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.

[BlackHelicopters]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

I still can't wait till GMDM is fired

I am concerned he will have just enough success for glASS to keep him around.

[duncan_idaho]

Moore is an a very interesting spot.

He's got pitching on the way to help supplement the good young offensive core... and there is some offensive talent on the way.

If he and his scouting folks don't completely blow the 2010 draft (and spend a TON of money in 2011 with little tangible result so far), they're probably in great shape long term. As it is, there's a gap in prospects that's going to require some of the young hitters to develop QUICKLY.

The farm system is strong and has a lot of PREMIUM SP on the way, quickly... but probably does not have a single PREMIUM offensive prospect in it.

You need to turn out a premium hitter and pitcher every 3-4 years for this process to work.

[Reaper16]

‏RT @McCulloughStar
Moore says Royals budget will be about $90 million for 2014, which is past their "break-even point." Referred to this payroll as a "gamble."

[duncan_idaho]

So Moore continues to lie for David Glass. Awesome.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by Reaper16

‏RT @McCulloughStar
Moore says Royals budget will be about $90 million for 2014, which is past their "break-even point." Referred to this payroll as a "gamble."

I can believe that our break-even point could be about 90 million, but that certainly isn't "past" our break-even point.

[AndChiefs]

Originally Posted by alnorth

I can believe that our break-even point could be about 90 million, but that certainly isn't "past" our break-even point.

Break even is 89.999 million.

[tk13]

I don't know... I think everybody is just throwing darts with all these financial numbers. DM could be lying through his teeth there. He could be telling the truth. I don't know. I don't know how anyone really knows. We have a terrible TV contract and our attendance isn't that great... so I can't imagine our max payroll is too insane. I think as we move forward the TV contract issue is going to hurt us.

Either way, DM is getting to spend way more than most of the other small market teams, so it shouldn't be an excuse.

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by stonedstooge

Fever and Hud discussed the lack of walks last year several times on tv. Royals are a HITTING team and don't need no stinking walks

Hud is an imbecile.

[tk13]

I'll never understand the walk thing. The ballpark should have zero effect on that. I don't get what he's thinking there.

I thought the ballpark suppressed homers long before DM got there. There's really no sound reason behind it, but for some reason it doesn't happen. We've had a lot of good hitters over the years. Now HR totals are way down and hitting 30 HRs is an accomplishment these days. I don't like that he uses it as an excuse though.

[alnorth]

Just for fun, I dug up some old research I did a couple years ago. The books are not open, all we can do is speculate on revenue and costs, but a lot of the big stuff *IS* known, so I think we can take a reasonable stab at a break-even estimate. I have links to support most of this if needed.

Revenue:

National TV: Long-term $50MM. Right now, probably about $45MM since TV deals tend to start below average and end above average.

Our crappy local TV deal: $20MM

Tickets: About $38MM?

Revenue Sharing: About $35MM

Total: Roughly $138MM

Not Included: Concessions, licensing fees on apparel, ad revenue from sponsers. Probably not much there. Jackson County takes all the parking.

Costs, other than salaries for players on the 40-man roster:

MLBPA pensions and related costs: $10MM

Bonus Pools: varies, but probably $10MM

Non-player salary and benefits, ignoring the owner and the board (includes front office, groundskeepers, scouts, GMDM, etc): Unknown, but this has got to be at least $15MM, could be more. The Royals employ over 150 people who aren't players.

Team Travel: Probably $5MM

Rent to Jackson County: 250k + 5% of net receipts, whatever that is.

Utilities: Probably $2.5MM

Costs not included above: Arizona, minor leagues, vendors, debt service (if any?), probably other stuff I didn't think of.

The non-player costs are at least $42.5MM, and could be more. So, our break-even for the 40-man roster could be as much as $95MM (+$5MM when the national TV deal matures), but its probably a bit less than that, so I can believe $90MM. Our next opportunity for a big revenue bump (unless we start selling out the K) is when the local TV deal expires.

Also, the value of the franchise obviously goes up every year since we're talking about one of 30 franchises in a rich-boy's club that wealthy men covet membership to, so he'll make money someday if he sells the team, but I don't count that as part of the annual break-even point.

[Strongside]

Originally Posted by tk13

I'll never understand the walk thing. The ballpark should have zero effect on that. I don't get what he's thinking there.

I thought the ballpark suppressed homers long before DM got there. There's really no sound reason behind it, but for some reason it doesn't happen. We've had a lot of good hitters over the years. Now HR totals are way down and hitting 30 HRs is an accomplishment these days. I don't like that he uses it as an excuse though.

Frankly I'm tired of hearing our ballpark used as an excuse for everything that our team doesn't do well.

[tomahawk kid]

Originally Posted by Reaper16

‏RT @McCulloughStar
Moore says Royals budget will be about $90 million for 2014, which is past their "break-even point." Referred to this payroll as a "gamble."

My. Dyin'. Ass.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Strongside

Frankly I'm tired of hearing our ballpark used as an excuse for everything that our team doesn't do well.

Pretty much this.

[stonedstooge]

This team would kill on the old carpet, except Belly of course

[Shogun]

So they cut Kottaras. The Walk machine.