Royals' Matt Strahm: Looking better in second round

Strahm allowed a hit and struck out one in an inning of work Monday against the White Sox.

Analysis:

Since returning from an early-season demotion, the Royals' top prospect has produced better results. Before being sent down, Strahm gave up seven runs on four hits and six walks with no strikeouts over 1.1 innings. Through the same amount of work in round two, the left-hander's surrendered no runs on just one hit and zero walks while notching his first strikeout of the year. The team would prefer Strahm get MLB experience rather than push him back down to the minors, but the 25-year-old will need to continue providing quality appearances in relief in order to stick around.