Well, those of us who where obsessively monitoring Yuniesky Betancourt's playing time can take a rest. 54 PAs into his glorious 2012 campaign, Yuni is headed to the 15-day DL with a sprained ankle. To serve as the new whatever-Betancourt was, the Royals have promoted Irving Falu. Falu leaves Omaha Nebraska, where was perhaps often vaguely associated with former Husker Roy Helu. Or maybe not.
Falu will make his Major League debut some time soon, which is a nice achievement for a former 21st round draft pick. Of course, he was selected during the Baird Era (2003) so he pales next to a Dayton Moore prospect. Still, Dayton held his nose and promoted him.
Falu was likely promoted because he can handle SS as well as Yuni, but because this is the Royals, he's also been in the OF this season in Omaha. FLEXIBILITY!!!!!! Is this another slap to yesterday's darling, Johnny Giavotella?
In my mind, Falu was a good-hit, bad-glove guy, ala Mike Aviles (in the scout's eye) but that doesn't seem to be true. He hasn't really hit well. Here is a giant table of Falu's stats to lovingly view:
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | PA | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 20 | Royals 2 | ARIZ | Rk | 172 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 24 | 22 | .259 | .387 | .353 | .739 |
| 2004 | 21 | 2 Teams | 2 Lgs | Rk-AAA | 265 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 23 | 10 | 26 | 20 | .279 | .365 | .354 | .719 |
| 2005 | 22 | 2 Teams | 2 Lgs | A-AA | 543 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 30 | 34 | 15 | 62 | 39 | .253 | .341 | .327 | .668 |
| 2006 | 23 | High Desert | CALL | A+ | 585 | 23 | 7 | 3 | 49 | 31 | 11 | 40 | 46 | .299 | .351 | .386 | .737 |
| 2007 | 24 | Wichita | TL | AA | 525 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 28 | 15 | 9 | 35 | 44 | .242 | .294 | .298 | .592 |
| 2008 | 25 | Northwest Arkansas | TL | AA | 405 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 42 | 11 | 9 | 38 | 31 | .301 | .367 | .384 | .751 |
| 2009 | 26 | Omaha | PCL | AAA | 532 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 40 | 12 | 5 | 52 | 35 | .269 | .342 | .344 | .686 |
| 2010 | 27 | Omaha | PCL | AAA | 552 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 46 | 15 | 4 | 42 | 39 | .272 | .327 | .330 | .657 |
| 2011 | 28 | Omaha | PCL | AAA | 437 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 47 | 21 | 11 | 35 | 47 | .301 | .358 | .390 | .747 |
| 2012 | 29 | Omaha | PCL | AAA | 82 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 5 | .306 | .346 | .403 | .749 |
| 10 Seasons | 4098 | 126 | 46 | 18 | 318 | 176 | 81 | 359 | 328 | .276 | .343 | .351 | .694 | ||||
| AAA (5 seasons) | AAA | 1609 | 45 | 21 | 6 | 143 | 54 | 21 | 134 | 127 | .282 | .342 | .355 | .697 | |||
So not really inspiring numbers, although like many Royal agrarians, he runs around a lot.
Welcome him. Irving Falu.