The Royals starting pitching has been pretty terrible these past six games, and fans are calling for someone to get promoted. I don't think Montgomery or Duffy should get promoted until June, for I would like to keep them cost-controlled for as many years as possible. Instead, I think the Royals should bring up Everett Teaford. Teaford is 26 and in AAA, and has pitched well for the Storm Chasers this season. He has an ERA of 2.65, and has struck out 14 batters in 17 innings while only walking three batters. Teaford struck out 113 in 99 innings for the Naturals last season, and had a 3.5:1 K/BB ratio. Since he is a little older and his ceiling isn't as high as the other starters, this season would be a great time to find out if he can start in the big leagues. He could also end up in the bullpen this season;Teaford is a lefty, we only have one left-hander in our pen, and he strikes a lot of guys out. Still, I would much rather see what we have in Teaford than promote Suppan and watch him get shelled.
Triple Slash: Batters (BA/OBP/SLG) Pitchers (ERA/FIP/GO:AO)
Triple-A: The Storm Chasers went 5-0 this week, including a three-game sweep of the Nashville Sounds. They play the second game of their four-game series against the Iowa Cubs tonight.
Mike Moustakas (.237/.301/.434) - Moose was quiet in the first four games this week, only picking up three hits and one walk while striking out three times. On Friday, Moustakas smashed two home runs, raising his season total to four. His BA is still low, but he still has a BABIP lower than .250. More important is his OBP is 70 points higher than his BA. He is currently walking at a 9% rate; not the best for someone with his power, but it is an improvement over last season.
Eric Hosmer (.408/.477/.553) - If you had money on Eric Hosmer being the first top ten Royals prospect getting called up this year, then you have to feel pretty good right now. Hosmer continues to rake AAA pitching, picking up nine hits in the five games this week. Hosmer hit his second home run Thursday night, and continues to have an equal amount of walks and strikeouts. He also has two stolen bases this season without being caught, so if Ned wants to improve the speed at first, the Royals can do some more double steals.
Mike Montgomery (3.00/3.82/1.53) - Montgomery put a lot of runners on base Friday, but pitched around them well in his only start this week. Monty went six innings, allowing two runs on six hits. He walked two batters while striking out four, and was removed after 93 pitches. The lefty pitches tonight, and should pitch twice next week as long as there are no rain outs.
Danny Duffy (0.90/2.05/0.59) - Duffy was fantastic Thursday night, shutting out the Iowa Cubs for six innings. He only allowed one hit, walked no one, and struck out eight batters.While I would still rather call up Teaford, if you made me call up one of the top pitchers, it would be Duffy over Monty. Pitchers tend to pitch well when they have a 6:1 strikeout to walk ratio, and strikeout more than one batter per inning.
Johnny Giavotella (.315/.367/.384) - Johnny had a good week, picking up seven total hits and at least one hit in all four games he played. Gio also had two doubles, finally pushing his SLG higher than his OBP. While errors are not a great judge of how good a defender is, it is still nice to see the second-basemen doesn't have any this season.
Lorenzo Cain (.261/.346/.413) - Cain had seven hits this week, which raised his BA 100 points. Three of those hits were for extra bases, including his first home run on the season. The center fielder will need to cut down on the strikeouts, as he is striking out in 22% of his at-bats.
David Lough (.293/.337/.520) - Lough went 4-for-17 this week, but three of his hits were for extra bases. The right fielder also had three walks this week, doubling his season total. If/when Francouer starts to struggle, I think Lough would make an interesting player for Frenchy to platoon with. The lefty is currently hitting .304/.364/.612 against right-handed pitching
Clint Robinson (.347/.434/.681) - Robinson smacked six hits this week, including two home runs Friday night to bring his total to a team-leading six. While Robinson's overall numbers have gone done, he continues to hit the ball well and hard; 12 of his 25 hits have been extra-base hits. If Kila continues to struggle and the Royals want to wait until June to call Hosmer up, Robinson may have a chance to be the first prospect on this list called up.
Double-A: The Naturals went 3-3 this week, but had games rained out for three days straight and had to play two doubleheaders.
Wil Myers(261/.300/.435) - Myers went 1-for-3 on Friday, but hasn't played in a game since. Royals Review reader Dayton Sucks said he was benched on Friday for not running out a popout, but I wasn't able to find any press releases confirming what happened. As of midnight Thursday night/Friday morning, I have no idea why he hasn't played since. So if someone knows why/can prove it, please post it in the comments.
John Lamb (3.86/4.98/0.75) - Lamb pitched on Wednesday night, giving up two unearned runs over five innings against the Springfield Cardinals. The southpaw allowed four hits, one walk, and struck out four. His next start should be on Tuesday.
Christopher Dwyer (4.19/2.99/1.26) - Dwyer pitched well Tuesday, but suffered his second loss on the season. The left-hander tossed six innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on three hits. He walked one and fanned four, and threw 97 pitches. Dwyer's next start should come Monday against the Arkansas Travelers.
Christian Colon (.215/.325/.369) - Colon went 5-for-21 this week, and continues to have a low batting average. The shorstop has more walks (9) than strikeouts (8), and certainly will not have a BABIP of .218 for the rest of the season. Even though he is starting slow, I am not yet worried about his hitting.
Salvador Perez (.273/.298/.455) - Perez only had three hits in four games this week, but did crack a double and a home run. Perez does not strike out much, but he walks even less, so it would be nice to see him start walking a little bit to complement the power he has shown so far this season.
Derrick Robinson (.266/.373/.297) - Robinson did not have a great week at the plate, only going 3-for-18. Robinson did draw three walks this week; he somehow leads the Naturals in walks, and continues to show a good eye at the plate in spite of his anemic power numbers.
Will Smith (6.48/5.40/2.20) - Smith made two starts this week, one on Friday and one on Thursday. The lefty was hit hard Friday, allowing four runs on ten hits over four innings. His second start was better, scattering eight hits and one run over seven innings. Smith walked one and struck out seven in both starts combined, but did give up a longball in each start as well.
High-A: The Blue Rocks won three and lost two this week, but had two games postponed because of rain. They start a three-game series against the Winstom-Salem Dash on Friday.
Timothy Melville (3.80/3.95/0.96) Melville threw seven strong innings Monday, picking up his second win of the season. The right-hander allowed one run on five hits, walking two while only striking out one batter. His next start should be on Sunday.
Jacob Odorizzi (3.46/2.05/0.36) Odorizzi pitched very well on Saturday, allowing two runs on four hits over six innings. Odorizzi struck out ten batters, and only issued one walk. The right-hander is currently averaging 13.8 K/9, and has a 5:1 strikeout to walk ratio.
Noel Arguelles (1.46/1.82/0.73) Arguelles allowed his first two runs of the season, giving them up Saturday against the Dash. Arguelles tossed 4.2 innings, giving up four hits, walking none and fanning four. The Royals appear to have Arguelles on a stricter pitch count than their other pitchers, for Arguelles has not pitched five full innings this season.