K/Bb ratio of.  While he continues to show pop with his bat his contact rate is troubling considering he is 24 and still playing in A ball.
'09 Bees Totals .176/.263/.294 3-2b 1-3b 1-Hr 6/16 Bb/So

 

28. Sam Runion P Burlington Bees A

  via web.minorleaguebaseball.com
The '07 second rounder continues to struggle in A ball.  The reports I've read say his breaking ball is very inconsistent maybe due to his inability to command a curve.  I believe he threw a slider in high school so maybe they need to let him revert back to that.  I'm sure they know better than I but his struggles are a bit concerning considering he has good size and a decent fastball.  Wednesdays start for Runion was more of the same.
'09 Bees Totals 1-3 4 GS 19.0 IP 31 H 20 ER 7 K 7 Bb 9.47 ERA

 

 

4. Mike Montgomer P Not assigned
5. Tim Melville P Not assigned
7. Danny Gutierrez P Not assigned
12 Kelvin Herrera P Not assigned
13. Henry Barrera P Injured list
14. Tyler Sample P Not assigned
17. Jason Taylor 1b/OF Suspended
18. Julio Pimentel P Injured list
20. Carlos Fortuna P Not assigned
21. Matt Mitchell P Injured list
25. Juan Abreu P not assigned
29. Yowill Espinal 2b SS not assigned
30. Keaton Hayenga P not assigned
31. Ed Cegarra P not assigned

Expect to see many of these unassigned players come May.

Top Performers outside the Top 31 thru Wednesdays action

Tug Hulett Omaha Royals
Tugster is mashing at a near Aviles '08 clip in Omaha.
.357/.432/.557  9 2b 1 3b 1 Hr 10 Bb
Off the Radar Greg Atencio is a '02 10th Round pick Righthander that is mowing hitters down currently.  His first outing was a bit shaky but overall he is putting together some impressive K numbers.
5 G 8.1 Ip 13 K 7 H 5 Bb 5 ER(3-1st game)

John Suomi NW Arkansas
The veteran catcher from the A's and Phillies organization is off to a nice start in AA. 
.310/.400/.655 9-29 1-2b 3-Hr 5bb 5 K
Chris Nicoll
The righty reliever is once again proving he can pitch at the AA level after having a solid season last year.  Good to see that he has fully recovered from the yips and should be ready for a Omaha trip soon.
11.1 IP 8 H 1 ER 9/3 So/Bb 1 Sv .195 BAA

Clint "The Alabama Hammer" Robinson Wilmington Blue Rocks
The '07 draftee is off to a very fast start pacing the Blue Rocks in a number of offensive categories.  6'4 225 lbs 1st baseman definitely has nice size and any pop in the Carolina league is worth noting even if he is a tad old for the level(23yo).
.373/.417/.627 3 Hr 8 2b
Everett Teaford
The lefty is off to a nice repeat visit in the Carolina league.  NW Arkansas was just a little crowded for him to start the season there and JJ wasn't ready to move him to the bullpen yet.
3 GS 16.1 IP 13 H 5 R 4 ER 14/2 So/Bb .224 BAA 

Nick Francis Burlington Bees
Really the only bright spot on the offensive roster.  The 22 year old outfielder is off to a decent start.
.339/.423/.597 5-2b 1-3b 3-hr 9bb/12so 3SB 0 CS 
Blaine Hardy
Blaine was part of the '08 draft class.  He didn't have lights out numbers in Idaho Falls but has gotten off to a solid start this season. 
18.2 16 H 6 ER 25-0 So-Bb Yes that K/Bb ratio is correct.

 

Overall the pitching is a tad behind at every level except Omaha but don't fret as many top flight prospects should land in Burlington and Wilmington very soon.  Could be a nice boost for both teams when they do arrive.