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Royals put three in Futures Game

The Sports Xchange

The future continues to look bright with no clouds for the Kansas City Royals.

The Royals will have blue-chip prospects Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi and Yordano Ventura in the 14th annual All-Star Futures Game, which will be played July 8 at Kauffman Stadium.

The Royals are the only organization in baseball to place three players in the Futures Game.

This will be the second straight year for Myers, a 21-year-old outfielder, to appear in the game. Myers has 24 home runs, tied with Brad Eldred for the minor league lead. He began the season with Class AA Northwest Arkansas and was promoted to Class AAA Omaha in mid-May. Between the two stops, he is hitting .330 with 18 doubles, three triples, 62 RBI and 60 runs in 69 games. Myers, a 2009 third-round draft pick, has a .704 slugging percentage and a .410 on-base percentage.

Odorizzi, a 22-year-old right-hander, opened the season with Northwest Arkansas and was promoted to the Omaha the same day as Myers. For the season, he is 8-2 with a 2.89 earned run average in 13 games, 12 of them starts. He has struck 81 in 71 2/3 innings and held opposing batters to a .219 average. Odorizzi was acquired as part of a Dec. 19, 2010, trade that sent Zack Greinke to Milwaukee.

Myers and Odorizzi will be on the United States team, which will be managed by Royals Hall of Famer George Brett.

Ventura, 21, will pitch for the World Team. He tossed a scoreless inning, striking out one and walking one, for the Carolina League All-Stars on Tuesday against the California League All-Stars. In 13 starts with Class A Wilmington, Ventura is 3-5 with a 3.10 ERA, and he's struck out 78 in 61 innings. He is from the Dominican Republic and signed Oct. 8, 2008, with the Royals as a non-drafted free agent.

In the game last July at Phoenix, Myers and right-hander Kelvin Herrera, who this season is in the Kansas City bullpen, were the Royals' representatives. Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer, designated hitter Billy Butler and third baseman Mike Moustakas are former participants in the Futures Game.