Royals Name Minor League Players and Pitchers of the Month for July
Nicky Lopez headlines the Royals’ minor league players of the month for July
The Kansas City Royals announced their minor league pitchers and players of the month for July at their nine affiliates on Thursday.
Here is a look at the winners and their accomplishments during July:
Omaha (AAA)
Pitcher — RHP Jake Kalish
Promoted to Omaha for his second stint with the Storm Chasers in late June, Kalish went 3–2 with a 3.00 ERA (13 ER in 39.0 IP) with just three walks and 40 strikeouts in six starts.
The 32nd-round pick in the 2015 First-Year Player Draft led the Pacific Coast League in innings pitched with 39.0 and strikeout to walk ratio at 13.33 and was second in walks per nine innings at 0.69 and home runs per nine innings at 0.23 (one allowed) in July.
Player — INF Nicky Lopez
Similar to Kalish, Lopez made his Triple-A debut just before the calendar flipped to July.
The 23-year-old hit .296 (29-for-98) with four doubles, two triples, two home runs with 11 RBI and 14 runs scored in 26 games for the month.
He led the Storm Chasers in hits (29), triples (2), walks (15), batting average (.296), on-base percentage (.400) and slugging percentage (.439) while finishing second to Frank Schwindel (16) in RBI (11).
Lopez was Kansas City’s fifth-round selection out of Creighton University in the 2016 First-Year Player Draft.
Northwest Arkansas (AA)
Pitcher — RHP Pedro Fernandez
Bouncing back and forth from the Northwest Arkansas rotation and bullpen, Fernandez was superb no matter what his role.
The 24-year-old went 1–0 with a 1.61 ERA (4 ER in 22.1 IP) in seven appearances, which included three starts. He walked four batters for the third consecutive month and struck out 19.
His ERA was good for fifth in the Texas League among pitchers with at least 20.0 innings pitched in the month.
Fernandez was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2011.
Player — INF Kelvin Gutierrez
Acquired from Washington in the Kelvin Herrera trade, Gutierrez earns Northwest Arkansas’ player of the month honors in his first full month in the Royals organization.
Gutierrez, 23, hit .272 (28-for-103) with six doubles, two triples, a home run and 21 RBI in July.
His 21 RBI for the month led the Naturals and tied for sixth in the Texas League.
Wilmington (A+)
Pitcher — RHP Gerson Garabito
Garabito started his 2018 campaign with a strong April but struggled to a 2–5 mark with a 4.50 ERA in May and June. He bounced back in July to earn pitcher of the month honors for a red-hot Wilmington team.
The 22-year-old went 2–0 with a 1.55 ERA (5 ER in 29.0 IP) with 23 strikeouts in five starts for the Blue Rocks. That includes a July 3 start against Winston-Salem in which he threw 4.0 scoreless innings that was suspended and will be completed on August 18.
His 1.55 ERA ranked second among qualified starters in the Carolina League behind Myrtle Beach’s Bryan Hudson (1.27), while his .190 opponents batting average was fourth-best in the league.
Garabito is in his sixth year in the organization after signing as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2012.
Player — C Meibrys Viloria
Viloria entered July hitting just .209 on the season but broke out in the fourth month of the season.
The 21-year-old backstop compiled a .354 (29-for-82) average in July with four doubles, two home runs, 10 RBI and 11 runs scored. This also includes the suspended July 3 game against Winston-Salem in which Viloria went 1-for-2 with a double.
His .354 batting average was second-best in the Carolina League for the month behind only Carolina’s Weston Wilson (.429).
Viloria was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Colombia in 2013.
Lexington (A)
Pitcher — RHP Carlos Hernandez
Hernandez caught fire in July, going 2–2 with a 1.85 ERA (5 ER in 24.1 IP) and 28 strikeouts in four starts, lowering his ERA from 4.31 to 3.29.
He began the month with consecutive efforts in which he didn’t allow an earned run over 7.0 innings, including striking out 12 in a win over Greensboro on July 9.
Hernandez’s 1.85 ERA was fifth-best in the South Atlantic League among pitchers who worked at least 20.0 innings in July.
The 21-year-old was signed as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela in 2017.
Player — INF/OF Marten Gasparini
The 21-year-old Italian had his best month of the season in July, hitting .310 (22-for-71) with four doubles, two homers, 12 RBI, 14 runs scored and seven stolen bases in 22 games.
Gasparini entered July hitting .220 and exited the month with a .243 mark.
He finished tied for second on the Legends in hits (22) and was second in on-base percentage (.380) and third in batting average (.310).
Gasparini was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2013.
Idaho Falls (R)
Pitcher — LHP Robert Garcia
After early-season struggles with Lexington, Garcia has found his groove with Idaho Falls.
The 21-year-old posted a 1.59 ERA (2 ER in 11.1 IP) with 11 strikeouts and two saves in six relief appearances for the Chukars in July.
His ERA was the 10th-lowest in the Pioneer League (min. 10 IP), while his two saves tied for the league lead. The southpaw worked at least 2.0 innings in five of his six outings in July, allowing both runs against Helena on July 10.
Garcia was selected in the 15th round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of UC Davis.
Player — 1B/OF Reed Rohlman
Rohlman simply dominated the Pioneer League lead in July.
The Clemson product hit .426 (43-for-101) with 10 doubles, three triples, four RBI, 17 RBI and 29 runs scored in 25 games for the Chukars.
He had six more hits and eight more RBI than any other player in the Pioneer League in July while also leading the league in batting average (.426) by 32 points, on-base percentage (.508) by 44 points and slugging percentage (.703) by 29 points.
Rohlman also tied for the league lead in extra-base hits (17), tied for second in runs scored (29) and tied for third in doubles (10).
The Royals selected the now 23-year-old in the 35th round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft.
Burlington (R)
Pitcher —LHP Austin Cox
Drafted in the fifth round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft, Cox is off to a strong start to his professional career.
The Mercer University product went 1–0 with a 3.54 ERA (8 ER in 20.1 IP) with 30 strikeouts in five starts in July, including allowing one earned run over 5.0 innings against Greeneville on July 8 and July 22.
His 30 strikeouts were second-most in the Appalachian League to Bristol’s Shane Baz with 36, while his strikeout per nine innings rate of 13.28 led the league (min. 20.0 IP).
Player — INF Jose Marquez
Bouncing back from a tough June in which he hit .178, Marquez batted .337 (34-for-101) with nine doubles, a triple, three home runs, 15 RBI, 17 runs scored and six stolen bases for the Royals in 25 games in July.
Marquez tied for the Appalachian League lead in doubles with nine and tied for fourth in hits with 34.
Kansas City signed the 20-year-old as a non-drafted free agent out of Venezuela in 2014.
AZL Royals
Pitcher — RHP Christian Cosby
Cosby posted a 5.87 ERA in his first three professional appearances but got on track in July, going 1–0 with a 1.45 ERA (3 ER in 18.2 IP) and 15 strikeouts in five outings out of the bullpen.
Kansas City’s 14th-round selection in the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of Chapman University, the 21-year-old pitched at least 3.0 innings in all five appearances in July.
He threw 5.0 scoreless frames on July 19 against the AZL Athletics and allowed one run in 4.0 innings to earn the win over the AZL Mariners on July 24.
Cosby’s 1.45 ERA was seventh-best in the Arizona League (min. 15.0 IP), while his 18.2 innings pitch were third-most by a reliever, 1.0 inning shy of the two leaders, including teammate Chien-Ming Wang.
Player — INF Rubendy Jaquez
The 19-year-old infielder playing in his first professional season stateside hit .284 (21-for-74) with four doubles, a triple, a home run, eight RBI, 11 runs scored and nine stolen bases in 22 games in July.
His nine stolen bases were the third-most in the Arizona League, three off the AZL Rangers’ Frainyer Chavez for the league lead.
Jaquez, who was signed by the Royals as a non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2015, had six multi-hit games in July, including a 4-for-5 night against the AZL Dodgers on July 29.
DSL Royals 1
Pitcher — RHP Heribert Garcia
Garcia has been nearly untouchable in the Dominican Summer League.
After posting a 0.51 ERA (1 ER in 17.2 IP) in June, the 19-year-old went 2–1 with a 0.87 ERA (2 ER in 20.2 IP) with just one walk and 15 strikeouts in four July starts.
Opponents hit just .139 (10-for-72) with two extra-base hits against him in July.
His 0.87 ERA in July ranked 10th in the DSL (min. 20 IP), while he tied for the league lead in fewest walks allowed (1), was third in strikeout to walk rate (15.0) and was fourth in opponent batting average (.139).
For the season, he leads the DSL in ERA at 0.65 and opponent batting average at .104 (14-for-135) among pitchers who have thrown at least 40.0 innings.
Player — SS Enrique Valdez
The 17-year-old Valdez hit .329 (25-for-76) with a double, a triple, seven RBI, 13 runs scored and eight stolen bases in 22 games in July.
Valdez had eight multi-hit games in July, including two three-hit efforts and a 4-for-5 game on July 5 against DSL Tigers 2.
DSL Royals 2
Pitcher — RHP Daury Cabrera
Cabrera went 2–0 with a 0.72 ERA (2 ER in 25.0 IP) with 17 strikeouts in five starts in July.
The 17-year-old had the seventh-best ERA in the DSL (min. 20 IP), just ahead of Garcia. This includes pitching 4.0 scoreless innings on July 23 in a game that was suspended after 5.0 innings due to rain.
Cabrera pitched 5.0 scoreless frames against the DSL Mariners on July 11 and added 6.0 scoreless innings in a win over the DSL Pirates 2 on July 17.
Player — 1B/C Nicolas Febres
Febres hit .328 (22-for-67) with six doubles, 12 RBI and nine runs scored in 21 games in July, boosting his average from .200 to .261.
The 19-year-old Venezuelan had three-hit games against the DSL Pirates 2 on July 16 and July 27.
In his second season in the Royals organization, Febres was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2016.
