BAR: Johnny Cueto struggling in blue

The Blog Above Replacement is Reds beat writer C. Trent Rosecrans' daily look at the Reds, their minor leagues and whatever else is on his mind.

I saw a guy who looked a whole lot like Johnny Cueto in a Royals uniform on Sunday, but I just don't believe that's Johnny Cueto.

After a strong start with the Royals, Cueto has lost his last five and put up a 9.57 ERA in those starts. He's 2-6 with a 5.43 ERA in his nine starts with Kansas City. (Of note, John Lamb is 1-3 with a 5.18 ERA in six starts for the Reds.)

It may get to the point where Cueto won't only not be the No. 1 starter for the Royals in the playoffs, but it could get to the point where you wonder if he's even on the playoff roster. Ned Yost told the Kansas City Star that he's not quite ready to make postseason decisions yet, but the Royals feel like it's not a physical thing, but a mental thing.

The stuff hasn't been the problem, but the control, which sounds so un-Cueto-like.

Meanwhile, Mike Leake picked up his first win as a Giant on Sunday – and hit a three-run homer to boot. He's 1-3 with a 4.34 ERA in six starts with San Francisco.

The Giants have to be happy with the production they've gotten from Marlon Byrd, especially with San Francisco losing outfielders left and right. Byrd's hitting .314/.355/.523 since the trade with three homers and 23 RBI in 22 games. Byrd also has 481 plate appearances this season – with 550 plate appearances, his $8 million option vests, so that should be interesting to watch.

MINOR LEAGUE ROUNDUP

• Double-A: Biloxi 7, Pensacola 5 (Saturday): The Blue Wahoos were swept in the Southern League playoffs, ending their season. 1B Marquez Smith hit a grand slam and Jesse Winker was 1-for-3 with an RBI. [Box]

• High-A: Charlotte 3, Daytona 2, 13 innings: The Tortugas' season ended in heartbreaking fashion, a 13-inning loss in the Florida State League playoffs. LHP Amir Garrett gave up two runs in the first, then retired 10 of the last 11 he faced. He allowed four hits and two walks in six innings with seven strikeouts. 1B Chad Wallach drove in both Tortugas runs. [Box]

• Rookie: Missoula 6, Billings 3 (Friday): The Mustangs' season ended with a loss to Billings in the Pioneer League playoffs. CF Zach Shields singled in one run and 3B Brantley Bell had a sacrifice fly for another. [Box]

THE ROTATION

1. ICYMI, I had fun with Saturday's gamer. A kind of 'how the sausage is made' story, but … In spring training, Zack Cozart told me about Skip Schumaker saying, "Schumaker loves homers!" after he homered. I'd been holding onto that all year, waiting for a big Schumaker homer to break it out. Just as we were finishing up with Skip on Saturday, I said to him, "I hear Schumaker loves homers." And he started laughing and admitted that indeed, Schumaker loves homers. What makes it funnier is that if I were choosing people least likely to speak in the third person, Schumaker would be pretty high on that list.

2. A cool story from the Houston Chronicle about how the Astros have done pro scouting a little differently and found success.

3. Juan Uribe, American hero. [Sporting News]

4. If you had a TV on this weekend, you undoubtedly saw at least 70 billionty ads for one-day fantasy sports (which, remember, isn't gambling, they tell us, despite putting in money to try to win money by predicting the outcome of sports). Anyway, thinking about trying it? Well, you probably won't win money in the long run, at least that's what Bloomberg says.

5. Chris Hurst, the fiancé of Roanoke shooting victim Alison Parker, talks to a friend of his, who talks to a Roanoke truther. Chilling, to say the least. [The Daily Beast]