Choate: The prospects the Royals have traded - What have they really given up?

DaWolf · 08-31-2003, 02:36 AM

Choate: Royals haven't given up much

By Judd Choate
Special to The Capital-Journal

With injuries to starters Runelvys Hernandez, Miguel Asencio, Jose Lima, Kevin Appier, and Kyle Snyder and the general ineffectiveness of Jason Grimsley, Mike MacDougal, Kris Wilson, and Sean Lowe, it would have been easy and perhaps even smart to pack it in and start thinking about next year.

To his credit however, Royals general manager Allard Baird has seized on the Royals first legitimate playoff opportunity in a decade. He found diamonds in the rough with the aforementioned Lima and Appier. He added Al Levine for cash. He's traded one prospect after another for established major leaguers.

It's been impressive.

In the past two months, the Royals have added right-handed reliever Curtis Leskanic, left-handed reliever Graeme Lloyd, right-handed starter Paul Abbott, left-handed starter Brian Anderson, and outfielder Rondell White.

The problem with trading prospects though is that occasionally one of those youngsters grows up to be Jeff Bagwell, John Smoltz, Willie McGee, or, in the Royals' case, David Cone. In each case, you don't hear much about the minor leaguer until he collects 82 RBI the next season or goes 20-3 two years later.

So, let's spend some time talking about the prospects the Royals traded to make this playoff run.

To help me in this endeavor, I have enlisted John Sickels, one of the world's foremost experts on minor league baseball. John is author of the 2003 Baseball Prospects Book and writes "Down on the Farm" for ESPN.com. Check out his website, www.johnsickels.com.

The Royals have traded eight prospects in five deals. The first came July 2 when the Milwaukee Brewers traded Curtis Leskanic to the Royals for Alejandro Machado, a Double-A infielder, and Wes Obermueller, 26, a Triple-A pitcher.

"This is a good deal for the Royals. Leskanic has stabilized the bullpen, and neither Obermueller nor Machado project to be more than average major leaguers. I like Machado, but he's unlikely to hit with any power at the major league level."

Next, the Royals traded Omaha right-hander Jeremy Hill, 26, to the New York Mets for situational lefty Graeme Lloyd.

Sickels thinks this one might come back to bite the Royals.

"Honestly? The Lloyd deal looks pretty bad. Not only did they trade Jeremy Hill, a player I thought was ahead of (Mike) MacDougal last season, but Lloyd has been a disaster. If the Mets are lucky, Hill could be a major league closer someday."

Ten days later, right-hander Paul Abbott was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks for lefty reliever Aric Leclair, 25.

Leclair's numbers since the trade have been impressive, but Sickels is skeptical of his long term prospects. "He's made the jump to Double-A without incident, but he's pretty old to just be making the jump to Double-A."

Next, the Cleveland Indians sent lefty starter Brian Anderson to the Royals for Single-A right-hander Kieran Mattison, 23, and Single-A first baseman Trey Dyson, 23.

"Now, I like Mattison a lot, but this is a very good trade for the Royals," Sickels says. "Not only did they trade two players who haven't pitched above A-ball, but neither was even drafted, which means they turned a very small investment into immediate dividends at the major league level. Hats off to the scouting department for that one."

Finally, the Royals traded right-hander Brian Sanches, 25, and lefty Chris Tierney, 19, to San Diego for outfielder Rondell White.

Sickels says this trade might be the best of the bunch.

"Not only is Sanches already 25 years old, but he took three seasons to succeed at Wichita. Tierney, on the other hand, is a 6-foot-6 lefty who might be good someday but that's probably five years and a lot of instruction away."

Overall, Sickels has been impressed with the Royals' moves.

"They have maximized their chances to win without trading any of their core prospects. The organization has a lot to be proud of and the fans should be pleased."

I couldn't agree more. The Royals have traded eight minor leaguers who, chances are, will never make a regular salary in the major leagues for a legitimate chance to win a division title.

Good job Allard. Now, go find two more starters.

Judd Choate served as an associate scout for the Kansas City Royals from 1993-1996. He can be reached at juddchoate@comcast.net.

THE TRADES

To Royals From Royals

July 2, Milwaukee Curtis Leskanic Wes Obermueller

Alejandro Machado

July 28, New York Mets Graeme Lloyd Jeremy Hill

Aug. 8, Arizona Paul Abbott Aric Leclair

Aug. 25, Cleveland Brian Anderson Kieran Mattison

Trey Dyson

Aug. 26, San Diego Rondell White Brian Sanches

Chris Tierney

http://www.cjonline.com/stories/083103/spc_choate.shtml

tk13 · 09-04-2003, 12:29 AM

I agree that Hill is the only one I really kind of regretted losing, even at the time of the trade. No he'd not put up the results, but from all I knew about him he seemed to have the arm, he just hasn't really gotten results from it yet....

KHinz57 · 09-18-2003, 09:14 PM

Yeah, I wish there would've been somebody else we could've gotten for Jeremy Hill. I was even pretty upset back when the Royals gave up Jeff Austin, who was doing a solid job in our bullpen. The only way I give up Jeremy Hill is for a lefty-hander like B.J. Ryan of the Baltimore Orioles, otherwise, I'd rather have Jeremy Hill himself up in the majors instead of Graeme Lloyd.

08-31-2003, 02:36 AM
DaWolf Cry havoc... Join Date: Aug 2000 Casino cash: $10007725	Choate: The prospects the Royals have traded - What have they really given up? Choate: Royals haven't given up much By Judd Choate Special to The Capital-Journal With injuries to starters Runelvys Hernandez, Miguel Asencio, Jose Lima, Kevin Appier, and Kyle Snyder and the general ineffectiveness of Jason Grimsley, Mike MacDougal, Kris Wilson, and Sean Lowe, it would have been easy and perhaps even smart to pack it in and start thinking about next year. To his credit however, Royals general manager Allard Baird has seized on the Royals first legitimate playoff opportunity in a decade. He found diamonds in the rough with the aforementioned Lima and Appier. He added Al Levine for cash. He's traded one prospect after another for established major leaguers. It's been impressive. In the past two months, the Royals have added right-handed reliever Curtis Leskanic, left-handed reliever Graeme Lloyd, right-handed starter Paul Abbott, left-handed starter Brian Anderson, and outfielder Rondell White. The problem with trading prospects though is that occasionally one of those youngsters grows up to be Jeff Bagwell, John Smoltz, Willie McGee, or, in the Royals' case, David Cone. In each case, you don't hear much about the minor leaguer until he collects 82 RBI the next season or goes 20-3 two years later. So, let's spend some time talking about the prospects the Royals traded to make this playoff run. To help me in this endeavor, I have enlisted John Sickels, one of the world's foremost experts on minor league baseball. John is author of the 2003 Baseball Prospects Book and writes "Down on the Farm" for ESPN.com. Check out his website, www.johnsickels.com. The Royals have traded eight prospects in five deals. The first came July 2 when the Milwaukee Brewers traded Curtis Leskanic to the Royals for Alejandro Machado, a Double-A infielder, and Wes Obermueller, 26, a Triple-A pitcher. "This is a good deal for the Royals. Leskanic has stabilized the bullpen, and neither Obermueller nor Machado project to be more than average major leaguers. I like Machado, but he's unlikely to hit with any power at the major league level." Next, the Royals traded Omaha right-hander Jeremy Hill, 26, to the New York Mets for situational lefty Graeme Lloyd. Sickels thinks this one might come back to bite the Royals. "Honestly? The Lloyd deal looks pretty bad. Not only did they trade Jeremy Hill, a player I thought was ahead of (Mike) MacDougal last season, but Lloyd has been a disaster. If the Mets are lucky, Hill could be a major league closer someday." Ten days later, right-hander Paul Abbott was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks for lefty reliever Aric Leclair, 25. Leclair's numbers since the trade have been impressive, but Sickels is skeptical of his long term prospects. "He's made the jump to Double-A without incident, but he's pretty old to just be making the jump to Double-A." Next, the Cleveland Indians sent lefty starter Brian Anderson to the Royals for Single-A right-hander Kieran Mattison, 23, and Single-A first baseman Trey Dyson, 23. "Now, I like Mattison a lot, but this is a very good trade for the Royals," Sickels says. "Not only did they trade two players who haven't pitched above A-ball, but neither was even drafted, which means they turned a very small investment into immediate dividends at the major league level. Hats off to the scouting department for that one." Finally, the Royals traded right-hander Brian Sanches, 25, and lefty Chris Tierney, 19, to San Diego for outfielder Rondell White. Sickels says this trade might be the best of the bunch. "Not only is Sanches already 25 years old, but he took three seasons to succeed at Wichita. Tierney, on the other hand, is a 6-foot-6 lefty who might be good someday but that's probably five years and a lot of instruction away." Overall, Sickels has been impressed with the Royals' moves. "They have maximized their chances to win without trading any of their core prospects. The organization has a lot to be proud of and the fans should be pleased." I couldn't agree more. The Royals have traded eight minor leaguers who, chances are, will never make a regular salary in the major leagues for a legitimate chance to win a division title. Good job Allard. Now, go find two more starters. Judd Choate served as an associate scout for the Kansas City Royals from 1993-1996. He can be reached at juddchoate@comcast.net. THE TRADES To Royals From Royals July 2, Milwaukee Curtis Leskanic Wes Obermueller Alejandro Machado July 28, New York Mets Graeme Lloyd Jeremy Hill Aug. 8, Arizona Paul Abbott Aric Leclair Aug. 25, Cleveland Brian Anderson Kieran Mattison Trey Dyson Aug. 26, San Diego Rondell White Brian Sanches Chris Tierney http://www.cjonline.com/stories/083103/spc_choate.shtml
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09-04-2003, 12:29 AM	#2
tk13 ... Join Date: Nov 2001 Casino cash: $2012500	I agree that Hill is the only one I really kind of regretted losing, even at the time of the trade. No he'd not put up the results, but from all I knew about him he seemed to have the arm, he just hasn't really gotten results from it yet....
Posts: 54,919

09-18-2003, 09:14 PM	#3
KHinz57 Starter Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Leavenworth, KS Casino cash: $10004900	Yeah, I wish there would've been somebody else we could've gotten for Jeremy Hill. I was even pretty upset back when the Royals gave up Jeff Austin, who was doing a solid job in our bullpen. The only way I give up Jeremy Hill is for a lefty-hander like B.J. Ryan of the Baltimore Orioles, otherwise, I'd rather have Jeremy Hill himself up in the majors instead of Graeme Lloyd.
Posts: 598