Alberto Callaspo is among the Royals players getting a closer evaluation during the season&#8217;s last three weeks, which, the way he&#8217;s playing lately, is a good thing.</p><p>Callaspo was put on the disabled list in June for unspecified medical reasons a day after being arrested for DUI. Since returning Aug. 23, Callaspo is batting .306 with a .376 on-base percentage.</p><p>A switch hitter, Callaspo has just two extra-base hits over that span, both doubles, but manager Trey Hillman likes what he sees.</p><p>&#8220;The thing I&#8217;ve seen that surprised me a little bit isn&#8217;t the contact ratio right-handed, but the authority of the contact right-handed,&#8221; Hillman said. &#8220;I mean the hard contact. He&#8217;s driven a couple of balls right-handed that we didn&#8217;t see in spring training, that we have not seen in evaluating his right-handed swing.&#8221;</p><p>Callaspo was acquired in a trade with Arizona last winter, and thought to be the team&#8217;s second baseman of the future. That&#8217;s uncertain at the moment, as the Royals appear to be targeting a middle infielder in the offseason free-agent market.</p><p>If they acquire a shortstop, Mike Aviles probably would move to second base. If it&#8217;s a second baseman, Aviles would stay at shortstop. Playing Callaspo and Aviles up the middle would give the defensive-minded Royals below-league-average range at both positions, though Hillman said he&#8217;d be willing to try it.</p><p>&#8220;Unless you could pose better options for me,&#8221; Hillman said. &#8220;We&#8217;re always trying to upgrade and improve.&#8221;</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Twins primer</span></strong></p><p>Nick Blackburn, the rookie who goes against the Royals tonight, is 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA in two previous starts against Kansas City.</p><p>Justin Morneau is batting .310 with 22 homers and 117 RBIs, and with Carlos Quentin&#8217;s season-ending wrist injury, Morneau is on the short list of players being discussed for AL MVP. Among the players he&#8217;ll battle for votes is teammate Joe Mauer.</p><p>No wonder these guys are 9-3 against the Royals this year.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Teahen struggling</span></strong></p><p>Mark Teahen&#8217;s hitting numbers have dipped since taking over at third base. He was hitting .247 with a .315 on-base and .383 slugging percentage on Aug. 21. The next day he played third base, and in the 14 games since, he&#8217;s hitting .226/.250/.377.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Good or bad Guillen?</span></strong></p><p>There are many ways to judge Jos&#233; Guillen&#8217;s production for the Royals this year. Here are two:</p><p>&#8226;He&#8217;s on pace for 98 RBIs, which is 36 more than Emil Brown&#8217;s team-leading total from a year ago and the most in Kansas City since Carlos Beltran&#8217;s 100 in 2003.</p><p>&#8226;His on-base-plus-slugging percentage of .719 ranks 60th in the American League.</p><p><hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> @ Go to <strong>KansasCity.com</strong> for Sam Mellinger&#8217;s Ball Star baseball blog.</p><p></div>