2013 Kansas City Royals Repository Thread

[duncan_idaho]

Proposed 2013 Slogan: Tigers: They're what's for dinner
Actual 2013 Slogan: Come to Play
A better, more accurate, or alternative slogan: All in, no panic, we promise.

Dayton Moore has pushed all his chips in and is riding on King/Jack suited, hoping it comes together, he gets some good luck, and he hits the nuts by the river card. There's potential, oh yes, there's potential. There's also risk.

At the midway point, Dayton is left counting on the river card. The flop and turn didn't help him, and he's looking at the Tigers holding a pair of Queens and the Indians holding a pair of 9s. His 2013 plan hasn't failed - yet - but the odds are not in his favor.

Burning questions updates below.

Burning Questions for 2013:

1) Will the improve rotation be improved enough? Does James Shields pitch like a fringe No. 1 away from Tampa Bay? Does Ervin Santana pitch to his highest upside in his walk year? Can Jeremy Guthrie build on his strong performance as a Royal in 2012? Can Wade Davis bring his new mentality- and velocity - back to the rotation?

Midseason check-in: Yes, the rotation is certainly improved enough. Shields has pitched like a fringe No. 1 and Santana is having his best season. Guthrie has horrible peripherals but has continued to perform well at his home park and eat innings on the road. Davis brought neither his kick-ass mentality or improved velocity back to the rotation and is in Luke Hochevar/Hiram Davies territory.

2) When will Luke Hochevar be shown the door?
Midseason check-in: It appears, never, at this point. Hochevar has been solid in non-leverage situations, though pretty much every time he has been used with men on base in an inning, it has been a disaster.

3) Does Hosmer bounce back?
Midseason check-in: It took some time, but Hosmer's performance from June 1 on is probably the most encouraging thing about the 2013 season so far.
4) Can Moustakas hit for a whole season like he did in the first half of 2012?
Midseason check-in: Nope. Moustakas was god-awful, then great for about 3 weeks, then god-awful again. He has been better since he started working with Brett and Grafol but still has a long way to go.
5) Who regresses?
Midseason check-in: Welp, Alicides Escobar is not a surprising name here (though Yost's stubborn insistence on hitting him second is ridiculous). Billy Butler is a surprise. He isn't having a terrible year - still contributing a lot to the offense - but he's not hitting for the average or power he has displayed over the past several years.
6) Who plays 2B?
Midseason check-in: A whole bunch of people, and not that great. Gio is at least getting a shot, though he once again is not doing much with it.
7) Can Jeff Francoeur be at least replacement level, rather than epic horrible level?
Midseason check-in: Hahahahahahahahahahaha
8) Will Dayton Moore survive to see 2014?
Midseason check-in: Outlook uncertain. Probably still around, unless the team completely tanks in the second half and he does something foolish. My guess - he sacrifices Ned Yost this offseason and gets one more shot with a new manager in 2014.
9) Will Danny Duffy come back healthy? And if he does, is he the same, better or worse?
Midseason check-in: Yes. Velocity looks the same, and it looks likely he is the same guy as before.
10) And the big one: Has KC added enough to run down the big-money Detroit Tigers?
Midseason check-in: Doesn't look like it, does it?

[KChiefs1]

I think this year proves that to win you need to increase the payroll but you can win by not outspending but by how you spend your money.

The real disparity lies in how long you can hang on to your players & how you can cover your mistakes by outspending them.

I know....duh!

[AussieChiefsFan]

Is there going to be another game in this series?

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by AussieChiefsFan

Is there going to be another game in this series?

We have a game tonight with them. Time to win this series!

[AussieChiefsFan]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

We have a game tonight with them. Time to win this series!

Ah that's good. I wasn't sure because I didn't know there could be 4 games in a series.

[Great Expectations]

Raul is really starting to turn it on in Lexington.

Justin Trapp is also hitting fairly well in Wilmington, I don't hear much about him. Does he have a legit chance to make it to the bigs?

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by Great Expectations

Raul is really starting to turn it on in Lexington.

Justin Trapp is also hitting fairly well in Wilmington, I don't hear much about him. Does he have a legit chance to make it to the bigs?

Raul...or his son?

[Great Expectations]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

Raul...or his son?

I believe the son is now going by Raul, I could be mistaken though.

[BlackHelicopters]

In hindsight, we could have used Hochevars stellar Game 1 work in Game 2. Oh well.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

Raul...or his son?

There is confusion about what name he is going by right now. MiLB lists him by his legal name (which is Raul). Most other places familiar with him are still using Adalberto.

His hitting has been picking up, which is impressive. I'll still say that Mondesi's stat line is less important than the scouting report, but if he puts up a .750 OPS at 17/18 in full season ball and all else remains the same (i.e. shortstop defense still shows as MLB-level, shows the advanced instincts), you're talking about a guy who is a top 25 prospect in baseball.

Also noticed in Lexington... Bubba Starling had a nice week with the bat, severely cutting his K rate and hitting the ball with a lot more consistency.

.280/.357/.560 SLG slash line, with 2 HR last week. Only 6 Ks in 25 ABs (which is still a lot, but not for Starling and not dangerously high).

If Starling continues to hit at this level for the rest of the season, it starts to become more believable/likely that his early struggles with the bat were, in fact, due to the new approach they worked on with him over the spring and him adjusting to it.

It's a step in the right direction. Hopefully it continues.

[Great Expectations]

Any news on Duffy and Paulino's recovery?

[Great Expectations]

April 29, 2013 3:01 pm
Bubba Starling turning it around in Class A
by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com

Royals outfield prospect Bubba Starling is beginning to turn it around after a horrid start to the season for Class A Lexington. While Starling is batting just .195 through 24 games, he's hitting .321 (9 for 28) in his last seven games.

Starling homered for the second straight game Monday and has three home runs in his last seven appearances. He also has 10 RBI in his last nine games. Starling, who was the fifth overall pick in the 2011 draft, is considered a top 100 prospect by MLB.com (No. 26) and Baseball America (No. 35).

[Demonpenz]

Game 1 was a hot one out in the sun. Where we sat you could see balls and strikes ok but you can't see the scoreboard. You can call Dyson an animal and call STUBBS a bum 1000 times in a row like I did.

[Demonpenz]

Game 2 much better seats. Great night for baseball. Sucks that Bucket Aviles went deep.

[Strongside]

at the Boston paper's power rankings...

Number 1, Boston Red Sox (18-7): First Place, A.L. East. Last week, No. 1

Best record in the American League, best record in all of baseball, best run differential in all of baseball. Winners of seven of their last 10 and currently on a five-game winning streak.

Maybe the Red Sox won't end up having a great 2013, but the month of April really could not have gone any better.

The Sox are coming off of a week where they had seven home games, including fout against the lowly Houston Astros. A good team is supposed to win most of those games.

That's what the Red Sox did. They took two of three from the Oakland A's and then easily swept the Astros in four straight.

It is still April, but David Ortiz is as hot as any summer day. Since returning from the disabled list, Big Papi is hitting .516 with two home runs and 11 RBIs. The Red Sox were already hitting the ball well before Ortiz's return to the lineup, but he's provided a huge boost.

This coming week could provide a challenge. Boston plays six road games, three in Toronto and three against the Texas Rangers.

Number 2, Texas Rangers (16-9): First Place, A.L. West. Last week, No. 2

The top two spots remain unchanged. Texas might not be playing quite as well as the Red Sox, but they're still a darn good baseball team.

The Rangers stil are in first place and still own a very good record. The pitching must be a concern after last week.

Texas played seven games and allowed 72 runs.

Yes the Rangers still managed to win four of those seven, but there's no way that they'll continue to win more games than they lose if their pitching staff is allowing opponents to score 10 runs per game.

Yu Darvish is an early Cy Young candidate. He's 4-1 with an E.R.A of 1.65 and his 49 strikeouts is the highest in all of baseball.

Number 3, New York Yankees (15-9): Second Place, A.L. East. Last week, No. 4

Slowly but surely, every week it seems like the Yankees get a little higher in the rankings.

Will the ascent ever stop?

The Yankees are an enigma. They continue to absorb more and more injuries. This week it was Ivan Nova and Kevin Youkilis, both of whom needed MRI's. Francisco Cervelli hit the disabled list after breaking a finger.

Meanwhile, the Yankees completed a four game home sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays. Mariano Rivera has nine saves, Travis Hafner has six home runs and Robinson Cano is hitting .316.

With six home games against the Astros and A's this week, the team's current four-game winning streak could easily be extended.

Number 4, Kansas City Royals (13-9): First Place, A.L. Central. Last week, No. 5

The Red Sox are coming off a bad season, but the Royals are coming off a bad era. It has been over 25 years since the team played a postseason game. Don't tell these Royals, though. They're not listening. They're too busy winning games.

The Royals have won seven of their last 10. The pitching is still strong and the offense is being led by Alex Gordon.

Gordon is off to a great start. He's hitting .352 which is good for fifth in the league. He's got a great glove in left field, and even though he doesn't hit for a ton of power, he still drives in runs.

The Royals will spend the coming week playing at home against weak opponents, the Indians, Rays and White Sox. The team's impressive record seems likely to get even more impressive.

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by Great Expectations

Any news on Duffy and Paulino's recovery?

Isn't Paulino supposed to be back in May? If he's the Felipe that he was when he left that is some nice insurance in case Wade Davis struggles.