Royals notebook: Three minor-league players retained

The Royals started their off-season personnel moves by retaining three minor-league players who were eligible to become free agents: outfielder/first baseman Scott Thorman and two left-handed pitchers, Kelvin Villa and Carlos Rivas.

All three are former Atlanta prospects.

The Royals did not retain veteran right-hander Brandon Duckworth, who spent the last 3½ years in the organization. Duckworth, 33, was 3-6 with a 5.31 ERA in 20 games last season at Class AAA Omaha.

Thorman, 27, is a left-handed hitter whom the Royals signed May 21 following his April 27 release by the Class AAA Oklahoma City, a Texas affiliate. He batted .297 in 97 games for Omaha with 19 homers and 63 RBIs.

The Braves selected Thorman in the first round of the 2000 draft. He batted .222 with 16 homers and 50 RBIs in 175 games for Atlanta in 2006-07.

Villa, 23, was 6-8 with a 3.38 ERA in 35 games at Class A Wilmington after spending the six previous years in the Atlanta system. He signed with the Royals on Nov. 17, 2008 as a minor-league free agent.

Rivas, 24, was 3-0 with a 1.74 ERA in 13 relief appearances at Wilmington after signing June 15 as a free agent. He was released May 17 by Class A Myrtle Beach in the Atlanta system after going 2-3 with a 7.58 ERA in eight games, including five starts.

AFL under way

Andre David’s return to managing got off to an impressive start Tuesday in the Arizona Fall League when the Surprise Rafters rolled to a 17-4 victory over the Peoria Javelinas. Second baseman Jeff Bianchi scored twice in the rout.

David stepped in as a late replacement for Brian Rupp, who required surgery following the diagnosis of a pseudo aneurysm in his right arm. Club officials said Rupp, who spent last season as the Wilmington manager, is recovering at home but requires three months of rehab work.

The Arizona Fall League is a six-team league designed as a “finishing school” for elite prospects. It runs through Nov. 21. Each team is stocked by players and staff from five major-league teams.

David served the last three seasons as the Royals’ minor-league hitting coordinator after spending parts of 2005-06 as the major-league hitting coach. His last managerial tour was 1998-2000 in rookie ball for the Gulf Coast Royals.

The Royals assigned seven players to the Rafters: Bianchi, third baseman Mike Moustakas, outfielder David Lough, left-handed pitchers Brandon Sisk and Ben Swaggerty, and right-handed pitchers Aaron Hartsock and Blake Wood.

Cable numbers

Here’s another hat tip to Royals fans: Ratings and total viewership for the club’s cable package on Fox Sports Kansas City each showed solid gains this season despite the club’s disappointing play.

Ratings jumped 8 percent to 3.09, while the average number of households viewing games rose 7.4 percent to 29,000.

To reach Bob Dutton, Royals reporter for The Star, send e-mail to bdutton@kcstar.com. Follow his updates at twitter.com/Royals_Report.

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