Last week's All-Star festivities offered a reminder that Kansas City is still a great baseball town, despite the Royals' futility. The Futures Game, Home Run Derby and All-Star Game were all sellouts at Kauffman Stadium. Fans were vicious toward Robinson Cano for not adding Billy Butler to his AL Derby squad, but it showed their passion. "They have nothing against Robinson Cano," Butler said. "They like their guys here; that's the bottom line, and I'm happy to be one of their guys."
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Tigers fans could see hitting phenom Nick Castellanos in Detroit by season's end. He's already made the move from third base to the outfield at Class AA Erie, since the Tigers have Miguel Cabrera entrenched at third. Castellanos, 20, entered the weekend batting .371 between Class A and Class AA, and he went 3-for-4 in the Futures Game.
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The Indians always knew second baseman Jason Kipnis could hit, but his 20 stolen bases in 22 attempts are surprising. In three minor league seasons, Kipnis had just 24 stolen bases combined. "We had no reports in the minors that he could steal bases like this," Cleveland manager Manny Acta said.
