*** Official 2017 Royals Offseason Repository

[duncan_idaho]

The reign is over. Time to begin the quest for the next one.

Interesting offseason opens for the Royals. Will they go all in for one last shot with this crew? Will they re-tool for 2018 and beyond? Will Dayton Moore actually decrease payroll this time?

Trades, free agent signings, rumors, plans, proposals... dump 'em all here, for this is... the offseason repository!

Royals Top Prospects, 2017

This is a list that’s going to seem a little bleak initially, as Raul Mondesi got enough ABs to age out of the prospect rankings (just barely – at 135 ABs, he is not rookie eligible). But that said, I like the talent and feel like this is a system that will actually be underrated by the prospect services.

Spoiler!

Format: POS/Name/2017 Projected Final Level

1) 3B/OF Hunter Dozier, MLB. Dozier bounced back from a disastrous 2015 campaign that had many wondering, myself included, if he was wrecked. His strong offensive performance in 2016 saw Dozier recapture the mature approach that many liked coming up, while also starting to tap into his above-average raw power for the first time.

In addition to his success at the plate, Dozier also proved he could at least HANDLE an OF spot, which could put him in the conversation for 2017 playing time at the major leagues. If the Royals DO end up trading Cheslor Cuthbert, Dozier could find a decent amount of MLB playing time sliding between RF and 3B. With Moustakas recovering from knee surgery, he likely will need more regular breaks from the field. And the streaky Paulo Orlando is just not an intriguing short-side platoon partner for Jarrod Dyson.

2) LHP Matt Strahm, MLB. Strahm just barely skates under the rookie eligibility rules for a pitcher, so he can be included here. Royals fans already got a taste of the lefty’s abilities, as he used his above-average fastball and slurve to dominate out of the pen in 2016. For him to translate that dominance to the rotation, Strahm will need to maintain his velocity (92-94) and continue to improve a changeup that flashed average at times.

If the changeup becomes a weapon he can lean on against righties, Strahm could be a very solid mid-rotation starter and fringe ToR/No. 2 type (think Danny Duffy-lite).

3) RHP Josh Staumont, AAA. This one could blow up on me and look really silly by this time next year, but I’m encouraged by what we saw from Staumont late last year. He showed significantly improved control down the stretch for Northwest Arkansas, including some impressive playoff starts, while maintaining the big-time K ability. That trend continued in the Arizona Fall League.

If Staumont’s control holds, the Royals have a guy with a plus fastball, plus-plus curve, and average change (with a slider that could develop into a real weapon as he matures). He’ll start next season at AAA and could be an addition to the MLB bullpen or even the rotation before the season ends.

4) RF Jorge Bonifacio, AAA. Boni, like Dozier, had a bounceback season in 2016 with the bat, and also played 15-20 pounds lighter than the year before, which added some nice defensive utility according to reports I’ve gotten. He now looks like a guy could provide solid/average RF production in the major leagues… Average defense paired with potential to put up a .275/.335/.450 line. While that’s not all-star level, it IS playable. Especially at pre-arbitration dollars. He’ll get another year in Omaha to refine his approach, and likely be in the mix of a 2018 mini-youth movement… unless moved for MLB reinforcements.

5) C Meibrys Viloria, Low-A (Lexington). I haven’t seen him in person, but I like the pedigree. You’ve got a lefthanded hitting catcher with the defensive ability to stick behind the plate. He was a big-bonus guy out of Colombia (nearly $500k). And his offensive performance has been highly impressive early, with a good combination of power, plate discipline, and contact skills.

He’s forever away from the majors, just now clearing rookie ball, but Viloria is the most exciting prospect KC has had at Idaho Falls since someone on this board was gushing about a 16-year-old SS tearing it up.

6) 1B Ryan O’Hearn, AAA. O’Hearn is a guy who has never gotten a lot of hype from scouts, but he continues to be a strong producer. He’s someone who likely will strikeout about 25 percent of the time at the big-league level, but has the ability to be a .500+ SLG guy. That plays. He also has shown good patience at the plate, posting above-average OBPs at every level.

Bold prediction: I won’t be shocked if O’Hearn takes over at 1B for KC in 2018/2019 and provides similar offensive production to Hosmer out of the gate. He’s probably never going to be a consistent plus average (.290+) hitter, but .270 with 25 HR is something within reach for him. He’ll get his first shot at AAA in 2017.

7) RHP AJ Puckett, A+. Puckett is a high floor, low-ceiling guy who performed about as you’d expect in 2016 after being the Royals’ first pick in the 2016 Rule IV Draft. He’s not flashy, but Puckett does profile as a solid potential back-end starter. Good fastball command and an above-average changeup are his calling cards. If Puckett finds a reliable breaking ball to put batters away, this could tick up. Great athlete, very similar to Jake Odorizzi in that regard.

8) RF Khalil Lee, Low-A (Lexington). Lee was a two-way player in HS and many viewed him as a pitcher first as a pro, but the Royals drafted him as an OF and were reward with a strong debut campaign. Lee is not a big guy, but he produced solid power numbers despite that. He’s a dynamic athlete who could contribute with power and speed.

9) C Chase Vallot, High-A (Wilmington). Vallot has an intriguing bat, with plus raw power. Got off to a great start in 16 before being sidelined and then sidetracked by injury. RH bat may be good enough to push him out from behind the plate, where he has good tools but a long way to go.

10) RHP Jake Junis and RHP Alec Mills (AAA). I'm copping out here and including both at No. 10 because they're so similar. Like Puckett, they each project as a serviceable back of rotation starter. Similar stuff and profiles, though Junis has shown a little better strikeout ability and may have a smidge more upside as a result.

Others of note:

SS/CF Marten Gasparini. Production has been bad for this toolsy player, but Gasparini has speed and pop that jump out at you. At only 19, need to be patient with him... this European signee was even less polished when signing at 16 than the typical Latin America prospect.

OF Seuly Matias. Loud, loud tools. Matias profiles as a classic RF... big-time power potential. He's a long ways from the majors but is one of the Royals' biggest bonus babies from LA.

RHP Ashe Russell. 2014 1st rounder saw his velocity disappear last year and was quickly shut down. He's intriguing one way or the other, even if he ends up as another notch in the belt of the TINSTAAPP saying.

2B Corey Toups. O'Hearn's HS teammate has been an above-average producer for an up-the-middle player. His small stature hides a surprising amount of pop. Could turn into a Mark Grudzielanek type of offensive second baseman at his peak - solid average, lots of 2Bs.

RHP Scott Blewett, LHP Foster Griffin, RHP Nolan Watson - all three have underwhelmed as pros but were drafted in the supplemental round. Stuff and projectability for each is a positive. Wouldn't be surprised to see one of them take a Cody Reed-like step forward this season and crack the 50-75 range on prospect lists. They all have the natural ability.

SS/2B Ricky Aracena - Jose Altuve-sized Aracena is a switch hitting middle infielder who can flat out run. Switch hitter with a good approach.

RHP Pedro Fernandez - I'm still a believer in his stuff, even if he is destined for the pen. Was having a nice 2016 start until injuries derailed him right after his promotion to AA.

Sirs not Appearing in this Prospect List:

RHP Kyle Zimmer. Same story, different year. The Royals are hopeful they FINALLY found the cause of Zimmer's achy shoulder. If they really did, and he can stay healthy, the talent/potential is exciting.

OF Bubba Starling. Never trust a guy named Derek.

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

I'm all for you giving you another shot RomoSex, but let's not **** up the best thread on here?

Romo didn't **** it up. The mods did by letting him come back.

[Dartgod]

I'm just going to put this here. It's directed at no one AND everyone.

Single Thread Bans may occur due to the following reasons:

Highjacking threads with no thought given to the OP
Derailment of threads due to personal feuds
General derailment of threads
Rude or insensitive comments in a prayers/thoughts thread
Constant trolling of a single thread

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by C3HIEF3S

Who ****ing cares, this isn't the place for this bullshit.

I'm for banning all of them.


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[Al Bundy]

Originally Posted by Romosexual

Hey BigCatDaddy, you're pointing your finger at the wrong person. I was only talking Royals baseball - and then PB made this post (which is false).

I correctly pointed out that, in '14 and '15, there were only 3 Royals trolls that I remember, and they were all on my ignore list in '15. PB, Al Bundy and Cosmo.

Anything else?

You're wrong.

[Unsmooth-Moment]

This thread hit the shitter pretty quickly.

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Originally Posted by Unsmooth-Moment

This thread hit the shitter pretty quickly.

And yet, no one is surprised.

[SAUTO]

JFC guys

[Lex Luthor]

Originally Posted by Chiefspants

I don't think anyone thinks Ned is a genius, GMDM just made the bullpen Ned proof from the 2014 postseason to 2015.

I think you have to give Ned a little credit for insisting that each of the 3 Cyborgs had a clearly defined inning that they owned. Herrerra knew he owned the 7th. Davis always knew he owned the 8th. It's admittedly a small thing, and it's more a mindset thing. I hated it when he first started doing it, but he made a plan, he stubbornly stuck to the plan, and it worked.

I acknowledge that a clearly defined role doesn't take the place of a blazing fastball or an unhittable slider. My point is that there are lots of guys with great stuff who never figure it out. Ned helped these guys figure it out.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Unsmooth-Moment

This thread hit the shitter pretty quickly.

This is much better. Thank God thread cops like Great Expectations are around to keep things flowing smoothly.

Good work, lads...

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Lex Luthor

I think you have to give Ned a little credit for insisting that each of the 3 Cyborgs had a clearly defined inning that they owned. Herrerra knew he owned the 7th. Davis always knew he owned the 8th. It's admittedly a small thing, and it's more a mindset thing. I hated it when he first started doing it, but he made a plan, he stubbornly stuck to the plan, and it worked.

There was quite a bit of discussion about it when Cleveland started doing their thing and playing guys whenever. (And the media acted like this was the FORST TIME EVAR a team leaned hard on a kick ass pen) that Franconas approach makes much more sense because you can push matchups, but it can **** with a guy mentally. I'm willing to give Ned credit if he did it intentionally because those guys were just ****ing disgusting.

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Originally Posted by bsroyals54

Not to mention his statline does not come close to the Royals BP of 14' / 15'. Paying him so much money I will NEVER understand ever. Seriously. Someone explain why a 3 ERA closer is making 8.3M per year on a staff of cyborgs...

GMDM saw what the bullpen did for us in 2015. It meant everything to the 2 WS teams. We were losing Holland, Madson, Morales, and to a lesser extent Frasor (who was traded). He knew to keep that type of competitiveness with the existing roster there would need to be holes filled in the bullpen. There just weren't a lot of options to refill and Soria was a good bet to at least bring a little stability... it didn't happen, obviously.

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by Lex Luthor

I think you have to give Ned a little credit for insisting that each of the 3 Cyborgs had a clearly defined inning that they owned. Herrerra knew he owned the 7th. Davis always knew he owned the 8th. It's admittedly a small thing, and it's more a mindset thing. I hated it when he first started doing it, but he made a plan, he stubbornly stuck to the plan, and it worked.

Yes and no. While I agree that some pitchers respond very well to knowing their exact role, sticking to that plan is why Aaron Crow gave up a devastating, game losing grand slam to Nava in September, a move that could have cost us a wildcard spot (luckily the A's and M's were just as inept in September).

Why not put in Kelvin in that situation? "Because the 7th inning is Kelvins".

Luckily, the blowback Ned got from Andy and the national media at that comment inspired him to install a veto system where Waka and Eiland could overrule his pitching decisions. I give Ned major credit for recognizing a personal blindspot and making a move to address it. It speaks volumes about his character.

However, it didn't exactly take Stephen Hawking to manage the most dominant bullpens in baseball in the from the 2014 postseason through 2015. Ned's insistence on using Crow, his weakest link the pen, in high leverage situations in both 13' and 14 knocks him down a peg in my book.

With that said, I love Ned. He made me eat a Billy Butler sized plate of crow and the man's jersey is hanging up in my closet. He managed the 2015 postseason like a bauce (even the Madson move, judging by Davis' 2016, was arguably justified), and he seemed to learn from his hesistency to pull the trigger in the 2014 World Series. His balla' use of the pen in the 15' Fall Classic was a major reason why we won it all.

[Hootie]

I loved how Francona used Miller last postseason. That's what Wade should have been doing in '14 ...

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[Hootie]

Ned did better in '15 postseason from what I remember ... When Herrera discovered his out pitch and went full beast mode. I still can't believe he let Madson pitch to Bautista but, yeah

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[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by Romosexual

Ned did better in '15 postseason from what I remember ... When Herrera discovered his out pitch and went full beast mode. I still can't believe he let Madson pitch to Bautista but, yeah

Sent from my SM-G928V using Tapatalk

The differences between his management in Game 4 of the 2014 World Series compared to Game 4 in the 2015 WS is massive. Playing it safe by letting Vargas bat with the bases loaded in the 4th inning may have cost us the 2014 World Series, while aggressively pulling Young to let Big Ken bat in 2015 may have won it for us.