*** 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.

[Great Expectations]

Is he a Billay Beane mult?

[tk13]

No he's apparently a senior writer for Fangraphs. But it's obvious the Royals make him irrationally angry.

[Ebolapox]

Originally Posted by tk13

No he's apparently a senior writer for Fangraphs. But it's obvious the Royals make him irrationally angry.

I mean, it was pretty creative.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by tk13

Also, this guy exists.

I'm just amazed that there are people out there that think the Royals won the WS because of some genius planning. No, they're some guy who discovers gold in his backyard when trying to blow up gophers with homemade fertilizer bombs in his backyard for a Youtube video.

— Dan Szymborski (@DSzymborski) July 25, 2018

Symborski does the ZIPS analytics ratings so he looked bad when we kept winning. A few points:


1. We had the most wins in the AL over a 3 year period. That isn't luck and it cannot be faked.

2. We went 22-9 in postseason and nearly won back to back

3. Everyone copied our bullpen strategy. Imitation is the sincerest form of something

4. We built our entire team via the farm, so it wasn't like we bought it (i.e. Florida Marlins 2003, etc etc)

5. He's always welcome to come to KC and see the flag, the trophy, and maybe even kiss the ring

[Strongside]

Twitter or not, that Symborski tweet is awful writing. “In his backyard” twice in the same sentence. Yikes.

[Why Not?]

Originally Posted by tk13

Also, this guy exists.

I'm just amazed that there are people out there that think the Royals won the WS because of some genius planning. No, they're some guy who discovers gold in his backyard when trying to blow up gophers with homemade fertilizer bombs in his backyard for a Youtube video.

— Dan Szymborski (@DSzymborski) July 25, 2018

Stupid. And even if true, who gives a ****? It's like making fun of a lottery winner for lucking into being rich. He's still rich, mother****er

[tk13]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Symborski does the ZIPS analytics ratings so he looked bad when we kept winning. A few points:


1. We had the most wins in the AL over a 3 year period. That isn't luck and it cannot be faked.

2. We went 22-9 in postseason and nearly won back to back

3. Everyone copied our bullpen strategy. Imitation is the sincerest form of something

4. We built our entire team via the farm, so it wasn't like we bought it (i.e. Florida Marlins 2003, etc etc)

5. He's always welcome to come to KC and see the flag, the trophy, and maybe even kiss the ring

Plus they weren't nearly as aimless as he's painting here. They valued making contact and playing great defense, and outpaced the rest of the league by a wide, wide margin over this period. That wasn't an accident.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Nightfyre

https://www.kansascity.com/sports/sp...215490520.html

Interesting article on Bubba Starling and potential lack of motivation.

Interesting, but I disagree with Quirk on pretty much every aspect.

There's no upside in KC cutting ties. They've invested so much already... Might as well hang on until he quits baseball. His tools and defense are such that there's risk in moving on (slim as the chances of it being a real risk are). Would be brutal to cut ties and then have him make some sort of MLB contribution.

I also don't think questioning his work ethic or how much he wants to succeed is fair. Starling works hard. He just can't recognize pitches. That's a skill, not necessarily something that can be learned.

Originally Posted by tk13

Before we get too carried away expecting too big of a return on Moose, apparently the Braves view him as a platoon or bench player.

I checked further on this. The #Braves interest in Moustakas is minimal at best. They're happy with Camargo at 3B, and the deadline focus remains pitching. There's also the question of how Moustakas would adapt to a bench role. Barring an injury in Atlanta, there's no fit. https://t.co/s7ou8XFmNO

— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 25, 2018

I don't expect a huge return, but they'll get something worthwhile back if there are really 9 teams interested/checking in.

Originally Posted by tk13

Also, this guy exists.

I'm just amazed that there are people out there that think the Royals won the WS because of some genius planning. No, they're some guy who discovers gold in his backyard when trying to blow up gophers with homemade fertilizer bombs in his backyard for a Youtube video.

— Dan Szymborski (@DSzymborski) July 25, 2018

What was planned: Having a great defense, an offense that made contact and could run the bases at a high level, having a pitching staff that played to the ballpark (fly ball pitchers).

The bullpen dominance was a little unplanned, but the formula was purposeful heading into 2014, and the formula was so successful everyone is now trying to emulate it.

To suggest a 3-year run where the team was so good was just blind luck shows a real stubbornness and willful ignorance on his part. And it's annoying.

It's no different, really, than the Giants formula in 2010, 2012, and 2014.

[Dartgod]

Originally Posted by tk13

Also, this guy exists.

I'm just amazed that there are people out there that think the Royals won the WS because of some genius planning. No, they're some guy who discovers gold in his backyard when trying to blow up gophers with homemade fertilizer bombs in his backyard for a Youtube video.

— Dan Szymborski (@DSzymborski) July 25, 2018

Is he related to Jason La Canfora?

[OKchiefs]

I don't agree with his take on us winning by pure luck, but I do agree with a lot of the rest that he said. He said the Royals rested on their laurels and didn't do enough after the world series to continue to build a sustainable system. He's right. They kept all of our star players for nostalgia and basically coasted into 2016 and 2017. Fans would have been initially pissed, but if the front office had done a better job of projecting their outlook for 2016-2017 they could have easily made the decision to sell off our assets and gotten the rebuild started sooner. 2 postseasons and 3 winning seasons in 12 or so years for this regime just isn't enough. We shouldn't have to go through 7 year rebuilds every decade just to have 2-3 years of winning baseball.

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by tk13

Also, this guy exists.

I'm just amazed that there are people out there that think the Royals won the WS because of some genius planning. No, they're some guy who discovers gold in his backyard when trying to blow up gophers with homemade fertilizer bombs in his backyard for a Youtube video.

— Dan Szymborski (@DSzymborski) July 25, 2018

He’s an idiot.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by tk13

Also, this guy exists.

I'm just amazed that there are people out there that think the Royals won the WS because of some genius planning. No, they're some guy who discovers gold in his backyard when trying to blow up gophers with homemade fertilizer bombs in his backyard for a Youtube video.

— Dan Szymborski (@DSzymborski) July 25, 2018

And he missed one of the key reasons we took a step back so fast. They juiced the ball to minimize the effect of cheap fly ball pitching and speedy OF defenders strategy. Now you just want to get fat guys who hit fly balls, because you don't have to hit it hard for it to go out of the park.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by OKchiefs

I don't agree with his take on us winning by pure luck, but I do agree with a lot of the rest that he said. He said the Royals rested on their laurels and didn't do enough after the world series to continue to build a sustainable system. He's right. They kept all of our star players for nostalgia and basically coasted into 2016 and 2017. Fans would have been initially pissed, but if the front office had done a better job of projecting their outlook for 2016-2017 they could have easily made the decision to sell off our assets and gotten the rebuild started sooner. 2 postseasons and 3 winning seasons in 12 or so years for this regime just isn't enough. We shouldn't have to go through 7 year rebuilds every decade just to have 2-3 years of winning baseball.

You are ****ing idiot

[IowaHawkeyeChief]

Originally Posted by OKchiefs

I don't agree with his take on us winning by pure luck, but I do agree with a lot of the rest that he said. He said the Royals rested on their laurels and didn't do enough after the world series to continue to build a sustainable system. He's right. They kept all of our star players for nostalgia and basically coasted into 2016 and 2017. Fans would have been initially pissed, but if the front office had done a better job of projecting their outlook for 2016-2017 they could have easily made the decision to sell off our assets and gotten the rebuild started sooner. 2 postseasons and 3 winning seasons in 12 or so years for this regime just isn't enough. We shouldn't have to go through 7 year rebuilds every decade just to have 2-3 years of winning baseball.

Yordano passing suddenly really upset long term plans as well...

[OKchiefs]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

You are ****ing idiot

You're so kind. Thank you for offering such constructive criticism in an intelligent manner.