Bonifacio leads Royals' entries to Arizona Fall League

MINNEAPOLIS -- Four of the eight players assigned to the Arizona Fall League by the Royals are on the club's Top 20 Prospect Watch as rated by MLB.com.

They include No. 5-ranked Jorge Bonifacio, an outfielder and the brother of current Royals infielder Emilio Bonifacio. The younger Bonifacio has played with Double-A Northwest Arkansas, Class A Wilmington and Rookie Surprise this summer, batting .299 with four homers and 52 RBIs in 87 games.

Also assigned to the Peoria Javelinas are the No. 8 and No. 9 Royals prospects, shortstop Orlando Calixte and third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert, respectively. Calixte has a .248 average, eight homers and 35 RBIs in 116 games for Northwest Arkansas. Cuthbert, in 118 games for Northwest Arkansas and Wilmington, is batting .256 with eight homers and 59 RBIs.

The other ranked player is No. 18, right-handed pitcher Jason Adam, who is 8-11 with a 5.45 ERA in 25 starts for Northwest Arkansas. He's a Kansas City area product, selected in the fifth round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft from Blue Valley Northwest High School.

Among the other four players is left-handed pitcher Noel Arguelles, who was 1-8 with a 5.93 ERA in 25 games (11 starts) for Northwest Arkansas, but is now rehabbing with Surprise.

Also on the Javelinas' roster are: Right-handed pitchers Angel Baez, 3-1 with a 4.02 ERA in 12 games for Wilmington and Surprise and Malcom Culver, 5-5 and a 2.85 ERA in 37 relief appearances for Wilmington, and outfielder Lane Adams, who has a .270 average, 12 homers and 65 RBIs in 124 games for Northwest Arkansas and Wilmington. Adams will be on the taxi squad, available on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The Javelinas will play at Surprise Stadium because the Peoria complex is being renovated. The 22nd AFL season runs from Oct. 8 through Nov. 16.