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.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by ROYC75

http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/stor...chele-path-mlb

This is a great damn read. Highly recommended you guys to read this.

[Simplicity]

Originally Posted by Coach

This is a great damn read. Highly recommended you guys to read this.

That was sweet!

[ROYC75]

Originally Posted by Coach

This is a great damn read. Highly recommended you guys to read this.

I thought so, it's long, but damn good, persistence paid off!

Gave me a warm smile.

[Three7s]

Originally Posted by ROYC75

I thought so, it's long, but damn good, persistence paid off!

Gave me a warm smile.

Yup, definitely an incredible read.

[Mama Hip Rockets]

I may have missed this somewhere along the line, but have they said for sure that Chen is going to be the 5th starter? I've got Shields, Vargas, Ventura, and Guthrie for the other four.

[C3HIEF3S]

Originally Posted by thurman merman

I may have missed this somewhere along the line, but have they said for sure that Chen is going to be the 5th starter? I've got Shields, Vargas, Ventura, and Guthrie for the other four.

Yes
The rotations goes:
Shields
Vargas
Ventura
Guthrie
Chen

[C3HIEF3S]

Guthrie gives up a homer on his 3rd pitch to Billy Hamilton

1-0 Reds

[PHOG]

Originally Posted by C3HIEF3S

Yes
The rotations goes:
Shields
Vargas
Ventura
Guthrie
Chen

For now? As in the short time?

[Deberg_1990]

Royals shouldn’t pen Danny Duffy to a relief role in the majors


The Royals’ season changed the other night when Ned Yost confirmed the worst-kept secret in the Cactus League. Yordano Ventura, who is drawing wild comparisons to Pedro Martinez, will be in the starting rotation.


Already, some rival coaches and players are crying uncle on the 102-mph fastball and a curveball and change-up that seem to get better every day. Listening to scouts talk about Ventura is a bit like listening to a teenage boy talk about Kate Upton.

But the consequences for the 2014 Royals don’t end with Ventura. There is an overlooked part of this equation that is still uncertain, but is critical and potentially damaging to another important piece of the pitching staff.

Ventura’s “competition” for the last rotation spot was left-hander Danny Duffy, himself once the franchise’s hot pitching prospect. So instead of the original plan for Duffy to develop in Class AAA Omaha and provide insurance, the Royals are looking at him to complete their big-league bullpen.

The plan stinks of letting emotions trump logic, and of an overreaction to a few setbacks in what is still a strong bullpen without Duffy or Luke Hochevar.

This is risky, to say the least, and is in place without even close to unanimous agreement within the organization. A team that already has a surplus of relievers and needs rotation depth is set to put a talented left-handed starter into the bullpen?

There is so much that can go wrong here, most notably putting a pitcher who struggles with command and steady emotions into critical late-inning spots chock-full of adrenaline.

Remember Duffy’s return from Tommy John surgery last year, when he gave up a triple to the first batter he faced and then allowed him to score on a wild pitch that nearly went over the backstop?

Internally, the Royals are adamant that they are not giving up on Duffy as a starter. General manager Dayton Moore oversaw the process in which Zack Greinke returned to baseball after walking away, found himself as a reliever and then won a Cy Young Award as a starter. No two people or situations are exactly the same, and Duffy isn’t as talented as Greinke, but there is some potential symmetry here.

One plan could be for Duffy to be in the big-league bullpen for the first few months before going to the minors to transition back to the rotation. But recent Royals history is also full of starters who go to the bullpen, never to return. Aaron Crow is the best current example.

The decision-makers within the organization are split on a lot of things with Duffy. There are differing opinions about his best ultimate role in the big leagues and the best route to get there from here. Duffy is, apparently, fully on board with at least a temporary role in the big-league bullpen and that should be considered, but Moore and his assistants are the ones paid to make the best decisions.

The story of spring training across baseball this year has been injuries to pitchers. And without Duffy, the Royals would have four bad options to patch a hole in the rotation: wear out the bullpen (which would tax the other starters), stretch Wade Davis out in a hurry (which would weaken the bullpen), or plug in Chris Dwyer (who has struggled this spring and has not had extended success beyond Class A ball).

Letting Duffy try out for a bullpen spot is not without merit. He’s scheduled for no more than 150 innings in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery. The Royals are at that win-now stage, and the dream scenario of Duffy going all Greinke and building confidence while saving his arm for a second-half return to the rotation is tantalizing. Duffy is now 25 years old, and sooner or later the club needs to get value.

There is no perfect solution here, and good for the Royals in considering every possibility with an important piece.

But this plan also comes with a hint of desperation, both about what the Royals may see in Duffy and their bullpen. Spring-training struggles of Tim Collins shouldn’t influence Duffy’s career.

In terms of both Duffy’s value and a critical season, the most concerning part is that his problems with command and controlling adrenaline are not just red flags against moving to the bullpen — we’re talking about flashing neon signs with tornado sirens.

Nobody knows how this will turn out, of course. Duffy won’t move to the bullpen unless the Royals think he can be a big help. He’ll have three or four chances to pitch in a game before the season opener in Detroit on March 31, and his chances are probably 50-50.

Duffy wants to be a major-leaguer, and he should. But the Royals are a stronger organization with him as a starter.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/03/18...#storylink=cpy

[C3HIEF3S]

Originally Posted by PHOG

For now? As in the short time?

That is the rotation to begin the regular season. Chen, I have learned from a fellow CP user, has a clause in his contract that gives him bonus money for starting 15 games. So it is very likely he will make 14 starts and then his spot will be given to someone else, i'm assuming Duffy if he gets it together.


EDIT: Finding "fellow CP user"

EDIT 2: fellow CP user= SPchief

[PHOG]

Originally Posted by C3HIEF3S

That is the rotation to begin the regular season. Chen, I have learned from a fellow CP user, has a clause in his contract that gives him bonus money for starting 15 games. So it is very likely he will make 14 starts and then his spot will be given to someone else, i'm assuming Duffy if he gets it together.


EDIT: Finding "fellow CP user"

Ok, thanks....also DeBerg1990, thanks for posting that.

[Shogun]

That was one of the best baseball articles I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

[alnorth]

According to twitter, Moustakas is hitting the ball hard again tonight.

[C3HIEF3S]

Yep, he hit a RBI double. Absolutely raking this spring.

[SPATCH]

Originally Posted by alnorth

According to twitter, Moustakas is hitting the ball hard again tonight.

Which sucks because I've had really tempered expectations for him this season, but now I'm starting to get my hopes up again.