Following the Burlington Royals

by DCRoyals on May 26, 2010 9:34 PM EDT

In a fairly unexpected turn of events for this summer, I will be interning for a district attorney's office in Burlington, North Carolina. As you may know, Burlington is home to the Royals' Rookie-level affiliate, the Burlington Royals (not to be confused with the Burlington Bees, Kansas City's Low-A affiliate).

I plan to attend every home game I can and offer my amateurish recap of each game I see. This post is meant to give some background on the B-Royals and to solicit advice on what (if any) information y'all would like about the games.

Burlington switched affiliations in September 2006, just under 3 months after Dayton Moore took over GM duties. Previously affiliated with the Indians, the B-Royals represented at that time Kansas City's 7th minor league club. From what I can gather, Burlington's addition reflected Moore's emphasis on player development at the minor league level.

The team has played progressively worse baseball as a KC affiliate in the Appalachian League, falling from a 38-30 record in their "inaugural" 2007 season, to 24-41 in 2008, and finally 24-44 last year. Darryl Kennedy, who was manager for the '07 squad, was promoted to Wilmington in 2008 and then named manager of Idaho Falls in 2009.

Burlington's manager for 2010 is Nelson Liriano. Liriano had a fairly unremarkable major league career, playing for 6 teams, hovering around replacement level as a second baseman and posting a 2.4 career WAR. He had 24 PAs as a Royal in 1991, during which he posted a .409/.409/.409 line (9 singles and no walks -- a true Royal). This will be Liriano's first season as a manager, having spent 2009 as the Blue Rocks' hitting coach.

The B-Royals play their games at Burlington Athletic Stadium. Built in 1958, the stadium seats approximately 3,500. A couple photos for your review:

via web.minorleaguebaseball.com

via www.minorleaguebaseball.com

The team was absolutely abysmal last year. Burlington had a team OPS of .623. Imagine Willie Bloomquist's career with a significantly worse OBP, and that was the entire Burlington squad. The pitchers fared significantly better, posting a team 3.76 ERA, good for second in the Appalachian League, and a collective K/BB ratio of 2.4.

One of the few "bright spots" offensively for the B-Royals was Yowill Espinal, who posted a .246/.327/.407 line as a shortstop. Unfortunately -- and with the usual caveats about fielding percentage -- Espinal committed 22 errors in 222 attempts, for a .901 fielding percentage at shortstop. Wil Myers began the year playing for the B-Royals, but only appeared for 14 at-bats before the front office allowed him to take out his anger on baseballs in Idaho Falls.

On the pitching side, Burlington featured a few promising arms in John Lamb, Tyler Sample, and Keaton Hayenga. Lamb was assigned to the Burlington Bees this season, and was recently promoted to Wilmington. Sample was assigned to the Bees in April 2010, and Hayenga was assigned to the other Burlington club a week ago.

Does anyone know exactly what the purpose of this club is? It seems somewhat redundant given the presence of Idaho Falls, the DSL Royals, and the AZL Royals. Also, I'm looking for any information that you guys would like about the games as the season rolls along. Their season doesn't start until June 22, but I plan to make it out for an exhibition game on the 20th, so you can expect my first post around then.

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Comments

I always think its a little weird that the ROyals have two east coast affiliates

burlington and wilmington

i guess it really doesn’t matter in this day and age

by Freneau on May 26, 2010 11:58 PM EDT reply actions

was it burlington or wilmington a few years ago

that was just crazy with stealing bases, like, that was ALL they did

by Freneau on May 27, 2010 12:44 AM EDT reply actions

That was probably Burlington last year

They swiped 117 bags and were caught 55 times. Both were the most in the App League.

Overgay is Destiny

by DCRoyals on May 27, 2010 12:55 AM EDT up reply actions

The purpose

I would guess the reason for this affiliation is simply, geography.

The Royals three rookie affiliates are in Idaho, Arizona and North Carolina. The Royals commitment to youth and a strong minor league would explain this.

You have baseball prospects from all over the country, and from Latin America, and I believe that having three separate locations helps facilitate the distribution of this talent.

The Royals can draft players from all over, and keep them close to their respective homes. I think that has some value….and I would think that over time it will pay off.

by Peterman700 on May 27, 2010 6:58 AM EDT reply actions

The Royals have had a DSL team for years

BBRef just doesn’t have lots of stats for them

Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/bhindepmo (follow me, because reloading my twitter page 40 times a day is kind of creepy)

by BHWick on May 27, 2010 9:21 AM EDT reply actions

Ah thanks

I will fix that

Overgay is Destiny

by DCRoyals on May 27, 2010 1:05 PM EDT up reply actions

From what I understand

Idaho Falls is for college and the more polished Latin American/high school kids. Burlington is for the greener prospects – high school kids, 17/18 year old Latin Americans.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on May 27, 2010 10:27 AM EDT reply actions

Where do the B-Royals players come from

Are these guys we drafted in rounds 15-50 or that are coming out of free agent signings in Latin America or what?

I like the idea of expanding the minor league system (more quantity hopefully begets more quality) but it seems like it’s important to keep the talent level of the additional affiliate comparable to the pre-existing talent level at the existing affiliates or else it’s just spending money for spending’s sake.

"I think a tactical error might have been committed by the manager of the Royals"

by KSinDC on May 27, 2010 12:24 PM EDT reply actions

The B- Royals strike me as a leftover team for KC's first/second year talent

Over the past few years, I can’t remember KC sending a polished first year player to Burlington. More advanced players go to Idaho Falls or MWL. The high schoolers go to AZL unless they are really gifted like Myers. Burlington gets quite a few second year players who aren’t ready for Pioneer League, Dominican players who they are bringing along slowly and organizational fillers hoping for a shot.

I like having the team in the system because it gives KC 20 more slots to find talent. The jump from AZL to Idaho Falls is too big for some players. I also like bringing 10-12 more pitchers along. College NDFA who were overlooked or young hard throwers like Sample who need more competitive innings.

by daveyork on May 27, 2010 7:25 PM EDT reply actions