*** Official 2018 Royals Repository ***

[duncan_idaho]

The season is upon us, even if spring is not.

2018 MLB Draft Picks
#18
#33 - Compensation (Eric Hosmer)
#34 - Compensation (Lorenzo Cain)
#40 (Competitive Balance Round A)

018 Draft Names to Watch

RHP Kumar Rocker, N Oconnee HS, Georgia.

Spoiler!

Possibly goes top 10 but is a big, physical SP with ace potential. Moore and co. will be all over him if he slips a bit and could offer top 10 money at No. 16

OF Jarred Kelenic, Waukasha West HS, WI

Spoiler!

Kelenic is the top prep bat, toolsy OF. Royals would be ecstatic to have shot at him.

1B Triston Casas, American Heritage HS (FL).

Spoiler!

Tremendous raw power, best in HS bats. Royals typically like HS arms or HS bats with "special" tools. He qualifies.

RHP Carter Stewart, Eau de Gallie HS (Ga).

Spoiler!

Another big, physical specimen with huge upside. More likely to be available mid-first than Rocker.

ANY Any, Any (Any). Any current top projected pick who slides for injury concerns. Includes current top prospect prospect SP Brady Singer, U of Florida.

Current Prospects to Watch:

OF Seuly Matias - Huge tools. Hit 2 HR in Lexington (A) season opener.

1B Nick Pratto - Top pick in 17 has advanced approach and good glove; needs to start tapping into power in first full year in minors. Also at Lexington.

OF Michael Gigliotti - Good defender in CF, good OBP skills, plus baserunner. Next mainstay in CF for KC, IMO. Advanced college bat also starting at Lexington.

OF Khalil Lee - Probably has highest upside in Royals' system. Could hit 30 HR in majors, could steal 30 bases. Plus defensive ability in RF. Nice test at Wilmington this year.

3B Emmanuel Rivera - Really nice approach and good contact skills. Power is still developing. Also getting a good test at Wilmington.

SP Foster Griffin - Made nice strides in 2017. Needs to continue to progress in 2018. Could be a lefty version of Jakob Junis (good breaking ball that he can really manipulate, OK fastball, good command).

1B Samir Duenez - Duenez still is intriguing, hoping for a step forward in his power production this year at Northwest Arkansas, which would turn him into a legit prospect.

Others to keep an eye on:
SP Gerson Garabito (Wilmington), OF Marten Gasparini (Lexington), C MJ Melendez (Lexington), RP Tyler Zuber (lexington), RP Richard Lovelady (Omaha), SP Dan Tillo (Lexington), SS Nicky Lopez (NWA), SP Scott Blewett (NWA), OF Brewer Hicklen (Idaho Falls),

In general, Lexington and Wilmington are the most interesting spots to watch. Nice depth and a lot of interesting pieces at both.

[KChiefs1]

[tk13]

The Orioles have a shot to really distance themselves from us this weekend.

[tk13]

Speaking of the Herrera trade. We've talked about how Gutierrez is doing well, but Perkins just drew his 90th walk of the year. By far the most BB in A ball. Very un-Royals like.

Blake Perkins has drawn another walk tonight, his 48th with Wilmington and his 90th on the season (he drew 42 with Potomac prior to trade). His 90 BB on the season leads ALL batters between the 3 high A Leagues. The next highest individual total is 67.

— Royals Minor League Prospects (@KCRoyalProspect) August 30, 2018

[Nickhead]

i can't recall, but i think i recollect thinking this was the suppository thread

[dlphg9]

Originally Posted by Nickhead

i can't recall, but i think i recollect thinking this was the suppository thread

Get out of here with your jokes. It's just too easy to pick on us when were down. Hell I don't care that much watching the Royals for the last 15-20 years will make you kinda numb to the losing. At least we have several young guys playing rather well and several that could be well on their way in the next couple of years. Life of a Royals fan, a much more interesting minor league season than major league season. You a Royals fan?

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Originally Posted by tk13

Speaking of the Herrera trade. We've talked about how Gutierrez is doing well, but Perkins just drew his 90th walk of the year. By far the most BB in A ball. Very un-Royals like.

Blake Perkins has drawn another walk tonight, his 48th with Wilmington and his 90th on the season (he drew 42 with Potomac prior to trade). His 90 BB on the season leads ALL batters between the 3 high A Leagues. The next highest individual total is 67.

— Royals Minor League Prospects (@KCRoyalProspect) August 30, 2018

Give him another year in the organization. We'll fix that bullshit!

[OKchiefs]

Originally Posted by Fansy the Famous Bard

Give him another year in the organization. We'll fix that bullshit!

Yep, Dayton Moore says screw analytics and OBP. We want our players to swing at the first pitch and pitches a mile outside the strike zone. Walks are for pussies!

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by tk13

The Orioles have a shot to really distance themselves from us this weekend.

Rustin Dodd:

The best high school baseball player in the class of 2019 is a 6-foot-1 shortstop with a famous father and a skill set that can test the imagination of scouts. Bobby Witt, Jr., the son of the former major-league starting pitcher, has enough raw power to win the High School Home Run Derby at this year’s All-Star Game at Nationals Park. He has enough speed to be considered a “plus plus” runner, according to scouts. He has enough defensive acumen to be among the best shortstops in the country — high school or college.

In most any other year, Witt would be a worthwhile No. 1 pick in Major League Baseball’s draft, a talented prep with a major-league pedigree and tools that come around a few times per decade. When one National League scouting director was asked if Witt could compare to other generational high school players (and No. 1 picks) such as Bryce Harper, Chipper Jones or Alex Rodriguez, he answered: “He might — he’s got really good skills.”

And yet, it is possible that Witt will not be the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft. That honor, according to a small straw poll of scouting directors, scouts and draft analysts, could fall to Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman, an incoming junior who helped the Beavers to the College World Series championship in 2018. And this, if nothing else, should be comforting news to the Kansas City Royals, whose historically bad season might not be in vain.

The Royals, who are 42-91 after a 9-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday, are on pace to lose 111 games, which would smash the club record for losses (106 in 2005) and be among the five worst seasons since 1962. In almost any year in the last 50, the finish would secure the right to draft first in the country.

Just one team has lost more than 111 games since the New York Mets lost 120 in 1962 — the 2003 Detroit Tigers lost an AL-record 119. Just two others (the 2004 Diamondbacks and 2013 Astros) have hit 111 losses. Yet as the Royals head toward September, they are treading into historic territory yet not positioned to win the No. 1 pick. If the season ended tomorrow, the honor would fall to the Baltimore Orioles (39-94), on pace to lose 114 games, third-most in American League history.

The Orioles will visit the Royals this weekend at Kauffman Stadium, facing off in a three-game series that could help decide who selects first in the 2019 draft. But here, again, is the good news: the No. 2 pick will offer a strong consolation prize.

“It does look to be a strong year at the top,” said another major-league scouting director.

In general, the 2019 draft class is thought to be weaker than a 2018 class that was loaded with college pitching and high school prospects. Carlos Collazo, an analyst who covers the draft for Baseball America, said the 2019 class appeared to lack the first-round depth and high-end pitching prospects of this year — when the Royals spent their first five picks on college pitchers. Yet a consensus, Collazo said, has appeared to build at the top of the draft, where Rutschman, the top college prospect, could duel with Witt, the talented high school shortstop.

“I think it’s fair to say that Rutschman is the top guy,” Collazo said, “but I don’t want to do a disservice to Witt. He has all the tools. He has incredible power. He has incredible speed. He can impact the game in all phases.”

Ask a collection of scouts and scouting directors for their top choice, and you will find different answers — or at least qualified hedging. Some are strong believers in Witt. (“I could see Bobby Witt’s kid emerging,” one said.) Others, for now, prefer Rutschman. For the teams that will likely occupy the top two picks, it is an attractive problem to have.

Rutschman, 20, is a 6-foot-2, 215-pound catcher who grades out as a premium defender, has the ability to switch hit and looks the part coming off the bus. He is a strapping all-around athlete. The skill set inspires comparisons to college catchers of recent vintage.

Some scouts draw similarities to Matt Wieters, a collegiate star at Georgia Tech before being drafted No. 5 by the Orioles in 2007, while the defensive prowess and strong arm have invited comparisons to Giants catcher Buster Posey, a former Florida State standout drafted fifth in 2008.

Rutschman, according to those who have seen him, is a strong defensive catcher with an emerging track record as a hitter at the college level. He also draws high marks for his athletic ability. A native of Sherwood, Ore., Rutschman arrived at Oregon State as a two-sport athlete. He spent his freshman season excelling as a kicker for the football team and earning honorable-mention All-Pac-12 honors on the baseball field. He quit football last school year and turned into a force at the plate, batting .408 with a .505 on-base percentage and nine homers before setting a College World Series record with 17 hits as the Beavers won the national title.

The track record and performance against top college competition could leave Rutschman atop draft boards heading into 2019. Yet it’s still possible that Witt — or others — could push their way to the top. A native of Colleyville, Texas, Witt’s father pitched for 16 seasons in the major leagues, including 11 with the Texas Rangers. He will continue to play on the showcase circuit this fall before playing his senior season at Colleyville Heritage High School in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

It’s still early in the process, of course. That’s something that all scouts point out; the 2019 draft is more than nine months away. The gathering of intelligence is ongoing. And there are other names that could emerge, including Baylor catcher Shea Langeliers, Georgia high school shortstop CJ Abrams and others. And yet, for now, the 2019 draft is shaping up as a battle between Rutschman and Witt at the top, a gifted college catcher versus a talented high school shortstop.

“They’re probably lumped in as the two favorites,” Collazo said.

They are also the reward for a season of losing. In 2014, the Royals and Orioles faced off in the AL Championship Series. Four years later, they are each cruising toward 100 losses, shells of their former selves. The rosters are depleted. The franchises are in transition. The losses have piled up.

The competition for the No. 1 pick will continue this weekend at Kauffman Stadium.

[Mecca]

You know I just saw the average age of a baseball fan is 57 years old, that's an issue.

[DJ's left nut]

There's a full season of ball yet to play.

I'd say Rutschman has a little more volatility due to his relatively recent arrival on the 'premier prospect' scene. If Witt struggles next spring, I would expect it to get chalked up to 'senioritis' and his stock wouldn't change much.

But with college bats, especially those that kinda burst onto the scene, scouts look for reasons to discount them. If Rutschman doesn't have a year similar to last seasons, he'll fall harder than he would have as a prep prospect.

I'm not sure it makes a damn bit of sense, but it sure seems to be the reality of it.

[OKchiefs]

I'll take the college catcher. I have very little faith in this organization to mold a high school player into a star. The college catcher should come in more refined and less likely to pick up bad habits and traits from our poor minor league development.

[CaliforniaChief]

Originally Posted by OKchiefs

I'll take the college catcher. I have very little faith in this organization to mold a high school player into a star. The college catcher should come in more refined and less likely to pick up bad habits and traits from our poor minor league development.

I'm now officially all-in on Witt, Jr.

[ChiTown]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaChief

I'm now officially all-in on Witt, Jr. now.

[TomBarndtsTwin]

Originally Posted by OKchiefs

I'll take the college catcher. I have very little faith in this organization to mold a high school player into a star. The college catcher should come in more refined and less likely to pick up bad habits and traits from our poor minor league development.

Considering the Royals don't seem inclined to ever deal Salvy and they've also got Melendez coming up in the system, I'll pass on the college catcher who will be big league ready in 2-3 years, probably.

Go with Witt Jr. or whatever elite college arm emerges between now and next June . . . . .

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by Mecca

You know I just saw the average age of a baseball fan is 57 years old, that's an issue.

I guess I’m above average.