*** Official 2018 Royals Repository ***

[duncan_idaho]

The season is upon us, even if spring is not.

2018 MLB Draft Picks
#18
#33 - Compensation (Eric Hosmer)
#34 - Compensation (Lorenzo Cain)
#40 (Competitive Balance Round A)

018 Draft Names to Watch

RHP Kumar Rocker, N Oconnee HS, Georgia.

Spoiler!

Possibly goes top 10 but is a big, physical SP with ace potential. Moore and co. will be all over him if he slips a bit and could offer top 10 money at No. 16

OF Jarred Kelenic, Waukasha West HS, WI

Spoiler!

Kelenic is the top prep bat, toolsy OF. Royals would be ecstatic to have shot at him.

1B Triston Casas, American Heritage HS (FL).

Spoiler!

Tremendous raw power, best in HS bats. Royals typically like HS arms or HS bats with "special" tools. He qualifies.

RHP Carter Stewart, Eau de Gallie HS (Ga).

Spoiler!

Another big, physical specimen with huge upside. More likely to be available mid-first than Rocker.

ANY Any, Any (Any). Any current top projected pick who slides for injury concerns. Includes current top prospect prospect SP Brady Singer, U of Florida.

Current Prospects to Watch:

OF Seuly Matias - Huge tools. Hit 2 HR in Lexington (A) season opener.

1B Nick Pratto - Top pick in 17 has advanced approach and good glove; needs to start tapping into power in first full year in minors. Also at Lexington.

OF Michael Gigliotti - Good defender in CF, good OBP skills, plus baserunner. Next mainstay in CF for KC, IMO. Advanced college bat also starting at Lexington.

OF Khalil Lee - Probably has highest upside in Royals' system. Could hit 30 HR in majors, could steal 30 bases. Plus defensive ability in RF. Nice test at Wilmington this year.

3B Emmanuel Rivera - Really nice approach and good contact skills. Power is still developing. Also getting a good test at Wilmington.

SP Foster Griffin - Made nice strides in 2017. Needs to continue to progress in 2018. Could be a lefty version of Jakob Junis (good breaking ball that he can really manipulate, OK fastball, good command).

1B Samir Duenez - Duenez still is intriguing, hoping for a step forward in his power production this year at Northwest Arkansas, which would turn him into a legit prospect.

Others to keep an eye on:
SP Gerson Garabito (Wilmington), OF Marten Gasparini (Lexington), C MJ Melendez (Lexington), RP Tyler Zuber (lexington), RP Richard Lovelady (Omaha), SP Dan Tillo (Lexington), SS Nicky Lopez (NWA), SP Scott Blewett (NWA), OF Brewer Hicklen (Idaho Falls),

In general, Lexington and Wilmington are the most interesting spots to watch. Nice depth and a lot of interesting pieces at both.

[Prison Bitch]

We cashed in when Bos and NYY were both down. What a time to be your best

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

We cashed in when Bos and NYY were both down. What a time to be your best

Back-to-Back World Series is nothing to sneeze about.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

Back-to-Back World Series is nothing to sneeze about.

It doesn't matter since Hosmer, Moose and Salvy didn't hit 60 homers, we didn't have 5 CY Young aces pitching and we didn't beat the Yankees and Red Sox.

[tk13]

If Mahomes wins a Super Bowl it's going to be "Chiefs got lucky because Brady retired and Luck was hurt."

It's funny because national writers went on and on about how great that Royals team was because it was so deep and the bullpen was so great. I really don't care, but that's the beauty of baseball. There's no formula like there is in the NFL and NBA.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

It doesn't matter since Hosmer, Moose and Salvy didn't hit 60 homers, we didn't have 5 CY Young aces pitching and we didn't beat the Yankees and Red Sox.

Dane said it doesn't matter since nobody cared we win it

[tk13]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

They’re not starting over at ground zero like in 2006. They’re 2-3 years ahead of that curve, easily.

The easiest example of this is on the team right now. Whit and Bonifacio. Those are the type of guys they never would have been able to develop when Moore took over. Who knows what those two guys will be in 3-4 years, but they're at least giving themselves a chance to hit on guys who aren't the 1st round, high impact guys.

[KChiefs1]

https://youtu.be/NVs7KwR1rJs
https://youtu.be/GSAtGK3-fTQ





https://www.kansascity.com/sports/ml...214939005.html

Royals prospect Seuly Matias displays power, electrifies World team in Futures game

By Maria Torres mtorres@kcstar.com
Washington, D.C.

World Team Seuly Matias, of the Kansas City Royals, touches the plate after hitting a home run against the U.S. Team in the second inning of the All-Star Futures game Sunday Nationals Park, in Washington.

Some 50 feet from where Royals prospect Seuly Matias made his temporary home in the visiting clubhouse at Nationals Park on Sunday sat former Expos and Angels slugger Vladimir Guerrero.

He entertained members of the media for more than 30 minutes on Sunday afternoon, hours before he and the World team lost to the United States 10-6 in the All-Star Futures game, and shared the same advice he gave the young batters invited to this showcase.

“Always keep your head up and do your job,” he said in Spanish. “Forget what people are saying. Do the job you have to do to get to the big leagues.”

Across the clubhouse, Matias sat preparing for his first Futures game appearance, in which he went 2 for 3 with a home run, and memorizing Guerrero’s words. He’d heard them at least three times during team meetings called by former Red Sox slugger and World manager David Ortiz.

Yet Matias hung on each syllable. Ortiz and Guerrero, natives of the Dominican Republic like Matias, hit a combined 990 home runs during their careers. They know what they’re talking about, he said. He aspires to be like them.

And on Sunday, with two of the biggest names in Dominican baseball looking on, Matias put his potential on display. He electrified the World dugout in the second inning, shooting a waist-high 94 mph fastball thrown by Yankees prospect Justus Sheffield an estimated 360 feet to right field for a leadoff homer.

Strictly by numbers, Matias had little chance. Sheffield is the Yankees’ second-ranked prospect and the fifth-ranked left-handed pitcher across all levels by MLB Pipeline. He’s only allowed a .193 batting average and three home runs across 85 innings at Class AA and Class AAA.

But Matias is unbridled power and boundless energy. He is a 19-year-old prospect who gallops around the bases and does a funky side-step when he rounds third base on a homer.

The display of raw strength had Ortiz comparing Matias to a young version of Sammy Sosa on the MLB Network broadcast. It had Matias’ World teammates Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres and Yusniel Diaz of the Dodgers standing at the dugout railing, hands raised in ecstasy.

When Matias finished his trot around the bases, he was met with high fives all the way down the steps into the third base dugout — first from Ortiz and eventually from hitting coach Guerrero, who will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame at the end of the month.

“That was huge,” Matias said. “I saw (Ortiz’s) smile and when he put both his hands up, I felt so happy. It was a great experience.”

All winter, Matias longed to be here. He had watched Blue Jays prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr., considered the top prospect in baseball by Baseball America and MLB Pipeline, go 2 for 4 in last summer’s All-Star Futures game and felt pride for his friend — and something akin to disappointment in himself.

“Vlad Jr., he came here last year and so did a few other of my friends,” said Matias, who signed with the Royals for $2.25 million during the 2015 international period. “I was like, ‘Wow, they signed in my same year and praise God they’re at the Futures game. But, God willing, next year, I’m gonna do my best and put in every effort to join them here and be part of the same thing.’”

Matias met his self-imposed challenge with relative ease. After smacking a minors-leading 17 homers in 150 at-bats over 41 games, he earned a spot at the South Atlantic League All-Star game alongside Legends teammates Nick Pratto, MJ Melendez and Sebastian Rivero. The Futures game nod came about a month after the first announcement, on the heels of a 4 for 41 skid in which Matias struck out 21 times and drew four walks from June 21 to July 4.

With 109 strikeouts in 268 at-bats this season, pitch selection is something Matias is trying to improve. That hole in his game was picked open by Reds pitcher Hunter Greene, the second overall pick of the 2017 draft. Greene struck out Matias on a high 100 mph fastball in his second at-bat Sunday.

Still, Matias found comfort in the at-bat. He worked a 2-2 count and laid off three breaking pitches, only one of which was a called strike.

As the United States improved to 13-7 all-time in the 20th installment of the Futures game, Matias drew further encouragement for a professional career that began just three summers ago.

“I think that when I go back (to the Legends), I will have my timing down,” Matias said. “I know I’ll get better. I know I can do it. I know that with God, I can do it. It’s just an adjustment.”

https://www.royalsreview.com/2018/7/...e-futures-game

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by tk13

If Mahomes wins a Super Bowl it's going to be "Chiefs got lucky because Brady retired and Luck was hurt."

It's funny because national writers went on and on about how great that Royals team was because it was so deep and the bullpen was so great. I really don't care, but that's the beauty of baseball. There's no formula like there is in the NFL and NBA.

About every national tv broadcast game, they still bring up the Royals bullpen when it gets to late innings.

[KChiefs1]

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stor...-superlatives/

WASHINGTON D.C.—In a high-scoring game, hitters stood out more than the pitchers in the Futures Game, which had a bit of everything on display, from triple-digits velocity to a slew of home runs and advanced offensive approaches from young hitters.

Here were the best players and moments that stuck out the most at the 2018 Futures Game.



Best Player: Fernando Tatis Jr., SS, Padres

Three years out, the 2015 international signing class is shaping up to be an incredible group. Juan Soto is a 19-year-old star in the big leagues. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the best prospect in baseball, with the makings of a future MVP candidate. Outfielder Leody Taveras (Rangers) and shortstop Andres Gimenez (Mets) are the best prospects in their organizations. Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya, Royals outfielder Seuly Matias, Rays shortstop Lucius Fox, Twins shortstop Wander Javier, Braves outfielder Cristian Pache and Cubs shortstop Aramis Ademan were all ranked among the Top 30 international prospects in the 2015 class and are all now top 10 prospects in their organizations.

Fernando Tatis Jr. was also in the 2015 class. The White Sox signed him for $700,000 out of the Dominican Republic, but several other clubs didn’t consider Tatis a top-tier prospect in his year, with questions on both his pure hitting ability and where he would play in the field. Today, Tatis is a favorite among scouts, and at the Futures Game he displayed why he is the No. 2 prospect behind only Vladdy Jr. on the Baseball America Top 100.

In batting practice Tatis showed plus raw power. In the game he went 2-for-4, with his Padres teammate Buddy Reed stealing a third hit away from him with a nice running catch on a hard-hit ball to center field. Tatis picked up his first hit against Reds righthander Hunter Greene, pulling a 102 mph fastball on the inside corner for a single to left field, an impressive turnaround for a hitter with Tatis’ length. In the fifth inning he used the opposite field, smoking a 95 mph fastball on the outer third for a line-drive single to right. When Tatis played shortstop, he showed good range to his left, then when he moved over to third base, he unleashed a plus arm.

Even in a one-game look, Tatis managed to show off all of his tools. Just 19 in Double-A San Antonio, Tatis is hitting .289/.359/.509 with 15 home runs and 15 stolen bases in 19 attempts. His 28 percent strikeout rate is high, but given that he’s a 19-year-old in Double-A with a swing that should work and baseball acumen well beyond his years, there’s reason to believe he will be able to trim that in time.

There may have been skepticism when Tatis signed three years ago. Today, he looks like a potential cornerstone shortstop who could soon be hitting in the middle of San Diego’s lineup.




Best Hitter: Taylor Trammell, OF, Reds

Twins outfielder Alex Kirilloff has shot up BA's Top 100 Prospects list in his return to the field this season. He showed advanced hitting ability from the left side in the Futures Game, lining a 93 mph fastball from fellow lefty Jesus Luzardo for a single to center field, then working a 3-1 count before driving a 92 mph fastball the opposite way for a single to left.

Like Kirilloff, Taylor Trammell has quickly climbed up BA's Top 100 Prospects list this year, with Trammell among the game’s elite prospects. Trammell stood out in batting practice with a sweet lefty swing and above-average raw power, getting to the second deck in right field. When he entered the game, he got a 96 mph fastball down in the strike zone and lifted out for a home run to his pull side. In his second and final at-bat, Trammell worked the count into his favor at 2-0, then drilled a 92 mph fastball for a triple off the center field wall. As a 20-year-old in the high Class A Florida State League, Trammell is hitting .295/.394/.421 with six home runs, 42 walks and 66 strikeouts in 78 games. Based on the raw power Trammell has shown this year, those home run totals should jump once he escapes the pitcher-friendly FSL, with a chance to be a plus hitter with above-average power and the strike-zone discipline to drew plenty of walks and post high OBPs.





Best Oppo Power: Seuly Matias, OF, Royals

Jo Adell, Peter Alonso, Nate Lowe and Tatis flashed big raw power in batting practice. Then the ball started flying in the game, with home runs from Alonso (more on him below), Danny Jansen, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Taylor Trammell, with two homers from Dodgers outfielder Yusniel Diaz.

Royals outfielder Seuly Matias brought it in BP and in the game. He’s 6-foot-3, 200 pounds and looks even bigger, using an excellent combination of strength and bat speed to produce 70 raw power on the 20-80 scouting scale. Matias, 19, launched deep blasts to his pull side in BP, making it easy to see why he has 26 home runs in 74 games with low Class A Lexington and a .335 ISO.

Then in his first plate appearance, Matias got a 94 mph fastball on the outside corner from Yankees lefthander Justus Sheffield that he drove over the right-field fence, an impressive display of hitting by going with where the ball was pitched (and doing it against a Triple-A pitcher), as well as an incredible demonstration of strength to go deep the opposite way. Matias has a fairly simple, efficient swing, but it’s his pitch recognition and strike-zone discipline that get him into trouble, with a .213/.293/.549 slash line this season. There’s still a lot of risk in his skill set, but if everything clicks, the power potential is frightening.





Best Pull Power: Peter Alonso, 1B, Mets

Peter Alonso’s plus-plus raw power has long been his carrying tool. That was quickly apparent, with Alonso showing some of the best power of anyone at the Futures Game during BP. Then Alonso gave everyone watching a taste of that power in the seventh inning, working a full count, fouling off three straight pitches, then smashing a long home run to his pull side off a 95 mph fastball left over the middle of the plate.





Best Pitcher: Jesus Luzardo, LHP, Athletics

In a 10-6 game, there were a lot of talented pitchers who were not able to escape unscathed. Jesus Luzardo started for the World team and did give up a run and three hits in his two innings, but of all the pitchers at the Futures Game, he stuck out for the most impressive combination of stuff across the board and control.

Luzardo’s fastball sat at 93-96 mph, touching 97 once. He flashed a plus changeup, throwing one to Rockies shortstop Brendan Rodgers in a 2-0 count for a called strike, then going back to the pitch in a 3-1 count for a swinging strike. And while Rays first baseman Nate Lowe took advantage of a slider Luzardo left out over the plate to drive in a run, Luzardo flashed an above-average slider too, using as a putaway pitch to strike out Brewers second baseman Keston Hiura swinging. Scouts have been coming back all season with ecstatic reports on the 20-year-old Luzardo, who since reaching Double-A this season has a 2.54 ERA with a 74-15 K-BB mark in 63.2 innings. Luzardo had Tommy John surgery during his draft year in 2016, so his 78.1 innings this season are a career high. Luzardo still has to prove his durability, but if he can do that, he has the makings of a frontline starter.





Best Velocity: Hunter Greene, RHP, Reds

I probably could have written up this one before I even flew out to Washington D.C. Hunter Greene, 18, has freakish arm speed and an 80 fastball, which he holds as a starter and was able to let loose even more than usual in a short stint. Greene threw 19 fastballs, topped out at 103 mph with all of them cracking 100 mph or better. He got four swinging strikes on his fastball, trailing only Rockies righthander Jesus Tinoco (five swinging strikes on his fastball) in that category.




Biggest Wow Moment: Luis Basabe, OF, White Sox

Hunter Greene threw Luis Basabe four straight fastballs: 101, 102, 102 and 102 mph again. The last pitch, in a 2-1 count, went down in the zone to the lefthanded-hitting Basabe, who pulled it for a home run to right field with a quick, efficient and easy swing, making 102 mph look like 92 mph.





Most Intriguing, U.S. Team: Ke’Bryan Hayes, 3B, Pirates

Ke’Bryan Hayes has an unusual skill set for a third baseman, with his strengths based more around his contact skills and defense rather than raw power and arm strength. He showed good strike-zone discipline in the Futures Game, getting behind Red Sox righthander Bryan Mata 0-2 before working a 10-pitch walk in his first plate appearance. In his last at-bat, he showed a mature ability to take a 96 mph fastball on the outer third and drill it the opposite way, only for the line drive to go straight at the right fielder. Hayes also took a 90 mph fastball up in the zone out to left center-field for a home run, a nice surprise from a player who has hit just four home runs in 74 games this year with Double-A Altoona. If that power shows up more in games—and it’s reasonable to that that it could, given his age (21) and contact frequency—Hayes would become a much more dangerous offensive threat.





Most Intriguing, World Team: Yusniel Diaz, OF, Dodgers

While Hayes is outside the BA's Top 100 Prospects list, Diaz is already a Top 100 Prospect, with the arrows pointing in the right direction. Ever since I started watching Yusniel Diaz play when he was a teenager in Cuba, he’s always been a good athlete with strong hand-eye coordination to make contact. He’s made plenty of contact this year with Double-A, even drawing more walks (41) than strikeouts (39) while hitting .314/.428/.477 in 59 games. He has hit just six home runs, but in the Futures Game Diaz launched a pair of homers, one on a laser to center field off a 96 mph fastball up in the zone, the other on a 95 mph fastball that was also up in the zone and kept carrying on a line out over the wall in center. Given Diaz’s knack for barreling baseballs, perhaps the power he showed at the Futures Game is a sign of what’s to come once he gets to play all of his games with the MLB baseballs.






Most Underrated (For Now): Luis Garcia, SS, Nationals

Garcia was a favorite among international scouts when he signed out of the Dominican Republic, ranking as the No. 3 international prospect in the 2016 class. He ranked as the No. 4 prospect last year in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, but he has yet to make an appearance on BA's Top 100 Prospects list. That’s going to change very soon in our next update.

Garcia is just 18, but the Nationals have already promoted him to the high Class A Carolina League. Playing in his possible future home ballpark, Garcia had just one plate appearance but didn’t look like an overmatched 18-year-old. The lefthanded-hitting Garcia look comfortable against Rangers lefty C.D. Pelham pumping upper-90s fastballs, swinging through the first pitch he saw before working his way back to a six-pitch walk. Then he showed baserunning savvy going first to third on a groundball to right field where a lot of players would have finished the play standing on second base. Garcia’s .302/.336/.397 is good for an 18-year-old even if it might not jump off the page, but he’s absolutely a prospect on the rise.

[ROYC75]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

We cashed in when Bos and NYY were both down. What a time to be your best

Maybe they were lucky not having to see us when we were up,keeping them from the humiliation. We got hot in 2014 at the right time, 2015 was determination!

Yep, so Boston kicked our ass in 2014, 1-6 then in 2015 we go 3-4.

NY in 2014 we go 4-3 and in 2015 we go 3-4.

Your theory doesn't hold,we weren't Killers of either of them.

[TLO]

Is Bubba Starling still alive?

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by TLO

Is Bubba Starling still alive?

Literally? Or as a legit prospect.

Yes. And hell no.

[SuperBowl4]

No way the ROYALS lose today

[Bowser]

So we could have had Francisco Lindor OR George Springer instead of Starling? Haha, wow.

[Al Bundy]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Literally? Or as a legit prospect.

Yes. And hell no.

Do you think we see Starling this year?