TWitM: Cuthbert mashing on rehab

This is our weekly look at notable performances from all over the system, from big-name prospects and less heralded guys alike. The mission is to answer this simple question: "Who had a good week?"

Today, we’ll cover results from Monday, July 31 through Sunday, August 6.

AAA Omaha Storm Chasers (53-59)

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Switch hitting outfielder Billy Burns stole five bases this week, in addition to hitting a triple and nine (!) singles. He also walked four times. Burns has stolen a team-leading 19 bases in his 77 games with Omaha, but has been caught 11 times - which also leads the team.

Outfielder Logan Moon, 25, still seems to be handling the adjustment to Triple-A well after about three weeks with the team. In five games this week, he had nine hits, including two doubles, a triple, and a home run.

Also collecting nine hits was first baseman Frank Schwindel. He doubled twice and hit his 12th home run as a Storm Chaser. That keeps him one ahead of shortstop Raul Mondesi, who returned to action on Thursday after sitting out since the All-Star break with a sore back. To ease Mondesi back into game action, manager Brian Poldberg pulled him after three at bats in his first three games, and used him as the designated hitter in the fourth.

LHP Onelki Garcia pitched a gem on Sunday, shutting out visiting Sacramento for seven innings, with eight strikeouts and one walk. The Royals signed Garcia, whose 28th birthday was on Wednesday, as a free agent last winter.

Third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert began a second rehab assignment on Tuesday after a hard foul ball off his foot interrupted his first assignment. Initially he was sent to Omaha to work his way back from a sprained wrist. He homered three times, doubled twice, and put up three consecutive two-hit games this time around.

AA Northwest Arkansas Naturals (53-54)

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First baseman Samir Duenez hit everything this week, with two doubles and three home runs among 11 total hits. Duenez is coming off a dreadful July in which he hit just .197/.238/.291 in 28 games.

Third baseman Hunter Dozier returned to action after his wrist injury this week, just a few days after his son was born. He is just 1-for-7 in his first three games back after a hiatus of nearly two months.

Outfielder Paulo Orlando is eight games deep into his rehab assignment. He has been on the 60-day Disabled List, and therefore not counted against the Royals’ 40-man roster, since June 1.

A-Adv. Wilmington Blue Rocks (60-53)

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RHP Jace Vines pitched five shutout innings on Saturday. It was his third and best start since being promoted from Lexington last week. Vines, 22, pitched for Texas A&M before the Royals drafted him in the 4th round in 2016.

Luis Rico, a left-handed reliever, is on a scoreless streak going back seven appearances. In that time, he has pitched 14.1 innings with 15 strikeouts, one walk, and nine hits surrendered. Only one of those went for extra bases.

Righty Walker Sheller contributed a pair of scoreless relief outings this week, totaling four innings in which he struck out four and gave up just two hits.

Low-A Lexington Legends (54-57)

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Lefty Garrett Davila pitched well on Thursday, with six one-hit shutout innings. He walked two and struck out five. The Royals drafted Davila, now 20, in the 4th round of 2015.

Arnaldo Hernandez is a 21-year-old RHP from San Felix, Venezuela. On Monday, he pitched seven innings, yielding six hits and two runs. He struck out five, walked one, and hit a batter. It was the first time in his career that Hernandez went that deep into a game.

Catcher Meibrys Viloria went 7-for-14 this week, with a double and a home run. Second baseman John Brontsema doubled three times on his way to eight hits in six games. Brontsema, 22, is hitting .323/.416/.484 in 52 games with Lexington.

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Miscellany:

• Left-hander Andre Davis, who was sent to the White Sox as part of the Melky Cabrera trade, made his first start for Single-A Kannapolis on Wednesday. He pitched six shutout innings, allowing just four hits and one walk, and he struck out eight.
• The Storm Chasers have six players on the disabled list. Northwest Arkansas has seven; Wilmington has three. Lexington has three DL’ed and one suspended player.
• That suspension was for catching prospect Mark “M.J.” Sanchez, who is now 37 games in to an 80-game suspension for Dehydrochlormethyltestosterone.
• The Royals re-signed RHP Mark Peterson, who was traded to the Phillies earlier this year for cash but let go by the Phillies. He will report to Omaha.
• RHP Andrew Edwards cleared waivers and was assigned to AA Northwest Arkansas
• Rehabbing Paulo Orlando has options left, so if the Royals do not wish to call him up when he completes his assignment, he could be optioned to the minors. Cheslor Cuthbert, on the other hand, is out of options.

Did anyone attend any minor league games this week? Who did you see, and what did you think of them?