CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Kansas City Releases Fall, Winter League Assignments

Published on August 28, 2008 under Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


Wilmington, DE - On Wednesday, the Kansas City Royals, parent club of the Advanced-A Wilmington Blue Rocks, released the list of prospects that will participate in the 2008 fall and winter baseball leagues. Among the current Blue Rocks, shortstop Chris McConnell and outfielder Joe Dickerson will report to the Surprise Rafters of the Arizona Fall League while infielder Kurt Mertins and pitchers Ben Swaggerty and Jason Godin will play in the Hawaiian Winter League. Former Wilmington pitchers Dan Cortes, Chris Hayes, Chris Nicoll and Rowdy Hardy plus outfielder Brian McFall will join McConnell and Dickerson in Arizona.

Through 117 games for the Blue Rocks, McConnell is batting .254 with 34 RBIs and was tabbed as the organization's best defensive infielder at season's start by Baseball America. Dickerson, recently selected to the Carolina League's year-end All-Star team, hit .297 with five homers and 45 RBIs before landing on the disabled list July 16 with a broken left index finger. Mertins, who has primarily split time between second and third base this season, is batting .284 and leads the Blue Rocks with 118 base hits. Hard-throwing southpaw Swaggerty is 3-2 with a 2.89 ERA in 30 games and leads the Wilmington staff with nine holds. Godin, who went 2-7 with a 5.33 ERA in 14 starts, has not pitched since late June. The right-hander took a line drive off his face in a game on June 17 and suffered a broken jaw.

Hayes and Nicoll were both on the Blue Rocks' opening day roster and now pitch for the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals. A right-handed sidewinder, Hayes was on the disabled list and never pitched for Wilmington, but has posted a 5-2 mark with 12 saves and a 1.67 ERA in 39 games for the Naturals. Nicoll, who went 2-1 with a 2.91 ERA in 20 games as a Rock, was promoted on June 16 and is 3-1 with a 3.02 ERA in 18 games at Northwest Arkansas.

Cortes, Hardy and McFall each played important roles on last year's Blue Rocks team and have played the entire 2008 season at Double-A. Touted as the Royals' top pitching prospect by Baseball America, Cortes is 9-4 with a 3.98 ERA in 22 starts for the Naturals and was recently named to the Texas League's year-end All-Star squad. The 21-year-old righty won eight games and struck out 120 batters in 123 innings for the Rocks in 2007. Hardy garnered numerous accolades last season, but has struggled some at Double-A this year. The lanky southpaw is 6-10 with a 4.56 ERA in 27 games (26 starts) for Northwest Arkansas. He won a franchise-best 15 games as a Blue Rock in 2007 en route to being named both the league and the organization's Pitcher of the Year. McFall led last year's Wilmington club in doubles, homers, RBIs and total bases and is hitting .242 with 17 homers and 57 RBIs in 101 games this season for the Naturals.

The Arizona Fall League begins play on October 7 with the championship game scheduled for November 22. The Hawaii Winter League gets underway on September 27 and concludes on November 16 with the championship game.

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