36-year old starting catcher Jason Kendall needs shoulder surgery which will cause him to miss the next 8-10 months putting part of his 2011 season in jeopardy. Kendall played in 118 games for the Royals this year and he was 111 of 434 (.256 avg, .615 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 0 homers, 37 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. 28-year old switch hitting Brayan Pena will likely see a big bump in P.T. Pena has played in 36 games for the Royals this year and he is 15 of 77 (.195 avg, .498 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 7 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. 25-year old righty swinging rookie Lucas May will also get a look this month. He played in 24 games in AAA-ball after coming over in the Scott Podsednik trade with the Dodgers and he was 25 of 91 (.275 avg, .878 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 5 homers and 13 RBIs. Overall, May has played in 104 games in AA+AAA-ball and he is 106 of 375 (.283 avg, .831 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 16 homers, 59 RBIs and 4 stolen bases.

28-year old switch hitting 3B Wilson Betemit is on fire with the bat right now. He has played in 57 games for the Royals this year and he is 57 of 172 (.331 avg, 1.001 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 10 homers and 29 RBIs. Betemit has been starting at 3B for the Royals since they traded Alberto Callaspo to the Angels and he has been outstanding. He looks like a late bloomer as he was considered one of the best prospects in all of baseball when he came up through the Braves’ organization but he never had the results to prove it until now.

The Royals have placed 24-year old righty reliever Kanekoa Texeira on the 15-day disabled list with a right elbow strain. Texeira has pitched in 27 games (0 starts) for the Royals this year and he is 1-0 with a 4.64 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. He has pitched in 43 games (0 starts) overall this season with the Mariners & Royals and he is 1-1 with a 4.84 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. Claiming Texeira off waivers was a good move for the Royals as he might have a decent future out of the pen for them.

33-year old lefty Bruce Chen has not only worked his way into the Royals’ starting rotation but he has pitched just well enough to keep the job. Chen has pitched in 26 games (16 starts) for the Royals this year and he is 8-7 with a 4.88 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. But, Chen has given up 104 hits and he has walked 44 batters this season in only 96 innings so he does have some issues. Still, Chen somehow has a winning record for the Royals and that says something good about him as Zach Greinke (8-11) even has a losing record this year.

26-year old outfielder Gregor Blanco, 22-year old starting pitcher Sean O’Sullivan and 26-year old reliever Jesse Chavez are not making a very good first impression for the Royals. Chavez has been the best of this bunch so far for the Royals. Chavez has pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Royals this year and he is 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He has whiffed 5 batters while only walking 1 in 7 1/3 innings for the Royals but he has given up 2 homers. Sean O’Sullivan has not looked too good for the Royals this year. He has started 4 games for the Royals and he is 0-4 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He has given up 35 hits (6 homers) in only 28 innings for the Royals this year but he will stay in the starting rotation until the end of 2010. Gregor Blanco has played in 11 games for the Royals so far and he is 8 of 39 (.205 avg, .484 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 2 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Blanco isn’t hitting well but his speed has been a asset so far for the Royals. The Royals need more from this trio the rest of the year.