Did you already post that PANNONE gets his AA debut tonight? Otherwise it's all M's on the Mound: Morimando, McKenize and Miniard.

from the Beacon Journal game story:

Papi entered the second game as a replacement for Greg Allen, who suffered a sprained wrist while grounding out in the first inning. Budzinski said Allen was heading for X-rays after the game to determine the extent of injury.

Pull-happy Royals altering approach at plate
Club working on solutions to prolonged slump


KANSAS CITY -- As the Royals continue to search for answers to their prolonged offensive slump -- they have scored two runs or fewer in nine of their last 10 games before Friday -- some of their hitters have begun altering their approach.

First baseman Eric Hosmer, for example, started trying to go opposite field during the recent series in Chicago. He had an opposite-field single Wednesday, and a 112.9 mph lineout the opposite way.

"I'm just trying to stay on the ball longer," Hosmer said. "Trying to go the other way forces you to stay on the ball longer. You don't pull your head out as quickly."
Royals manager Ned Yost has seen other players try a similar approach.

"You're seeing Esky (Alcides Escobar) do the same thing," Yost said. "It's what you do when you're struggling. It prevents you from flying open with your hips and your body."

Getting too pull-happy almost always is a dangerous thing. And that has been especially true for Royals left-handed hitters, such as Hosmer, Alex Gordon, Brandon Moss and Mike Moustakas.

According to Statcast™, going into Fridays game, Royals' lefties were pulling the ball to the right side on 24 percent of batted balls, the eighth-highest rate in baseball.

What's worse is that Royals' lefties are hitting .231 when they pull the ball -- only three teams' lefties have a worse average.

When Royals' lefties go opposite field, they are hitting .340, 11th best in baseball.

The reward for going "oppo" is clearly there.

Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield, a right-handed hitter, is a big proponent of the approach as well.

"To me, it keeps your hands inside the ball," Merrifield said, "and that way you're not going to roll over with your top hand as much and pull soft grounders. If you go opposite field, you stay on the ball longer, keep your hands in and you can make better contact at times."




Here are the left-handed hitters who have been most productive when hitting the ball the other way. These guys are beating the shift and getting results. (Minimum 70 balls in play to the opposite field.)

Looks like Aguilar will live to stick around for at least another week. 3-5 last night. He's batting an even .300 right now. He picked up his 3rd homer, tripled, and singled. He's got 11 rbi's in part time duty. He's got 3 homers, 5 doubles, and 2 triples in only 63 at bats.

Had a little time on my hands before the Brewer game starts.

Aguilar has out doubled by three, out tripled by two, has two less homers, hits 26 to 18, is hitting slightly more than 100 points higher (.311 to .198) than Encarnacion in less than half the at bats (162 to 60). That's pretty disturbing.

Oh! Jesus has 11 rbi to Encarnacion's 12. With Aguilar's rbi base hit in his first at bat tonight, ties Encarnacion at 12 rbi's each. Double disturbing.

Too bad Aguilar won't be getting any steady playing time with Thames leading the league in homers with 13 and batting well over .300.

Any way we can trade Encarnacion for Harper? Aguilar?

Yoan Moncada Placed on DL

(NORFOLK, VA) -- Second baseman Yoan Moncada , who is hitting .331 (46-for-139) this season over 34 games with the Charlotte Knights, has officially been placed on the team's disabled list (retroactive to May 16).

Ranked as the number one prospect in Major League Baseball by MLB.com and Baseball America, Moncada is hitting .331 (46-for-139) with 27 runs scored, four doubles, one triple, six home runs, 15 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases. He is currently in the top five in the IL in batting average, hits, runs scored, and stolen bases. He had a season high 11-game hitting streak from April 22 to May 5.

Earlier this season (May 1), the Chicago White Sox named Moncada as their Minor League Player of the Month for the month of April. During the first month of the season, the 21-year-old hit .314 (27-for-86) with 16 runs scored, four home runs, seven RBIs, and six stolen bases in 21 games for the Knights. He also earned International League Batter of the Week honors on May 8 after hitting .500 (11-for-22) with eight runs scored, two home runs, and four RBIs from May 1-7.

Yasiel Puig: 'We are with you, my Venezuela. Keep fighting '

"We are with you, my Venezuela . Keep fighting, the abuse is over, and those people will pay for it, God bless you," wrote player Yasiel Puig in his Instagram account .

The Cuban outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers is not the first time to speak on political issues.

Puig joined the past graffiti artist Danilo Maldonado, El Sexto , to bid farewell to the late dictator Fidel Castro.
In a photograph published on Instagram , the player and the grafiter hold a sign reading "He was," the same phrase that El Sixto drew on the walls of the Habana Libre hotel on November 26, after Fidel Castro's death and that cost him almost two months in jail without a trial.

Maldonado has called on Cuban artists and sportspeople to "lose their fear" and photograph themselves with a poster bearing the same message. And it has started, precisely with the stellar big league slugger.

The front of the poster features the lines of "El Sixto", with the message "Bótala, Puig" and the number 66 that the Dodger's outfielder has on his back.

When both player and artist turn the banner, the phrase "He was" appears, which Maldonado wrote the morning of Castro's death in Havana.

Now the player sends a message of encouragement to Venezuelans immersed in protests and demonstrations since last April that have already claimed the lives of about 40 people and left thousands of injured.

Moncado is the Sox Lindor. I have seen him several times, and he is the best minor leaguer I have seen since Victor Martinez

Hi Dennis!

Prepare yourself for more excitement. Luis Robert is on the way. You'll have the two top major league prospects (and the most highly paid) in your back yard not too long from now. The Sox and Robert should be getting a contract signed not too long from now. The awesome thing about that is CSN is televising quite a few of the Knights games here in Chicago. Before his trip to the DL, Moncado was on firel Hopefully, I'll get to see both these kids on the same field, at the same time. Looking forward to it.

Rick Renteria 'His energy is electric'

"He has an amazing knack to tie everybody in and make it one," bench coach Joe McEwing. "Whether it be different cultures, different personalities, he's able to reach every single one and bring everybody together for one common goal."

Renteria said he believes clubhouse unity is important on a rebuilding team because the younger players inevitably will experience growing pains, and they'll have each other to lean on. He said his main focus for the players has been reinforcing that they follow the right plan of attack on the field, from fundamentals on defense to their approach at the plate and situational hitting.

"Everybody can tell the energy that's floating around the camp," Capra said. "His energy is electric. His passion for the game of baseball is electric. … He set the standards early, stuck with it and everybody is buying into it."

The White Sox have an edge over the rest of baseball in that Rick Renteria is the only Spanish-speaking manager at the major league level, another layer to his skill set that was noted in the Luis Robert presentation. Renteria said earlier this week that he knows that his ability to bridge the communication gap is significant in a game where the Spanish-speaking population continues to rise.

While it’s merely another attribute that he brings to the table among many, Renteria, who was the first U.S.-born member of his family (his parents and four older brothers were born in Mexico), knows his background can be a valuable tool.

“Is there value to my cultural experience and how I grew up and the experiences I’ve had in general?” Renteria said. “Yeah. Absolutely. No question about it. I’ll take advantage of it to the extent that I can get the most value out of the players playing for me both Anglo and/or African American and/or Hispanic.

“I think in general we should be able to cross all bridges to be able to communicate with all players. Is it simpler for me? Yeah, I am Spanish speaking since I was little. That helps a lot. My language skills in Spanish have actually gotten better over the years -- correcting and checking to make sure you’re saying things the right way.

“You might speak the same language in terms of the words. But if your message isn’t very good it doesn’t matter what language you speak, it isn’t going to get across.”

<

The White Sox have elite pitching prospects developing at Triple-A Charlotte. Right-hander Lucas Giolito, right-hander Carson Fulmer, right-hander Reynaldo Lopez, and Zack Burdi. The Knights have almost an embarrassment of riches on the mound this season. And let’s be clear: We’re not saying “potential future ace” with a whimsical anything-can-happen caveat. These three youngsters are the real deal.

For context, let’s look at some Top 100 prospect rankings for this season. According to MLB.com’s assessment, Giolito is the ninth-best prospect in all of baseball, Lopez is 42nd and Fulmer is 66th. By Baseball America’s ranking, Giolito is 25th and Lopez is 31st. FanGraphs has Giolito 19th, Lopez 28th and Fulmer 98th. Baseball Prospectus has Giolito 10th and Lopez 30th. ESPN’s Keith Law has Giolito 13th. And it’s not just those three on the Charlotte roster. Yoan Moncada, who is MLB.com’s No. 1 overall prospect and BA’s No. 2 overall pick, is the starting second baseman for the Knights. And Zack Burdi, the club’s first-round pick in the 2016 MLB Draft out of Louisville, is prepping for his career as a big-league closer in the back of the bullpen.

[ And that was without Michael Kopech! Kopech was traded to the sox in the Moncada deal. He's 20 years old. Kopech has become a star in his own right, thanks to a fastball clocked as high as 105 mph. He's the only pitcher among MLB.com's Top 100 Prospects to receive an 80 grade for the pitch on the 20-80 scouting scale, and recently went viral with a throw that hit 110 mph. ]

[ The future for the White Sox certainly looks bright and it appears that Rick Renteria is the right man for that managerial position. The sox are poised to be a force to reckon with in the very near future. This might be a re-build year for the sox, but I wouldn't count them down and out this year. The possibility of the White Sox making the playoffs in a re-build year is real. They have been playing very good baseball lately and it looks like the offense is starting to jell. ]

Talk about jelling.......the White Sox lead Seattle 15-1 in the 7th with 16 hits. Avi Garcia is 4-4 with 2 homers, 2 doubles, and 6 rbi. Garcia is batting (.360) on the year. This is really scary to see all of the young guys they have on this squad. Avi Garcia is 24, Willy Garcia is 24, Tim Anderson is 23, Yolmer Sanchez is 24, Matt Davidson is 26, with a bunch of talent waiting in the wings at Charlotte. Hell! Abreu is only 30. With the acquisition of Luis Robert, the Sox took Quintana off the trade table. Quintana is only 28 and just coming into his prime years. The sox will be a team to reckon with soon.

How About That Scooter Fella !!!

Such is life after going 5-for-5 with the historic four homers and 10 RBIs in a 13-1 Reds win over the Cardinals on Tuesday. (2) Solo shots; (1) 3-Run blow; (1) Granny !!! That's a season for some players.

juice

On the Move Again?

BA Chat:

Rich (NJ): How likely do you think the Yankees would part with Clint Frazier should a deal for a pitcher be completed this year?

Vincent Lara-Cinisomo: I think it's 50-50 given that the Yankees have outfield depth and have a need for pitching. They'd rather not trade Frazier—his legendary bat speed being one reason—but they do have to give something.