Neal Musser #58

Full name is Neal Gordon Musser...resides in Port St. Lucie, Fla., and was married to Valerie Martin in January, 2007...Graduated from Benton Central High in Oxford, Ind.

2007

Had a successful first full season in the Royals organization, dominating hitters at Omaha (AAA) and pitching well with the Royals...Between stints with the big league club, went 4-1 with 8 saves and a 0.49 ERA in 32 appearances for Omaha...did not allow an earned run through his first 45.2 innings for Omaha...Opened the season at Omaha (AAA) before being recalled on April 20...Recorded at least 1 strikeout in 9 of his last 10 appearances (15 total)...The Royals were just 2-15 in his 17 appearances...Made his Major League debut on April 21 vs. Minnesota, allowing an unearned run on 2 hits and recording 1 out...Optioned to Omaha on April 24 after making just 2 appearances (0.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB)...recalled on May 1 and made 4 more appearances before being optioned a 2nd time on May 12...Allowed 4 runs on 2 separate occasions, including May 10 vs. Oakland when he also was touched for 3 home runs in 1.0 inning of work...Recalled on June 14 and was 0-1 with a 2.00 ERA in 11 appearances (18 IP, 4 ER) the remainder of the season...Pitched a career-high 3.1 innings on June 19 at St. Louis, allowing 3 hits and striking out 2...Optioned on July 14 only to be recalled on July 16 where he tossed 2 scoreless innings at Boston...was optioned on July 17 and recalled for a final time on Sept. 1 when the rosters expanded...Fractured his right hand on Sept. 10 and missed the remainder of the season, though he was not placed on the disabled list.

2006

Was a non-roster invite to Arizona Diamondbacks Spring Training...made just 3 appearances, recording a 9.00 ERA...Assigned to Tucson (AAA) and went 1-3 with a 5.45 ERA in 8 games (7 starts) before being released...Signed by the Royals as a minor league free agent on May 24 and was sent to Omaha (AAA)...went 1-0 with a 1.86 ERA in 2 starts for the O-Royals, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits in 9.2 innings...Pitched the remainder of the year for Wichita (AA), serving the roles of starter, set-up man and closer as the Wranglers won the 2nd-half title...recorded a 6-3 record with a 4.95 ERA in 18 games, including 11 starts...Fared better as a reliever at Wichita, recording a 2-0 record and a 2.49 ERA (21.2 IP, 6 ER)...was 4-3 with a 5.81 ERA (62.0 IP, 40 ER) as a starter...Made 9 appearances (3 starts) for the Grand Canyon Rafters following the 2006 season, recording an 0-2 record with a 2.61 ERA...walked 2 and struck out 18 in 20.2 innings...Added to the Royals 40-man roster on Nov. 20.