Sisco Kid

My new issue of Baseball America arrived in the mail yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised to see a nice article about Royals pitching prospect Andy Sisco.

Sisco is a tall (6'9") left handed pitcher who throws with power (remind you of anyone?). He was drafted by the Cubs out of high school, and was so confident that he would lead them back to a championship, he had a Phoenix tattooed on his arm.

After a frustrating outing, he punched a clubhouse wall and broke his hand. As he struggled to recover, the Cubs left him off their 40 man roster and the Royals picked him up in the Rule 5 draft for $50,000. They must keep him on the major league roster for the entire season, or offer him back to the Cubs for $25,000. The Royals see enough promise in Sisco that they are willing to burn a roster spot for him. They hope he will be able to contribute this season, which would be a bonus. His performance in spring training made the decision easy. He pitched 7 innings, gave up 2 runs on 2 hits. He had 10 K's and 5 BB's and his ERA was 2.57. All respectible numbers.

If Sisco fulfills his promise, it will be another feather in Royals GM Allard Baird's cap. As a small-market GM, he's becoming very good and picking up productive players for next to nothing (see Denny Bautista).