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Originally Posted by OKchiefs
So does anyone know if there was been any sort of change in recent years in either the scouting department or in the minor league development system? Since it's no secret the struggles we've had with finding and developing talent, I'd like to hope maybe some changes have been made.
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They’ve shifted their draft focus in recent years and have gone away specifically from spending early picks on the projectable HS arms like Foster Griffin and Scott Blewett and Nolan Watson in the past two years.
It’s basically the same team doing the drafts, but different focus.
The organization has loosened its pitching development guidelines over the past few years as well and is less focused on forcing guys to be Fb-Change-Curve Arsenal’s. They’re letting guys with great sliders throw the sliders and not taking them away. Part of that was sending Bill Fischer out to pasture.
They did a bad job adjusting to the draft after the slot system went into place. I wouldn’t say they’ve struggled to find talent. They just haven’t been as good as a small market needs to be to keep the pipeline pumping.
I think there are still some development bugs, but development bugs start as scouting/drafting bugs, IMO. I’m of the camp that believes you need a combination of tools and skills/savvy to develop as a hitter, and he Royals have traditionally been very tools heavy in acquiring players.
Bubba Starling is the most talented physical player the royals have probably ever drafted and one of the 10-15 best raw athletic products in the draft in the past decade. Just a great example of tools vs skills.
Two cases of bad luck also significantly shift the perception. If Ventura lives and Kyle Zimmer isnt doing his best Sam Jackson impersonation (Mr. Glass), it’s very different.