Second straight Royal wins AL Rookie of the Month

Congratulations, Billy Butler, for joining Brian Bannister as an AL Rookie of the Month winner. Only one other Royal, according to Megan Stock, has ever won the Rookie of the Month award, and now we've got two in two months. Alex, it's not too late to join the party. And after that, perhaps you, Tony Pena Jr.? Or Craig Brazell? Who's gonna step up and keep the streak going? Cause Luke Hochevar's a long bet at the moment.

The NL Rookie of the Month was none other than Ryan Braun, who batted .345 (38-110) with 11 home runs, 18 runs, 3 doubles and 4 stolen bases. Butler hit .341 and slugged .527 with six doubles, one triple, three home runs and 24 RBI.

(Photo courtesy of Natural Turf, official blog of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, the soon-to-be Royals' Double A affiliate when the Wranglers move out of Wichita after this season.)

POSTSCRIPT: A KC Star story about Kyle Davies, with a very interesting nugget:

“Kyle is the guy we wanted,” Moore said. “We took the guy we felt was the very best alternative for us as opposed to taking prospects from down low. There were a lot of names reported. Some were accurate. Some were not.”

One that wasn’t, the Royals insist, is Seattle outfield prospect Wladimir Balentien, who profiles as the sort of mid-lineup power hitter they continue to covet. It’s a moot point; it seems likely the Royals would have taken Davies anyway.

No word on the other big-name prospects, unfortunately.