The Insider: Former Stinger Brault assigned to AFL

Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Steven Brault, who played for the Willmar Stingers in 2012-13, will play for the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League, which begins play in mid-October.
Brault is 12-4 this season with a 2.56 ERA and 120 strikeouts in 147.2 innings, splitting time between Single-A Bradenton and Double-A Altoona in the Pirates farm system.
Last season, former Stingers Jordan Smith and Hunter Dozier played in the AFL.
Central Lakes Conference Performers of the Week
Girls soccer: Hannah Johnson, freshman, Willmar - she had 2 assists and 7 shots on goal.
Warriors’ DB Brice Defensive Player of the Week
Ridgewater defensive back Brandon Brice, a freshman from St. Louis, was named the MCAC Western Division Defensive Player of the Week.
Brice had eight tackles and returned an interception for a touchdown in the Warriors’ 20-13 win over Mesabi Range on Saturday.
Royals’ Rios, Herrera sidelined by chickenpox
Not much has been able to slow down the Kansas City Royals this season, but they now face an unexpected health challenge.
The Kansas City Star reported that a chickenpox outbreak has hit the Royals’ clubhouse and at least two players - outfielder Alex Rios and All-Star reliever Kelvin Herrera - are infected.
Rios and Herrera will be quarantined and out of action for about two weeks as the Royals try to contain this illness.
Rios is hitting .253 with two homers in 82 games this season, and Herrera is 4-2 with a 2.12 ERA.
Rafael Harpaz, a medical epidemiologist from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Star that chickenpox is more dangerous for adults than it is for children and said “for reasons that are not well-understood,” people raised in Caribbean climates are often more susceptible to the chickenpox as adults in America.
Rios grew up in Puerto Rico and Herrera is from the Dominican Republic.
Symptoms for chickenpox may not be visible for several weeks after contacting the illness, so Royals players and coaches have been told to contact their families to determine whether they had chickenpox when they were children.
An examination on Monday of both Rios and Herrera confirmed the diagnosis of chickenpox, according to the Star report.
The team believes - and hopes - the chickenpox infection has been limited to the two players.
The Royals think Rios was the first player to be infected. He was scratched from Saturday’s lineup about an hour before the game, and the team sent him home on a private jet.
The loss of Rios is part of the reason the Royals acquired corner outfielder Jonny Gomes in a trade with the Atlanta Braves
- Tribune Sports/Sports Xchange