Things to read:
DRAFT PREVIEWS from Lee Warren of Royal Reflections, Clark Fosler of Royals Authority, and Megan Stock of the Royals. Draft history with Royals Authority's Craig Brown. All leading up to the live world television premeire of the Major League Baseball amateur draft at 1 p.m. CT. About time, if you ask me.
THE WORLD'S GREATEST FAN, linked through Royals Review.
JOEY GATHRIGHT RECALLED TO MAJORS! From Stock:
Gathright, 26, was hitting .328 (61-for-186) for Omaha with eight doubles, two triples, 20 RBI and 50 runs scored. He was carrying a .450 on-base pct. after drawing 37 walks against just 23 strikeouts and stole 21 bases in 26 attempts. He led the league in steals and ranked tied for second in both on-base pct. and walks. He was 13-for-13 in stolen base attempts since May 19 and hitting .374 (46-for-123) since April 26.
I am genuinely excited about this, and not just because Gathright was Dayton Moore's first acquisition. He's one of the fastest players in baseball, and anytime one of your players can be described using a superlative, that's a good thing. But one of the knocks against Gathright has been that despite his speed, he's never been a good base-stealer. Judging by his Triple-A numbers, hopefully he acquired that skill in his recent stint at the farm. If he can produce even a fraction of what he has in Omaha -- okay, a large fraction -- he can be a kick-start to an offense that's been sputtering lately. Okay, for much of the year. Bob of DOAM offers more commentary on Gathright's call-up.
Incidentally, this means we have to say goodbye to Angel Berroa for the second time this year. Tear.
BRIAN BANNISTER IS A STUD. Seven innings, no earned runs. Dick Kaegel of MLB.com reports. His second consecutive great start drops his ERA to 3.33, which means Gil Meche (3.00 ERA) may have some company in his rarefied air...
(Again, Buddy Bell just about emptied his bullpen, using four guys to collect six outs -- including Dotel for the last three, despite much rockiness -- but hey, whatever works.)
UPDATE: Another draft preview, this one from Royals Retrospective.
You forgot to point out that Joey can jump a car. Its the most important part of his game.
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