I could be wrong but I think a couple people had Escobar right near the top of the overall prospect list in 2010.

Royals_Report Bob Dutton
#Royals make two more cuts after 11-3 victory over Padres: RHP Gaby Hernandez and 2B Johnny Giavotella reassigned to minor-league camp.

I hoped Giavotella had an outside shot to make the club, kinda dissapointing he is one of the first to be reassigned.

i must say, i am probably more excited this year for the royals than any other year since i was a little kid. I just like the way we're going and this will most likely finally be the turnaround year for us like the chiefs.

I am afraid next year might be the turnaround year as far as MLB record, it should be an exciting year nonetheless.

I believe he was top 3, and really never fell far from that at all. He was untouchable until his flop year last year.

Also for Gordon, batting .067 so far...this is great news, he usually tears it up in ST and shits all year

Wow, Gordon could be sent to AAA.

Yeah I had to choose between a Greinke or Gordon jersey two years ago.. Nice to know I was ****ed either way.. argghhhh... Just going to buy a Frank White jersey..

It doesn't mean anything so I wouldn't be disappointed.

I am really hoping Gio can turn into a super utility guy for us, kind of like Martin Prado for the Braves. Moore mentioned that he played OF in high school and has the arm for 3rd, so if could get solid playing time just rotating between 2B, 3B, and OF as a backup.

After getting burned by Teahen last decade back when people still thought he'd be good, I went the safe route and bought a Butler jersey right after he signed his huge extension.

If they send Gordon to AAA, they are completely reeruned. Gordon needs an entire year of service time in the bigs to properly evaluate him. Nothing else should be an option. We are going to blow ass...if he bats .190 over 600 abs. I don't care. Run his ass out there every damn day. He's shown he has power, decent eye. He could get it turned around to be a .265 25 hr player. No Ryan Bruan, but a decent part of the puzzle.

This. Let's find out if the kid can play or if we need to cut bait.

You damn well should've gotten more for Gonzalez than the Royals got for Greinke.

Adrian Gonzalez is one of the 5-10 best hitters in the game. Greinke is probably a top 10 pitcher but he also has some miles on him and always has the 'headcase' tag.

Even if you figure they're equal relative to their positions, I'd take the position player over the pitcher.

The Royals did better with their return on Greinke than the Padres did on their return with Gonzalez.

He hardly fell off a cliff.

23 and 24 were his 'growth' seasons and looked very similar to Butlers.

25, 26 and 27 had him battling injuries through most of those seasons. 28, 29 and 30 were all good seasons with his age 29 year being arguably the best of his career. I have no idea how 'steroids' came up apart from KevB making shit up to support his boy. Casey's career arc perfectly matches a standard ol' player; his numbers tailed off around 30 years old because that's what players built like he was tend to do. I'd imagine Kev never actually watched Casey swing a bat but feels qualified to judge anyone that played in the 90s.

And I'm not focusing on the HRs at all, but those are the easiest fit. I watched Casey all those years; recall I'm a Cardinals fan. He was a very 'professional' hitter. He was a gap to gap guy that hit doubles that would occasionally clear the fence - sound like anyone you know? He had a solid batting eye and low K totals. He was quite a bit faster than Butler, but played the same kind of game (doubles, station to station running).

Casey had a very level swing that just didn't generate the backspin or loft needed to make him a prolific HR hitter. It allowed him to keep the barrel in the hitting zone longer and keep his K totals relatively low despite not being blessed with hitters wrists like a guy like Vladdy. With that swing plane, your HRs tend to just be line drives that scrape over the wall. I don't care how strong you are, without putting backspin on the ball, that's a very very difficult thing to do and isn't likely going to happen more than 25-30 times/season.

Butler's swing is very similar. As is his approach at the plate.

I know nobody likes to be realistic about their prospects, but I'd bet any amount of money that Billy Butler's career comes far closer to Sean Casey's than Edgar Martinez. And that's not an insult, Casey was a 3-time AS and a key component to some very solid Reds teams. Had he stayed healthy, he'd have been thought of more prominently.

Would you prefer I compare him to Mike Lowell? Maybe Aubrey Huff? John Olerud?

Those are all names you could pretty much put in the same hopper. There's a little variation between them (Casey to the low side, Olerud to the high), but those are the kinds of guys Billy Butler is likely to become.

Giavotella will likely still play.

I remember last spring, Donavan Solano got cut really early for the Cardinals. Then around the 6th inning of the big league games, the games on the back field would finish and you'd see about 5 guys come running through the parking lot to the big field. They'd hustle into the bullpen and then run down the the benches between innings. Next thing you knew, Solano would come in as a defensive replacement in the last 2 or 3 innings even though he wasn't technically on the team.

Spring games are pretty funny to see in person. I mean they don't give anyone 4 strikes or anything, but they play guys that aren't even on the organizational depth chart. I saw one of the most extreme drop and drive pitchers I've seen in years pitch to two batters at the big park last season. I never could figure out who he was. His number didn't even exist and he never made the roster. I was pretty bummed out, actually - those drop and drive guys are fun to watch (Tom Seaverish) and you never see them any more.

Gordon's already said he was going to "dominate" this year.
Alllllrighty then!