*** 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.

[Hootie]

finnegan and lamb mean nothing to me ... finny is overrated because of his story

[C3HIEF3S]

Originally Posted by 58-4ever

He has Volquez... How many does he need? That's a short-sighted way to look at this trade. Cueto is a hired gun that we mindlessly throw out for every Game 1. I doubt he gives Yordano any mind-altering, innovative advice over the next three months.

Cueto actually knows how to pitch to major league hitters. He uses deception to his advantage, he changes his delivery times to home plate all while maintaining his velocity and command.

Ventura rears back and sails a 98 mph fastball to home and hopes that a major league hitter can't touch it. Ventura can learn so much from Cueto and the art of pitching rather than simply being a fireballer who has no command on his off-speed.

[wazu]

Originally Posted by C3HIEF3S

Cueto will be a nice mentor for Ventura for the time being.
Cueto, Volquez + Ventura (all Dominicans) should be beneficial in some way for Yordano.

I keep hearing how Volquez is a great mentor, but seems like Ventura did a lot better last year without him around. I'm not saying he's a negative, but it just seems kind of odd that people report on Volquez mentoring Ventura so much.

[58-4ever]

Originally Posted by Unsmooth-Moment

Short sided? Ventura is our only long term option in our rotation right now..

NO, "short-sighted".. JFC. I would elaborate, but never mind. Please read my first post.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by petegz28

I don't think trading Duffy for Cueto would make much sense at all...hopefully I am missing your sarcasm

Just responding to someone saying that Duffy may have been involved, but yes it would make no sense if he was

[Reaper16]

I kinda see where the "Cueto will be a good influence for Ventura" stuff comes from. I mean, Cueto was once a player who got so mad (albeit in a brawl situation) that he kicked a dude in the head and ended his career. Cueto has since learned to control those emotions, and such lessons could be helpful for Ventura.

[alnorth]

Between the two teams, there are only two minor league teams with late home games today where they may not have been able to reach the player yet. Our single-A team (Lexington) and the Reds AA team (Pensacola)

edit: well, Billings also but that is the Reds rookie ball team, so unlikely.

[Anyong Bluth]

Originally Posted by tk13

It's not that dire. I think we have about 3 years left. And even then, we'll have guys like Perez and Ventura for even longer, plus some of the prospects coming up.

It doesn't have to be a 1-2 year window if we play it right. But the fact is we're here now in a position to win it all. You have to strike. You don't know what the future will hold, guys will regress, get hurt, etc. You have to strike when you have the chance.

Yep, this team is an unbelievable jaw-dropping hot chick. Every day that passes is tiny amount of wow that diminishes. Sure, she can get some work done, a little tuneup, but it won't ever match her in her prime.
Just like other players will come in and replace, but this is a special team with a special chemistry.

You better seize it all while you're still in your prime and have the world by the balls.

[58-4ever]

Originally Posted by C3HIEF3S

Cueto actually knows how to pitch to major league hitters. He uses deception to his advantage, he changes his delivery times to home plate all while maintaining his velocity and command.

Ventura rears back and sails a 98 mph fastball to home and hopes that a major league hitter can't touch it. Ventura can learn so much from Cueto and the art of pitching rather than simply being a fireballer who has no command on his off-speed.

IT'S OBVIOUS TO EVERYONE WITH A BRAIN THAT VENTURA NEEDS TO LEARN TO PITCH AND NOT THROW. I DON'T THINK CUETO IS GOING TO BE THE FIRST ONE TO TRY AND TELL HIM.

[wazu]

Originally Posted by Hootie 2.0

finnegan and lamb mean nothing to me ... finny is overrated because of his story

I'm fine with losing them both, but Finnegan has sentimental value because of how he performed in the playoffs, particularly the wild card game last year.

[tk13]

Originally Posted by Chiefs Pantalones

The odds are greater that we go back to being the Royals we all know and dread after the next two years. Sad to say but it's true. Gotta eat while it's hot.

No it's not. We have the best catcher in the American League to handle a pitching staff. We have a guy who can develop into an ace in Ventura. We have some prospects, depending on who we just traded away. Mondesi, Starling, Manaea, etc. We have more money because we've finally had success, and right about when this group leaves, we'll be signing a new TV deal for a lot more money. I don't know if we'll be the best team in the AL, probably not, but the foundation is there to be competitive at least.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by Hootie 2.0

cueto is a top 10 pitcher in baseball ... 10 x better than shields

I think we are all aware of this

[C3HIEF3S]

Originally Posted by wazu

I keep hearing how Volquez is a great mentor, but seems like Ventura did a lot better last year without him around. I'm not saying he's a negative, but it just seems kind of odd that people report on Volquez mentoring Ventura so much.

Ventura also didn't experience any adversity last year. No need for any help when the league hasn't adjusted to your repertoire. This year the league adjusted to him and we all see what has happened to him.

Volquez has been through exactly what Ventura has, Cueto knows how to deal. I am probably overrating this, but it cannot hurt to have that outlet for Ventura.

[Sure-Oz]

@JeffPassan: Question now for Royals: Do they go and get Ben Zobrist, too? The fit is absolutely perfect. Nationals and Mets, among others, are in play.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

If the Royals thought that was remotely true, they wouldn't be dealing. And they wouldn't have kept Lamb in Omaha with all the rotation problems.

They have better info on the guy than anyone else.

Well yeah, theres uncertainty. Thats why I said might. Certainly not unreasonable Lamb could give you a high 3 ERA the rest of the year. That to me would be 80% of what you would get out of Cueto.