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.

[Lex Luthor]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Braniac's post was just awful. Carry on.

Feel free to point out which part of my post was factually incorrect.

[DeezNutz]

Now the thread should be back on track, so that's good.

Hated the new beat writer's first effort. Unnecessarily cumbersome rhetoric in an effort to do little but show off. I'm not impressed, douche lord.

[SPATCH]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

Now the thread should be back on track, so that's good.

Hated the new beat writer's first effort. Unnecessarily cumbersome rhetoric in an effort to do little but show off. I'm not impressed, douche lord.

I was annoyed by the "Wacha" stuff

[gblowfish]

Originally Posted by Brainiac

Feel free to point out which part of my post was factually incorrect.

My final Sweeney Rave then I'll let it go:

Sweeney made about $73 million in his 16 year MLB career, about $70 mill of that came from your KC Royals.
Sweeney's final contract: 5 years, $55 million.

Let me put that in perspective: Royals highest paid player this year?
James Shields, $11 million.
They gave that same money FIVE YEARS in a row to Sweeney, and that was TEN YEARS ago. So in today's money, that contract would have been probably 15 to 18 million a year.

What did the Royals get in return for $70 million?

Royals all time history winning pct: .481
Royals winning pct while Sweeney was on the team: .414

Royals have had five years losing 100 games or more. Who was on all five of those teams?

Sweeney. For a man who has spent a literal fortune trying to prevent abortions, he sure allowed plenty of them here in KC, like the 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006 Royals seasons.

How many playoff games did Sweeney participate in as a Royal in exchange for $70 million?
Zero.

What was the highest the Royals placed in the AL Central with Sweeney on the team?

Third Place.

Now let's consider Lonnie Smith:
Three World Series Rings with Three Different Teams.
Thought about killing John Sheurholtz and bought a gun to do so.

Those two qualities right there makes him vastly more qualified for this job than Sweeney!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonnie_Smith

I'm just saying, if you want to build a winning team, bring in winners. Plain and simple.

If you don't agree.....LOOK A SHINY OBJECT!

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by gblowfish

I'm just saying, if you want to build a winning team, bring in winners. Plain and simple.

If you don't agree.....LOOK A SHINY OBJECT!

I just don't get your post. Top to bottom, left to right, all of it is a bunch of nonsense. The active roster has 25 players. A game usually involves about 13 of them, and this sport isn't like the NBA where one player can be a Kobe and really dominate, warping the odds of a team winning. (Maybe an ace pitcher, for 1/5 of their games?) In baseball, even a good player has a pretty small impact on the game.

And then you get into this whole "this player is not a winner" nonsense, what is that? That reads like superstitious, bone through the nose, primitive native stuff to me. You mean that if the Houston Astros added 1 or 2 "winners", whatever "winner" means, they'd suddenly be good? I think at best they would lose 92 or 93 games instead of losing 100.

[KevB]

Originally Posted by gblowfish

My final Sweeney Rave then I'll let it go:

Sweeney made about $73 million in his 16 year MLB career, about $70 mill of that came from your KC Royals.
Sweeney's final contract: 5 years, $55 million.

Let me put that in perspective: Royals highest paid player this year?
James Shields, $11 million.
They gave that same money FIVE YEARS in a row to Sweeney, and that was TEN YEARS ago. So in today's money, that contract would have been probably 15 to 18 million a year.

What did the Royals get in return for $70 million?

Royals all time history winning pct: .481
Royals winning pct while Sweeney was on the team: .414

Royals have had five years losing 100 games or more. Who was on all five of those teams?

Sweeney. For a man who has spent a literal fortune trying to prevent abortions, he sure allowed plenty of them here in KC, like the 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006 Royals seasons.

How many playoff games did Sweeney participate in as a Royal in exchange for $70 million?
Zero.

What was the highest the Royals placed in the AL Central with Sweeney on the team?

Third Place.

Now let's consider Lonnie Smith:
Three World Series Rings with Three Different Teams.
Thought about killing John Sheurholtz and bought a gun to do so.

Those two qualities right there makes him vastly more qualified for this job than Sweeney!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonnie_Smith

I'm just saying, if you want to build a winning team, bring in winners. Plain and simple.

If you don't agree.....LOOK A SHINY OBJECT!

Glad that's your last Sweeney rant, you finished with a ridiculous flourish. Blame Sweeney for the team's performance, that's logical on a team with a 25 man roster.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by gblowfish

My final Sweeney Rave then I'll let it go:

Sweeney made about $73 million in his 16 year MLB career, about $70 mill of that came from your KC Royals.
Sweeney's final contract: 5 years, $55 million.

Let me put that in perspective: Royals highest paid player this year?
James Shields, $11 million.
They gave that same money FIVE YEARS in a row to Sweeney, and that was TEN YEARS ago. So in today's money, that contract would have been probably 15 to 18 million a year.

What did the Royals get in return for $70 million?

Royals all time history winning pct: .481
Royals winning pct while Sweeney was on the team: .414

Royals have had five years losing 100 games or more. Who was on all five of those teams?

Sweeney. For a man who has spent a literal fortune trying to prevent abortions, he sure allowed plenty of them here in KC, like the 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006 Royals seasons.

How many playoff games did Sweeney participate in as a Royal in exchange for $70 million?
Zero.

What was the highest the Royals placed in the AL Central with Sweeney on the team?

Third Place.

Now let's consider Lonnie Smith:
Three World Series Rings with Three Different Teams.
Thought about killing John Sheurholtz and bought a gun to do so.

Those two qualities right there makes him vastly more qualified for this job than Sweeney!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonnie_Smith

I'm just saying, if you want to build a winning team, bring in winners. Plain and simple.

If you don't agree.....LOOK A SHINY OBJECT!

This is the 2nd time I've seen you use team wins as a reason to bring down a player. That argument is unbelievably stupid.

[DeezNutz]

Sweeney played during a period when the owner's number one priority, literally, was NOT winning. He was working to change the economic structure of the game.

I honestly thought you were being a bit tongue-in-cheek with the Sweeney rants, but maybe I was wrong.

Blowfish, you're too good of a poster for this stuff.

[gblowfish]

Originally Posted by alnorth

I just don't get your post. Top to bottom, left to right, all of it is a bunch of nonsense.

Maybe you need to read it right to left, like Hebrew.

I will say, I have no idea why he wants to do this job. He already has $70 million of the Royals money. Maybe there IS something to that old saying about a criminal returning to the scene of the crime....

What will he do in his new job?

Hey, maybe we'll have more Promise Keeper Nights and Family Faith Sunday Games! Maybe a "fishes and loaves" night where everybody gets a free fish sandwich if the Royals win a game in May? Or maybe we can have wrestling matches on the mound between Sweeney and Jeff Weaver? Weaver can dress like the devil. Get thee behind me, Satan!

How about Milk and Cookie Night? First 10,000 in the gate get a Mike Sweeney Cookie Jar!

Maybe build a Mike Sweeney Chiropractic Clinic for fans next to the Royals Hall of Fame? You can find Mike in there usually about a third to half of the season.

How bout they put Sweeney in the booth to banter with Hud for all the road games? Let them have a contest to see who can be more blindly optimistic? Remember how riveting that was last year in the Anaheim Series? Must See TV!

Sweeney wants to win, gosh darn it. Dag Nabbit, he wants to bring October Baseball to Kauffman Stadium, although he hasn't the slightest idea how that happens exactly.

OK, I'm done now. No more Sweeney flaming.

[Archie Bunker]

Originally Posted by gblowfish

Sweeney. For a man who has spent a literal fortune trying to prevent abortions, he sure allowed plenty of them here in KC, like the 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006 Royals seasons.

I'll be honest I don't give a shit about Sweeney's legacy all that much either way, those teams he was on were so bad he could've played 162 every year and they probably still would've lost 100, but that line made my day.

[Lex Luthor]

George,

We get it. You hate Mike Sweeney. Actually, you don't just hate him, you ****ING HATE THAT MOTHER****ER!

I'm not going to try to change your mind. I don't really care if you hate the guy or love him. I just find it curious that anyone would get so emotional about a player who was generally considered to be a good guy and whose only crime was to get injured and not live up to his potential. Is there something else going on here? Did he have sex with your wife or something?

[alnorth]

Giving the benefit of the doubt, the only other thing I can think of to make that post less-crazy, is if you think a "leader" can inspire his whole team to be better, and that Sweeney was paid to be a leader who couldn't deliver.

Baseball isn't that kind of sport, though, its very different from football and basketball in that every player is almost an independent free agent who doesn't need help from other players to do his thing, and can't really help other players be better. There are exceptions like a good outfield can pick up a pitcher, and the SS/2B need to work well together, and maybe a catcher can help the pitchers but mostly the whole is not greater than the sum of the parts. Football has situations where a bad line or the lack of a running game can make a good QB look terrible, and a bad QB can make good skill position players fail. Basketball has their glue guys whose job is basically to make everyone else better, but baseball just doesn't have that.

[Sure-Oz]

Sweeney was a hell of a player when his back worked out...shit happens. Bad luck on the Royals that they chose him over Beltran. Everyone goes apeshit if they let Sweeney go who at the time was the face and playing elite ball

[Sure-Oz]

Originally Posted by Brainiac

George,

We get it. You hate Mike Sweeney. Actually, you don't just hate him, you ****ING HATE THAT MOTHER****ER!

I'm not going to try to change your mind. I don't really care if you hate the guy or love him. I just find it curious that anyone would get so emotional about a player who was generally considered to be a good guy and whose only crime was to get injured and not live up to his potential. Is there something else going on here? Did he have sex with your wife or something?

I'm pretty surprised by the extreme hate as well

[Ceej]

I'm wondering if blowfish hates Sweeney as much as KU.