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.

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by Chiefs Pantalones

I'm going to see our Royals in Phoenix next week. If they play like this against an awful Dbacks team I'll attack Yost.

Bookmarked. We all expect you to go at Yost like you guys are on the Springer show if these limp dicks play out there like they did here tonight.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by Hootie 2.0

lmao

ummmm

that guy just made the exact point I made this thread that you tried to argue

haha

I was so embarrassed I went out and posted it.

Now, you should go ahead and read what it actually says.

[Chiefs Pantalones]

Originally Posted by Bowser

Bookmarked. We all expect you to go at Yost like you guys are on the Springer show if these limp dicks play out there like they did here tonight.

Lol these one run losses are devastating.

[ChiefsCountry]

Guess the A's are interested in trading for Lester. Damn Billy wants to win this year.

[Archie F. Swin]

If GMDM stands pat...that's a huge head scratcher. Is his seat not getting warmer? You have to make a move here. Either get your big bat and say "Playoffs or Bust"...or deal Shields and say "2015 is the year". If he stands pat.....thats just a big 'fug you' to Royals fans.

[Kidd Lex]

Originally Posted by Hootie 2.0

lmao

ummmm

that guy just made the exact point I made this thread that you tried to argue

haha

Some comments from that page:

Yes, if you ignore the fact that Shields and Wade Davis are gone after this year (Davis too expensive to keep under existing contract), and that Tampa still has 5+ years of cheap control of Odorizzi & Shields, AND Montgomery (pitching so well in AAA that he can’t be too far from a call up) & Leonard.

So imagine that Montgomery blows his arm out and never recovers & Leonard quits baseball to become a traveling musician. And Will Meyers only turns out to be an average player, and Odorizzi a mediocre back end starter, and the Rays only get 3 WAR a year between them. That’s akin to KC sending Tampa Bay a check for $15M every year for the next 5 seasons.

And if Myers becomes a star and Odorizzi an average starter, & Montgomery a back end starter or decent reliever, the check should be closer to $30M a year.

So yea, KC took every penny of the value they got from this trade, crammed it into 2013 & 2014, and still barely got more value than Tampa did in those years, and still missed the playoffs, and cost themselves a very large amount of value over the next 5 years to do it.

[Kidd Lex]

Shoot me now:

And you forgot that KC spent $30M in extra payroll the last two years to get Shields/Davis, which could have been used on a decent free agent starter, and keep Odorizzi & Myers, and they would have been just as good, if not a playoff team (if the FA pitcher had been Anibel Sanchez who signed a back loaded deal with the Tigers that pays him less than $25M over those seasons)

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by The God Hypothesis

Some comments from that page:

Yes, if you ignore the fact that Shields and Wade Davis are gone after this year (Davis too expensive to keep under existing contract), and that Tampa still has 5+ years of cheap control of Odorizzi & Shields, AND Montgomery (pitching so well in AAA that he can’t be too far from a call up) & Leonard.

So imagine that Montgomery blows his arm out and never recovers & Leonard quits baseball to become a traveling musician. And Will Meyers only turns out to be an average player, and Odorizzi a mediocre back end starter, and the Rays only get 3 WAR a year between them. That’s akin to KC sending Tampa Bay a check for $15M every year for the next 5 seasons.

And if Myers becomes a star and Odorizzi an average starter, & Montgomery a back end starter or decent reliever, the check should be closer to $30M a year.

So yea, KC took every penny of the value they got from this trade, crammed it into 2013 & 2014, and still barely got more value than Tampa did in those years, and still missed the playoffs, and cost themselves a very large amount of value over the next 5 years to do it.

So you're saying we won the trade?!?!

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by The God Hypothesis

Shoot me now:

And you forgot that KC spent $30M in extra payroll the last two years to get Shields/Davis, which could have been used on a decent free agent starter, and keep Odorizzi & Myers, and they would have been just as good, if not a playoff team (if the FA pitcher had been Anibel Sanchez who signed a back loaded deal with the Tigers that pays him less than $25M over those seasons)

You can literally go back and find posters arguing this exact same point when the trade happened.

We don't even need hindsight to see how flawed the approach was. Keeping the players and reallocating the dollars was always the approach that DM should have taken, but he's just too ****ing stupid (or narrow-minded) to consider the possibility.

[Kidd Lex]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

You can literally go back and find posters arguing this exact same point when the trade happened.

We don't even need hindsight to see how flawed the approach was. Keeping the players and reallocating the dollars was always the approach that DM should have taken, but he's just too ****ing stupid (or narrow-minded) to consider the possibility.

You are right. Forgive me for using this thread as an outlet, my therapist said it would be good for me.

So assuming GMDM is fired in the offseason, who would be your leading candidate for GM?

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Archie F. Swin

If GMDM stands pat...that's a huge head scratcher. Is his seat not getting warmer? You have to make a move here. Either get your big bat and say "Playoffs or Bust"...or deal Shields and say "2015 is the year". If he stands pat.....thats just a big 'fug you' to Royals fans.

It's actually probably better for the Royals long term if Moore stands pat and DOESN'T make a move.

1) He doesn't overpay for a player who might or might not give the Royals enough to make the playoffs this year. They're now 3.5 games out of the WC standings with tough trips upcoming.

2) It increases the likelihood that this is the end of the shitshow that is the Dayton Moore/Ned Yost era.

3) The Royals don't move out long-term value for dubious short-term gain. When the Shields/Davis trade was made, I compared it to Dayton Moore going all in with something like QUEEN-9, off suit. Making a "splash" trade now is akin to adding his car to the pot while behind before the river. (based on their monetary situation/rumors, the splash trade would have to feature the trading team eating a big portion of the contract, which means higher cost in prospects or young players)

[Kidd Lex]

A competent GM would see that moving Shields/Holland for future pieces is the only thing to do that makes any sense. There are teams hungry for pitching looking to make a push and we could use some more cheap, club controlled talent stocked in the pond right now.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by The God Hypothesis

You are right. Forgive me for using this thread as an outlet, my therapist said it would be good for me.

So assuming GMDM is fired in the offseason, who would be your leading candidate for GM?

Farhan Zaidi.

Odds of a geezer from Northwest Arkansas hiring him? I'd say they're probably about negative eleventy bajilliion.

Anyway, Zaidi is one of the hotter names around. Not sure how in-demand he would be, might be tough for KC to pull him if, say, Philadelphia's GM spot also opened up.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by The God Hypothesis

Some comments from that page:

Yes, if you ignore the fact that Shields and Wade Davis are gone after this year (Davis too expensive to keep under existing contract), and that Tampa still has 5+ years of cheap control of Odorizzi & Shields, AND Montgomery (pitching so well in AAA that he can’t be too far from a call up) & Leonard.

So imagine that Montgomery blows his arm out and never recovers & Leonard quits baseball to become a traveling musician. And Will Meyers only turns out to be an average player, and Odorizzi a mediocre back end starter, and the Rays only get 3 WAR a year between them. That’s akin to KC sending Tampa Bay a check for $15M every year for the next 5 seasons.

And if Myers becomes a star and Odorizzi an average starter, & Montgomery a back end starter or decent reliever, the check should be closer to $30M a year.

So yea, KC took every penny of the value they got from this trade, crammed it into 2013 & 2014, and still barely got more value than Tampa did in those years, and still missed the playoffs, and cost themselves a very large amount of value over the next 5 years to do it.

It's nearly impossible to discuss this topic rationally with Royals fans, who say things like "we barely got more value these two years" when Frangraphs shows its been a rout, ~10-4 WAR. We've clearly gotten the better of the deal in the short run and we can debate the long run. But if you can't even recognize facts about the present, then it's all pointless.

[Prison Bitch]

I would like to point out how amused I am at the schizophrenic fan base we have here. Who is simultaneously blasting the Shields acquisition, but pining for us to do it again and pick up Marlon Byrd or whoever for prospects. That's some funny shit right here.