Royals notebook: Team signs second overall pick
By BOB DUTTON
The Kansas City Star
ST. LOUIS | The first pitcher selected by the Royals in the recent draft is under contract and heading to the Arizona Rookie League.
Left-hander Mike Montgomery, the 36th overall pick, reached agreement Tuesday on a $988,000 signing bonus. Montgomery, 6 feet 5 and 190 pounds, zoomed up draft boards after a standout spring at Hart High School near Los Angeles.
“I don’t want to say he’s lanky,” scouting director Deric Ladnier said, “because he’s athletic. His fastball velocity is up to 94 (mph), maybe 95. He has a very good change-up that he can command.
“His breaking ball at times is a plus, and at times it’s below (average). That’s a pitch he’s going to have to develop.”
Montgomery chose the Royals over a scholarship to California State-Fullerton.
The Royals also signed 10th-round pick Mauricio Matos, a high school catcher from New York City. The club has now signed eight of 11 picks from the first 10 rounds and 28 of its 51 total picks.
Ladnier reported no progress in negotiations with first baseman Eric Hosmer, the third overall pick in the draft. Teams must sign drafted players by Aug. 15 or lose negotiating rights. Teams receive compensation in next year’s draft if they fail to sign a player selected in the first two rounds.
The Royals chose Montgomery, 18, with a supplemental pick between the first and second rounds as compensation for losing reliever David Riske in free agency.
“We’re very pleased he was there with our sandwich pick,” Ladnier said. “He’s a real athletic kid. Super competitive.”
That competitiveness has at times gotten Montgomery into trouble. He was kicked off his high school basketball team, despite being its leading scorer, for accumulating too many technical fouls.
“I’ve never seen him play basketball,” Ladnier said. “I don’t know. Maybe he gets angry playing basketball. I don’t think this organization believes he has a behavioral problem. You always want someone who is competitive. If they’re not, you don’t want to take them at all."
Montgomery will join the Surprise Royals, whose season begins Sunday.
Mariners miss Guillen
Ex-Seattle general manager Bill Bavasi, fired Monday, cited the decision last winter not to retain outfielder José Guillen as the biggest factor this season in the Mariners’ poor play.
“It’s really ironic,” Bavasi said in a news conference after his dismissal, “that the person we’re missing the most is José Guillen.
“He could do some strange things, and he did, but at the top of his agenda was to win, and if anybody got in the way of playing the game right, he had no patience with that.”
The Mariners opted not to exercise a $9 million option to retain Guillen for this season.
Pitching switch
The Cardinals have scratched ex-Royals right-hander Todd Wellemeyer as their starter for Thursday’s series finale because of elbow stiffness. Anthony Reyes will start in place of Wellemeyer against Zack Greinke at 1:15 p.m.
Reyes is 2-1 with a 4.91 ERA in 10 relief appearances.
Minor details
How long can the Royals keep Billy Butler at Class AAA Omaha? Butler is batting .394 after going one for four Tuesday in 3-0 loss at Round Rock.
“He’s continuing to swing the bat well,” manager Trey Hillman said. “That’s good for us. At some point, we’ll look to get him back up here. When that’s going to happen, I can’t tell you. Reports are good.”
Etc.
•José Guillen’s 11-game hitting streak matches the longest of his career. He also had an 11-game streak from April 25-May 6, 2003, while playing for the Reds. The longest streak this season by a Royal is 13 games by Butler from March 31-April 14.
•The Royals are 5-2 this season in interleague play and have won 25 of their last 40 games against National League opponents.
•The Cards hold a 26-20 edge since interleague play made the I-70 Series a yearly feature in 1997.
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