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2011 Kansas City Royals Repository Thread (https://chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=240326)

http://www.the-signal.com/section/22/article/39851/

Quote:

MLB: Rapid Riser

Hart graduate Montgomery named No. 14 overall prospect in minors, No. 2 left-hander

By Cary Osborne

The goal is getting to Kansas City where a modernized, reinvigorated stadium lies, complete with a diamond and waterfalls.

And Hart High graduate Michael Montgomery is there.

Nearly a foot of snow is covering the diamond, which prevents Montgomery from taking the mound at Kauffman Stadium this week, home of the Kansas City Royals.

But it appears that not much else is preventing him from pitching there in the future.

Montgomery, in Kansas City this week as part of a prospect orientation/winter development camp, was named by MLB.com as the 14th best prospect in all of minor league baseball and the second best left-handed pitching prospect behind Cuban-phenom Aroldis Chapman.

But to the 21-year-old, it’s not the realization of the goal.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” Montgomery says. “I haven’t done anything yet. It’s cool. It’s an honor, but when it comes down to it, it doesn’t mean anything.”

Yet it does carry some sort of meaning to others.

It means that Montgomery is on the cusp of becoming a big-leaguer.

In fact, the Kansas City Royals have invited him to big league camp in Surprise, Ariz. for Spring Training.

In all likelihood, Montgomery will not make the Royals out of Spring Training and will see some more seasoning at the Double- or Triple-A level this year.

But again, he is just 21 years old and not even three years out of high school.

Royals Assistant General Manager, Scouting/Player Development J.J. Picollo details the expectations for the spring.

“Our Major League team is young. We have things unsettled in our starting pitching. With every pitcher we bring in to camp, we’re bringing them in with the idea that they’re competing for a job,” Picollo says. “Being a young pitcher not on the (25- or 40-man Major League) roster, he’s going to have to deliver a knock out punch to make that team, but I think the overall atmosphere is going to be where he’s going to spend many years of his career. To get any exposure to our big league staff, to get a feel for what’s that like along with a lot of his teammates, it’s going to be a learning experience for him.”

Montgomery’s rise has been quick.

The 6-foot-5-inch, 180-pound southpaw was a dominant three-year varsity starting pitcher at Hart.

Montgomery has still found a way not only to maintain the sort of success he had against batters in high school, in some ways he has exceeded it.

Picollo says there was never much doubt.

He says Kansas City worried in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft that Montgomery might not be available at the 36th overall pick in the first round.

He fit the organization’s philosophy at the time.

Kansas City wanted to build its farm system around pitching and high schoolers.

Montgomery’s added bonus was that he is a hard-throwing left-hander.

He got off to a quick start, going 2-1 with a 1.69 ERA in 12 games in Rookie League in 2008.

The next season, he went 6-4 with a 2.21 ERA in 21 games in Single-A.

He entered the 2010 season rated as the Royals’ top prospect by Baseball America.

Though he did get sidetracked by some forearm tendinitis during the year, he went 7-5 with a 2.61 ERA between Single- and Double-A.

He pitched in the Arizona Fall League Rising Stars Game and played for the USA Baseball Professional Team at the COPABE Pan American/World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Puerto Rico.

“I have to credit God,” Montgomery says of his success and rapid rise. “There’s really no way in a million years I would have dreamt as a kid that I’d be where I am today.”

Montgomery says he was always throwing as a kid. His family even has old videos of him tossing rocks as a baby. He played baseball competitively at an early age, but his true love was basketball.

Yet baseball has brought out a side of him that’s made him successful.

Picollo says it’s a side that the Royals’ organization is seeing quite often.

“The thing is, until you’re around a guy, we really don’t know how a guy competes. What we’re seeing with Mike is the better the competition, the better he competes and he’s not intimidated by any hitters,” Picollo says. “He’s very aggressive in a way that he attacks hitters. It’s that confidence and desire to dominate a hitter. He really wants to put hitters away and attack the strike zone.”

Montgomery said he’s still learning.

When he was in high school, he mixed in a low-90s fastball with a changeup and a palm ball.

In the minors, he developed a curve ball and has improved the fastball to the mid-90s, even touching 97. His changeup is also getting stronger and he has all but removed the palm ball from his repertoire.

Picollo says one more thing he needs to improve on is his ability to throw first-pitch strikes.

The Royals’ Assistant GM adds that with experience, Montgomery will learn that he doesn’t need to pitch at 95 to 97 MPH. He will settle in the low 90s and use the 95 to 97 in spots.

After that, it might be a matter of time before he settles in at Kauffman Stadium for good.

The Royals are a rising franchise with six players in the Top-50 prospects list.

Montgomery understands what being on that list means.

So is he ready to take the next step?

“That’s a tough question. I don’t want to say, ‘Yeah, I’m ready,’ or say, ‘No, I don’t feel like I’m ready,’” Montgomery says. “Someone told me you’ll know when you’re ready.”

It might be soon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alnorth (Post 7395338)

Matt Kelsey is a moron.

Wil Myers has the potential to be not just some good hitter, but a freaking amazing hitter. Given that, and given the fact that he wont ever have a plus glove at catcher, and especially given the fact that he'd miss 25-30 more games as a catcher, its a no-brainer.

If we had an excess of hitters and we had one to spare at catcher, fine. Someone with Wil's talent should be in the lineup every day.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...ws_kc&c_id=mlb

Quote:

Move to outfield should get Myers to KC sooner

Top prospect trading in 'tools of ignorance' to focus on hitting

By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com | 01/31/11 10:00 AM EST

KANSAS CITY -- After an unusually warm Sunday afternoon, Wil Myers was just off the golf course at Grandover Resort in Greensboro, N.C.

"I'm pretty good," he said over the phone. "It's like my favorite thing to do."
Except for, of course, hitting baseballs.

http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2011/01/30/qhHSraSc.jpg
Wil Myers finished 2010 by hitting .346 with 24 extra-base hits in 58 games for Class A Wilmington. (Keith Lovett/MiLB.com)

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And that's what Myers will concentrate on doing this season, as the Royals move the 20-year-old prized prospect from the catching position to the outfield.

The move was made public just after Myers was named the game's No. 2 catching prospect this month by MLB.com. But it was a change that had been under consideration for a while.

"The question came up, 'Is this the best spot for him if he's that good of a hitter?'" said J.J. Picollo, the Royals' assistant general manager of scouting and player development.

The answer was no -- that he'd likely progress faster as a hitter and help the Major League Royals sooner as an outfielder.

"I think long-term it's the best step for me -- and also the Royals," Myers said.

Myers is a powerful right-handed batter, at a time the Royals are strongest from the left side, and he's done well. Most notably, he finished last season by hitting .346 with 24 extra-base hits and 38 RBIs in 58 games for Advanced Class A Wilmington.

The Royals had figured on making a decision on a position change after this season.

"But with the year he had offensively, he forced our hand a little bit quicker," Picollo said.

A third-round choice in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, Myers played several positions for Wesleyan Christian Academy in High Point, N.C. But the Royals, rather thin on catching, used him at that spot in 86 of the 148 games he's played since signing late in the summer of '09. Myers was also used as a designated hitter, a spot he didn't particularly enjoy because he likes playing a position.

"I liked always being in the game," he said. "When I was catching, I was able to see what the umpire was calling all the time, see what people were pitching. They say catching takes away from your bat, but to be honest, I think it helped to be able to see what umpires [call], what kind of pitches pitchers like to throw in certain counts. My favorite part of catching was that it just kind of helped me learn to be a better hitter."

Myers spent the first part of last season at Class A Burlington, Iowa, and he got off to a slow start. Swinging at virtually everything, his strikeouts soared way over his bases on balls. Then, he got more patient. He finished his 68 Burlington games with a .289 average and .408 on-base percentage.

The Royals still believe Myers has the tools to be a good catcher, but as Picollo phrased it, "His bat is his best tool." And they figured his bat would suffer if, playing at Double-A Northwest Arkansas this year, he had to worry about game-calling and blocking balls -- and the bruises and all that goes with catching.

As Myers put it: "You shouldn't even have to worry about hitting when you catch. All you need to worry about is catching. And my main thing is hitting. I'm not a big defensive specialist."

So he'll be used in the outfield, probably at all three positions, but with the idea that he'll become a right fielder. As a hitter, the Royals see rapid progress ahead.

"I think it's going to be a similar path that Billy [Butler] took," Picollo said. "He's going to hit a lot of doubles, gap-to-gap. He has the power to hit the ball out, but it's something that's going to develop in time. He's more of a pull-oriented guy right now -- and that's going to hurt because, especially at the Double-A level, they'll pitch him away. That'll cut down on his home-run production until he shows other teams that he can consistently hit the ball up the middle or the other way."

The outfield isn't new to Myers.

"When I was growing up, that was the only position I played. I was the center fielder from Little League to eighth grade. Then I hit my growth spurt and kind of got really slow, so I moved to the infield," Myers said. "I was like 5-foot-6, with a size 13 shoe."

Now, he's an angular 6-4 and 211 pounds, just back from three weeks of intense workouts with trainers in Florida. Before that, he was schooled at the Royals' complex in Arizona by outfield instructor Rusty Kuntz.

With Myers switching to the outfield, the Royals' top catching prospects are Manny Pina, 23, and Salvador Perez, 20. Pina, after two solid seasons at the Double-A level, is on the Major League roster as the third catcher behind Brayan Pena and Lucas May. Perez is coming off a bounce-back season with Wilmington.

"Salvador Perez has really kind of jumped to the forefront. He's can really catch and throw. He's got great leadership skills, blocks extremely well, throws extremely well," Picollo said. "But the biggest jump Salvador made last year was with his bat. He hit .290 in the Carolina League, coming off a year where we actually had to move him back from the Midwest League to the Pioneer League."

On the subject of switching positions, Picollo said that Christian Colon, the Royals' top choice in the 2010 Draft, would remain at shortstop this year. There had been speculation that he might be moved to second base -- especially after the Royals got shortstop Alcides Escobar from Milwaukee in the Zack Greinke deal.

"We don't think it's the right time to make a move on Colon," Picollo said. "He needs to go out and play shortstop, and progress offensively. If Escobar's all we think he's going to be, then we've got to make a decision."

But the decision has been made on Myers. The outfield beckons -- and he's eager. Even though he played golf on Sunday, he's cut back on that game to prepare for Spring Training.
"It's a big season for me and I've got to get going," he said.

SS Alcides Escobar
2B Mike Aviles
1B Billy Butler
RF Jeff Francoeur
3B Wilson Betemit
LF Alex Gordon
DH Kila Kai'aihue
C Jason Kendall
CF Lorenzo Cain

Also, we can't forget about Melky Cabrera as a backup outfielder. While this lineup may not be too hot, the pitching is even worse.

Let's have a look:
Jeff Francis
Luke Hochevar
Kyle Davies
Vin Mazzaro
Bruce Chen
Sean O'Sullivan

This team is bad, but I've seen worse.

Les Norman on 810:

Alex Gordon's swing is "not the same"; "He's really bought in to what Seitz is saying."

Noted that Gordon's swing is more compact and that his hands are quick through the zone. Asking questions, listening, working his ass off.

Eh, who knows. But this sounds good.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeezNutz (Post 7397653)

Great more singles!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by OmahaChief (Post 7397729)

Great more singles!!

Would be better than strikeouts

Gordon's got enough power that he can get it over the wall regardless of how short his swing is.

Short, compact swing does not equal singles. To the point of contact, it's all about being quick. After contact, then it's lower body, biceps, and triceps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeezNutz (Post 7397797)

Short, compact swing does not equal singles. To the point of contact, it's all about being quick. After contact, then it's lower body, biceps, and triceps.

How about forearms? Gordon's got those in spades.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saul Good (Post 7397803)

How about forearms? Gordon's got those in spades.

Absolutely. And strong wrists.

Up until contact, if you're trying to "muscle," you're ****ed. The early tell is when someone is gripping the shit out of the bat, when it should be held loose enough that someone could walk by and pull it out of your hands.

Well yeah, Gordon is going to dominate this year.
Posted via Mobile Device

If there were Karmic justice in the world for Royals fans, Gordon would finally "get it" this year. That would open up a lot of exciting possibilities for this team going forward. But I'm not about to hold my breath.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OmahaChief (Post 7397729)

Great more singles!!

That would be a nice improvement. At this point All I'm hoping for is over .340 OBP. Anything more than that and/or a decent SLG is gravy.

If the light were to go on for Hochevar and Gordon, this year would be a success almost irrespective of everything else.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper16 (Post 7397855)

So true. We need an unexpected blessing or thirty.