We say goodbye to Mike Moustakas and John Lamb from this list; the former has been promoted and the latter has been shelved for the season because of Tommy John surgery. We also welcome back two outfielders from the disabled list, Eibner and Myers.
Triple Slash: Batters (BA/OBP/SLG) Pitchers (ERA/FIP/GO:AO)
Triple-A: The Storm Chasers went 3-3 this past week, including a four-game split against the Iowa Cubs. They play the second game of a four game series against the Oklahoma City RedHawks Friday night.
Mike Montgomery (5.23/4.42/1.48) - Monty had two starts this week. In his first start, Montgomery allowed four runs on three hits in 6.1 innings. Two of the three hits were home runs, and Montgomery walked four batters and struck out three. He also surrendered four runs in his second start, this time allowing five hits in seven innings. Montgomery struck out five batters, but walked three.
Johnny Giavotella (.302/.363/.412) - Gio had another strong week this week, collecting ten hits. Four of his hits were doubles, and Johnny had five multi-hit games this week. He has hit the ball very well recently, and many fans think/want him to be the next prospect called up.
Lorenzo Cain (.289/.355/.459) - Cain was a little below average this week, only picking up five hits in 25 at bats. Two of Lorenzo's hits were for extra bases, including his fourth home run of the season.
David Lough (.320/.364/.500) - Lough picked up nine hits this week, including a double and a triple. He also drew two walks, which makes me happy. I'm curious to see how the Lough/Francouer saga turns out, because the longer Frenchy keeps hitting above average, the less likely I think we will see Lough as a Royal. I think Dayton will have difficulty trading Francouer away, and I highly doubt the Royals will try my idea of platooning them in right.
Clint Robinson (.354/.439/.618) - Robinson had ten hits this week, including hitting home runs in his past two games. Imagine if we didn't have Hosmer manning down first, the screams for Robinson to get called up would be loud.
Double-A: The Naturals went 2-5 this week, losing three games to their inter-state rivals, the Arkansas Travelers. NW Arkansas plays three more games against the Travelers starting Friday night.
Wil Myers (.287/.346/.383) - Myers had six hits in his first week back from the disabled list. Wil had one double, but also struck out seven times. Hopefully his numbers will start to rise because he is healthy.
Christopher Dwyer (6.89/4.54/1.11) - Dwyer had another rough start this week, surrendering eight runs on four hits. The southpaw struck out nine batters, but also walked four. Dwyer has struggled this season, but has pitched better than his 6.89 ERA suggests he has. The main reason why his ERA is so high compared to his FIP is that his strand rate is really low, he is stranding just 49.7% of runners. For context, Dwyer had a strand rate of 71% his past two seasons. That low of a LOB% is unsustainable, and as it averages out, his numbers should improve.
Christian Colon (.243/.315/.323) - Colon smacked seven hits this week, raising his overall numbers from last week. The shortstop had two extra base hits, including his third home run of the season. He also drew three walks this week, and almost has as many walks on the season (19) as strikeouts (20).
Salvador Perez (.247/.297/.347) Perez only hit two singles this week, but did reach base with two walks. Although Perez has not hit well this year, he just turned 21, and he did hit .290 in High-A last season. I think we will have to be very patient with Salvador, but I do think we will eventually see him in the majors; he just may need more seasoning than others.
Derrick Robinson (.260/.347/.307) - Robinson hit three singles this week, and earned two walks. Robinson has a slightly higher OBP than he did last season despite having 26 points less in BA, so he has been a similar player to last season, just with more walks and less hits.
Will Smith (4.58/4.88/1.55) - Smith had a quality start this week, allowing two runs on five hits in six innings. The Fresh Prince struck out a season-high six batters, but also walked a season-high four batters. He also did not give up a home run, only the third start all season he has not surrendered one.
High-A: Wilmington went 1-5 this week, getting swept by the Potomac Nationals. They kick-off a three-game series against the Winston-Salem dash tonight.
Timothy Melville (5.17/3.83/1.13) - Melville had a rocky start Sunday, giving up five runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings. The righty struck out four batters, and walked one. I really wish I could watch Melville pitch this year, his change from a high strikeout high walk to almost a contact pitcher this season has been startling.
Jacob Odorizzi (2.03/1.41/0.72) Odorizzi only allowed one run in five innings in his start on Tuesday, but he did surrender eight hits. Jake struck out five batters, and did not issue a walk. The right-hander was one of four Blue Rocks named to the Carolina League All-Star Team
Noel Arguelles (2.74/3.52/0.73) - Arguelles had a strong start this week, giving up one run and six hits in five innings. The Cuban only had one strikeout, but didn't walk anyone. Amazingly, Arguelles has allowed as many home runs this season as walks (5).
Low-A: The Cougars went 2-4 the past week, losing series to the Bowling Green Hot Rods and the Fort Wayne TinCaps. They play the first game of a three game series against the Dayton Dragons on Friday.
Cheslor Cuthbert (.313/.375/.516) - Cuthbert played in five games this week, and had a hit in every one. The third baseman had one multi-hit game, two doubles, and smacked his third homer of the season.
Brett Eibner (.200/.333/.500) - Eibner was recently activated off the DL, and played in his first game since April on Thursday. The center fielder went 0-4 with a strikeout.
Yordano Ventura (5.31/4.13/1.13) Ventura had a strong start on Tuesday, only allowing one hit in five shutout innings. The righty also struck out four batters and only issued one walk.
Jason Adam (4.39/4.06/1.20) Adam had the worst start of his young professional career, getting battered for eight runs and five hits in 2.1 innings. Jason struck out and walked three, and surrendered two home runs.