29-year old righty starting pitcher Brian Bannister has been pretty awful for the Royals so far this year. He has started 22 games for the Royals this year and he is 7-11 with a 5.95 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. Bannister has given up 149 hits (23 homers) in 124 innings for the Royals so far this year. Bannister has now pitched in 107 games (all starts) in his four years for the Royals and he is 35-48 with a 5.05 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Hopefully the Royals look in a different direction than Bannister for the 2011 starting rotation as he keeps getting worse.

UPDATE: (8/18/2010) - The Royals have placed Brian Bannister on the 15-day D.L. with right rotator cuff tendinitis. The Royals have recalled 25-year old righty swinging outfielder Jai Miller to replace Bannister on the active roster. Miller has played in 84 games in AAA-ball for the Royals this year and he is 83 of 311 (.267 avg, .871 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 18 homers, 56 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. But, Miller has also whiffed 113 times so he could have issues with major league pitching. He has only played in 1 game in his major league career to date and he’s 0 for 1 with a whiff.

The Royals have designated 34-year old righty swinging starting RF Jose Guillen for assignment. Guillen played in 106 games for the Royals this season and he was 101 of 396 (.255 avg, .743 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 16 homers and 62 RBIs. In his three years with the Royals, Guillen played in 340 games in which he was 327 of 1,275 (.256 avg, .727 OPS) with 142 runs scored, 45 homers and 199 RBIs. This was a surprising move by the Royals who hope they can deal him in the next 10 days.

UPDATE: (8/13/2010) - The Royals have dealt Guillen along with some cash for a player to be named later. At least the Royals will be getting something for Guillen rather than just releasing him.

With the trade of Scott Podsednik the Royals have a lack of speed in the lineup. That is where 26-year old lefty swinging 2B Chris Getz comes in. It looks as if the Royals are going to give Getz a second chance to win the starting job at 2B. He has played in 51 games for the Royals this year and he is 36 of 153 (.235 avg, .585 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 13 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. The Royals really need Getz to get on base a lot so that other batters in the lineup start to get better pitches to hit.

The Royals have placed 28-year old righty reliever Robinson Tejada on the 15-day disabled list with right biceps tendinitis. Tejada has pitched in 41 games (0 starts) for the Royals this year and he is 3-3 with a 3.42 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. The Royals have called up 1B/DH Kila Ka’aihue to replace Tejada on the roster and he’s due to get a lot of P.T. due to the Royals recent deals. Ka’aihue has played in 2 games for the Royals earlier this year and he is 1 of 4 (.250 avg, .500 OPS) with 1 RBI. He also has played in 94 games in AAA-ball this year and he is 103 of 323 (.319 avg, 1.060 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 24 homers and 78 RBIs. Ka’aihue has played in 14 games in his career with the Royals and he is 7 of 25 (.280 avg, .757 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs.