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.

[Al Bundy]

Tigers and Rangers have trade agreement in place: Joakim Soria for Jake Thompson and Corey Knebel, source confirms @KyleBogie report.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 24, 2014

[C3HIEF3S]

Meh

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by Big Smoke

A sweep of the Indians this weekend would be pretty sweet.

3 of 4 would be nice.

[ChiefsCountry]

A couple seasons ago Soria and Joe Nathan together would be like having Wade and Holland together.

[Kidd Lex]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Bad luck for the Royals. Basically, they take the 10 smallest markets and 10 smallest payrolls and put them in a lottery pot. 6 teams get a comp. pick between rounds 1 and 2. 6 more teams get a comp pick between round 2 and 3. The rest are left out.

KC got left out this time after being granted a pick between rounds 1 and 2 the past two years. This pick is what they used to nab Sean Manaea.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Al Bundy

Tigers and Rangers have trade agreement in place: Joakim Soria for Jake Thompson and Corey Knebel, source confirms @KyleBogie report.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 24, 2014

Speaking of the competitive balance picks... Corey Knebel was the first comp. balance pick to make it to the major leagues.

[WhawhaWhat]

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/ar...rticleid=24223

This is a really interesting story about the Astros and there contract issues with Brady Aiken, the number 1 overall pick this year that didn't sign. It's long but it's pretty good insight if you like that stuff.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/ar...rticleid=24223

This is a really interesting story about the Astros and there contract issues with Brady Aiken, the number 1 overall pick this year that didn't sign. It's long but it's pretty good insight if you like that stuff.

SI also did a long piece about this as well.

Basically, that medical report must be awful. We'll never know because of HIPPA regulations, exactly what was found, but it had to be a disaster for them to sacrifice basically their entire draft this season as a result.

I expect to be hearing that Aiken's season at UCLA has been cut short due to season-ending surgery pretty shortly.

[siberian khatru]

This piece expresses my feelings to a T:

http://www.royalsauthority.com/do-so...-dayton-moore/

What I fear the most and, frankly, expect the most is for Dayton Moore to neither buy nor sell. We will be told that there just wasn’t the value for value trade out there. That this group is good enough and ‘we like are team’ and whatever clumsy rhetoric this organization will toss out to us.

The Royals will have a nice little hot streak, get close, and then fall back: probably end up 84-78 and be set up in 2015 to win 84 or 85 wins again. It’s better than losing 100 games a year, but it will get really, really annoying three or four years in a row.

Buy or sell. Pick one, but for godssake do one or the other in a big way.

[Archie F. Swin]

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

This piece expresses my feelings to a T:

http://www.royalsauthority.com/do-so...-dayton-moore/

What's even more disgusting is, our starting pitching may never much better than it is right now. Eventually we'll need MORE offense to overcome mediocre pitching.

[siberian khatru]

Originally Posted by Archie F. Swin

What's even more disgusting is, our starting pitching may never much better than it is right now. Eventually we'll need MORE offense to overcome mediocre pitching.

I think Kansas City is doomed to always have teams that are out of balance.

[Unsmooth-Moment]

Originally Posted by Archie F. Swin

What's even more disgusting is, our starting pitching may never much better than it is right now. Eventually we'll need MORE offense to overcome mediocre pitching.

We are just a bullpen arm away. Lets go get Bastardo so we can strengthen the pen! The hitting will come around. /DM

[siberian khatru]

Originally Posted by Unsmooth-Moment

We are just a bullpen arm away. Lets go get Bastardo so we can strengthen the pen! The hitting will come around. /DM

We need to keep games close to pad those one-run-loss stats.

Then Dayton can spend the winter arguing we were THIS close to winning 90+ games, and we will get over the hump as soon as 3/4 of our lineup starts hitting the way he knows they can.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

I think Kansas City is doomed to always have teams that are out of balance.

That's one of the challenges of being a small market team. Have to have excellent work from the front office to fill as many holes as possible, and back that up with excellent work from the manager to cover holes/limit their impact on the field.

Basically, you need Joe Maddon+Andrew Friedman.

You need Terry Ryan+Tom Kelly or Ron Gardenhire

I think that's one of the things that has held Beane back in Oakland... he's never really had that top-flight manager.

[Ceej]

Jim Johnson was just released by Oakland.

That's comedy gold right there.