2013 Kansas City Royals Repository Thread

[duncan_idaho]

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?

[AndChiefs]

14-4?

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by AndChiefs

14-4?

Wow. The Royals are flat-out destroying Arizona. I wonder how much of it was real or was it mostly B-teamers trying to make the club? All of our runs were scored in 5 innings, so that is an encouraging sign that it was probably the regulars.

[CaliforniaChief]

Originally Posted by alnorth

Wow. The Royals are flat-out destroying Arizona. I wonder how much of it was real or was it mostly B-teamers trying to make the club? All of our runs were scored in 5 innings, so that is an encouraging sign that it was probably the regulars.

Billy was 2-3 with 3 RBI.
Getz was 2-3
Hosmer was 1-3.
Moose was 2-3 with 2 RBI.
Frenchy was 2-3.

Max Ramirez hit a grand slam.

Dwyer didn't seem to look too good.

[CaliforniaChief]

I just noticed that Mark Teahen is up to bat for AZ. LOL

16-4 K.C. now.

[CaliforniaChief]

And Teahen just struck out on 4 pitches.

[Archie F. Swin]

Lets hope the law of averages redeems Frenchy this season. Perhaps he'll be slightly less of a panty waste

[ImAWalkingCorpse]

Uggghh I just heard Richard Justice on the radio saying that "Wil Myers has a real chance to make the Rays a championship team."

[Demonpenz]

Will Meyers is Mark Quinn

[ImAWalkingCorpse]

Originally Posted by Demonpenz

Will Meyers is Mark Quinn

We better hope so.

[duncan_idaho]

Baseball Prospectus released its top 101 prospect list yesterday.

Zimmer, Starling, Ventura and Mondesi all make the cut.

Zimmer is at 41, Starling at 49, Mondesi at 58, Ventura at 62. Bonifacio narrowly missed.

Jason Parks, the BP guy, is REALLY high on Mondesi. Loves him.

Odorizzi down to 83. Has Myers at 7 (behind Taveras, who's at 3).

[Three7s]

Originally Posted by alnorth

Wow. The Royals are flat-out destroying Arizona. I wonder how much of it was real or was it mostly B-teamers trying to make the club? All of our runs were scored in 5 innings, so that is an encouraging sign that it was probably the regulars.

I remember this one time when the Royals destroyed spring training and won the Cactus League. Then the regular season began and they lost 100 games.

[Great Expectations]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Baseball Prospectus released its top 101 prospect list yesterday.

Zimmer, Starling, Ventura and Mondesi all make the cut.

Zimmer is at 41, Starling at 49, Mondesi at 58, Ventura at 62. Bonifacio narrowly missed.

Jason Parks, the BP guy, is REALLY high on Mondesi. Loves him.

Odorizzi down to 83. Has Myers at 7 (behind Taveras, who's at 3).

Crazy how high Mondesi is rated. Is he the youngest player to crack the top 100?

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Great Expectations

Crazy how high Mondesi is rated. Is he the youngest player to crack the top 100?

I think so.

He could jump into the top 25 with a good campaign at full-season ball. He's going to be 18 for most of the season... if he continues to flash the defensive skills and instincts that those who have seen him have raved about, and holds his own offensively, he's going to skyrocket.

Here's the BP scouting report on him:

Strengths: Instincts are off-the-chart; tremendous feel for the game; 6 defensive profile at shortstop; plus arm; plus range; slick actions; soft hands; fluid swing from both sides of the plate; can drive the ball into the gaps despite limited (present) strength; easy feel for good contact; hit tool projects to plus; good baserunner; shows legit baseball skills at very young age.

Weaknesses: Lots of developmental unknowns; athletic body/frame, but needs to add strength; see ball, hit ball mentality in the box; susceptible to off-speed offerings; more bat speed from the right-side; lacks power potential.

Explanation of Risk: Extreme risk; despite game skills and precocious talent, wide gap between present and future; only 17 years old

The Year Ahead: Mondesi has the potential to be a special talent, but his statistical output in the next few years might not accurately reflect the scouting reports. Despite being an advanced talent for his age—with instincts that one source dubbed “Jeter like,” and possessing major league bloodlines—Mondesi is still only 17-years-old and will be playing against much older competition if he jumps to the full-season level. His lack of strength could limit his offensive function for a few years, but his glove work will continue to draw praise, as will his overall approach to the game, which mirrors a major-league veteran more than a player that would be entering his senior year in high school.

[Shogun]

Originally Posted by ImAWalkingCorpse

Uggghh I just heard Richard Justice on the radio saying that "Wil Myers has a real chance to make the Rays a championship team."

Ignore it, Opinions are like assholes

[Al Bundy]

http://espn.go.com/blog/spring-train...rs-very-strong

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- The Wil Myers question people seem to keep asking in the camp of those Tampa Bay Rays is this:

Is there any chance he starts the season on their big league roster?

But in reality, there’s about as much chance of that as there is of Rocco Baldelli starting the season on their big league roster. So the Wil Myers question we should really be asking is probably this:

What are the chances this guy makes an impact in the big leagues this season?

That, however, is a prediction the Rays aren't ready to make. But let’s just say this: Betting against it isn't a real good idea.

“We’re very sensitive to putting big expectations on young players,” the Rays’ executive vice president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman, said Tuesday before his team’s Grapefruit League game against the Astros. “He’s certainly capable of helping us win games in 2013. And I’m confident he WILL help us win games in 2013. But we’re still very early on in the process of getting to know him, being around him, watching the way he works, observing the way he goes about the process of getting better in every facet of the game.

Expectations are high for 22-year-old Rays outfielder Wil Myers.
“To this point, everything’s been very positive,” Friedman went on. “The first impression has been very strong. So we’re anxious to spend the next four or five weeks around him and continue his development.”

Even with players they drafted and developed on their own, the Rays have long been cautious about rushing their future stars to the big leagues, for both baseball and economic reasons. But in a case like this, where almost no one in their camp had even laid eyes on Myers before the past two weeks, it’s safe to assume they’ll be even more cautious.

“We've obviously read a lot of scouting reports, watched a lot of video, talked to a lot of guys who have seen him play,” Friedman said. “And that’s great. That’s obviously a very important part of the process of acquiring players. But I think you end up knowing more about a guy after you've been around him for a week or two than you do from watching a guy play for three games. So we’re anxious to learn all of the different things about him and how he goes about his work, etc., that you can’t possibly know without being around him.”

Myers’ offensive talents have pretty much jumped off the field at his new team in a short time. (For what it’s worth, he’s 3-for-7 this spring, with a walk and a double, in three games.) But because the Rays were well aware he started his career as a catcher and has played only 93 minor league games in right field, they have devoted as much extra time and effort as possible to accelerating his progress as an outfielder.

“He hasn't played the position for that long,” Friedman said. “So just [to help him with] the nuances of the position, [coaches] George Hendrick and Dave Martinez have been working with him a lot out there. And that’s an attempt just to expedite that learning curve. It’s not like this guy has played the outfield all his life. So we’re spending a lot of time with him on that aspect.”

You can bet the mortgage to the beach house that work will continue in exotic Durham, N.C., for a couple of months this season. But at some point, this man is coming to a St. Petersburg dome near you. And that’s when the Wil Myers questions will really get fun.