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.

[Dartgod]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

I would like to point out how amused I am at the schizophrenic fan base we have here. Who is simultaneously blasting the Shields acquisition, but pining for us to do it again and pick up Marlon Byrd or whoever for prospects. That's some funny shit right here.

I think the majority of us now realize its too late for this and would rather sell now than be buyers.

[Why Not?]

Originally Posted by Dartgod

I think the majority of us now realize its too late for this and would rather sell now than be buyers.

Hope so. Some head in the clouds, unrealistic type folk still hold onto some fantasy that after over a 100 games, a team is some how going to change its spots, but I agree that most see it for what it is. It was apparent in the spring that this was a .500 ball club and that's exactly what they are. To mortgage any piece of the potential future would be beyond idiotic, which is why I fully expect it to happen by tomorrow.

[lcarus]

**** the wild card. We coming for YOU Detroit!

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

I would like to point out how amused I am at the schizophrenic fan base we have here. Who is simultaneously blasting the Shields acquisition, but pining for us to do it again and pick up Marlon Byrd or whoever for prospects. That's some funny shit right here.

I think that's a matter of the window for a player acquisition helping enough rapidly shrinking.

I know I've beaten the Byrd drum pretty hard, but I've been doing it since early in the season, and the cost for a guy like that in prospects should NOT be incredibly high.

[Three7s]

Originally Posted by lcarus

**** the wild card. We coming for YOU Detroit!

In 10 years. /Dayton

[gblowfish]

Dayton just needs another five to ten years, and we'll be able to compete for the second wild card slot.

Hey, we gave you a carousel and a whiffle ball park, what do you want from us, people?

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by The God Hypothesis

Shoot me now:

And you forgot that KC spent $30M in extra payroll the last two years to get Shields/Davis, which could have been used on a decent free agent starter, and keep Odorizzi & Myers, and they would have been just as good, if not a playoff team (if the FA pitcher had been Anibel Sanchez who signed a back loaded deal with the Tigers that pays him less than $25M over those seasons)

or we could have just kept Santana around...

[Prison Bitch]

I love armchair GM. Sign Sanchez and Santana! Of course t takes two to tango. Did it ever occur to anyone most FA really don't want to play (or frankly live) here? We are poor and we're not a sexy city for a 30 year old male many of whom are Latino anyway. We ha to trade for Shields because a guy like him normally won't sign here.


People will whine about Shields all day (even though the Fangraphs article says he's been the 13th best pitcher in all of MLB since coming and has been "everything we hoped for"). But we all know the culprits of our failure and last nights game was great reminder of why Shields can't take us to the playoffs.

[Unsmooth-Moment]

Yup. Free agents aren't coming here without being paid a little more or having family in teh area, etc.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

I love armchair GM. Sign Sanchez and Santana! Of course t takes two to tango. Did it ever occur to anyone most FA really don't want to play (or frankly live) here? We are poor and we're not a sexy city for a 30 year old male many of whom are Latino anyway. We ha to trade for Shields because a guy like him normally won't sign here.


People will whine about Shields all day (even though the Fangraphs article says he's been the 13th best pitcher in all of MLB since coming and has been "everything we hoped for"). But we all know the culprits of our failure and last nights game was great reminder of why Shields can't take us to the playoffs.

The Shields trade was always a boom or bust move. I was incensed initially and gradually came around to being more OK with it IF the Royals made the playoffs during his tenure.

If KC doesn't make the playoffs with Shields, it's a losing proposition for the Royals. Just no way around it.

[DeepSouth]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

The Shields trade was always a boom or bust move. I was incensed initially and gradually came around to being more OK with it IF the Royals made the playoffs during his tenure.

If KC doesn't make the playoffs with Shields, it's a losing proposition for the Royals. Just no way around it.

And they still can make the playoffs. And, they could do it without making any trades. I would rather nothing happen than give up a prospect with great potential.

As far as selling, for Shields, they'll get a comp pick. For Holland, Davis, etc, they might actually get more by trading them in the offseason, IE, the Grienke deal.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by The God Hypothesis

A competent GM would see that moving Shields/Holland for future pieces is the only thing to do that makes any sense. There are teams hungry for pitching looking to make a push and we could use some more cheap, club controlled talent stocked in the pond right now.

We can't do that, and there is not a GM in baseball who would make that move, given the history of the club, the fanbase, and the reality of what the Shields trade meant.

This is not video game or strat-o-matic baseball, this is the real thing, with a team that hasn't made the playoffs in almost 3 decades, and after you have already essentially gone all-in for this season 2 years ago.

A few people in this thread have basically said that we're out of it anyway, so we may as well get what we can, but they are just flat-out wrong. The odds are not good, but even the most pessimistic simulations still have it at about 10-15%. Trading Shields and Holland for some low-level prospects undeniably harms if not destroys what little playoff chances we have. Maintaining those small odds for this season is worth more to the team and the fans than what little we may be giving up by not trading them. I wouldn't add to the team, we pretty much need to win or lose with this team, there's no sense in burning some real high-level prospects to improve for this season. But, we just can't wave the white flag.

[Prison Bitch]

We weren't going to the playoffs with Shields or Myers. It's stunning to me that people can't see such an obv concept.

[ChiefsCountry]

The only way the Royals can trade Shields is to get a return that helps the team this year or the Royals lose the PR battle with majority of the fan base.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by DeepSouth

And they still can make the playoffs. And, they could do it without making any trades. I would rather nothing happen than give up a prospect with great potential.

As far as selling, for Shields, they'll get a comp pick. For Holland, Davis, etc, they might actually get more by trading them in the offseason, IE, the Grienke deal.

Good point, to the extent that we may miss out by not trading Shields, some of that is mitigated by the pick we get after he declines the QO. So what we're missing out on by going for it with Shields is the marginal difference between that pick and whatever we would have gotten.