After posting an 8-7 record and a 5.65 ERA in 23 starts, one-time BYU pitcher Jeremy Guthrie wasn't shocked to learn he had been removed from his starting spot in the Kansas City pitching rotation.
Guthrie was originally scheduled to pitch on Monday but lost his spot in the rotation to Kris Medlen as the Royals pushed Guthrie into the bullpen.
“I didn’t have a reaction,” Guthrie told Kansas City Star reporter Andy McCullough about his reaction to the news. “There was no screaming or yelling. No crying. No laughing.
“Let’s be honest, they don’t need long guys here, which is good. Pitchers have been throwing good, going deep. Kris Medlen and Chris Young have thrown five times in two months.”
Guthrie made his first relief appearance of the season on Wednesday, allowing two runs in four innings in Kansas City's 8-5 loss to Baltimore. The outing shaved his ERA a few percentage points to 5.62 on the year.
“Guys have off years or off months,” Royals manager Ned Yost told McCullough. “He’s had some good starts. He’s had some poor ones, too.”
Meanwhile in the minors, former Ute pitcher Tyler Wagner extended his scoreless innings streak to 19 1/3 innings with five shutout innings in Double-A Biloxi's 8-1 win over Mobile on Thursday.
Wagner is 2-0 with a perfect 0.00 ERA in his last three starts. In Thursday's start, Wagner allowed just four hits and struck out six.
The Milwaukee Brewers' farm hand could be promoted back to the majors this week with MLB rosters expanding from 25 players to 40 on Tuesday. He's 11-5 with a 2.13 ERA in 23 starts with the Shuckers.
MLB
C.J. Cron (Utah), Los Angeles Angels: Seven hits and two runs scored in 20 at-bats over the week. Cron is batting .276 with 10 home runs and 29 RBIs in 82 games this season, which is more major league experience than his rookie 2014 campaign.
Jeremy Guthrie (BYU), Kansas City Royals: Allowed five hits and two runs in four innings of relief, but Kansas City fell to Baltimore 8-5 on Wednesday. Guthrie made his first relief appearance of the season in the game. He was moved out of the starting rotation and into the bullpen heading into the week.
Guthrie is 8-7 with a 5.62 ERA in 24 appearances this season.
Triple-A
Christian Colon (Taylorsville H.S.), Omaha (Kansas City Royals): Five hits, one RBI and one run scored in 21 at-bats over the week. Colon went 3-for-3 with an RBI in Omaha’s 9-5 win over Fresno on Saturday. Colon is batting .281 with 17 RBIs and 19 runs scored in 51 games this season. Colon is likely to return to the majors this upcoming week with the return to the 40-man roster on Tuesday.
Brandon Kintzler (Dixie State), Colorado Springs (Milwaukee Brewers): 0-0, 6.75 ERA in three appearances over the week. Kintzler picked up a hold in Colorado Springs’ 5-1 win over El Paso on Monday. Two appearances later, he tossed a perfect frame against Albuquerque on Saturday. The righty is 6.19 ERA in 14 games this season.
Brady Lail (Bingham H.S.), Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (New York Yankees): Allowed two runs on five hits and two walks in six innings, picking up a loss as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre fell to Pawtucket 2-0 on Tuesday. Lail is 2-2 with a 3.54 ERA in five starts since being promoted to the RailRiders.
Braeden Schlehuber (Viewmont H.S.), Gwinnett (Atlanta Braves): Zero hits in 10 at-bats over the week. Schlehuber is batting .152 in 36 games with Gwinnett. The Viewmont product returned to Triple-A before the week started after playing 32 games in Mississippi.
Matt Spring (Dixie State), Pawtucket (Boston Red Sox): Three hits and an RBI in nine at-bats over the week. Spring picked up an RBI in Pawtucket’s 5-1 win over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Monday. The Dixie State alum is batting .183 in 56 games with the PawSox this season.
Double-A
Jaycob Brugman (BYU), Midland (Oakland Athletics): 10 hits, four RBIs and three runs scored in 19 at-bats over the week. In Midland’s 10-1 win over Corpus Christi on Thursday, Brugman went 4-for-4 with three RBIs as the RockHounds’ leadoff hitter. The outfielder is batting .260 with 54 RBIs and 55 runs scored in 125 games with Midland this season.
Taylor Cole (BYU), New Hampshire (Toronto Blue Jays): Allowed four hits and four walks in seven scoreless innings, picking up a no-decision in New Hampshire’s 1-0 11-inning loss to Binghamton on Friday. He has allowed just two runs over his last two starts, spanning 15 innings. The righty is 6-10 with a 4.24 ERA in 26 starts this season.
Jacob Hannemann (BYU), Tennessee (Chicago Cubs): Three hits, three RBIs and two runs scored in 32 at-bats over the week. Hannemann is batting .235 with 40 RBIs and 55 runs scored in 105 games this season.
Adam Law (BYU), Tulsa (Los Angeles Dodgers): Remains on the seven-day disabled list with an undisclosed injury. Law is batting .236 in 72 games with the Drillers.
Marcus Littlewood (Pine View H.S.), Jackson (Seattle Mariners): Three hits and two runs scored in 18 at-bats over the week. Littlewood scored twice in Jackson’s 11-3 win over Montgomery on Thursday. Littlewood is batting .222 in 53 games this season.
Adam Miller (BYU), Mobile (Arizona Diamondbacks): 0-0, 3.00 ERA in two appearances over the week. After allowing one run against Biloxi on Tuesday, Miller pitched a scoreless 1 1/3 innings against Montgomery on Friday. Miller is 2-7 with a 2.91 ERA in 47 appearances this season.
Parker Morin (Utah), Northwest Arkansas (Kansas City Royals): Two hits, one RBI and three runs scored in 14 at-bats over the week. Morin picked up an RBI and a run scored in Northwest Arkansas’ 7-4 win over Springfield on Tuesday. He’s batting .319 in 54 games this season.
Tyler Wagner (Utah), Biloxi (Milwaukee Brewers): Scattered four hits in five shutout innings as Biloxi sailed past Mobile 8-1 on Thursday. Wagner struck out six batters in the win while improving to an 11-5 record with a 2.13 ERA in 23 starts this season.
Keenyn Walker (Judge Memorial H.S.), Birmingham (Chicago White Sox): Remains on the seven-day disabled list with a foot injury. Walker is batting .187 with 20 RBIs in 62 games with the Barons.
Single-A
Eddy Alvarez (Salt Lake C.C.), Winston-Salem (Chicago White Sox): Three hits and a run scored in nine at-bats over the week. Alvarez picked up three hits in Winston-Salem’s 4-3 loss to Frederick on Sunday. The former Olympian is batting .333 with 13 RBIs and 23 runs scored in 30 games since joining Winston-Salem.
Tanner Banks (Utah), Great Falls (Chicago White Sox): 0-2, 5.10 ERA in two starts over the week. Banks allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings, as Great Falls fell to Billings 2-1 on Tuesday. Banks then allowed 10 hits, one walk and five runs in a 7-1 loss to Missoula on Sunday. The lefty dropped to 4-5 with a 2.73 ERA in 13 starts with Great Falls.
Bubba Blau (Dixie State), Helena (Milwaukee Brewers): Allowed one run on five hits in 3 2/3 innings against Missoula on Tuesday. He’s 3-4 with a 5.74 ERA in Helena this season.
Porter Clayton (Dixie State), Princeton (Tampa Bay Rays): 0-1, 27.00 ERA in two appearances over the week. In an appearance on Saturday, Clayton allowed two hits, one walk and three runs. He has a 5.61 ERA in 15 appearances over the week.
Nick Green (Utah), Lexington (Kansas City Royals): 0-1, 27.00 ERA in two appearances over the week. Green picked up a loss on Sunday, allowing four runs in one inning as Lexington dropped a 5-1 game to West Virginia. Green is 0-2 with a 9.35 ERA in five appearances with the Legends.
Bret Helton (Utah), West Virginia (Pittsburgh Pirates): 0-0, 10.50 ERA in two starts. Helton is 2-5 with a 5.36 ERA in 13 starts with West Virginia this season.
Kolton Mahoney (BYU), Staten Island (New York Yankees): Did not pitch this week. Mahoney is 1-2 with a 3.09 ERA in nine games this season, including seven starts.
Trey Nielsen (Utah), Palm Beach (St. Louis Cardinals): Allowed one run in one inning of relief on Friday as Palm Beach defeated St. Lucie 5-2. Nielsen is 9-6 with a 2.41 ERA in 23 games this season.
Makay Nelson (Maple Mountain H.S.), Greeneville (Houston Astros): Allowed three hits in two shutout innings against Kingsport on Wednesday. Nelson is 0-2 with a 4.76 ERA in 11 games with Greeneville.
Dominique Taylor (Northridge H.S.), Wilmington (Kansas City Royals): Four hits, four RBIs and two runs scored in 17 at-bats over the week. Taylor hit a go-ahead three-run triple in the top of the ninth inning against Myrtle Beach on Friday. The triple was the difference in Wilmington’s 7-5 win over the Pelicans. Taylor is batting .216 with 25 RBIs and 43 runs scored in 105 games this season.
Mitch Watrous (Utah), Fort Wayne (San Diego Padres): Remains on the disabled list after undergoing shoulder surgery. His timetable to return is unclear.