Robinson, D CF High BABIP. 1 for 5 with a 2-RBI double. I didn't keep my eyes on him a lot in centerfield. His double was very impressive and strongly aided by his speed, which is his purpose, of course. The reports of his speed is insanely accurate and very exciting. He didn't seem patient to me in the least, but it's only 5 at bats and he's shown slight improvement in that he's always had a pretty decent BA/OBP split.
Giavotella 2B High. 2 for 5, with a pair of singles. He seems Mike Aviles-ish, which is a great player provided two things: he gets to the bigs quicker and he maintains a steady level. He's going to be geared more towards the offensive side of the ball. His career trio line is pretty good, but his career BABIP is high, so you do have to wonder. He seems to have steady hands but very limited range, though not Alberto Callaspo-limited.
Hosmer 1B Average. 2 for 4, with a walk, a single and a double and a run scored. Wow! What power! What speed! What a glove! He really hit the ball hard every single time he touched it and did it was done with a very natural swing. Considering he's not the guy I wanted the Royals to draft, I really have to be firm in saying that I simply cannot say enough positive things about his performance tonight. I was very impressed with his speed, which, of course, will probably diminish as he fills out. He ran the bases pretty well, but was caught off the bag a bit much which ended up with Giavotella getting a questionable out call at the plate. But what a complete ballplayer!
Robinson, C DH High. 2 for 4, with a walk, a single and a solo shot with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. He DH'd tonight. He has a very powerful stroke, though it might be a bit long. I went alone so I had to tell my jokes to myself about his warning track power peaking out in the earlier frames, but he must be telepathic because that ball traveled in a hurry. He'll probably need a catchier nickname than 'Alabama Hammer' if he's going to keep this up. Word to the wise, he's an age-advanced prospect.
Van Stratten RF High. 1 for 4, with a double and two strikeouts. I really don't think there's much of much going on here, but he does have a very good arm.
Pina C Average. Two for 5, with a pair of singles and 1 run and 1 RBI. For a defensive-mind backstop, he really surprised me with two late dropped third strikes--the most embarrassing play in all of baseball!
Smith, T LF High. Two for 4, with a pair of singles and 1 run and 1 RBI. I really liked his approach and he showed some pretty decent power with hard hit balls. In the past editions of Baseball America's Handbook, I'd have to say Smith would probably be a Top Twelve prospect at this point. Thank goodness the system is loaded! He could be a corner outfielder if he continues to develop, but he'd have a lot of pine in his future.
Romak 3B High. Only player to go hitless, though he did have a walk. I don't think there's anything going on here either. No defensive plays really stick out in my memory.
McConnell SS Average. 2 for 3, with a walk and a pair of singles. McConnell hopes to get to the bigs based on his glove. He's in the right organization for that. Maybe we can leave Jeff Conine unprotected to make sure that we have a shortstop. I was surprised when a defensive-minded shortstop was rather slow to react to a few hard hit groundballs his way. Hopefully it was just an off-night for his glove.
Paulino, SP High BABIP [against]. Went 4 2-3rds with 2 ER and too many walks and okay strikeout numbers. Paulino looked good at times, shaky at others. Though he threw 96 pitches, Poldberg left him him in too long considering he walked a guy with two on and almost walked in another run when he decided to let the guy work just a bit for a second ER. I wouldn't say he's been used as a spot starter because he lost his job as a starter and then was recently re-instated, so 4.2 isn't a bad number for someone who spent a good deal of the summer in the 'pen. He probably has the upside of a 12th (or in the Royals' case, 13th) reliever.
Barrera, RP Average. Went 2 1-3rds innings with 0 ER, no walks and 1 strikeout. I've wanted to see him pitch for a very long time and I was slightly disappointed because, from memory, he's supposed to be a serious gunner, but the fastest I saw was 95, which is plenty fast, but I thought maybe a triple digit or two would be squeezed out of him. I will plant the notion that maybe I have him confused with Alex Caldera, which I do for some reason though they look nothing alike. [Mostly due to Barrera's nicely groomed porn 'stache.] Barrera does have the oddest little hitch in his delivery, which caused some minor stirrings earlier as to whether it was legal or not.
Keating, CL High. Went 2 innings [wow! They CAN do it!] with 0 ER, 1 BB and 5 K. I really don't need to say, but what dominance he showed tonight, especially in the ninth. I was really taken aback by how easily he performed tonight. BABIP is a really good indicator and his is high in a small number of innings, but with a 12.5 K/9 and a 3 K/BB, it's hard to imagine his dominance not continuing to show. I'd misplaced Keating in my mind until he resurfaced at the front of it tonight. Triple-A has the better bullpen prospects, which is why I think I forgot about Keating and can't keep Barrea/Caldera straight. I'd say Keating has the upside of a pretty good set-up man.
Maybe the way I've ranked the BABIPs isn't the best way to do it because it doesn't include "slightly high" or "way too high" or anything like that. Also, these are only NWA BABIPs, so Hosmer's time in Wilmington, for example, isn't included. Maybe it should be, but since they're notorious parks though on opposite ends of the hitting spectrum, I've decided to include only NWA since it helps the hitters. I know the Royals don't do much with "advanced" metrics, but I hope they do have someone that pays attention to BABIP because this group is collectively way too high!
Player with the longest strike: Hosmer, who hit an incredible shot outside the foul line.
Annie Savoy of the Game: Whoever that was kissing on Manuel Pina.
