*** Official Royals Repository, Part 3 ***

[duncan_idaho]

In this thread: All things related to the AL Champions.

Duncan's Official Team Record prediction: 90 wins
One month in: Looking strong
All Star Break: Looking strong, probably should adjust up to 93-94 wins.
Duncan's Official Team MVP prediction: Eric Hosmer
One month in: Upstaged by his best friend MIKE MOOTACOS, MAN. Tell us bout your hittin, bro!
All Star Break: Lorenzo Cain starting to run away with this one.

Division Preview
Clearly, overlooking the Twins was a mistake at this point. I still don't believe in that team long-term, but they're starting to get that Magic Season twinkle about them.

Detroit is toast. Garbage rotation beyond Price and Sanchez, Miggy out.

And Cleveland... Cleveland still is dangerous if it ever clicks offensively, because the starting pitching is good enough for them to real off a 15-5 stretch and get right back into the playoff picture.

The Royals will be a division winner IF ...
1) Ventura and Duffy combine for 375+ innings of high-quality work
2) Eric Hosmer delivers on his potential with a FULL season of success rather than bursts
3) The deeper bullpen lessens the critical load on Herrera, Davis and Holland
4) Lorenzo Cain stays healthy
5) Either Alex Rios or Kendrys Morales bounces back to 2013 form

The first of these is clearly not going to happen. The second looked good through the end of May but is now eating Cain's dust (Hosmer has still been improved this year, though, lessening his valley. If he has a really hot second half, he can get right back in it). Item three is definitely the case. Item four should probably be first at this point. And Morales has more than bounced back.

Duncan’s Top 20 for mid-season 2015:

Spoiler!

1. Raul Adalberto Mondesi, SS, BOTH: Tools, tools, tools. RA has tools galore. At his best, he’s an All-Star SS who plays elite D, hits 15-20 HR, swipes 40 bags, and is an ideal 1, 2 or 3 hitter. At his worst, I think he looks a lot like Alcides Escobar. Plate discipline is his biggest challenge at this point, but evaluators are confident that will come with time. Clear No. 1
2. Sean Manaea, LHP: I still believe in the upside here, even with the abbreviated start. 6-5 lefties with his combination of stuff and deception have the ability to pitch at the front of a rotation for a long time.
3. Kyle Zimmer, RHP: He’s pitching again and staying healthy, which is nice. He’s pitcing out of the bullpen to build back his arm strength, which is less nice. But still has that high upside, just a lower floor now. Ideally, the team will use him as a bullpen weapon in September (because he has earned it) and then give him a chance to transition back to starting for 2016.
4. Miguel Almonte, RHP: Still love the body, FB/CH combo. Results aren’t eye popping, but he’s still low enough and early enough in the development to prize those things over performance. Still a solid No. 3 starter upside, and just a year and some change away from potentially being ready to contribute at the MLB level.
5. Cody Reed, LHP: Reed has popped up this year, forcing an early promotion to Northwest Arkansas. His stuff is legit, with mid-90s heat and a wipeout slider. Control still needs work, but a promising young arm (that makes Almonte much more tradeable)
6. John Lamb, LHP: Lamb has had a career resurgence in 2015, putting him back on the prospect map. He’s dominating at AAA and will be in the rotation mix in 2016, unless he suffers another setback. Fastball is back, changeup is improving, still working on the ability to throw the slider and curve for strikes when down in the count.
7. Jorge Bonifacio, RF, RH: Emilio’s little brother got off to a horrible start in 2015 but has heated up as the season went on. He also is translating BP power to game power for the first time, with 15 HR just past the mid-way point of his season. Despite his disappointing 2014, he has a chance to build his way back into legit prospect status – and still is only 22. Next challenge for him should be Omaha, but that may wait for the start of the 2014 season.
8. Scott Blewett, RHP: Blewett has a nice two –pitch mix already and is off to a strong start. With his size (6-6) and a good fastball/curveball combo, Blewett could eventually turn into a good No. 3 starter, with a MLB-average changeup.
9. Nolan Watson, RHP: The Royals’ 2015 sandwich pick is a polished prep arm who is adding velocity and explosiveness to a good, polished base. Likely to move quickly.
10. Ashe Russell, RHP: The 2015 top pick probably needs more work than Watson, but the upside is really nice. Again, advanced two-pitch mix that will depend on him adding a changeup. Could be a very good NO. 2 if it all adds up.

Spoiler!

11. Bubba Starling, CF, RH: Starling has been up and down this year but put himself back on the map by greatly improving his K rate while also improving across the slash line as a hitter. His defense and baserunning are MLB ready; if Starling can work himself into a league average hitter, he can be a solid MLB regular who plays great D in CF while hitting 15 HR and swiping 20 bags.
12. Balbino Fuenmayor, 1B/DH, RH: The Balbino came out of basically nowhere in 2015 to earn a Futures Game spot. Big power and an improved two-strike approach have turned the late bloomer into a legit prospect. He’s blocked at the MLB level currently by Eric Hosmer and Kendrys Morales, but Fuenmayor’s combination of power hitting and good average/strike zone control makes him intriguing.
13. Cheslor Cuthbert, 3B, RH: Cheslor probably is not going to be the star KC was hoping for when signing him out of Nicaragua, but he does look like he can be a solid reserve for an MLB club. Good defense at 3B paired with a solid plate approach and some gap power plays fine off the bench. He becomes a lot more interesting if they think he can stick as a 2B, which they have experimented with.
14. Chase Vallot, C/DH/1B: I really like Vallot’s power and plate discipline combo. His bat will probably force him from behind the plate, but he’s held his own despite being extremely young for every level he has faced.
15. Alfredo Escalera-Maldonado, OF, RH: Escalera-Maldonado earned a promotion to Wilmington at age 20, which is pretty advanced movement for that age. He’s an athletic outfielder who has shown some plate discipline at an early age, which is encouraging. Doesn’t sound like he can stick in CF long term for KC, but his bat has become one to watch.
16. Pedro Fernandez, RHP: I haven’t seen much of him, but like the reports I’ve heard on his fastball and general makeup. Could become the next Almonte/Mondesi, though he’s more likely to land in the pen than either of them.
17. Elier Hernandez, OF, RH: Elier Hernanez teamed with Escalera-Maldonado in breaking out at Low-A and earning a promotion to Wilmington. It’s still early for this guy – he is just 20 years old – but he doesn’t take walks and hasn’t developed the prodigious power many thought he had the potential for. Still worth watching.
18. Hunter Dozier, 3B, RH: Dozier is reworking his swing mid-season, which generally will cause production to do what his has done: Nose dive. The changes he made entering the season (seemingly geared towards increasing his power production) were a disaster, and now he’s trying to get back to what he used to be. Still looks great and checks most of the scouting boxes, but the performance hasn’t matched, and it almost knocked him out of the list.
19. Christian Binford, RHP: After a breakthrough 2014, Binford struggled mightily at AAA and suffered a demotion. His upside remains similar – a back-end starter who can eat innings – but Binford’s lack of velocity and reliance on command have caught up to him so far.
20. Marten Gasparini, OF, SH: Gasparini is intriguing because of his speed and athleticism. He’s a LOOOOONG ways from the majors and young for his level, but reports on his bat speed, swing, and speed remain positive enough to keep him on the bubble.

[huskerdooz]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

He wasn't rehabbing Tues night. Now you get my point. I assume.

I'm paraphrasing and didn't even bother to look for the source; however prior to the All Star game Alex was asked if he would be going to Cincinnati with the rest of his teammates. He replied that he wasn't interested in doing that injury thing at the All Star game since he had already experienced that last year. He also indicated that he was going to immediately begin "treatment" on the injury not "rehab" but "treatment" ... semantics ... you can really get your panties in such a wad over the littlest things ...

Can we finally put this pissing contest between you and Hootie to rest it really makes reading this thread a chore sometimes.

What I found interesting in his comments was he mentioned starting laser treatment/therapy. I guess I don't keep up with the latest therapies so i googled it and found the following therapeutic benefits of laser therapy.

• • Anti-inflammatory Action: Laser light reduces swelling, leading to decreased pain, less stiffness, and a faster return to normal joint and muscle function.
  • Rapid Cell repair: Laser light accelerates cellular reproduction and healing.
  • Faster Wound Healing: Laser light stimulates fibroblast development and accelerates collagen synthesis in damaged tissue.
  • Reduced Fibrous Tissue Formation: Laser light reduces formation of scar tissue, leading to more complete healing, with less chance of weakness and re-injury later.
  • Increased Vascular Activity: Laser light increases blood flow to the injured area.
  • Stimulated Nerve Function: Laser light speeds nerve cell processes, which may decrease pain and numbness associated with nerve-related conditions.
  

In a study on laser therapy on muscle injuries published in 2013 found that the use of low level lasers improved and accelerated the healing process 15 - 20 days over the control group.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22714675

[KCUnited]

Someone start a game thread.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by Hootie 2.0

Let me just say it one more time :

Cueto is basically a 2009 Zack Greinke.

Anybody remember 2009 Zack Greinke?

Does anyone think we lose to SFG last year if we had 2009 Zack Greinke anchoring our rotation?

. 9 WAR = 5 WAR. Posts like these are why we can't take you seriously. On Fangraphs 2009 Zack was 40th best season.....ever. And his 09 BBRef WAR is even higher.

[Prison Bitch]

I would give the odds of us trading Mondesi at <1%.

[Hootie]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

. 9 WAR = 5 WAR. Posts like these are why we can't take you seriously. On Fangraphs 2009 Zack was 40th best season.....ever. And his 09 BBRef WAR is even higher.

You take things very literally it's hilarious. Go look at Cueto his past 5 years and give me 10 better, more consistent starters in baseball.

Cueto is every bit the pitcher Zack Greinke is ... I was giving Cueto a Royals comparison because it's easier to explain how good he is to casual fans that way

[C3HIEF3S]

Hawk Harrelson said on MLBN today that we need to look for the White Sox to be buyers at the deadline and to watch out for the "dangerous White Sox ballclub" in the second half.

He concluded the interview by saying "the White Sox are back".

[Prison Bitch]

Hawk is an idiot. Sux offense is at or near the bottom in every category, they can't run and they can't field. They ain't back for shit.

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by C3HIEF3S

Hawk Harrelson said on MLBN today that we need to look for the White Sox to be buyers at the deadline and to watch out for the "dangerous White Sox ballclub" in the second half.

He concluded the interview by saying "the White Sox are back".

He is one of the biggest homers broadcasting.

[Unsmooth-Moment]

Yeah, I would not trading Mondesi for a rental.

[Mama Hip Rockets]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

He is one of the biggest homers broadcasting.

One of?

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by alnorth

What happened to Ventura's fastball? I don't think its a given that Ventura is better than Duffy.

He has backed off the velocity and is throwing a lot more cut fastballs than a year ago (when he didn't throw any at all). He's also throwing a lot more two-seam fastballs.

I also wonder about the conditioning... not sure he came in to the season in the shape he needed to be (either that, or he's been Felix Hernandez-ing too much and getting plastered too often).

[Hootie]

by the way, despite how PB wants to spin it ...

Cueto in 2014 was pretty much just as good as Greinke in 2009 from a raw numbers standpoint.

2.25/0.96 243 IP 242 K's

Greinke:

2.16/1.07 229 IP 242 K's

[duncan_idaho]

I would be hypocritical to criticize the team for "going for it" and trading Mondesi for a rental.

But I also think the Royals just have a lot more pitching depth from which to trade than position player depth. Can't imagine they trade him for anything that doesn't include someone who helps you in future seasons as well as this one.

[Hootie]

and also, Cueto has, by advanced metrics, graded out over Greinke in most years.

That's his comparison for Royals fans. Trading for Cueto would be like getting 1/2 season of Zack Greinke when we have the best record in the AL. Seems like something that is a no ****ing brainer, especially if the cost is Danny Duffy and Brandon Finnegan.

If we're trading Mondesi, it better be for Cueto and Bruce plus a little $$$

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by Hootie 2.0

by the way, despite how PB wants to spin it ...

Cueto in 2014 was pretty much just as good as Greinke in 2009 from a raw numbers standpoint.

2.25/0.96 243 IP 242 K's

Greinke:

2.16/1.07 229 IP 242 K's

This is laughable of course, but You just said I was being too literal. Now you're being literal.