(New) 2013 Kansas City Royals Repository

[duncan_idaho]

New thread, this time with more burst.

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?

[siberian khatru]

Uh-oh, Jeff Francoeur had Lasik surgery.

HE'S FIXED.

[Ceej]

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

Uh-oh, Jeff Francoeur had Lasik surgery.

HE'S FIXED.

Bring him back for his club house leadership?

[siberian khatru]

Originally Posted by Ceej

Bring him back for his club house leadership?

Championship nad taps

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by Big Smoke

If Davis and Hochaver are in the rotation, everybody loses.

Guys with arms like that are always going to get shots in MLB rotations. Not sure this is so shocking. There are only so many James Shields out there. Most starters are 4-5 types who attain 2 status for a year or two maybe (see: Bruce Chen) then revert to back-end guys. The margin from a 3 to a 5 isn't great.


Hoch is like a Ryan Vogelsong type maybe. These guys go in waves but with great stuff they'll keep getting chances.

[Brianfo]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Guys with arms like that are always going to get shots in MLB rotations. Not sure this is so shocking. There are only so many James Shields out there. Most starters are 4-5 types who attain 2 status for a year or two maybe (see: Bruce Chen) then revert to back-end guys. The margin from a 3 to a 5 isn't great.


Hoch is like a Ryan Vogelsong type maybe. These guys go in waves but with great stuff they'll keep getting chances.

Oh no you didn't. Voice of reason won't be tolerated round here.

[C3HIEF3S]

Sorry if this has been answered, but if Santana was to resign would we lose our first round draft pick?

[penbrook]

Originally Posted by C3HIEF3S

Sorry if this has been answered, but if Santana was to resign would we lose our first round draft pick?

No. On a side note Royals and D Backs are the top two interested in Trumbo per Jon Heyman.

[duncan_idaho]

Would have to see the price on Trumbo before making a judgment about a deal with him.

He was not terrible in RF in a small sample size, but I'm not sure she stands up there over the course of a season. If he can't, Trumbo is an awkward fit for KC. No place to play, unless they ship Butler off.

And swapping Butler for Trumbo woukd be a downgrade.

Trying Hochevar in the rotation again is the definition of insanity. How many times must it fail before this brain trust gives up on it?

Hope its just posturing but fear it is not.

[tk13]

I don't know what everyone's complaining about. My projected rotation.

1. Shields
2. Hochevar
3. Guthrie
4. Vargas
5. Duffy

[tk13]

Hopefully DeezNutz's head exploded before he can reply to that post.

[duncan_idaho]

Looks like the Angels want MORE than Tyler Skaggs straight up for Trumbo... which basically means KC could offer either Ventura or Duffy straight up for him and be told more was needed.

No thanks.

[Al Bundy]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Guys with arms like that are always going to get shots in MLB rotations. Not sure this is so shocking. There are only so many James Shields out there. Most starters are 4-5 types who attain 2 status for a year or two maybe (see: Bruce Chen) then revert to back-end guys. The margin from a 3 to a 5 isn't great.


Hoch is like a Ryan Vogelsong type maybe. These guys go in waves but with great stuff they'll keep getting chances.

Hoch has only ever pitched like a #5 starter. Hoch and guys like him only start for teams that are losing 90+ games.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Al Bundy

Hoch has only ever pitched like a #5 starter. Hoch and guys like him only start for teams that are losing 90+ games.

He pitched like a good no 3\borderline no 2 down the stretch in 2011, but its pretty clear that was an outlier.

Hochevar madness. Like Davies madness, will probably take an embarrassing public incident to cure ...

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by tk13

Hopefully DeezNutz's head exploded before he can reply to that post.

Please don't troll the regulars. Thanks in advance.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by Al Bundy

Hoch has only ever pitched like a #5 starter. Hoch and guys like him only start for teams that are losing 90+ games.

It's important to first note that we're talking about the future and what someone *could* be, not what they have been. Obviously that's the trick of playing GM and you'll never get it perfectly right but in this case we have to project Hochevar at age 30-32. Maybe not even that long since he may not be here more than 1 or 2 years longer.

Second we evaluate risk: He's durable and he's got great stuff. That's a nice start to thinking of his immediate future.

Finally I'd say he's been quite a good pitcher actually anyway. His FIP and xFIP numbers are in the low 4s as a starter. That to me is a 3-starter in the American League. He might just be about to hit his stride and this past year might've kickstarted his confidence. Make no mistake: he's drawing interest from other teams.