Royals impressed by ex-Vol Hochevar

KANSAS CITY - Billy Butler got a head-pat from Buddy Bell after Tuesday night's win over Chicago. Butler had a two-run single in the first. Lost in Monday's wreckage of Chicago's 11-run fifth inning was another strong extended relief outing by Royals' rookie right-hander Luke Hochevar.

Sure, it came in mop-up duty. But the former University of Tennessee star still turned some heads by pitching 3 <0x00AA> scoreless innings after the White Sox hammered Kyle Davies and Brandon Duckworth. That followed three scoreless innings by Hochevar in his big-league debut Sept. 8 against the New York Yankees.

"I liked Hochevar again," manager Buddy Bell said. "I thought he was more of a 95-96 (mph) and command type. I didn't realize he had the movement with his sinker as much as he does. That's really good."

The Royals summoned Hochevar once Class AAA Omaha concluded its season. The club's player-development staff believes he could be ready to compete next spring for a job in the rotation - despite an inconsistent season at Omaha and Class AA Wichita.

"We were never too worried about his (minor-league) numbers," farm director J.J. Picollo said. "We saw improvement. If he had been a guy picked in the middle of the first round, nobody would have said anything about his numbers."

That wasn't the case, of course. Hochevar was the first overall pick in the 2006 draft. That meant his 4-9 record and 4.69 ERA attracted extra attention.