2026 Storm Chasers Season Summary

News and notes from the 2026 Omaha Storm Chasers season.

4:45 PM UTC

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SEASON 57

  • The 2026 Storm Chasers went 65-81 (.445), 8th place in the International League West Division and 17th in the 20-team International League.
  • A .445 winning percentage ranks as the 10th-lowest in franchise history, a touch ahead of the 2009 Omaha Royals (64-80, .444) ... it's still a three-win improvement on the 2025 club (62-86, .419), the organization's 4th-lowest mark.
  • 81 losses tied the 2008 O-Royals (63-81) for the 7th-most in club history ... the 2006 Omaha Royals still hold the franchise loss record of 91.

ROSTER RECALL

  • The Storm Chasers roster on the final day of the season looked very different from Opening Day, with just one player on the active roster all season: infielder Abraham Toro.
  • Including Toro, 6 players were on Omaha's roster both on Opening Day and on the final day of the season, including pitchers Mason Black and Ryan Ramsey, catcher Luca Tresh, infielder Peyton Wilson and outfielder Gavin Cross ... Ramsey and Cross were both physically with the team all year, but each missed a short portion of time on Omaha's Injured List.
  • Omaha used a franchise record 86 players in 2026, up from 78 in 2025 ... that ranked 2nd in the International League behind Syracuse (102 players used) and 4th in Triple-A behind Syracuse, Round Rock (89) and Sacramento (88), about 8 more than the IL (78.2) and Triple-A (78.6) averages ... Scranton/Wilkes-Barre used the fewest players in Triple-A (67).
  • The Storm Chasers' roster also skewed veteran ... Omaha's average age of 28.4 ranked 2nd-oldest in both the IL and Triple-A, trailing only I-80 rival Iowa by a hair (approximately 26 days by average birthdate) ... that's more than a year older than the IL (27.1) and Triple-A (27.2) averages ... Omaha led all of Triple-A with 15 players age 33 or older (17.4% of its roster, more than double the Triple-A rate of 7.9%) ... Omaha's 28 players age 30 or older ranked 2nd in Triple-A behind Syracuse (30).
  • The Chasers made a club-record 229 transactions in 2026, up from 204 in 2025 ... since 2021, the average Omaha team has made 194 moves.

SERIES SPEAKING

  • The Storm Chasers went 8-13-5 across 26 series in 2026, including 4-6-3 at home and 4-7-2 on the road.
  • Series wins came March 31-April 5 vs. Buffalo (4-2), April 7-12 @ Iowa (3-2), April 14-19 vs. Indianapolis (4-2), May 12-17 vs. Toledo (4-2), May 19-24 @ St. Paul (4-2), July 17-19 vs. Lehigh Valley (3-0), July 21-26 @ Salt Lake (5-1) and August 4-9 @ Toledo (4-2) ... 6 of the 8 series wins were full six-game series.
  • After dropping the season-opening set at Louisville, Omaha won 3 straight series from March 31 to April 19, going 11-6 over 17 games ... the Chasers' best run came out of the All-Star break, unbeaten in 4 straight series from July 17 to August 9 (3-0-1) and 15-6 over 21 games, including a season-long 8-game win streak (July 12-24) and a 10-1 stretch from July 12 to 28.
  • Omaha didn't win any of its final 6 series from August 11 to September 20 (0-5-1), going 10-23 over the final 33 games ... that included a 7-game losing streak from September 11 to 19 that matched the season-worst skid from April 22 to 29.

OS-BORN FOR THE JOB

  • 2026 was Patrick Osborn's 2nd season in Omaha and 1st as manager of the Storm Chasers.
  • Osborn served as Omaha's bench coach in 2025, before being named the 20th manager in Triple-A Omaha franchise history in January 2026 ... he is the 4th manager in the 15-season Storm Chasers era of the club (2011-present).
  • Osborn sent 28 different players to the Major Leagues, across 47 total call-ups, including 2 players who made their Major League debuts: pitchers Eric Cerantola and Beck Way.

DOUBLED UP

  • The 2026 Storm Chasers connected for a franchise-record 290 doubles, passing the 2024 team that had 287.
  • 290 doubles led the International League, while ranking 2nd-most in both Triple-A and the Minor Leagues (1st: Albuquerque, 314).
  • The record came by committee ... no Chaser reached 30 doubles, with Peyton Wilson's 29 leading the club, after the 2024 team leaned on a trio of 30-double hitters: Drew Waters (33), John Rave (32) and Nate Eaton (30).
  • 13 players put up double-digit double totals in 2026, while 5 hitters recorded 20+ doubles, led by Wilson, who ranked tied 6th in the International League, while Waters was not far behind him with 26 doubles, tied 10th in the IL.

LONG TIME, NO SEE

  • Werner Park welcomed two first-time visitors in 2026, as Buffalo and Rochester each made their first trips to Papillion ... neither had played in Nebraska since Omaha's Triple-A club called Rosenblatt Stadium home.
  • Buffalo, an American Association rival of the Omaha Royals from 1985 to 1997, opened the Werner Park season March 31 with its first visit to Omaha since July 18-20, 1997, a span of 10,481 days ... the Bisons swept that last Rosenblatt series, but the Storm Chasers took this year's series 4 games to 2 and are 10-5 against Buffalo since the clubs reunited in the IL in 2024.
  • Rochester's wait was even longer ... the Red Wings hadn't played in Omaha since September 14, 1990, when the Omaha Royals beat them 9-3 at Rosenblatt to clinch the Triple-A Classic in five games, and went 13,122 days before returning August 18 ... this time the eventual league-best Red Wings (90-58) won 5 of 6, with Omaha 11-13 against Rochester since the clubs began meeting as IL foes in 2022.
  • Las Vegas also returned to Werner Park June 9-14, in Papillion for the first time since August 10-13, 2019 (2,492 days), when the Aviators and Omaha played in the Pacific Coast League ... Las Vegas won 3 of 4 in 2019 and took 4 of 6 this time, leaving Omaha 12-17 against Las Vegas all-time at Werner Park.

GOOD TIMES, BAD TIMES

  • After an 0-4 start, the Storm Chasers won 12 of their next 17 games to climb to 12-9 on April 21, tied for 4th in the International League ... at 3 games over .500, it was Omaha's high-water mark of 2026.
  • Omaha opened 0-3 at Louisville and dropped the March 31 home opener to Buffalo, before rattling off series wins over Buffalo, Iowa and Indianapolis ... it was Omaha's first 3-series winning streak since an 8-series run from April 23 to June 2, 2024, after the 2025 Chasers never won back-to-back series.
  • The early season climb stalled quickly, as Omaha dropped 7 straight from April 22 to 29 – 5 at Toledo and 2 vs. Louisville – scoring 9 runs in those 7 games (1.29 runs/game).
  • The Chasers got back to .500 once more, at 25-25 on May 24 at St. Paul, but never climbed above it again.
  • Omaha went 13-12 in April and 14-10 in July, but had a losing record in every other month ... a 10-15 June was the most lopsided month, as the Chasers hit .287 with an .841 OPS, their best marks of any month, but went 10-15 behind a 6.12 ERA, the staff's worst month.
  • The Storm Chasers won 5 of their first 9 series, but just 3 of their final 17 ... all 3 of those came in a 4-week window: July 17-19 vs. Lehigh Valley, July 21-26 @ Salt Lake and August 4-9 @ Toledo.

GOING STREAKING

  • Omaha won a season-high 8 straight games from July 12 to 24, the club's longest winning streak since a 9-game run from May 29 to June 6, 2024 ... it was also the longest by any of the Royals' full-season affiliates in 2026, and tied Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for the 3rd-longest in the IL, behind Rochester (10) and Nashville (9).
  • The streak bridged the All-Star break and anchored a 17-6 stretch from July 10 to August 8, in which Omaha went from 38-51 to 55-57 and pulled within 2.5 games of first place in the IL's 2nd-half standings ... Over those 23 games, the Storm Chasers led the International League with an .855 OPS, ranked 2nd with a .289 batting average and 3rd with 144 runs scored.
  • Gavin Cross powered the winning stretch with 15 extra-base hits, tied for the IL lead from July 10 to August 8, while his 7 home runs in that span were tied 2nd.
  • The other end was just as long, as Omaha dropped 7 straight twice: April 22-29 and September 11-19 ... both skids came on offense, as the staff posted a 4.25 ERA in the first and a 5.43 ERA in the second while the Chasers scored a combined 25 runs across the 14 losses (1.79 runs/game).

FIRST THINGS FIRST

  • Opponents outscored Omaha 113-79 in the 1st inning, the Chasers' widest margin of any inning and the most they allowed in any frame.
  • Omaha went 24-36 when the opponent scored in the 1st, compared to 25-22 when the Chasers struck first in the 1st.
  • Overall, Omaha was 36-29 when scoring first, but 29-52 when the opponent scored first.
  • The Chasers outscored opponents in just 3 innings all year – the 2nd (+26), 5th (+21) and 9th (+3) – for a -88 run differential (740-828).

GO BIG OR GO HOME

  • The 2026 Storm Chasers were nearly unbeatable when the bats showed up, and nearly winless when they didn't.
  • Omaha went 15-1 when scoring 10+ runs and 31-13 when scoring 6-9, but 1-37 when held to 2 runs or fewer.
  • The Chasers were 38-15 with 10+ hits and 48-15 when out-hitting the opponent ... when they didn't homer, they went 9-40.
  • The pitching splits were just as stark: 29-5 when allowing 2 runs or fewer, 1-21 when allowing 10+.

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT

  • The Storm Chasers went 12-26 in one-run games, with more than a quarter of their 146 games (38) decided by a single run.
  • Omaha went 5-12 in walk-off games ... 11 of the 26 one-run losses ended on the opponent's final swing, while all 5 Omaha walk-off wins came by 1 run.
  • The Chasers went 4-11 in extra innings, with the automatic runner scoring in 10 of 19 chances (53%).
  • Toledo was the toughest close-game opponent ... the Chasers went 2-6 against the Mud Hens in games decided by 2 runs or fewer ... after falling to 3-7 in the season series on May 15, Omaha won 6 of the final 8 meetings to split it, 9-9.
  • Late leads largely held, as Omaha went 50-9 when leading after 6 innings and 47-4 when leading after 8 ... however, the bullpen converted just 26 of 58 save opportunities (44.8%), the fewest saves and lowest conversion rate in the IL ... 32 blown saves ranked 2nd-most in the league, 4th in Triple-A and 7th in the Minors ... from August to September, Omaha converted just 1 of 8 save chances.

COMEBACK KIDS

  • The Storm Chasers won 36 games after trailing, 55% of their 65 wins.
  • From May 13 to June 4, all 10 of Omaha's wins came from behind, including walk-off victories over Toledo on May 13 and 14 and Memphis on May 29, plus 4 comeback wins in a 6-day series at CHS Field in St. Paul (May 19-24).
  • Kameron Misner delivered both Toledo walk-offs, with an RBI double May 13 and a solo homer May 14 ... it was the 5th time in Werner Park history (since 2011) that Omaha walked off back-to-back games, but the first time the same player had the walk-off hit in consecutive games.
  • Omaha overcame a multi-run deficit 10 times and overcame multiple deficits in 9 games ... 10 of the 36 comeback wins were decided in the 9th inning or later.
  • The largest comeback came June 21 at St. Paul, when Omaha trailed 10-5 after 4 innings and won 15-12 in 11 ... it was the Chasers' biggest comeback (by runs trailed) since rallying from down 5-0 on June 25, 2025 at Indianapolis.
  • Two comebacks ended on go-ahead 9th-inning grand slams: John Rave's July 10 at Louisville and Gavin Cross's 2-out blast July 23 at Salt Lake.
  • On the flip side, Omaha blew a lead in 41 of its 81 losses, tied for 4th-most in the IL and tied 6th in Triple-A ... this meant 77 of Omaha's 146 games (53%) were won by a team that trailed at some point.
  • The 36 comeback wins tied Durham for 9th in the IL, but the Chasers' 120 comeback wins since 2024 rank 3rd in the league, behind only Lehigh Valley (123) and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (122).

DOUBLE TROUBLE

  • Omaha played 7 doubleheaders in 2026, matching its 2024 total, and went 9-5 in twin-bill games with 3 sweeps, 3 splits and 1 sweep against ... the 9-5 mark moves the club's modern-era (since 2005) doubleheader record to 110-124.
  • The sweeps came April 10 at Iowa, June 18 at St. Paul and August 7 at Toledo, where the Chasers outscored the Mud Hens 21-5 across 14 innings ... 3 doubleheader sweeps tied the most in a season in Omaha's modern era, matching the 2007 and 2015 clubs.
  • The April 10 sweep at Principal Park was Omaha's first doubleheader sweep since May 30, 2024 at Indianapolis, and just its 2nd over Iowa since 2005 ... Omaha played two doubleheaders in April for the first time since 2019, splitting with Buffalo on April 4.
  • The lone sweep against came in the final week, September 18 vs. Iowa ... twice, Omaha won the second game of a doubleheader to avoid being swept: April 4 vs. Buffalo and May 9 @ Indianapolis.

SUMMER SWINGING

  • Omaha's offense peaked in June and July, scoring 6.14 runs per game across those 49 games, compared to 4.53 in every other month.
  • In June, the Chasers hit .287 (254-for-885) with an .841 OPS, tied for the IL lead in average and 3rd in OPS ... their 61 doubles led the IL and ranked 3rd in the Minors, and their 102 extra-base hits led Triple-A ... Omaha scored 6+ runs in 14 of 25 games, tied for the most in the IL.
  • In July, Omaha hit .283/.359/.473 and scored 6.00 runs per game, all 2nd in the IL, and led the league in hits (234) and total bases (392).
  • Omaha had 10+ hits in 25 of its 49 games across June and July and went 18-7 in those games with double-digit hit totals.
  • In June, Peyton Wilson led the IL with 12 doubles, tied for 4th in the Minors, and Abraham Toro's 15 extra-base hits tied for 2nd in the league ... in July, Gavin Cross led all of Triple-A with 64 total bases, tied for 8th in the Minors, and ranked 2nd in the IL in extra-base hits (16) and 3rd in RBI (23).

SUNDAY BEST

  • Omaha's offense saved its best work for the final day of the week.
  • The Chasers slashed .277/.354/.480 (234-for-844) on Sundays, their best average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage on any day, and scored 153 runs in 24 Sunday games.
  • Brett Squires slashed .347/.410/.750 (25-for-72) with 6 homers and 17 RBI on Sundays, Kameron Misner hit .359 (14-for-39) and Abraham Toro drove in 18 runs.
  • Omaha's 6.38 runs per game, .834 OPS and 58 doubles on Sundays were its most on any day, and the doubles total led the IL ... the Chasers scored 10+ runs in 5 of their 24 Sunday games.

GRAND THEFT OMAHA

  • The Chasers were as efficient as they were aggressive on the bases.
  • Omaha stole 175 bases in 212 attempts, and its 82.5% success rate ranked 3rd in the IL and 5th in Triple-A, after leading the IL at 86.1% in April ... the Chasers were caught just 37 times, 2nd-fewest in the league ... Gavin Cross led the club with 25 steals, followed by Drew Waters (21), John Rave (18) and Peyton Wilson (17).
  • Brett Squires (15-for-15) and Carson Roccaforte (11-for-11) went a combined 26-for-26 in Omaha, in their first stints in Triple-A.
  • Omaha stole 5+ bases in 7 games, including a season-high 6 three times (July 19 vs. Lehigh Valley, July 22 at Salt Lake and August 27 at Iowa) ... the Chasers went 24-21 when stealing 2+ bases.
  • September was the club's most aggressive month, with 28 steals in 17 games (1.65 per game), 3rd in the IL.
  • Tyler Tolbert and Andrew Velazquez each stole 8 bases in 20 games or fewer with Omaha.

HOMER HAPPY

  • The Storm Chasers hit 170 homers, the club's 6th straight season with 170+ (2021-26), the longest such run in franchise history ... Omaha is 1 of 4 Minor League clubs with 170+ homers in every season since 2021, joining Albuquerque, Oklahoma City and St. Paul.
  • Omaha's 1,163 homers since 2021 rank 2nd in the IL behind St. Paul (1,173) and 4th in the Minors ... before 2021, the club had reached 170 in just 5 seasons since 1969 (1997-99, 2004 and 2008).
  • Omaha's season high was 6 homers on April 21 at Toledo, and it hit 3 in one inning on July 24 at Salt Lake ... June's 35 homers were the club's most in any month, and Omaha never went more than 5 straight games without one.
  • 8 Storm Chasers reached double figures in homers: Brett Squires (25), Abraham Toro (19), Gavin Cross (17), Drew Waters (14), Kameron Misner (14), John Rave (13), Matthew Lugo (12) and Luca Tresh (10).
  • The Chasers had 9 two-homer games from 5 players (Rave, Squires, Toro and Wilson twice each, Misner once).
  • The Chasers homered in 11 straight games from July 31 to August 13, their longest streak of the season and tied for the 11th-longest in the modern era (since 2005), hitting 16 homers and going 7-4 ... it followed a 10-game streak from July 17 to 28, as Omaha went deep in 21 of 23 games from July 17 to August 13.

GET OUT THE RYE BREAD AND MUSTARD, GRANDMA

  • The Storm Chasers hit 6 grand slams in 2026, by Abraham Toro, Matthew Lugo (his first career slam), John Rave, Brandon Drury, Gavin Cross and Brett Squires.
  • Two were go-ahead slams in the 9th inning, the first time Omaha hit 2 grand slams in the 9th or later in a modern-era season: Rave's July 10 at Louisville and Cross's 2-out slam July 23 at Salt Lake ... Cross's was 1 of just 3 two-out, go-ahead grand slams in the 9th inning anywhere in the Minors this season, and the only one above Double-A ... the others came from Wichita's Jay Thomason (August 18) and the DSL Red Sox Blue's Isaac Velasquez (June 23).
  • Omaha batted with the bases loaded just 128 times, the fewest in the IL, and hit .243 (26-for-107) with 88 RBI in those spots, while opposing hitters hit just .201 (36-for-179) with the bases loaded.
  • 6 grand slams, each by a different player, tied for the 4th-most in an Omaha modern-era season (since 2005) and were the Chasers' most since the 2022 club hit 8 ... they pushed the modern-era total to 84, by 69 different players.

QUALITY CONTROL

  • Omaha's rotation produced 17 quality starts in 2026, the fewest since 2021 (13 in a 129-game season) and the 2nd-fewest in the modern era (since 2005) ... it was 8 fewer than the 25 per season the Chasers averaged from 2022 to 2025, and the first didn't come until the 35th game of the year.
  • Mitch Spence threw the first on May 7 at Indianapolis, holding the Indians to 2 runs on 1 hit over 6.2 innings ... he became just the 11th Triple-A Omaha pitcher since 2005 to work into the 7th inning while allowing 1 hit, and the first since Thomas Hatch on July 5, 2025 vs. Iowa.
  • Two days later, Aaron Sanchez threw 6.0 scoreless, 1-hit innings with 8 strikeouts in Game 1 at Indianapolis to earn IL Pitcher of the Week honors (week of May 4-10) ... that week, Omaha held the Indians to a .150 average (24-for-160) with a 1.98 ERA and 0.96 WHIP, the best opponents' average by a Storm Chasers staff in any week since 2021, while the starters' .084 opponents' average and 0.58 WHIP were both the club's best in its IL era.
  • 3 of Omaha's 5 shutouts came over Indy at Victory Field: a 5-0 win on May 6, a 9-0 victory on May 10 and an 8-0 win on September 10.
  • Omaha starters went 6-2 in their 17 quality starts (9 no-decisions), and 8 different pitchers threw at least 1 ... Henry Williams led the staff with 5, including scoreless 6.0-inning outings August 1 and September 3 vs. St. Paul, while Mitch Spence added 3.
  • Lucas Braun threw quality starts in each of his first 2 Omaha outings, winning August 7 at Toledo and August 13 at Columbus, while Vince Velasquez closed his year with back-to-back quality starts on September 5 and 11, allowing 1 unearned run on 6 hits over 12.0 innings with 13 strikeouts.

MUSICAL CHAIRS

  • Omaha used 23 different starting pitchers in 2026, tied with 2023 for the 2nd-most since 2005, behind only the 2025 club's 26 ... the Chasers have averaged nearly 23 starters per season since 2023, compared to about 17 from 2005 to 2019.
  • Omaha starters went 17-40 with a 5.66 ERA, down from 5.97 in 2025 ... their 17 wins were the fewest by an Omaha rotation in the modern era (previous low: 27 in 2019), and their 587.0 innings were the fewest in any full season since 2005 ... the Chasers used a club-record 52 pitchers (previous high: 48 in 2022 and 2025), and of the 23 starting pitchers, 6 made 10+ starts: Ryan Ramsey (21), Henry Williams (19), Mitch Spence (16), Aaron Sanchez (12), Ben Sears (10) and Vince Velasquez (10).
  • Omaha went 10-8 in 18 bullpen games, with Sears opening 10 of them (all 10 of his starts) ... the starter failed to finish 4.0 innings in 59 of 146 games (25-34) and went 6.0+ innings just 18 times (8-10).
  • The rotation improved from the 1st half to the 2nd, going from 4-20 with a 6.05 ERA and 5 quality starts in the 1st half to 13-20 with a 5.33 ERA and 12 quality starts in the 2nd ... relievers dropped from a 5.58 ERA to 4.64, and finished with a 3.63 ERA in September.
  • 2 position players logged innings, as Abraham Toro made 5 relief appearances (7 ER in 5.0 IP) and Connor Kaiser had 1 (0 ER in 1.0 IP).

WHAT A RELIEF!

  • Omaha relievers worked 674.1 innings, the most by an Omaha bullpen in the modern era (since 2005), and were credited with 48 of the club's 65 wins (48-41 bullpen record), 2nd only to the 2024 bullpen's 55 ... their 5.15 ERA was half a run better than the rotation's 5.66.
  • Omaha relievers struck out 713 batters (9.5 K/9), the 2nd-most by an Omaha bullpen in the modern era behind 2025 (734).
  • Anthony Gose led the bullpen in relief appearances (39) and strikeouts (58), and in the second half, posted a 3.04 ERA (8 ER in 23.2 IP) with 32 strikeouts.
  • Jose Cuas went 5-2 with a 2.70 ERA in 35 games, ranking 2nd on the club in relief outings, and his 5 relief wins tied Beck Way for 2nd behind Ben Sears (6) ... across 7 appearances in the second half, Cuas posted a 1.13 ERA (1 ER in 8.0 IP).
  • Veteran Justin Topa, who spent time with 4 organizations in 2026, posted a 0.71 ERA (1 ER in 12.2 IP) in 12 games from July 8 to August 8, the lowest on the club (min. 10.0 IP) and tied with Peter Moylan (2016) for the 6th-lowest by an Omaha reliever in the modern era ... he went 4-for-4 in save chances and was Omaha's Pitcher of the Month for July.
  • Lucas Erceg posted a 1.74 ERA in 9 games with Omaha (August 21-September 12), while Oscar Rayo worked a 2.03 ERA in his first taste of the Triple-A level (May 28-July 12).

THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY

  • Friday nights brought out the best in Omaha's pitching staff.
  • The Chasers went 14-13 on Fridays, their most wins on any day of the week, with a 3.93 ERA, 2nd-best in the IL on Fridays behind Gwinnett (3.81) ... opponents hit just .244 (209-for-856) with a .714 OPS on Fridays, the staff's lowest marks on any day.
  • Omaha won 6 straight Friday games from July 10 to August 7, capped by a doubleheader sweep at Toledo (11-2 and 10-3 wins).
  • The Chasers scored 125 runs in 27 Friday games (4.6 per game), and their 54 Friday doubles ranked 2nd in the IL behind Rochester (56).

DAZZLING DEFENSE

  • The Chasers turned 121 double plays, 5th-most in the IL, and Omaha pitchers induced 105 ground-ball double plays, 3rd in the league.
  • Brett Squires took part in 49 double plays at first base and Peyton Wilson turned 42 at second ... Ryan Ramsey induced 20 ground-ball double plays, tied for 4th in all of pro baseball.
  • Omaha pitchers induced an IL-high 29 ground-ball double plays in April, 5 more than any other club.
  • Gavin Cross played 801.2 outfield innings without an error, the most errorless innings by an Omaha outfielder in a modern-era season (since 2005), and led the outfield with 7 assists ... Drew Waters added 6 assists, 2 at each outfield position.
  • Omaha catchers threw out 43 base stealers, up from 31 in 2025 and tied with 2023 for the most since 2017.
  • Omaha pitchers picked off 27 runners, led by Ethan Bosacker, Bailey Falter and Henry Williams with 3 each.

GLOVE STORY

  • Carson Roccaforte was named a 2026 Minor League Rawlings Gold Glove Award® winner in the outfield, the 5th Gold Glove winner in Triple-A Omaha history.
  • Roccaforte did not commit an error in 129 games between Northwest Arkansas and Omaha, the most errorless games by any Minor Leaguer since 2017 ... he led all Minor League outfielders with 320 putouts and 333 total chances, and his 1.000 fielding percentage was the only perfect mark among the 8 position players honored.
  • His 1,105.0 innings in center field are the most at a single position in an errorless Minor League season since at least 2005, and his 333 chances are the most by an outfielder in an errorless season over that span.
  • Roccaforte's last error came on July 6, 2025 with High-A Quad Cities, giving him 179 straight games in the outfield, 3rd-longest active among Minor League outfielders behind Bryce Johnson (207) and Jared Oliva (205), and 491 straight chances, more than either ... he is also the first Gold Glove winner with a 30/30 season since the Minor League award returned in 2011.
  • He joins Luis Alcaraz (2B, 1969), Rudy Kinard (SS, 1978), Derrick Robinson (OF, 2012) and Nick Pratto (1B, 2021) as Omaha's Gold Glove winners, and is the 5th Royals Minor Leaguer honored since 2011, after Robinson, Pratto, Michael Massey (2021) and **Frank Mozzicato (**2024).

OH BABY, A TRIPLE PLAY!

  • The Storm Chasers turned their first triple play at Werner Park on July 5 against Indianapolis.
  • After the Indians opened the 4th with 4 straight singles to score 2 runs, Jesus Castillo grounded a 2-0 slider from Henry Williams to third baseman Abraham Toro, who stepped on 3rd and started a 5-4-3 around the horn through Kevin Newman and Brett Squires ... it was the first triple play Toro, Newman or Squires had contributed to in their professional careers.
  • It was the 3rd triple play turned at Werner Park, after Nashville (August 20, 2011) and New Orleans (April 17, 2015) turned them against Omaha ... it was the club's first triple play at home since August 24, 1980 vs. Evansville at Rosenblatt Stadium.
  • It was Omaha's 2nd triple play since 2005, having also done so May 13, 2023 at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre ... IL clubs have turned just 19 since 2021, and Omaha was 1 of 11 MiLB clubs to turn one this year.

CHALLENGING THE SYSTEM

  • Omaha won 172 of its 322 ABS challenges (53%), tied for the 6th-best among 30 Triple-A clubs and 4th in the International League.
  • The value came behind the plate: Omaha catchers and pitchers won 119 of 198 challenges (60%), turning 28 called balls into strikeouts and taking away 13 walks ... their +1.2 runs above average ranked 3rd in Triple-A, behind Buffalo and Syracuse.
  • Luca Tresh was the most valuable challenge catcher in Triple-A, leading all catchers with 14.9 runs gained from challenges ... he won an IL-high 74 of 118 challenges (63%), and his 19 strikeouts gained and 9 walks taken away each tied for the Triple-A lead.
  • Omaha hitters challenged 124 times, 7th-fewest among 30 Triple-A clubs, winning 53 (43%) and erasing 21 strikeouts ... Kevin Newman went 4-for-4, 1 of 3 Triple-A hitters to win every challenge with 4+ attempts, and John Rave won 5 of 8, erasing a strikeout and earning 2 walks.
  • Opponents won 163 of their 330 challenges against Omaha (49.4%), the 4th-lowest success rate allowed in the IL.
  • The Chasers were sharpest early, winning 68% of challenges in innings 1-3 and 40% from the 7th inning on.

SAINTLY SEASON

  • Omaha went 13-11 against St. Paul in 2026, its first season-series win over the Saints since the clubs became International League rivals in 2021 ... 13 wins were Omaha's most against any opponent, and came against a St. Paul club whose 82 wins ranked 3rd in the IL.
  • The previous 5 season series went 15-15 (2021), 13-14 (2022) and 9-9 in each of 2023, 2024 and 2025 ... the 13-11 mark put Omaha ahead 68-67 against St. Paul since 2021.
  • Omaha hit .272 with 54 doubles and an .813 OPS against the Saints, its best average and OPS against St. Paul in any season since 2021 ... the Chasers' 139 runs scored against the Saints were their most against any opponent this year.
  • Omaha went 5-3 against St. Paul on Saturdays and Sundays this year and is 20-6 (.769) against the Saints on weekends since 2023, including 20-4 since July 2023 ... a June 20 loss at CHS Field was Omaha's first weekend loss to St. Paul since September 1, 2024.
  • The two clubs produced both of Omaha's extremes: a 21-2 loss June 16 at CHS Field, the Chasers' largest losing margin of the year and tied for the most runs St. Paul has scored in a game since joining Triple-A in 2021, matching its 21-run game against Omaha on September 11, 2021, and the 15-12, 11-inning comeback win at the same park 5 days later, when Omaha's 24 hits were its most against the Saints in that span.
  • Both teams saw a player hit for a cycle in the series: Abraham Toro did it June 21 at CHS Field during the 15-12 comeback, and St. Paul's Emmanuel Rodríguez hit for a natural cycle (single, double, triple and homer, in order) September 1 at Werner Park.

CHECKERED PAST

  • Omaha dropped the season series to Indianapolis, 11-13, its first season-series loss to the Indians since joining the IL in 2021 ... the Chasers had won 4 of the previous 5, with a 9-9 split in 2022.
  • Even with this year's season series loss, the Chasers are 64-43 (.598) against Indianapolis since 2021, their best mark against any of the 8 opponents they've seen 20+ times in that span, ahead of Columbus (60-46, .566).
  • The last time Omaha lost the season series to Indianapolis was 1997, the last year the two teams played in the American Association, when the Indians won 15 of 18 games against the O-Royals.
  • Omaha was 5-7 at Victory Field this year but is 26-13 (.667) there since 2023, 15th-best among 696 Minor League road team-and-ballpark pairings (min. 24 games), and 31-20 (.608) there since 2021, its best mark at any IL road park and the 5th-best for any road club in an IL matchup with 50+ games ... Chasers pitchers have a 3.77 ERA in Indy, the lowest at any park where Omaha has 20+ games.
  • The series held two of Omaha's biggest crowds: 13,675 at Victory Field on May 7, the Chasers' largest road crowd, and 7,775 at Werner Park on July 4, the largest home crowd of 2026.

I-80 CLASH

  • Omaha went 6-10 against Iowa, its 2nd straight losing season series against the Cubs after going 5-16 in 2025 ... Omaha is 61-78 against the Cubs since 2021, its most losses against any opponent in that span.
  • Weather canceled 2 of the 18 scheduled meetings (April 12 and September 16), leaving 16 games, the fewest in a season between the two clubs since both joined the IL in 2021.
  • The Chasers and Cubs went 136 days without playing between April 11 and August 25, the longest in-season gap between the two in the 21st century ... the previous long was 96 days in 2018.
  • At Werner Park, Omaha is 25-39 (.391) against Iowa since 2021, the 3rd-lowest home winning percentage in any IL matchup with 50+ games ... that makes Iowa's 39-25 (.609) at Werner Park the 3rd-best road mark for any IL club in that span.
  • After dropping 4 straight to Iowa to open the final homestand, Omaha closed 2026 with a 14-3 win on September 20, its largest margin of victory all season, snapping a 7-game losing streak ... Lucas Braun struck out 8 to tie the season high for an Omaha pitcher, and Peyton Wilson homered twice (once from each side of the plate).
  • Omaha has lost 4 of its 5 season series against Iowa since 2022, going 37-62, and its all-time lead over the Cubs has shrunk from 528-496 after 2021 to 565-558 (.503) ... the Chasers' 1-4 home mark against Iowa this year was their worst since going 1-7 in 2019.

PACIFIC TIME

  • Omaha went 7-5 in 12 interleague games against Pacific Coast League opponents, in the second straight year of Triple-A interleague play.
  • After dropping 4 of 6 to PCL 1st Half champion Las Vegas (87-61) in the first interleague series in Werner Park history (June 9-14), the Chasers took 5 of 6 at Salt Lake (July 21-26).
  • Gavin Cross homered 5 times in 6 games at Salt Lake, including a 2-out, go-ahead grand slam in the 9th inning of a 12-9 win on July 23.
  • Omaha won its first 4 games at Salt Lake, scoring 8+ runs in each, and totaled 47 runs in the 6-game series (7.8 per game) ... the Chasers hit .326 with 14 homers and a 1.007 OPS there, their best average and OPS against any opponent this year ... the series win came after the Storm Chasers dropped 5 of 6 to the Bees in 2025.

FROM OMAHA TO COOPERSTOWN

  • On July 26 in Cooperstown, Carlos Beltrán became the 2nd alumnus of the Triple-A Omaha franchise enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
  • Beltrán played 5 games for the Omaha Golden Spikes in 2000 on a Major League rehab assignment, going 6-for-18 (.333) with 2 home runs, including one at Rosenblatt Stadium on September 2.
  • A 2nd-round pick by Kansas City in 1995, he played 20 Major League seasons with 435 home runs, 312 stolen bases and a .279 average.
  • George Brett was the first Omaha alumnus in Cooperstown, playing 133 games for the Omaha Royals in 1973 and 1974.
  • Beltrán's nephew, Matthew Lugo, played 58 games for Omaha in 2026, while also appearing in 9 games with the Royals, the club his uncle debuted with in 1998.

IT'S BEEN A GOOD WEEK

  • Four Storm Chasers earned International League weekly honors in 2026 and additional hardware was handed out at year's end.
  • John Rave opened the run as IL Player of the Week for April 6-12, going 9-for-19 (.474) with 3 doubles, 2 homers and 9 RBI in 5 games at Iowa ... his 18 total bases, .500 on-base percentage and 1.447 OPS all led the league, and it was his first career weekly award in his 5th Triple-A season.
  • Aaron Sanchez was IL Pitcher of the Week for May 4-10 after 6.0 scoreless, 1-hit innings with 8 strikeouts in Game 1 of the May 9 doubleheader at Indianapolis ... it was the club's 2nd quality start of the year, and his most strikeouts in a start since August 2022.
  • Kameron Misner went 10-for-24 (.417) with 3 doubles, 5 homers and 10 RBI at Columbus to earn IL Player of the Week for June 1-7, leading the Minors with 28 total bases and Triple-A with a 1.648 OPS ... it was his first career weekly award.
  • Gavin Cross went 12-for-27 (.444) with 2 doubles, 2 triples and 5 homers at Salt Lake to earn IL Player of the Week for July 20-26, leading the Minors with 33 total bases and Triple-A with 10 RBI ... Cross's 33 total bases are the most by an Omaha hitter in a series since the 6-game format began in 2021, and Misner's 28 rank 3rd.
  • Athletic trainer James Stone was named the IL's Athletic Trainer of the Year by PBATS, his 3rd such honor and first at Triple-A ... his 1,005 games over 7 seasons with Omaha are the 4th-most by an athletic trainer in franchise history.
  • In the Royals' organizational awards, Brett Squires won the George Brett Hitter of the Year and the Mike Sweeney Community Impact Award, and Carson Roccaforte won the Frank White Award as the organization's top defender for the 3rd straight year.
  • Omaha had no International League All-Star selections in 2026, after having representatives each of the last two years: Cam Devanney in 2025 and Evan Sisk and Walter Pennington in 2024.

IT'S SHOW TIME

  • A pair of 2026 Storm Chasers made their Major League debuts with the Royals while a trio of Omaha alumni debuted with other MLB teams.
  • Eric Cerantola became the 350th Triple-A Omaha player to reach the Majors May 6 vs. Cleveland at Kauffman Stadium, striking out 2 in a scoreless 9th inning, with Petey Halpin his first MLB strikeout ... at the time of his debut, he had a 1.42 ERA with Omaha, 18 strikeouts in 12.2 innings and an IL-leading 5 saves in 5 chances.
  • Beck Way became No. 352 June 5 at Minnesota, 3 days after the Royals selected his contract, striking out 2 in a scoreless 8th ... at the time of his promotion, his 5 wins were tied for 2nd in the IL and he went on to appear in 19 games with Kansas City.
  • Three Chasers alumni also debuted elsewhere in 2026: Ryan Weiss (2022-23) with Houston on Opening Day, March 27, Rodolfo Durán (2024) with San Diego on May 7 and Rudy Martin Jr. (2019, 2021, 2025-26) on September 11 with Toronto.

STORM CHASERS IN THE WBC

  • Six 2026 Storm Chasers played in the March World Baseball Classic.
  • Eric Cerantola and Abraham Toro played for Canada ... Cerantola threw 1.1 scoreless innings in 2 outings, while Toro led the team with a .421 average (8-for-19), 5 extra-base hits and 5 RBI.
  • Luinder Avila did not allow an earned run over 4.1 innings in 2 appearances for champion Venezuela, striking out 3.
  • Omar Hernandez started 3 of 4 games as the catcher for Cuba and went 1-for-12 at the plate.
  • Dan Altavilla pitched in 2 games for Italy and allowed 1 ER in 2.0 IP (4.50 ERA) while striking out 4.
  • Oscar Rayo pitched in a pair of games for Nicaragua, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings and retiring 4 of 7 batters faced.

EXTRA, EXTRA BASES, READ ALL ABOUT IT

  • Two Storm Chasers who opened the year in Double-A finished among the Minor Leagues' top extra-base threats.
  • Brett Squires tied for 3rd in the Minors with 68 extra-base hits and tied for 8th with 268 total bases ... his 31 homers and 103 RBI made him 1 of 9 Minor Leaguers with a 30-homer, 100-RBI season, and the first Royals farmhand since MJ Melendez in 2021 ... it was the 11th 30-homer, 100-RBI season in Royals Minor League history and the only one with 20 or more steals (24).
  • Carson Roccaforte ranked 2nd in the Minors with 280 total bases, tied for 5th with 66 extra-base hits and tied for 8th with 35 home runs ... with 32 steals, he posted the first 30/30 season by a Royals Minor Leaguer and the first in the Minors since 2023 ... he was just the 28th Minor Leaguer to reach 30 homers and 30 steals since 1948, and fell 4 doubles shy of a 30/30/30 season.
  • Both posted 20-double, 20-homer, 20-steal seasons between Double-A and Triple-A ... Gavin Cross (20 2B, 17 HR, 25 SB) fell 3 homers shy of joining them.

DON'T BRETT, SQUIRES IS HERE

  • Brett Squires won Omaha's Triple Crown among club qualifiers, leading the Chasers in average (.271), home runs (25) and RBI (74) despite not making his Triple-A debut until May 12.
  • Squires edged Abraham Toro (.270) for the batting title by just over a point, and also led Omaha in slugging (.553), OPS (.892) and extra-base hits (51) ... among IL qualifiers, he ranked 2nd in slugging, 5th in OPS, tied for 5th in homers and 6th in extra-base hits.
  • His 25 homers, in just 100 games, were the most by an Omaha hitter since Brewer Hicklen's 28 in 2022 and the 8th-most in a season in the club's modern era (since 2005).
  • From June 16 to July 2, Squires put together a career-best 14-game hitting streak, slashing .382/.426/.600 (21-for-55) and raising his average 48 points (.250 to .298) ... he kept reaching base through July 5 for a 17-game on-base streak, the club's 3rd-longest this year.
  • Combining Double-A and Triple-A, Squires led the Royals organization in RBI (103), doubles (34) and extra-base hits (68), while his 31 homers ranked 2nd ... he also won the Royals' George Brett Hitter of the Year and Mike Sweeney Community Impact awards.

BULL MARKET AT WERNER Park

  • Abraham Toro was the only player on Omaha's active roster all season, while also being one of the team's most productive bats.
  • Toro led the Chasers in games (123), plate appearances (502), hits (119) and runs (75), while his 70 RBI ranked 2nd ... his 211 total bases ranked 9th in the IL and his 49 extra-base hits tied for 9th.
  • He posted back-to-back 1.000+ OPS months in June (1.041) and July (1.060), the only Chaser with two such months (min. 75 PA) ... in that stretch, he hit .333 (54-for-162) with 12 homers and 39 RBI.
  • Toro was one of three Omaha hitters to make at least one start at all 9 spots in the batting order, but was the only one to start at least 3 games at all 9 ... he is one of 4 IL hitters with 10+ plate appearances at all 9 spots, but the only one of the 4 with 40+ PA at 8 of 9.

RIDING THE CYCLE

  • Abraham Toro hit for the cycle June 21 at St. Paul, the 6th cycle in modern Omaha history (since 2005) and the 3rd in the last 2 years, after Drew Waters (April 2, 2025) and MJ Melendez (September 11, 2025).
  • Toro singled in the 2nd, tripled in the 3rd, hit a 2-run homer in the 5th and finished the cycle with a go-ahead 3-run double in the 8th, adding an RBI single in the 10th.
  • He went 5-for-6 with career highs in RBI (6) and total bases (11) ... it was his 3rd career 5-hit game and Omaha's first since Rodolfo Durán went 5-for-5 on September 3, 2024 at Memphis.
  • As a team, Omaha set season highs with 15 runs, 24 hits and 40 total bases ... 24 hits tied for the 6th-most in a game in modern Omaha history, matching August 23, 2025 at Columbus.

CROSS ME UP

  • Gavin Cross opened his first Triple-A season hitting .128 (15-for-117) through May 15, then hit .291 (92-for-316) the rest of the way.
  • Cross hit .197 with 3 homers in the 1st half, then .295/.336/.582 with 14 homers and 38 RBI in 54 games in the 2nd half ... 13 of his 17 homers came on the road, hitting .269 (59-for-219) with a .872 OPS away from home, while batting just .224 (48-for-214) with a .604 OPS at Werner Park.
  • He finished with 17 homers, a team-high 25 steals and 5 triples, tied with Toro for the club lead, and his 28 multi-hit games tied Toro and Drew Waters for the club lead.
  • Cross closed the year with an 83-game errorless streak (May 2-September 20), the 4th-longest in the IL this season, handling 183 chances cleanly across 4 positions ... after making at least 2 outfield errors each of his first four Minor League seasons, Cross played 801.2 errorless innings in the outfield, with his only defensive miscue coming at first base, where he started 11 games and played 90.0 innings ... his 7 outfield assists led the club.

CROSSFIRE

  • Gavin Cross put together one of the most productive stretches by any hitter in the Minors this season.
  • During a 19-game hitting streak from July 2 to 28, tied for the 5th-longest in Omaha's modern era and tied for 2nd-longest in the IL this year, Cross hit .370/.400/.778 (30-for-81) with 16 extra-base hits, 21 RBI and 10 multi-hit games, raising his season batting average from .209 to .249.
  • He homered in 6 straight games from July 22 to 28, the longest home run streak in the Minors this season (no other Minor Leaguer homered in more than 4 straight games) and the longest in Omaha's modern era, tying Steve Sisco (1998) for the franchise record ... over those 6 games, he went 11-for-28 with 12 RBI and a 1.143 slugging percentage.
  • The run also included an 8-game RBI streak (July 22-31) that tied Mike Moustakas (2010) for the longest in Omaha's modern era and a 7-game extra-base hit streak (July 21-28) that ranked 3rd in the IL ... he was IL Player of the Week for July 20-26 and Omaha's Player of the Month for July.

MISNER ON A MISSION

  • Kameron Misner hit .286 (66-for-231) with a .941 OPS, 14 homers and 54 RBI in 63 games with Omaha, ranking tied for 3rd on the club in RBI despite leaving in July.
  • He delivered walk-off hits in consecutive games against Toledo, the first player in Werner Park history to do so: a 1-out RBI double May 13 and a leadoff homer in the bottom of the 9th May 14.
  • Misner reached base in each of his final 21 games with Omaha (May 20-July 21), hitting .333/.409/.704 with 7 homers and 19 RBI ... he carried the streak to Lehigh Valley, extending it to 31 games through August 8, tied for 5th-longest in the IL this season.
  • He was Omaha's Player of the Month for April and IL Player of the Week for June 1-7, going 10-for-24 with 5 homers and a Minor League-leading 28 total bases in the Chasers' series in Columbus.
  • Misner finished with 22 homers between the Royals and Phillies Triple-A affiliates, and his .880 OPS ranked tied 9th in the IL while a .514 slugging percentage was 10th in the league.

LET'S RAVE

  • John Rave hit .285 (83-for-291) with a .396 on-base percentage, 13 homers and a team-best 54 walks in 77 games before finishing the year with Kansas City.
  • Rave was named IL Player of the Week for April 6-12, going 9-for-19 with 2 homers, 9 RBI and a league-best 18 total bases in Iowa ... he had 2-homer games April 7 at Iowa and April 21 at Toledo.
  • With runners on base, he slashed .347/.435/.570 (42-for-121) with 14 extra-base hits and 38 RBI.
  • Rave's leadoff homer May 29 vs. Memphis was the 9th of his Omaha career, extending his modern-era (2005-present) club record ... Rave's 988 plate appearances batting 1st with Omaha are tied for the 2nd-most in the club's modern era.
  • His go-ahead grand slam in the 9th inning July 10 at Louisville capped a comeback win, and his 110.7 mph homer June 12 vs. Las Vegas was Omaha's hardest-hit home run of 2026.
  • Through 5 seasons with Omaha (2022-26), Rave ranks 3rd in the club's modern era in runs (249) and homers (54), 4th in walks (189) and tied for 4th in extra-base hits (141).

ROJAS TO THE RESCUE

  • Josh Rojas split the 2026 season evenly with Omaha and Kansas City, making 3 trips to the Majors with his first coming on June 4, a day where he played in 2 states: starting the day with Omaha at Columbus and ending it in Minneapolis with the Royals.
  • With Omaha, Rojas hit 9 homers with 39 RBI in 64 games ... through the first 10 games, he led the club in hits (11), doubles (5) and OPS (.976).
  • On June 4 at Huntington Park in Columbus, Rojas went 1-for-3 with a double for the Storm Chasers before being pulled in the 5th inning, with the Royals selecting his contract ... he missed his first flight out of Columbus and waited 4 hours at the airport before landing in Minnesota mid-game.
  • He arrived at Target Field nearly 3 hours after first pitch but with the game having gone into a rain delay, Rojas entered as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded in a tie game in the 9th ... on his 2nd pitch seen as a Royal, he lined a 2-run single up the middle for an 8-6 win over the Twins.

TRESH PRINCE

  • Luca Tresh was Omaha's everyday catcher and one of its top run producers.
  • Tresh hit .266 with 10 homers and 51 RBI in 95 games ... his 78 starts behind the plate were the most starts at a single position for any Omaha position player ... since his Triple-A debut in 2025, Tresh's 1,185.1 innings caught with the Storm Chasers are the 3rd-most of any Triple-A catcher and 6th-most innings caught by an individual in Omaha's modern era (since 2005).
  • With runners in scoring position, Tresh hit .308 (33-for-107) with 39 RBI and an .822 OPS, and his 15 multi-RBI games tied Toro for 2nd on the club ... he also slashed .290/.320/.459 (53-for-183) with 31 RBI at Werner Park, compared to a .240 average (41-for-171) and .646 OPS on the road.
  • Between 2025 and 2026, Tresh leads all Omaha hitters in hits (157) and RBI (88) while tied 2nd in extra-base hits (57), 3rd in total bases (257), doubles (34) and plate appearances (656) and 5th in runs scored (71).

YOU GO, WE GO, LUGO

  • Matthew Lugo made an immediate impact after the Royals acquired him June 2.
  • Over 21 games in June, Lugo hit .325 (26-for-80) with 7 doubles, 7 homers, 21 RBI and a 1.035 OPS ... he finished the season with 12 homers, 39 RBI and a .522 slugging percentage in 58 games.
  • He hit .310 (18-for-58) with a .945 OPS against left-handers, compared to a .247 average (41-for-166) and .800 OPS against righties ... 5 of his 12 homers led off an inning.
  • In total, 18 of his 32 extra-base hits were doubles and more than half of Lugo's hits (32 of 59) went for extra bases, the highest rate of any Storm Chaser with 200+ plate appearances ... his .522 slugging percentage ranked 3rd on the club (min. 200 PA).

DRURY LANE

  • Brandon Drury was one of Omaha's toughest outs in run-scoring spots.
  • With runners in scoring position, he hit .321 (18-for-56) with 26 RBI, including a slashline of .357/.500/.464 (10-for-28) with runners in scoring position and 2 outs.
  • In his first 14 games with the Storm Chasers, Drury slashed just .213/.275/.277 (10-for-47) with 3 extra-base hits, 3 RBI and 3 walks ... after rejoining Omaha June 18, he hit safely in his first 7 games and reached base in 9 straight games, slashing .382/.462/.765 (13-for-34) with 7 extra-base hits, 10 RBI and 5 walks to end June.
  • Drury went 4-for-6 with a double, a homer, 3 runs and 3 RBI in the 15-12, 11-inning comeback June 21 at St. Paul, and hit a grand slam July 19 vs. Lehigh Valley.

DOUBLE DUTY

  • Peyton Wilson had one of the best year-over-year improvements in recent memory, while leading the charge for Omaha's record-setting doubles total.
  • Wilson's 29 doubles led the club, tied for 6th in the IL and tied for 2nd in the Royals organization ... 12 of his 29 doubles came in June, the 3rd-most doubles any International League player had in a month in 2026, tied for the 5th-most by an Omaha player in a single month in the club's modern era (since 2005).
  • Wilson more than doubled his doubles total from 2025 (13) in just 47 more plate appearances, and his 171-point OPS jump (.618 to .789) was the 4th-largest by an Omaha hitter in the modern era (min. 300 PA in back-to-back seasons), behind Kila Ka'aihue (+236 points, 2009-10), CJ Alexander (+203 points, 2023-24) and Brett Eibner (+181 points, 2014-15) ... it was also the 7th-largest among 81 Triple-A hitters from 2025 to 2026 with 300+ plate appearances in both seasons.
  • After going homerless in his first 50 games with Omaha, all 7 of Wilson's homers came after the All-Star break, capped by a 2-homer game on the final day of the season, September 20 vs. Iowa ... in the season finale, he became the second player in the Storm Chasers era (2011-present) to homer from both sides of the plate, after Drew Waters did so on August 23, 2025 at Columbus.
  • He put together two of the club's longest on-base streaks, 16 games (June 24-July 18) and 14 games (August 23-September 13), and was Omaha's Player of the Month for August, hitting .324 (22-for-68) with a .931 OPS.

ROC SOLID

  • Carson Roccaforte paired his power and speed with perfect glovework, while getting his first taste of the Triple-A level in 2026.
  • Roccaforte led the Royals organization in homers (35), total bases (280) and games played (138) ... his 35 homers tied for the 10th-most in a season by a Royals Minor Leaguer, and the most since MJ Melendez (41) and Nick Pratto (36) in 2021 ... in 28 games with Omaha, he slashed .284/.362/.500 (29-for-102) with 5 homers and went 11-for-11 in stolen base attempts.
  • On September 13 in Indianapolis, Roccaforte connected for a 2-run single in the 1st inning before taking off for 2nd base on the very next pitch, safely stealing his 30th base of the season ... with it, he became the 28th Minor Leaguer to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in a season since 1948, the first Royals Minor Leaguer to do so ... he fell 4 doubles shy of a 30/30/30 season, but still managed the 15th 20/20/20 season by a Royals Minor Leaguer, the 8th to do so while playing for Omaha that season.
  • Between Double-A and Triple-A, Roccaforte did not commit an error all season, handling 333 chances cleanly over 1,106.0 innings, almost all in center field, with 13 outfield assists ... his 129 errorless games were the longest such streak in the Minors this season ... he won the Royals' Frank White Award as the organization's top defender for the 3rd straight year.
  • Roccaforte's last error came July 6, 2025 with High-A Quad Cities, and he has since played 179 straight games in the field without one, handling 491 consecutive chances over 1,546.0 innings with the River Bandits (A+), Naturals (AA) and Storm Chasers.

HEY, HO, ALEJO!

  • Infielder Alejo Lopez signed with Kansas City in July and became one of Omaha's steadiest bats down the stretch.
  • Lopez slashed .307/.375/.404 (35-for-114) in 38 games after his July 23 debut, striking out just 11 times in 130 plate appearances (8.5% strikeout rate) and drawing 13 walks (1.18 BB/K).
  • He did not strike out in his first 9 games (25 PA) with Omaha, and later went 32 straight plate appearances without one (September 4-13), 2 of the IL's 10 longest strikeout-free streaks this season (by games) ... his 8.5% strikeout rate was the lowest of any Storm Chaser with 100+ plate appearances, roughly a third of the club's 24.2%.
  • Lopez reached base in 15 straight games from July 29 to August 26, hitting .378 (17-for-45) with a .463 on-base percentage, 8 walks and just 3 strikeouts ... he had a hit in 10 of those games, including 5 multi-hit games.
  • Between Tacoma and Omaha, he hit .305 (74-for-243) with 21 strikeouts in 276 plate appearances, including .349 (22-for-63) against left-handers compared to .289 (52-for-180) against righties, also hitting .323 (20-for-62) with runners in scoring position.

PINEDA COLADA

  • Jack Pineda made the most of his first taste of the Triple-A level.
  • After his July promotion from Double-A, Pineda hit .302/.337/.488 (26-for-86) with 10 doubles and 15 RBI in 22 games, all starts at shortstop.
  • He hit safely in each of his first 6 Triple-A games (July 21-28), going 10-for-26 (.385), completing a career-best 16-game hitting streak (July 3-28) where he hit .433 (29-for-67) with a 1.173 OPS to end his Double-A tenure and begin his Triple-A career.
  • Pineda hit .362 (17-for-47) with runners on base, compared to .231 with the bases empty (9-for-39), and when hitting with a runner on 2nd base, went 10-for-14 (.714) with 6 doubles and 9 RBI.

HIGH WATERS

  • In his fifth Omaha season, Drew Waters finished the year on a tear.
  • In 9 September games, Waters hit .382/.447/.735 (13-for-34), with 4 doubles, a triple and 2 homers.
  • In June, he drove in a run in 7 straight games (June 18-25), tied for the 2nd-longest RBI streak in Omaha's modern era and tied 4th-longest in the IL this season.
  • He hit .311 (69-for-222) with a .879 OPS on the road, compared to .201 (36-for-179) with a .631 OPS at home and .327 (36-for-110) with a .889 OPS against left-handers, compared to .237 (69-for-291) with a .725 OPS against righties ... 2026 produced his highest average and OPS from the right side in any Minor League season (min. 100 PA), after entering the year a career .258 hitter with a .700 OPS against lefties.
  • Over his 5 seasons with Omaha (2022-26), Waters' 80 doubles are tied with Whit Merrifield and Mike Aviles for 3rd in the modern era (since 2005), and his 63 steals rank 5th ... he is 6th in both runs (224) and homers (43).

BERRY SEASON

  • Jacob Berry found his power stroke after joining Omaha in August.
  • Berry homered 8 times in 108 at-bats with the Chasers (1 every 13.5 AB), after homering 4 times in 243 at-bats with Jacksonville ... his 8 homers between August and September tied for 12th among all Triple-A hitters over that span, and his 13.5 at-bats per homer ranked 10th among 199 Triple-A hitters with 100+ PA.
  • He hit .306 with 4 homers and 10 RBI in September, including 3 homers and 6 RBI in his final 5 games ... his sacrifice fly beat St. Paul September 4 for Omaha's final walk-off win of the year.
  • Berry homered in his Omaha debut, Game 1 of the August 7 doubleheader at Toledo, and reached base 4 times (2-for-2, 2 walks) ... he became the first hitter to hit a home run in their first Omaha at-bat since Jakson Reetz on August 28, 2022 vs. Scranton/WB.

QUICK HITS

  • A few Storm Chasers made the most of short stays in Omaha.
  • In his 5th Triple-A season and shortest Omaha stint, Nick Loftin hit .303 (10-for-33) with an .840 OPS in 9 games ... Kyle Isbel hit .333 (10-for-30) in 9 games on a Major League rehab assignment in July.
  • Rudy Martin Jr. slashed .385/.489/.590 (15-for-39) in 15 games (June 25 to July 12) after opening the year in Double-A Northwest Arkansas, including a 9-game hitting streak from June 27 to July 11.
  • Javier Vaz stole 5 bases and drew 5 walks in 8 games after joining Omaha from Double-A on September 8 ... in his career, he has 230 walks to 191 strikeouts (1.2 BB/K) over 392 Minor League games.

MEASURING UP

  • Omaha's 2026 Statcast leaderboards were topped by familiar names.
  • Brett Squires hit the club's longest home run (457 feet, May 17 vs. Toledo) and 5 of its 10 longest ... his 402.4-foot average home run distance ranked 4th among 28 Triple-A hitters with 20+ homers.
  • Drew Waters produced Omaha's hardest-hit ball, a 113.8 mph groundout April 24 at Toledo, and the highest average home run exit velocity on the team (104.2 mph).
  • Beck Way threw Omaha's fastest pitch, a 99.6 mph four-seamer May 24 at St. Paul, and owned 4 of the 10 fastest ... his average 4-seamer was 96.3 mph, the 2nd-fastest average velocity for any individual pitch, trailing the 96.5 mph average velo of Helcris Olivárez's sinker.

BUY ONE, GET ONE

  • Ryan Ramsey was the workhorse of Omaha's rotation.
  • Ramsey led the Chasers in starts (21), innings (115.2) and strikeouts (110), and his 2,076 pitches thrown were 5th-most in the International League.
  • His 110 strikeouts were the most by an Omaha pitcher since Jackson Kowar's 115 in 2021, and he struck out the side a team-high 4 times ... in the 3rd inning on April 23 at Toledo, he struck out 4 batters in one inning, just the 4th such inning by an Omaha pitcher in the modern era.
  • He induced 20 ground-ball double plays, tied for 4th among all MLB and MiLB pitchers and the only one in the top 9 with fewer than 155.0 innings ... his 20 led the IL by 4, were the 3rd-most by an IL pitcher since 2021 and the most by an Omaha pitcher since Jeff Suppan's 20 in 2011.

HENRY'S FORD

  • Henry Williams was the most durable arm in the Royals' system in 2026.
  • Between Double-A and Triple-A, Williams led the organization in innings (132.0), tied for the lead in starts (26) and ranked 3rd in strikeouts (120) ... his 2,377 pitches were 3rd-most in the Minors.
  • With Omaha, he struck out 96 in 97.2 innings and led the staff with 5 quality starts ... his 13.0 straight earned run-free innings (July 26-August 8) were the longest such stretch by an Omaha pitcher in 2026.
  • Williams was Omaha's Pitcher of the Month in August, as he went 2-2 with a 3.71 ERA (11 ER in 26.2 IP) with 31 strikeouts.

HIT THE ROAD

  • A pair of Omaha starting pitchers thrived when pitching on the road.
  • Mitch Spence posted a 3.38 ERA (15 ER in 40.0 IP) and a .190 opponents' average (28-for-147) in 8 road starts ... he also had a 3.20 ERA (9 ER in 25.1 IP) in 5 second-half starts.
  • Lucas Braun went 7-1 with a 3.07 ERA (19 ER in 55.2 IP) in 11 road starts between Gwinnett and Omaha ... his 9 wins between the two clubs tied for 4th in the IL, and counting 9 starts at Double-A Columbus, his 12 wins tied for 2nd in the Minors.
  • Braun won 7 straight decisions from June 26 to August 13 across three clubs, including quality starts in each of his first 2 Omaha outings (August 7 at Toledo and August 13 at Columbus) ... he began his Storm Chasers career allowing 4 earned runs in 12.0 innings (3.00 ERA) with 10 strikeouts.

CERAN-TOTALLY DOMINANT

  • Eric Cerantola anchored the back end of Omaha's bullpen before making his Major League debut and was one of the top closers in Triple-A in 2026.
  • Cerantola's 11 saves (in 14 chances) led the Royals organization and tied for 3rd in the IL, the most by an Omaha pitcher since Evan Sisk's 15 in 2024, despite his last Omaha appearance coming June 25 ... his 17 saves between Omaha and Sacramento led the Triple-A level and ranked 2nd in the Minors.
  • He posted a 2.67 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 30.1 innings (12.8 K/9), with opposing hitters batting just .219 (25-for-114) against him ... Cerantola was  especially dominant during the day, going 8-for-8 in save chances while firing 12.2 scoreless daytime innings.
  • The Canadian right-hander opened the year with 10.2 scoreless innings, completing a 23.0-inning, 20-outing scoreless streak dating back to 2025, the 3rd-longest in Omaha's modern era behind Andrés Núñez's 26.1 innings in 2022 and Neal Musser's 23.1 innings in 2007.
  • Even after giving up his first runs of the season on April 29, Cerantola maintained an ERA below 2.00 into June, with a 1.59 ERA (4 ER in 22.2 IP) through June 4, with 15 of his first 16 and 17 of his first 20 appearances being scoreless.

MORGAN STANLEY

  • Eli Morgan never lost a decision out of Omaha's bullpen and opened his Storm Chasers career with an impressive scoreless streak.
  • In 22 appearances with Omaha, Morgan went 4-0 with a 1.40 ERA (4 ER in 25.2 IP), striking out 35 (12.3 K/9) and holding opponents to a .202 average (18-for-89).
  • In his first Omaha season, he opened with 10 straight scoreless outings (12.0 IP) from March 28 to June 4 around 2 stints with Kansas City, the longest scoreless streak by an Omaha pitcher in 2026 and the 4th-longest scoreless streak by a pitcher to begin their Omaha career.
  • Morgan struck out 3 over 1.1 perfect innings in his Omaha debut March 28 at Louisville, and went 3-for-4 in save chances, recording a save in each of May, June and July.

SWING SHIFT

  • Four Omaha arms thrived while working in various roles.
  • Bailey Falter posted a 3.35 ERA (16 ER in 43.0 IP) in 17 games (7 starts), striking out 46 ... in 9 MLB rehab games pitching out of relief, he worked a 2.70 ERA (4 ER in 13.1 IP), while working a 4.00 ERA (12 ER in 27.0 IP) over his 7 Omaha starts.
  • Beck Way struck out 43 in 31.0 innings (12.5 K/9) with 10 walks, and his 5 relief wins tied for 2nd on the staff ... 7 of Way's 20 appearances with Omaha lasted 2.0 innings or more, a higher rate (35%) than all but 41 of 214 IL relievers with 20+ relief outings ... in those 7 multi-inning outings, he posted a 2.04 ERA (4 ER in 17.2 IP) with 23 strikeouts (11.7 K/9).
  • Ethan Bosacker went 4-1 in 26 games (4 starts) ... his first 2 outings of the year were starts (April 2 and 4), while also making spot starts May 10 and July 1 ... he worked as many as 4.0 innings in a pair of starts, while his 10 relief outings of 2.0+ innings led the staff, and 6 of them were scoreless ... he was the only Storm Chaser to pitch in every inning from the 1st through the 10th.
  • Mason Black pitched in every role on Omaha's pitching staff: closer early in the season, starter in July and long reliever down the stretch ... he converted his first 3 save chances (April 2 to May 17), made 5 starts in July and finished with 9 relief outings of 2.0+ innings, 2nd on the staff to Bosacker ... he allowed 1 run or fewer in 3 of his 5 starts and also pitched in all 9 innings, the only Storm Chaser with at least 5.0 innings in each one.

SEARS CATALOG

  • Ben Sears did a little bit of everything for the Storm Chasers, working in nearly every role for the team.
  • Sears, named Omaha's Pitcher of the Year in a local vote, led the staff with 6 wins and 41 appearances, including 10 starts, and was Omaha's primary opener in bullpen games ... he was one of 5 arms on the staff to work in every inning from the 1st through the 9th and pitched at least 4.0 innings in every inning.
  • All 6 of Sears' wins came out of the bullpen, where he went 6-1 with a 3.74 ERA (18 ER in 43.1 IP) in 31 relief outings ... in 10 starts as the opener, he never went more than 3.0 innings, pitching to a 4.21 ERA (12 ER in 25.2 IP).

NO-HIT WONDER

  • Carlos Duran closed the season without allowing a hit over his final 7 appearances.
  • From August 27 through the finale, Duran worked 7.0 hitless, scoreless innings, holding opponents 0-for-21 with 11 strikeouts and 4 walks ... the 7-game hitless streak tied for 4th-longest in the IL this season and was Omaha's longest since Will Klein's 8-game, 9.0-inning hitless streak from May 10 to 29, 2024, tied 12th-longest in Omaha's modern era (since 2005).
  • Between Oklahoma City and Omaha, he finished with a 2.98 ERA (18 ER in 54.1 IP), a .195 opponents' average (40-for-205) and 78 strikeouts in 54.1 innings (12.92 K/9).
  • In 12 games with Omaha, Duran posted a 1.54 ERA (2 ER in 11.2 IP) with 17 strikeouts ... 10 of his 12 outings with Omaha were scoreless, including his first 3 and his final 7.

SEPTEMBER SHUTDOWN

  • Several Omaha arms closed the season on a high note.
  • Hunter Patteson worked 9.1 scoreless innings over 3 September outings after making his Triple-A debut in August ... overall between Double-A and Triple-A, he ranked 3rd in the Royals organization in innings (118.0), 4th in wins (8) and 5th in ERA (4.12).
  • Vince Velasquez posted a 3.18 ERA (6 ER in 17.0 IP) over 3 September starts, including consecutive quality starts without an earned run allowed on September 5 vs. St. Paul and September 11 at Indianapolis.
  • After joining the club August 4, Scott Alexander pitched to a 2.08 ERA (3 ER in 13.0 IP) over 14 outings, 10 of them scoreless.
  • John Means pitched to a 2.38 ERA (3 ER in 11.1 IP) over 3 September starts, walking 1 and striking out 10 in 11.1 innings, including 4.0 scoreless innings September 10 at Indianapolis.
  • 7 of Lucas Erceg's 9 appearances with Omaha between August 21 and September 12 were scoreless, including all 5 in September, before the right-hander was recalled on September 14 ... over his 9 outings, Erceg pitched to a 1.74 ERA (2 ER in 10.1 IP).
  • A pair of Major League rehabbers did not allow a run with the Chasers in September ... James McArthur made a pair of scoreless appearances (2.0 IP) in the final series of the year vs. Iowa, while Connor Seabold fired 4.0 scoreless innings over 4 appearances the last two weeks of the season.