Former Chukars climbing organizational ladder

As the Kansas City Royals’ full-season minor league clubs open their 2010 campaigns today, loads of former Chukars find themselves on opening-day rosters up and down the organization.

Billy Butler still remains the only former Chukar on the Kansas City Royals’ roster, but five sit one step below at Triple-A. And the Royals just placed two of them, right-handed pitcher Blake Wood and outfielder Jordan Parraz, on the 40-man roster to start the MLB season, making them the most likely to get called up next.

Moving down the organizational ladder, more and more former Chukars appear on opening-day rosters.

The Chukars are the Royals’ highest affiliate to play a short season and don’t open the season until June 21. Four clubs are higher on the organizational ladder and play a full-season schedule, which starts today.

A full list of former Chukars opening the season on Royals-affiliated clubs is below. The year they played in Idaho Falls is listed in parenthesis.

Three former Chukars earn organizational awards

Salvador Perez

The Kansas City Royals announced their organizational awards Tuesday and three former Chukars made the list.

Billy Butler, a 2004 Chukar, earned the Les Milgram Player of Year award recognizing the Royals’ top hitter. He’s the youngest, at 23 years old, to win the award since George Brett won it at 23 in 1976. Butler finished the season hitting .301 with 21 home runs, 51 doubles and 93 RBIs.

Salvador Perez, the Chukars’ everyday catcher in 2009, received the Frank White Defensive Player of the Year award recognizing the organization’s top minor league defensive player. In 42 games as a catcher with the Chukars, Perez posted a .993 fielding percentage and threw out a third, 17 of 51, of attempted basestealers.

Clint Robinson, a 2007 Chukar, earned the Mike Sweeney Award recognizing the player who best represents the organization on and off the field. Robinson spent more than 36 hours in local schools and camps in addition to the local children’s hospital in Wilmington, Delaware. According to the Wilmington club’s community relations staff, Robinson made himself available for each and every community appearance.

Robinson hit .298 with 13 home runs in his first full season with the Royals’ High-A affiliate.