27-year old righty starting pitcher Felipe Paulino has been decent this year for the Royals. Paulino has pitched in 20 games (19 starts) for the Royals so far this year and he is 3-6 with a 4.10 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. He has now pitched in 38 games (19 starts) overall this year with the Royals & Rockies and he is 3-10 with a 4.46 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Paulino has now pitched in 85 games (53 starts) in his first four years in the majors and he is 9-31 with a 5.29 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. The Royals will probably want to bring back Paulino next year as either a starter for the back end of the rotation or a long reliever.

The Royals have designated 27-year old lefty swinging 1B Kila Ka’aihue for assignment. Ka’aihue played in 23 games for the Royals this year and he was 16 for 82 (.195 avg, .612 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 6 RBIs. He played in 87 games in his three years with the Royals in which he was 61 for 283 (.216 avg, .683 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 11 homers and 32 RBIs. Ka’aihue shouldn’t have a hard time finding a new gig, but the Royals essentially did him a favor because he had no chance of beating out 1B Eric Hosmer or DH Billy Butler.

UPDATE: (9/27/2011) - The Royals have dealt Kila Ka’aihue to the Oakland A’s for 24-year old righty starting pitcher Ethan Hollingsworth. Hollingsworth pitched in 19 games (18 starts) in AA+AAA-ball for the A’s this year and he was 7-5 with 1 save, a 3.76 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He has now pitched in 87 games (83 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 31-29 with 1 save, a 4.21 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Ka’aihue was going to get claimed off of waivers, so the Royals were smart to deal him to the A’s and get something for him.

22-year old lefty swinging 3B Mike Moustakas is finally starting to get it with the bat for the Royals. He has played in 14 games so far in September and he is 19 for 57 (.333 avg, .911 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 3 homers, 11 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 81 games overall this year for the Royals and he is 77 for 307 (.251 avg, .638 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 4 homers, 29 RBIs and 1 stolen bases. Moustakas came into this season as the Royals’ #3 prospect, so they have high hopes for him as they hope he will be a cornerstone of the Royals’ foundation in the future.

The Kansas City Royals have shut down 30-year old lefty starting pitcher Jeff Francis for the rest of the year. Francis pitched in 31 games (all starts) for the Royals this year and he was 6-16 with a 4.82 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He has now pitched in 181 games (180 starts) in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 61-66 with a 4.78 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. It’s highly doubtful that the Royals will re-sign Francis over the winter as he will be a free agent.

25-year old DH/1B Billy Butler has had another solid year for the Royals in 2011. Butler has played in 150 games for the Royals so far this year and he is 163 of 559 (.292 avg, .825 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 19 homers, 89 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 683 games in his first 5 years with the Royals and he is 753 for 2,534 (.297 avg, .818 OPS) with 308 runs scored, 74 homers, 367 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Butler is going to be one of the building blocks for a solid future for the Royals. They just need to add good starting pitching and they will then start competing for the playoffs once again.