Robert Pehl was selected by the Royals in the 11th round of the 2014 draft out of the University of Washington. A former Cape Cod League All-Star and Summer Baseball All-American, Pehl gives the Royals upside with his bat and power in the corner outfield. Pehl recently joined Dave O the day after being selected to talk Cape Cod League baseball, the amazing movie Summer Catch, becoming a Kansas City Royal and gobs more! (Photo Courtesy University Of Washington Athletic Department)
Eric Stout was taken by the Royals in the 13th round of the 2014 Draft out of Butler University. As a junior this past spring, the 6-3 left hander finished 4th in the Big East in strikeouts and 7th in games started. Stout recently joined Dave O to talk about the struggles of being a lifelong Cubs fan, watching the Kane County Cougars, what it means to become a Royal, being a pretty good basketball player and much more. (Photo Courtesy Butler University Athletic Department)
Corey Toups was the 15th round selection of the Royals in the 2014 draft and a shortstop out of Sam Houston State. Toups, a college teammate of KC’s 8th round selection Ryan O’Hearn (also interviewed here on Clubhouse Conversation), is known for his spectacular defense and steady bat, hitting .300/.386/.494/.880 as a junior. Toups recently joined Dave O to talk about the amazing feeling of being drafted, what he knew about the Royals, info about Ryan O’Hearn and much more! (Photo Courtesy Sam Houston State Athletic Department)
Brennan Henry was taken by the Royals in the 17th round of the 2014 draft after previously being selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 25th round of 2012. Henry, a 6-4 left hander, earned 2nd team all-conference (MCAC) honors at Bellevue (Neb.) University in 2014 after going 9-2 with 101 strikeouts in 77.2 innings pitched. Henry joined Dave O the day after being drafted to talk about the first time he got taken by Philadelphia, the sheer excitement of becoming a Royal, where he spent this Draft Day and much more. (Photo Courtesy Bellevue University Athletic Department)
Gregg Olson pitched for the Royals two separate times, both in 1995 and 1997. A native of Omaha, where he won four state titles while pitching for his Dad at Omaha Northwest, Olson won the 1989 AL Rookie of the Year Award, was an All-Star in 1990 and four times in his career saved 30 games or more (1990, 1991, 1992 & 1998). Olson recently joined Dave O for a very entertaining and sometimes hilarious discussion on being a part of a combined no-hitter with Baltimore, not being able to figure out why the Royals would never bring him back, pitching for Tony Muser and much, much more. (Photo Courtesy Kansas City Royals)
Spencer Patton might be a name that the casual Royals fan isn’t familiar with, but it probably won’t stay that way for long. That’s because Patton, who currently serves as Omaha’s closer, has eye popping numbers, including 10 saves, a 1.07 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and 9.6 K/9. That follows up a 2013 season when the right hander had a combined 1.86 ERA between Wilmington and Northwest Arkansas, including a 1.02 WHIP to go along with 11.3 K/9. The former 24th round selection of the Royals out of SIU-Edwardsville recently joined Dave O to talk about his journey from repeating rookie ball twice in Idaho Falls to arguably becoming the top relief pitching prospect in the entire system. (Photo Courtesy Northwest Arkansas Naturals)
Royals Hall of Famer Steve Busby pitched for KC from 1972-1980 and threw the organization’s first no-hitter in 1973. In fact, Busby threw two no-hitters and won 20 games in a season prior to the age of 25. Busby, a 6’2″ right hander, was also a two-time All-Star (1974 & 1975) and even despite injury cutting his playing days short, is still considered one of the top starting pitchers in Royals history. Busby recently took time during his busy season as voice of the Texas Rangers TV telecasts to join Dave O and talk about an enormous amount of topics, from pitching in the College World Series to both no hitters, to losing a grand slam because of Paul Splittorff and retiring a lifetime Royal. Listen for those topics and much more! (Photo Courtesy Kansas City Royals)
Aaron Guiel made his major league debut for the Royals in 2002 after spending parts of ten seasons at the minor league level. Guiel, who would end up playing in KC from 2002-2006, enjoyed his best season at the major league level in 2003, when the British Columbia native had a line of .346/.489/.835 with 15 HR and 52 RBI. Guiel recently joined Dave O to discuss what it was like spending ten years in the minors without a call up, how Chuck Knoblauch once went into the fountains during a game without anyone knowing, being a part of the magical 2003 team, playing as a teammate of Nori Aoki in Japan and much, much more. (Photo Courtesy Kansas City Royals)
Justin Trapp was selected by the Royals in the 34th round of the 2009 draft out of Fairfield Central High School in Winnsboro, South Carolina and turned down a chance to play both football and baseball at Coastal Carolina to sign with Kansas City. Trapp, a 5’10” second baseman, currently plays for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals after spending last off-season playing winter ball in Australia. He is considered one of the biggest “sleeper prospects” in the Royals system, and recently took time out from his busy season to join Dave O and talk about his time “down under,” what it’s like being around MLB guys like Mitch Maier and Vance Wilson, his thoughts on several of his teammates and lots more! (Photo Courtesy John Owen/Northwest Arkansas Naturals)
Jerry Lyscio was the first ever player to sign a contract with the Kansas City Royals on April 25th, 1968. The Brainerd, Minnesota native wasted no time in showing why, either, as he won his first three starts at Dubuque (A) and was named Midwest Player of the Month in May of 1968. Unfortunately, a shoulder injury would eventually cut Lyscio’s career short while at Elmira (AA) but the 6-1, 190 pound righty recently sat down with Dave O, in person, to tell completely amazing baseball stories, including how he was able to complete 57% of the professional games he started (66 of 115) and how he was ALSO the first Houston Astro. The first ever Astro AND Royal – how cool is that?!? (Photo Courtesy Jerry Lyscio)