Royalshome.com | Kansas City Royals News, royals Scores, Game Recaps & Commentary - <div>Jay Bruce finally got a hit in May, Eric Hurley might need to go down a level or two and Edward Cegerra might not walk anyone again all year.</div><h3>HOT</h3>Dan McCutchen, P, Yankees - McCutchen struck out eight and walked one over seven innings for Double-A Trenton on Thursday. He's struck out 20 in his last 14 innings. His numbers include a .196 BAA that drops to .167 against righties, and he's only given up three home runs in 38 2/3 innings, though the borderline 1.11 GO:AO could mean he'll give up more at higher levels. Given the Yankees' pitching woes, he could rise rapidly - and soon.Max Ramirez, C, Rangers - Ramirez went 3-for-5, including his seventh home run of the year, Sunday for Double-A Frisco and is hitting .543 over his last 10 games with four walks and four strikeouts in 35 at-bats during that span. His K:BB ratio has leveled off at 23:16 over 100 at-bats this year, but this is considerable progress in light of his rising strikeout rate the past couple years.Edward Cegarra, P, Royals - Cegarra struck out nine and didn't walk anyone in six innings Sunday for Low-A Burlington. He has a 37:1 K:BB ratio over 34 innings and has struck out 17 batters in his last 12 innings. His 2007 stats gave no inkling of this: he had a 37:16 K:BB in 58 innings with a 1-6 record and a 5.12 ERA. He'll have to come back to Earth at some point. If he doesn't, he'll find his way onto the upper reaches of most prospect lists for 2009.Lance Broadway, P, White Sox - Broadway struck out six and walked none over eight innings last Tuesday for Triple-A Charlotte. While he hasn't been overpowering, he is putting up some nice foundational numbers thus far: a 2.37 GO:AO, three home runs in 36 innings, a modest 19:8 K:BB ratio and a .189 BAA that drops to .135 against righties. His biggest problem is that the White Sox front five are all pitching well.Jon Jay, OF, Cardinals - Jay's hitting .412 over his last nine games through Friday at Double-A Springfield and .333/.400/.486 this year. He has 10 hits for extra bases in his first 111 at-bats and a healthy 13:12 K:BB, a dramatic turnaround thus far from last year's .265/.328/.387 and 45:16 K:BB over 230 at-bats.Craig Italiano, P, A's - Italiano struck out four, walked two and gave up three hits over five innings Saturday for Low-A Kane County. Over his last five starts, encompassing 25 innings, he's given up one earned run and has a K:BB ratio of 36:8 in that span. His year-to-date BAA is .187, and he's given up one home run. This is a remarkable turnaround from his numbers at Low-A last year: a 12.71 ERA in six starts, with a .416 BAA and a 2.82 WHIP.Cody Crowell, P, Toronto - Crowell struck out four in three relief innings Saturday for Low-A Lansing. He has a K:BB ratio of 25:6 in 12 2/3 innings of relief over nine appearances this year, plus a .196 BAA and a 1.40 GO:AO. In his first 9 2/3 innings, he had 20 Ks and has given up one home run. Lefties are hitting .118 against him. He struck out 53 in 44 2/3 relief innings at Rookie-level Auburn in 2007. He should see High-A soon.Brett Anderson, P, A's - Anderson struck out 10 and walked none Thursday for High-A Stockton, giving up just two hits over seven innings. The numbers are starting to pile up for Anderson: one home run in 33 1/3 innings in a home run league; a 36:7 K:BB; a 1:63 GO:AO; a .214 BAA - .179 with runners in scoring position. He could find himself at Double-A before long.Carlos Rosa, P, Royals - Rosa struck out seven and walked none in six shutout innings on Wednesday for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He gave up four singles. He might be having a breakout year: over his first six starts, he has a 32:5 K:BB and has given up just 21 hits (one home run) in 34 innings. He should see Triple-A, at a minimum, before the All-Star break at this rate.Rudy Darrow, P, Tigers - Darrow struck out two in two perfect innings of relief Monday for Low-A West Michigan. In 11 games, he has a 13:3 K:BB and has given up eight hits and one earned run over 14 1/3 innings with an off-the-charts 6.75 GO:AO. Last year at Rookie-level Oneonta, he had a 39:10 K:BB over 37 1/3 relief innings with a GO:AO of 3.35 and no home runs. At this rate, he's liable to show up on prospect lists for 2009.Trevor Cahill, P, A's - Cahill struck out nine and walked two over six two-hit innings on Friday for High-A Stockton. He has a whopping 48:7 K:BB over 36 innings, a .182 BAA, a 3.14 GO:AO and a goose egg in the home run column thus far. In 2007, he had a 117:40 K:BB over 105 1/3 innings with a .220 BAA and only three home runs coughed up - this year is no fluke.<h3>NOT</h3>Ian Stewart, 3B, Rockies - Stewart's 1-for-30 in his last eight games with a 13:1 K:BB after doubling in Monday's game for Triple-A Colorado Springs. This nightmarish slump coincides with his not being recalled to the big club in favor of Jon Herrera. He's gone from .313 to .238 during this stretch.Jay Bruce, OF, Reds - Bruce went 2-for-4 Monday for Triple-A Louisville, his first signs of life in some time. He entered Monday hitting .156 in his last 10 games with a triple, a home run and an 11:2 K:BB. In April, he hit .316/.340/.561. Last year, he piled up some big numbers at High-A, did a 16-game stint at Double-A and finished at Louisville with a .319/.375/.587 line for the year over three levels. He also whiffed 135 times in 521 at-bats. He might be playing at one level above were he should be, and it may take him a little while to catch up. He turned 21 a month ago.Steven Pearce, OF, Pirates - Pearce is hitting .243 in his last 10 games through Thursday at Triple-A Indianapolis and has 12 strikeouts over his last 29 at-bats through Sunday. He doesn't have a history of striking out this much: his strikeout rate is up 50 percent over last year, so it isn't clear what's going on here. In 122 Triple-A at-bats last year, he struck out only 12 times. He is pounding left-handed pitching with a .294/.385/.647 line with three doubles and three home runs in 34 at-bats. He's especially vulnerable when down in the count, hitting only .147 in those situations.Brent Brewer, SS, Brewers - Brewer's 0-for-10 in his last two games through Sunday for Low-A West Virginia. He's hitting .221/.296/.345 with 35 strikeouts in 113 at-bats, a 31-percent rate and just a shade off last year's pace that led to him striking out 170 times.Eric Hurley, P, Rangers - Hurley gave up nine hits and three walks over five innings on Sunday for Triple-A Oklahoma. He struck out five. His numbers indicate he's throwing high strikes and that the opposition is hitting them. He has a 42:16 K:BB in 35 2/3 innings, so the high heat's getting some of the whiffers to go for them. The better hitters, apparently, are hitting them, sometimes very far, as he's given up eight home runs. His BAA is .323 and his GO:AO is a very low 0.58, so he has a number of things to work on if he wants to stay on the prospect list. The Rangers might decide to give him the Edinson Volquez treatment and send him all the way down if he isn't careful.Austin Jackson, OF, Yankees - Jackson's been out with the flu since May 1 at Double-A Trenton. In eight games, he was hitting .194 with two doubles and one RBI. It's tough for a guy to hit when he's down, but he was hitting .194 before he came down with the flu. It'll probably take him a couple of days to get his strength back, so he has a bit of a climb to turn his numbers around. Last year he hit .304 with 33 steals.Curtis Thigpen, C, Blue Jays - Thigpen's hitting .186/.217/.256 through Sunday at Triple-A Syracuse. He's been hot lately, hitting .188 (six singles and a double in 32 at-bats). He last saw a slugging percentage over .426 in 2004 in a rookie league. He has backup catcher written all over him, so it's probably safe to drop him in all leagues.Elliot Johnson, SS, Rays - Johnson went 1-for-5 with his first extra-base hit of the year on Sunday for Triple-A Durham. He's struck out nine times in 22 at-bats (and struck out seven times in 19 at-bats - with no walks - in the majors last month). He hit .207/.285/.341 last year at Triple-A Durham with 139 strikeouts in 463 innings.Jonathan Ash, 2B, Astros - Ash went 0-for-3 on Monday for Triple-A Round Rock and is hitting .143 over his last nine games with a double, six walks and two strikeouts. For the year, he's hitting .213/.342/.262. He hit .300 last year at Double-A with a 17:26 K:BB ratio and two steals. He may be OK for Houston, but he'll have limited value in all but the deepest of fantasy leagues.Jeff Marquez, P, Yankees - Marquez gave up two walks and 10 hits, four of which were home runs, over 5 1/3 innings on Saturday for Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre. He struck out four and gave up six earned runs. He's now given up nine home runs in 31 1/3 innings. This is an excellent way to insure the only way he's going to see the old Yankee Stadium this year is if he buys a ticket - or if the Yanks need a pitcher for BP.<h3>The Sidney Watch</h3>Sidney's doing his thing, lulling people into thinking he's a decent pitcher: 1-0, 1.35 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 9:3 K:BB. Move over Cy Young. He was picked up in five of the seven leagues I'm in. One guy bid $5 for him. Everyone in Baltimore's seen this movie many times, and the short version's been seen in St. Louis, New York and Minneapolis. Lloyd's of London has the over-under on Sidney getting designated at June 3.Article first appeared 5/6/08

Jay Bruce finally got a hit in May, Eric Hurley might need to go down a level or two and Edward Cegerra might not walk anyone again all year.

HOT

Dan McCutchen, P, Yankees - McCutchen struck out eight and walked one over seven innings for Double-A Trenton on Thursday. He's struck out 20 in his last 14 innings. His numbers include a .196 BAA that drops to .167 against righties, and he's only given up three home runs in 38 2/3 innings, though the borderline 1.11 GO:AO could mean he'll give up more at higher levels. Given the Yankees' pitching woes, he could rise rapidly - and soon.

Max Ramirez, C, Rangers - Ramirez went 3-for-5, including his seventh home run of the year, Sunday for Double-A Frisco and is hitting .543 over his last 10 games with four walks and four strikeouts in 35 at-bats during that span. His K:BB ratio has leveled off at 23:16 over 100 at-bats this year, but this is considerable progress in light of his rising strikeout rate the past couple years.

Edward Cegarra, P, Royals - Cegarra struck out nine and didn't walk anyone in six innings Sunday for Low-A Burlington. He has a 37:1 K:BB ratio over 34 innings and has struck out 17 batters in his last 12 innings. His 2007 stats gave no inkling of this: he had a 37:16 K:BB in 58 innings with a 1-6 record and a 5.12 ERA. He'll have to come back to Earth at some point. If he doesn't, he'll find his way onto the upper reaches of most prospect lists for 2009.

Lance Broadway, P, White Sox - Broadway struck out six and walked none over eight innings last Tuesday for Triple-A Charlotte. While he hasn't been overpowering, he is putting up some nice foundational numbers thus far: a 2.37 GO:AO, three home runs in 36 innings, a modest 19:8 K:BB ratio and a .189 BAA that drops to .135 against righties. His biggest problem is that the White Sox front five are all pitching well.

Jon Jay, OF, Cardinals - Jay's hitting .412 over his last nine games through Friday at Double-A Springfield and .333/.400/.486 this year. He has 10 hits for extra bases in his first 111 at-bats and a healthy 13:12 K:BB, a dramatic turnaround thus far from last year's .265/.328/.387 and 45:16 K:BB over 230 at-bats.

Craig Italiano, P, A's - Italiano struck out four, walked two and gave up three hits over five innings Saturday for Low-A Kane County. Over his last five starts, encompassing 25 innings, he's given up one earned run and has a K:BB ratio of 36:8 in that span. His year-to-date BAA is .187, and he's given up one home run. This is a remarkable turnaround from his numbers at Low-A last year: a 12.71 ERA in six starts, with a .416 BAA and a 2.82 WHIP.

Cody Crowell, P, Toronto - Crowell struck out four in three relief innings Saturday for Low-A Lansing. He has a K:BB ratio of 25:6 in 12 2/3 innings of relief over nine appearances this year, plus a .196 BAA and a 1.40 GO:AO. In his first 9 2/3 innings, he had 20 Ks and has given up one home run. Lefties are hitting .118 against him. He struck out 53 in 44 2/3 relief innings at Rookie-level Auburn in 2007. He should see High-A soon.

Brett Anderson, P, A's - Anderson struck out 10 and walked none Thursday for High-A Stockton, giving up just two hits over seven innings. The numbers are starting to pile up for Anderson: one home run in 33 1/3 innings in a home run league; a 36:7 K:BB; a 1:63 GO:AO; a .214 BAA - .179 with runners in scoring position. He could find himself at Double-A before long.

Carlos Rosa, P, Royals - Rosa struck out seven and walked none in six shutout innings on Wednesday for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. He gave up four singles. He might be having a breakout year: over his first six starts, he has a 32:5 K:BB and has given up just 21 hits (one home run) in 34 innings. He should see Triple-A, at a minimum, before the All-Star break at this rate.

Rudy Darrow, P, Tigers - Darrow struck out two in two perfect innings of relief Monday for Low-A West Michigan. In 11 games, he has a 13:3 K:BB and has given up eight hits and one earned run over 14 1/3 innings with an off-the-charts 6.75 GO:AO. Last year at Rookie-level Oneonta, he had a 39:10 K:BB over 37 1/3 relief innings with a GO:AO of 3.35 and no home runs. At this rate, he's liable to show up on prospect lists for 2009.

Trevor Cahill, P, A's - Cahill struck out nine and walked two over six two-hit innings on Friday for High-A Stockton. He has a whopping 48:7 K:BB over 36 innings, a .182 BAA, a 3.14 GO:AO and a goose egg in the home run column thus far. In 2007, he had a 117:40 K:BB over 105 1/3 innings with a .220 BAA and only three home runs coughed up - this year is no fluke.

NOT

Ian Stewart, 3B, Rockies - Stewart's 1-for-30 in his last eight games with a 13:1 K:BB after doubling in Monday's game for Triple-A Colorado Springs. This nightmarish slump coincides with his not being recalled to the big club in favor of Jon Herrera. He's gone from .313 to .238 during this stretch.

Jay Bruce, OF, Reds - Bruce went 2-for-4 Monday for Triple-A Louisville, his first signs of life in some time. He entered Monday hitting .156 in his last 10 games with a triple, a home run and an 11:2 K:BB. In April, he hit .316/.340/.561. Last year, he piled up some big numbers at High-A, did a 16-game stint at Double-A and finished at Louisville with a .319/.375/.587 line for the year over three levels. He also whiffed 135 times in 521 at-bats. He might be playing at one level above were he should be, and it may take him a little while to catch up. He turned 21 a month ago.

Steven Pearce, OF, Pirates - Pearce is hitting .243 in his last 10 games through Thursday at Triple-A Indianapolis and has 12 strikeouts over his last 29 at-bats through Sunday. He doesn't have a history of striking out this much: his strikeout rate is up 50 percent over last year, so it isn't clear what's going on here. In 122 Triple-A at-bats last year, he struck out only 12 times. He is pounding left-handed pitching with a .294/.385/.647 line with three doubles and three home runs in 34 at-bats. He's especially vulnerable when down in the count, hitting only .147 in those situations.

Brent Brewer, SS, Brewers - Brewer's 0-for-10 in his last two games through Sunday for Low-A West Virginia. He's hitting .221/.296/.345 with 35 strikeouts in 113 at-bats, a 31-percent rate and just a shade off last year's pace that led to him striking out 170 times.

Eric Hurley, P, Rangers - Hurley gave up nine hits and three walks over five innings on Sunday for Triple-A Oklahoma. He struck out five. His numbers indicate he's throwing high strikes and that the opposition is hitting them. He has a 42:16 K:BB in 35 2/3 innings, so the high heat's getting some of the whiffers to go for them. The better hitters, apparently, are hitting them, sometimes very far, as he's given up eight home runs. His BAA is .323 and his GO:AO is a very low 0.58, so he has a number of things to work on if he wants to stay on the prospect list. The Rangers might decide to give him the Edinson Volquez treatment and send him all the way down if he isn't careful.

Austin Jackson, OF, Yankees - Jackson's been out with the flu since May 1 at Double-A Trenton. In eight games, he was hitting .194 with two doubles and one RBI. It's tough for a guy to hit when he's down, but he was hitting .194 before he came down with the flu. It'll probably take him a couple of days to get his strength back, so he has a bit of a climb to turn his numbers around. Last year he hit .304 with 33 steals.

Curtis Thigpen, C, Blue Jays - Thigpen's hitting .186/.217/.256 through Sunday at Triple-A Syracuse. He's been hot lately, hitting .188 (six singles and a double in 32 at-bats). He last saw a slugging percentage over .426 in 2004 in a rookie league. He has backup catcher written all over him, so it's probably safe to drop him in all leagues.

Elliot Johnson, SS, Rays - Johnson went 1-for-5 with his first extra-base hit of the year on Sunday for Triple-A Durham. He's struck out nine times in 22 at-bats (and struck out seven times in 19 at-bats - with no walks - in the majors last month). He hit .207/.285/.341 last year at Triple-A Durham with 139 strikeouts in 463 innings.

Jonathan Ash, 2B, Astros - Ash went 0-for-3 on Monday for Triple-A Round Rock and is hitting .143 over his last nine games with a double, six walks and two strikeouts. For the year, he's hitting .213/.342/.262. He hit .300 last year at Double-A with a 17:26 K:BB ratio and two steals. He may be OK for Houston, but he'll have limited value in all but the deepest of fantasy leagues.

Jeff Marquez, P, Yankees - Marquez gave up two walks and 10 hits, four of which were home runs, over 5 1/3 innings on Saturday for Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre. He struck out four and gave up six earned runs. He's now given up nine home runs in 31 1/3 innings. This is an excellent way to insure the only way he's going to see the old Yankee Stadium this year is if he buys a ticket - or if the Yanks need a pitcher for BP.

The Sidney Watch

Sidney's doing his thing, lulling people into thinking he's a decent pitcher: 1-0, 1.35 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 9:3 K:BB. Move over Cy Young. He was picked up in five of the seven leagues I'm in. One guy bid $5 for him. Everyone in Baltimore's seen this movie many times, and the short version's been seen in St. Louis, New York and Minneapolis. Lloyd's of London has the over-under on Sidney getting designated at June 3.

Article first appeared 5/6/08