Royals see bright future for Mondesi

Shortstop Raul Mondesi hit a solo home run that broke a tie in the fifth inning Wednesday and Class A-Advanced Wilmington beat Carolina 4-3.

The score was tied 2-2 when Mondesi hit his home run that put the Blue Rocks ahead to stay. Mondesi had three hits, scored three times and is batting .313 on the season. It was the first home run of the season for Mondesi, who is hitting .387 with the homer, two triples and two stolen bases in his last eight games.

J.J. Picollo, the Royals’ Assistant General Manager for Scouting and Player Development, admitted it’s hard to believe sometimes that Mondesi is only 18 years old.

“When you go watch a high school game and you think he’s the same age as a high school kid,” Picollo said with a chuckle, “that’s when it kind of hits you this kid is pretty special. He’s going to be a good player for a long time.”

Look at Mondesi’s game-by-game results and you’ll see a few zero for fours in the mix. But Picollo doesn’t expect a prolonged slump from this teenager.

“The emotional rollercoaster doesn’t exist for him,” Picollo said. “He’s the same guy every day whether he got no hits or two hits the day before. He plays solid defense, runs the bases well. The other thing that you read much about is the guy knows the short game. He knows he can run, he can bunt for a hit.”

Mondesi is batting leadoff at Wilmington, but that’s not necessarily where he projects long-term.

“We believe in the long run he could potentially be a leadoff hitter, he potentially could be a three-hole hitter,” Picollo said. “It’s not often you get a guy you feel like that about. And it’s a legitimate leadoff hitter, not out of necessity, but legitimate. He’s going to be an interesting guy to follow.”

In Wednesday’s game, third baseman Hunter Dozier also had three hits and knocked in two runs.

Yender Caramo, 1-2, allowed two runs on seven hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out three. Ali Williams allowed a run in 1 2/3 innings and Mark Peterson worked around three hits in his 1 1/3 innings and got his third save.

• Whit Merrifield hit a two-run homer, Jared Schlehuber had a pair of run-scoring singles and Lane Adams stole three bases as Northwest Arkansas held on for a 6-5 win over Springfield. Adams stole second in the first and scored when Cheslor Cuthbert reached on an error. Schlehuber’s RBI single made it 2-0. The Cardinals cut the lead in half, but Merrifield hit his homer in the fifth. Later in the inning, Adams stole second and third and scored on an error. Schlehuber’s RBI made it 6-1.

Left-hander Sam Selman allowed one run on two hits in five innings and go the win, but not before another rough outing from Noel Arguelles. He gave up four runs on two hits and three walk in 1 2/3 innings. Arguelles has a 15.43 ERA in seven outings this season.

• Designated hitter Elier Hernandez’s three-run home run in the eighth inning broke a tie and Class A Lexington went on to a 6-2 win at Hickory. The Legends trailed 2-0 after five innings, but got a run in the sixth inning. Lexington scored the tying run in the eighth on an error and had two on when Hernandez launched hit three-run shot. Hernandez had three hits and four RBIs in the game. Center fielder Alfredo Escalera-Maldonado and shortstop Humberto Arteaga each had two hits. Starter Luis Santos, 2-0, allowed two runs on four hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out five and has a 1.69 ERA.

This story was originally published April 23, 2014 at 11:33 PM with the headline "Royals see bright future for Mondesi."