30-year old righty swinging 2B/SS/3B Mike Aviles is ripping the ball since he was sent to AAA by the Royals. Aviles has played in 17 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 22 for 66 (.333 avg, 1.010 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 6 homers, 12 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Aviles played in 47 games earlier this year for the Royals and he is 36 for 169 (.213 avg, .648 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 5 homers, 30 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Aviles has now played in 295 games in his first four years with the Royals and he is 323 of 1,123 (.285 avg, .734 OPS) with 153 runs scored, 24 homers, 121 RBIs and 33 stolen bases. I think the Royals are going to find a market for Aviles next month and I think they are going to deal him.

24-year old righty swinging shortstop Alcides Escobar has been electric with the bat so far this month. Escobar has played in 25 games in June so far and he is 28 for 88 (.318 avg, .816 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 1 homer, 8 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He has now played in 78 games this year for the Royals and he is 69 for 274 (.252 avg, .612 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 1 homer, 21 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Escobar has been great all year defensively but his bat and speed have really helped the Royals this month. He is starting to show why the Royals wanted Escobar back in the Zack Greinke deal over the winter.

Whenever anyone brings up Royals’ history, George Brett, Willie Wilson and Hal McRae dominate the conversation. But, righty swinging CF Amos Otis was one of the best players in team history and the numbers prove it. His best year came back in 1978 when he finished 4th in the voting for the A.L. MVP Award. Otis played in 141 games in 1978 and he was 145 for 486 (.298 avg, .905 OPS) with 74 runs scored, 22 homers, 96 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. Otis was a very consistent player both in the field and at the plate. He played in 1,891 games in 14 years with the Royals and he was 1,977 for 7,050 (.280 avg, .780 OPS) with 1,074 runs scored, 193 homers, 992 RBIs and 340 stolen bases. Otis is #3 in Royals’ history in games played with 1,891. He is also #3 in hits (1,977), #2 in runs scored (1,074), #4 in doubles (365), #3 in triples (65), #3 in homers (193), #3 in RBIs (992), #2 in stolen bases (340) and #2 in walks (739) in Royals’ history. Otis made it to five All-Star teams in his 14 years with the Royals and he also won 3 Gold Gloves. When discussing great Royals, don’t forget to bring up Amos Otis.

27-year old righty starting pitcher Felipe Paulino has been outstanding so far for the Royals. Paulino has pitched in 5 games (4 starts) for the Royals so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 2.33 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He has only given up 20 hits in his first 27 innings for the Royals. Paulino has now pitched in 23 games (4 starts) for the Rockies & Royals overall this year and he is 0-4 with a 4.10 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. It’s time for the bullpen and the offense to pick it up when Paulino pitches as he should already have some wins for them based on how well he has pitched.

Veteran Jason Kendall has missed this whole year so far while recovering from off-season shoulder surgery. He is about ready to go on a rehab assignment, so Matt Treanor and Brayan Pena are essentially duking it out for one roster spot when Kendall is ready to return to action. 35-year old righty swinging Matt Treanor has played in 44 games so far this year for the Royals and he is 27 for 124 (.218 avg, .669 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 2 homers, 11 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Brayan Pena has played in 35 games for the Royals so far this year and he is 25 for 100 (.250 avg, .710 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 3 homers and 17 RBIs. I have a feeling that when Kendall is ready to return to action that the Royals are going to deal either Treanor or Pena. I think they would like to keep Pena because of his age, but he would bring back a lot more than Treanor would in a deal.