Article about some Royals prospects in the Arizona Fall League.
Royals hitters in the Fall League
Orlando Calixte found some pop in his bat this past season at Class A Advanced Wilmington in the Carolina League, putting together his best overall season in the Minors. The slight-of-build (5-foot-11, 160 pounds) shortstop began his career in 2010 and has shown steady improvement. In his 63 games in Wilmington, he hit .281 -- his best to date -- with 28 RBIs and eight stolen bases. In eight games in the Fall League, he is hitting .303.
Brian Fletcher, whose career total of 49 home runs at Auburn ties him for third place in school history with Frank Thomas, is the son of 15-year Major League infielder Scott Fletcher, who is now the roving infield instructor for the Colorado Rockies. The younger Fletcher has struggled this fall in the early going, batting .170 in 14 games while striking out 21 times in 47 at-bats. The outfielder was an 18th-round selection (539th overall) in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft and played 65 games in Double-A in 2012 with a .256 batting average.
Alex McClure advanced to Double-A for half the season in 2012, hitting .212 with nine RBIs and six stolen bases in 12 attempts. As a shortstop in the Fall League, the 11th-round Draft pick (329th overall) in 2010 has hit .207 with three RBIs in his first eight games.
Royals pitchers in the Fall League
Edwin Carl, a non-drafted right-hander, began the 2012 season at Class A, where he was used mainly as a starter at Kane County before being sent to Wilmington, where he was 2-2 with two saves in 22 relief appearances. In his first 8 1/3 innings in the AFL, he has a 1.08 ERA. In 2011, he was named MiLB.com Short-Season Reliever of the Year.
Jon Keck is a 6-foot-6, 215-pound left-hander, who was 2-2 after his promotion to Double-A Northwest Arkansas in 2012. He struck out 42 in 42 1/3 innings with a 4.04 ERA. Keck, who holds the Bethel College career home run record (41), was selected in the 42nd round (1262nd overall) of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft. In his first seven appearances in the Fall League, he had an ERA of 8.53.
Justin Marks was a third-round pick (332nd overall) by the Athletics in 2009. The left-handed starter, acquired by the Royals in 2010, enjoyed an outstanding Fall League start. He went 4-0 with a 2.20 ERA in his first five starts, making him the first 2012 Fall League hurler to reach four wins. It was nice lift for Marks, who struggled in his only start at Triple-A Omaha this season, allowing nine earned runs in 1 2/3 innings. He ended his college career as Louisville's all-time leader in wins, strikeouts and ERA.
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