Hunter Gathering Hits

BEST PLAYER: Triple-A Omaha third baseman Hunter Dozier’s baseball journey has had its ebb and flow.

The eighth overall pick in 2013 out of Stephen F. Austin, he sped through the lower minors. Halfway through the 2014 season he advanced to Double-A Northwest Arkansas, where he had his first hiccup.

That hiccup extended through the 2015 season, so Dozier tried the Texas League for a third time this season. In 26 games, he hit .305/.400/.642. His OPS climbed from .631 in 2015 to 1.042 this season.

When the Royals called up Omaha third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert to fill in for Mike Moustakas and his season-ending knee surgery, the Royals moved Dozier to Triple-A.

“This is only his third full season,” assistant general manager Scott Sharp said. “His second full season, he was already in Double-A, so he was so far ahead (of the curve). I think he was just getting sped up and getting acclimated to the game. And now he’s had a chance to collect a lot of at-bats at a high level.”

BIGGEST LEAP FORWARD: Northwest Arkansas righthander Jake Junis’ name was rarely mentioned as one of the top pitching prospects in the system, but that has changed.

“He’s a sleeper. Nobody talks about him much,” special assistant to player development John Wathan said. “He’s got good stuff—an above-average fastball with tailing action and an above-average slider that he throws for strikes down in the zone. He mixes his pitches very well.”

Junis, a 29th-round pick in 2011 from high school in Rock Falls, Ill., led the Texas League with 82 strikeouts through 79 innings, while going 6-4, 3.30 and walking 1.9 batters per nine innings. During one eight-start stretch, he went 5-1, 0.90 with a strikeout per inning while allowing opponents to hit just .149.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Low Class A Lexington righthander Nolan Watson was a 2015 first-round pick out of high school in Indianapolis who signed for $1,825,200, but the 19-year-old has had a rocky beginning.

Through 14 starts, he went 2-7, 8.18 while allowing 75 hits and 10 home runs in 55 innings.

Watson has the talent and time to work through his problems, but the early returns have been unflattering, much as they have been for fellow promising prep arms, such as Scott Blewett and Foster Griffin.