2014 Royals Repository

[duncan_idaho]

With my 6,000th post on ChiefsPlanet (it only took me 12 years to get here), I bring you: The 2014 Kansas City Royals Repository.

To be discussed here: All things Royals, as they attempt to post another winning season and make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 1985.

25-man RosterAvailable HERE

AL Central Standings:

Link

Duncan's Top 20 Royals Prospects

Spoiler!

1) 3B Hunter Dozier ETA: 2015
Dozier started slowly at A+ Wilmington but caught fire in May and June, earning a mid-season promotion to AA Northwest Arkansas. Big, strong kid with good plate discipline skills and solid power who projects to be an above-average glove at 3B with solid power.

2) SS Raul (Adalberto) Mondesi ETA: 2017
Mondesis is the opposite of Dozier…. Started red-hot at Wilmington before back spasms derailed him for a few weeks and hasn’t gotten it going since coming back. Scouting reports have been great – defense and speed both improved over the offseason. Still a chance to be an elite SS, with 40 SB speed, plus glove, .300 average and some pop.

3) LHP Sean Manaea | ETA: 2015
Scouting reports outperform the stat line so far. Missing a ton of bats at A+ but not preventing runs like you’d expect to see. Needs to work deeper into games (gradually working about an inning deeper/month so far this year) and improve control. Walks are biggest concern right now, but could be elevated due to work on extra off-speed offerings. Still has No. 2 starter potential, could be higher if the great control he exhibited before his hip surgery eventually comes back.

4) RHP Kyle Zimmer| ETA: 2015
Should be NO. 1 on the list and is probably the Royals most VALUABLE current prospect, but he hasn’t thrown a ball in 4-5 weeks and had only been throwing for 2-3 weeks when he was shut down then.

5) LHP Brandon Finnegan| ETA: 2015
Top 2014 draft choice is an undersized lefty who will start at A+ Wilmington after anchoring CWS run for TCU. Good fastball, better slider, change that needs work to stick as a starter, but if he sticks, No. 2/No. 3 starter upside. Likely a top 10 or even top 5 pick if he doesn’t miss 1 start in the middle of the college season as a precautionary move.

6) RHP Miguel Almonte| ETA: 2016
Have heard some say Almonte is more advanced as a pitcher at A+ than Yordano Ventura was (comparison because both were cheap signs out of Latin America). Really advanced changeup and a curve that is working out well (where the ‘more advanced’ comment comes from). Fastball velo is good but not great – 92-94. Like Manaea, working on his second-best offspeed pitch and leaning less on his bread-and butter (changeup), which has hurt his numbers a bit.

7) RHP Christian Binford 2017
Reverse case of “don’t just scout stat lines.” Based on his stats at A+, you’d think he was an elite prospect, but there are questions about Binford’s stuff playing up at higher levels. Tall righty with great command of fastball, slider and a good and still developing changeup. None of those pitches profiles as better than average, though, limiting his likely upside to back-end rotation guy.

8) SS Orlando Calixte| ETA: 2016
I still like him more than many. Good combination of SS/MI skills and power. Started hot at NWA but in a slump at moment.

9)LHP Foster Griffin | ETA: 2019
Tall, projectable lefty taken in 2014 draft. Viewed as a great value in the sandwich round and probably would have been KC’s pick at No. 17 if Finnegan hadn’t fallen. High school arm who is going to take a while to develop.

10) RF Jorge Bonifacio| ETA: 2016
Hasn’t hit as well as expected in his second go-round at AA NWA. Power still sapped, and average skills have dipped. Once looked like he might be an option in RF at some point in 2015, now looks like 2016 is optimistic. Still young for his level.

11) 3B/2B Cheslor Cuthbert| ETA: 2016
Cuthbert has had better luck at NWA than Boni and is also extremely young for level. HE’s been moved to 2B since Dozier was promoted, which could put a new spin on Cuthbert’s prospects. If he sticks at 2B, bat plays up much better. Good OBP/plate discipline and solid power, but needs to continue improving contact skills

12) C Chase Vallot| ETA: 2020
Young (just 17) C with tremendous power. One of the top prep bats and a great value for KC where it got him. If he sticks at C, expect him to move slowly, but the bat may force the issue (or force him to another position).

13) C Zane Evans| ETA: 2017
GA Tech product has handled Wilmington better than most RH bats and probably is in line for a promotion to NWA sometime soon. Decent pop, decent skills behind the plate. Could be a nice reserve catcher.

14) RHP Scott Blewett| ETA: 2020
Tall, projectable righty with a fresh arm but some injury concerns on his shoulder that slipped him out of Round 1 of MLB draft. Big time potential.

15) CF Bubba Starling | ETA:
Bubba Starling has great tools. Bubba Starling (still) can’t hit. That’s all I have to say about that.

16) 1B Samir Duenez| ETA:
I still like him, even though the attempt to run him through full season ball at 17 did not go well.

17)LF/RF Elier Hernandez| ETA:
Hernandez still pops up in scouting reports but still is very raw and toolsy.

18) RHP Pedro Fernandez| ETA:
Pop-up player on the same track as Ventura and Almonte. Similar signing, similar profile. One to watch over next few years.

19) SS Marten Gasparini| ETA:
Royals’ most expensive international signing likely moves to CF eventually, but his speed and athleticism are intriguing abilities. Early reports from complex ball are very positive on him.

20) RHP Niklas Stephenson| ETA:
Interesting pop-up candidate who found 10 more MPH on his fastball by using a weighted ball during workouts over the winter. Now sits mid-90s with fastball and is dominating at rookie ball (after having an ERA over 8 there a year ago). Likely promoted to a higher challenge soon.

[Anyong Bluth]

Originally Posted by RockChalk

Can we just put this in the thread header?

Priceless

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by Demonpenz

The best prospects in baseball all busting out. 3 years ago we were stacked, none have done shit.

Not sure why anybody ever thought Moustakas should be a top prospect. I've been telling people he was a piece of shit for 3 years now. I see he's batting .151 now. Hanging in there, grinding and stuff

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Not sure why anybody ever thought Moustakas should be a top prospect. I've been telling people he was a piece of shit for 3 years now. I see he's batting .151 now. Hanging in there, grinding and stuff

Nonsense. The guys at BB America had him 8th overall in a stacked 2011 ranking. I've posted the other names and its chock full of studs. Except....8 (Moose), 9 (Hos), 10 (Myers), 18 (mike Montgomery) and 19 (Lamb) have largely done jack shit for us. It's inexplicable


Moose hit 36 bombs at AA/AAA. No expert thought he'd struggle this badly. Something is broken in KC

[tk13]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Not sure why anybody ever thought Moustakas should be a top prospect. I've been telling people he was a piece of shit for 3 years now. I see he's batting .151 now. Hanging in there, grinding and stuff

I think everyone would've agreed he was probably the biggest boom/bust guy, but he also showed the most power in the minors. I expected him to be a .240-250, 25-30 HR guy.

[TLO]

[QUOTE=Prison Bitch;10603708 Something is broken in KC[/QUOTE]

I hate agreeing with you, but I was thinking the same thing today. It's crazy to think of so many highly touted prospects doing jack shit for the big league club.

[stonedstooge]

Good thing we got rid of Seitzer after 2012 for the team not hitting enough home runs. LeadHead Ned sure whiffed on that change in personnel

[TLO]

Idk man. We're all frustrated, but Ned is a small fish in a big pond in this situation.

[Al Bundy]

Originally Posted by RockChalk

Can we just put this in the thread header?

Jesus.

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by Big Smoke

Idk man. We're all frustrated, but Ned is a small fish in a big pond in this situation.

I going to disagree to an extent. Whether it's Ned or GMDM, someone is telling or otherwise allowing these players to take a shit approach to the game. Their offensive approach is nothing more than "go up to the plate, swing hard, swing often, hope for good things".

If you look at this last series I can't recall other than maybe 1 swing by Hunter where any of the Detroit batters were swinging like Hosmer does. Butler finally started hitting and what was the noticeable change? He quit swinging so ****ing hard and trying to pull everything.

We all know Ned wants to see more homeruns but whatever it is these guys are trying to do it ain't working.

Then you get to the sloppy play on defense and it just tells me these players are just being allowed to do whatever the **** they want. There is no leadership. There is no sense of urgency. We keep hearing this "it's only May" shit when last year, "May" is what kept them out of the playoffs.

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Originally Posted by Al Bundy

Jesus.

He won't help, I've tried for years.

[WhawhaWhat]

Originally Posted by RockChalk

Can we just put this in the thread header?

[lewdog]

Why was that uniform design ever popular? Horrible.

[WhawhaWhat]

Originally Posted by lewdog

Why was that uniform design ever popular? Horrible.

I agree they were terrible but so many teams had them in the 2000s.

[tk13]

I was never a fan of the sleeveless look, but they look even more dated now. I think they brought those in about the same time as the black jerseys.

[Tytanium]

Originally Posted by Nightfyre

Why call up Zimmer if we aren't in contention? Why rush him and burn service time? And if we are out of contention in May, clean house. Get someone in here who will do right for the long-term. Maybe someone who can cobble together a staff that can actually develop a ****ing hitter. I would retain Eiland, however.

My wager is that we'll end May a game or three under .500. This team won't break your heart until August when we throw all of the chips into the pot and win five games in a month.