Chris

Lubanski

Lubanski, 20, is batting .293/.337/.522 while playing in one of the best environments for hitters in the minors. Double-A should be a bigger test for the 2003 first-round pick.

Lubanski is up to 112 RBI and it seems like half of them have come in the last week. He hit a grand slam off Lake Elsinore’s Cesar Carrillo yesterday.

Lubanski reached 101 RBI with another big game. He’s batting .293/.340/.533 in 118 games.

Lubanski, the fifth overall pick, is a speedy outfielder drafted out of high school. Maier, the 30th pick, was the second catcher selected. Playing for the University of Toledo, he led the Mid-American Conference with a .448 average and had nine homers and 61 RBI this year.

Lubanski, 20, is batting .232/.276/.450 in one of the best places for hitters in the minors. He’s probably not going to be ready for Double-A at the start of next year, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Royals will hold him back.

The 20-year-old Lubanski is hiting for a great deal of power this month and is up to 16 homers on the season. He probably wouldn’t be doing so well if the Royals still had their high-A affiliate in the Carolina League.

Lubanski was drafted fifth overall by the Royals back in 2003 but he failed to make a good impression on management in his six years with the club. Now 24 years of age, he’ll have to work his way up to the big leagues via Triple-A Las Vegas. He hit .227/.313/.341 last year for Triple-A Omaha.

Games like this have been few and far between for Lubanski over the past six weeks. He is currently batting .246/.321/.402 in 261 at-bats. Since he’s only 21, a bad first year in Double-A wouldn’t be the end for him as a prospect. However, the Royals could have done better with the fifth overall selection in the 2003 draft.

Lubanski, 21, is batting .282/.368/.481 with 10 steals in 17 attempts. His performance has been especially strong since the start of July, but it’s unlikely that the Royals will call him up when they have more experienced prospects to look at. At least it now appears that he’ll get to move up to Triple-A to start next year.