***Official 2022 Royals Season Repository Thread***

[ChiefsCountry]

For all things Royals in 2022. #3 minor league system according to Baseball America. The Bobby Witt era should begin this year. Will Salvy still be the homerun king? How does the glut of infield players work out? Will the young pitchers take the next step?

Free Agents/Trades Acquisitions
Zack Greinke, P
Amir Garrett, P
Taylor Clarke, P

Top 10 Prospects from Baseball America
1. Bobby Witt, SS
2. Asa Lacy, P
3. MJ Melendez, C
4. Nick Pratto, 1B
5. Jackson Kowar, P
6. Kyle Isabel, OF
7. Frank Mozzicato, P
8. Ben Kudrna, P
9. Jonathan Bowlan, P
10. Vinnie Pasquantino, 1B

Duncan's Top Royals Prospects

Spoiler!

1. Bobby Witt, Jr., SS. MLB.
This status lasts about another 4 weeks, but let’s take a moment to appreciate having the top guy in the minor league prospects lists for at least a little while longer. Witt has prodigious ability and the question is really just IF he can meet it. They have not had a prospect like this in my lifetime, and really probably ever. Combine insane raw physical skills (right there with Adalberto Mondesi and Willie Wilson in the ranks right behind Bo Jackson) with unbelievable work ethic, a humble-but-confident nature, and already having shown he can struggle and overcome to achieve big success, and you have the tools for a show-stopping centerpiece. Oh, and throw in the former-player’s kid aspect on it on top of things, and there is every reason to believe he’s going to succeed and succeed big.
2. M.J. Melendez, C, AAA Omaha.
I was early on putting him in this slot last year, and I don’t regret it. The power, the ability to be a good defender behind the dish as well as having the athletic ability to play 3B or LF, too, and you have a really valuable overall piece and FANTASTIC understudy for Salvador Perez.
3. Asa Lacy, LHP. AA Northwest Arkansas
Whoa, let’s get crazy again. Lacy has outstanding stuff. Top of the system. He got hurt and lost his command during COVID times, but appears to be back on track so far this spring. If his command sticks, this is a guy who can move quickly. And his ceiling is really second to nobody in the minor league pitching ranks.
4. Vinnie Pasquantino, 1B. AA Northwest Arkansas
Vinnie starts the season back at AA due to the guy who follows him on the list here. He just hits, folks. I love his combination of contact, loud contact, plate discipline, and lack of strikeouts. The Billy Butler comparisons are annoying (in that I will NEVER refer to this man as Italian Breakfast except in the instance that just occurred), but the Billy Butler comparisons are also fairly apt… if you made Butler a lefthanded hitter, AND improved his body/athleticism from a 20 to a 40, AND if you added that little extra touch of power we all wished Butler could consistently find.
5. Nick Pratto, 1B, AAA Omaha.
Hey, let’s stay at 1B. Pratto has flashy power and I love his batting eye AND his hand-eye coordination. The hair he’s been rocking this spring is also pretty sweet. I slot him just behind Pasquantino simply because I think his bat profile is more volatile. The glove and arm are sweet/plus for 1B, though.
6. Jonathan Bowlan, RHP, AAA Omaha
Bowlan is coming back from Tommy John surgery, and this ranking is assuming that recovering is successful. If it his, you’re talking about a big, consistent SP who throws hard enough and has enough of a repertoire to really make things happen. If the recovery goes well, he may be shuttling to the majors in July to reinforce the rotation.
7. Nick Loftin, CF, AA Omaha.
Loftin is a guy who has really grown on me. I saw him as a quasi super-utility guy when the Royals drafted him, The full-time shift to CF (which means they think he has the speed and the overall defensive ability to handle CF in Kansas City) adds a lot of value here. The ultimate positive offensive upside is similar to peak Whit Merrifield, maybe with a touch more early power.
8. Michael Massey, 2B, AA Northwest Arkansas.
Massey was an absolute revelation last year, hitting for power and average and keeping his K rate down while playing a really strong 2B. He has a very sweet, short lefthanded stroke. This is another aggressive rating, but Massey has proven himself through a tough minor league assignment already, and the arrow is pointed up.
9. Ben Kudrna, RHP, Rookie Ball
Kudrna is a big, physical specimen with a lot of upside and potential. The fastball and slider are already nearly MLB-level in terms of velocity and movement (command needs work). Kudrna is a guy who, with luck, and health, and good development, could ascend to the top of a rotation.
10. Frank Mozzicato, LHP, Rookie Ball.
Mozzicato has a curveball that suggests he has a feel for spin. If you want to dream, you hope that the next 2-3 years turn the 175 he weighed when drafted into a rock-solid 220/225 and carries with it an increase in fastball velocity from 90-91, sitting 87-88, to 96-97, sitting 93-94. You pair his ability to spin the ball (which also suggests he should be able to easily master a sweeper slider) with that type of fastball velo and a changeup he already has a feel for, and it’s an exciting profile.

He has a little more to go in terms of growing into that projectability than Kudrna, which is why he slots right behind him.
11. Alec Marsh, RHP, AA Northwest Arkansas
Marsh missed a lot of 2021 to injury, but the hard-throwing righthander is another guy who could move quickly once the minor league season starts. He’s undeniably got the stuff of a quality major-league pitcher. The question is if he can master enough command to cash it in. This guy is a great example of TINSTAAPP.
12. Angel Zerpa, LHP, AAA Omaha
Zerpa might quickly outperform this slot. His stuff ticked up in 21 and he ended the season making a start in the majors. He’s nice depth to have, and honestly, I’m a big fan of just throwing numbers at pitching. Zerpa definitely helps create the depth you need to generate a top-notch and reliable home-grown rotation.
13. Maikel Garcia, SS, AA Northwest Arkansas
Garcia is a really intriguing hitter, a righthanded hitter who has a nice combination of contact skills and control of the strike zone (this cousin of Alcides Escobar is less savvy with the glove and more savvy at the plate). The Royals protected him for a reason (he’s on the 40-man).
14. Carter Jensen, C, A ??
Jensen is a local product whose bat will probably push him off C (as well as the Royals depth at that spot throughout the organization). This is a future 1B profile, and a nice one. He makes a lot of loud contact and shows an ability to lift the ball. Should be fun to watch this year.
15. Ben Hernandez, RHP, A+ Quad Rivers
Hernandez missed a good part of 2021 but still has that butterfly changeup and a classic pitcher’s profile. He’ll need to find a reliable swing-and-miss secondary to make it in the bigs, but if not, the fastball velocity and changeup should make him a quality high-leverage reliver.
16. Dylan Coleman, RHP, AAA Omaha
Speaking of relievers, Coleman is a hard-throwing righthander who probably spends most of 22 in the Royals’ pen. ½ of the compensation for the Rosenthal trade a few years back, Coleman has a big fastball and nasty breaking ball.
17. Will Klein, RHP, AA Northwest Arkansas
Speaking of relivers, everything I just said about Coleman? Yeah, you can say it about Klein, too. Klein regularly toyed with hitters at high A last year, striking out 121 hitters in just 70 1/3 innings pitched. For those counting at home, that’s a 15.5 K/9 rate. Yep. That’ll play.
18. Anthony Veneziano, LHP, AA Northwest Arkansas
Here’s another big, power arm. Veneziano hasn’t been relegated to bullpen only yet, though. His fastball bumped into the high 90s last year on a starter’s workload. He’s still looking for a changeup, but if he doesn’t find it, you’re looking at a really promising future bullpen fireballer.
19. Erick Pena, OF, A ?
Pena did… not have a strong 2021 full season debut. His struggles look a lot like those of Pratto and Melendez in 2019. Pena has the same type of raw toolkit to work from as those two, with great hands and natural power. He needs to fix a hitch in his swing and calm it down, but so did Melendez. Of this second ten grouping, Pena has the highest upside and could jump right into the top 5 of the org ranks.
20. Darryl Collins, OF, A+
Collins is an international signing out of Europe. I like the hitting package here – good eye and contact skills. He needs to make more loud contact, but if he can, really a nice guy.

Overall takeaways:
This is a system with a lot of depth. We could go another 10-12 deep and still be talking about guys with a good shot to make the majors. The changes to the organization’s approach are bearing fruit, as even less-heralded draftees are stepping forward.

The combination of upside (Witt, Melendez, Lacy), depth, and guys you can dream on is fun. It may not produce quite as much as the 2011 group did, but it does offer a more sustainable system, less reliant on a few big-ticket guys.

[KChiefs1]

https://www.royalsreview.com/2022/7/...-happen-lately

David Lesky’s Notes: Anything happen lately?

It’s been an eventful week, and it’s not going to slow down anytime soon.

It is Friday morning (or maybe afternoon or maybe even Saturday and you’re just catching up), which is why you’re likely settling in on Royals Review to read this weekly set of notes.

Since we last met, a few things have happened. The Royals have won a series against a Guardians team they generally can’t seem to beat. In the one game they lost, their let their center fielder pitch two innings and he hasn’t played the field since then because of a sore shoulder. Whit Merrifield left a game early because of a toe injury (supposedly) and his consecutive games streak ended. They made a non-traditional trade where they gave up a draft pick for three Braves prospects. They swept a doubleheader, which isn’t that rare, but nobody expected that, come on. They took three of four in a series, which would have been one of the most outrageous things you could have predicted for this team even a month ago. And they played one game in Toronto with 38.5 percent of their roster on the restricted list and have three more to go before they get a few days off for the All-Star game. I probably missed something, but it’s been the most active week for the Royals in, oh, I don’t know, five years. And it’s not like things are going to get any quieter.

The draft starts on Sunday, which is just crazy to me. And then we’ve got that trade deadline two-ish weeks after that.

Clubhouse issues

Remember how over the last few weeks, there have been various stories come out about how dark the Royals clubhouse or how quiet it is or whatever word people want to use to describe it on that day? I’m going to go ahead and guess that the fact that there are 10 players who chose not to go to battle with their team for four days was weighing pretty heavily on that. I’ve previously blamed Mike Matheny because it’s a manager’s job to run a clubhouse. And I remain doing that, but something else I’ve thought quite a bit about over the last few weeks is who is leading the team on the field? I think the Royals have spoken so highly of the importance of leadership that we almost forget that it actually is important, but even looking before these last couple of days, who is the person you would have believed to be a vocal leader? Whit Merrifield, who obviously isn’t now, was never the type to speak up. Hunter Dozier isn’t that guy. Michael A. Taylor isn’t that guy. Andrew Benintendi isn’t that guy. And I thought that before all of them made the personal choice to let their teammates go to battle without them.

I think it’s difficult for it to be any of the rookies. Pitchers can be leaders, but it’s more difficult because they’re not involved in the games daily. We laughed about how much the Royals lauded Eric Hosmer’s leadership and the bulldog mentality of Mike Moustakas, but maybe it meant a lot more than we realized. I don’t think it was quite as important as they made it seem, though maybe it was. One thing I’ve noticed is this team felt different for a few days once Vinnie Pasquantino go there. He loosened things up. He made the Michael A. Tater shirts. He was laughing. I don’t know if he can be that leader, but they need someone to do it. The manager is absolutely to blame, so let’s not pretend like I’m letting him off the hook, but a team needs players to lead as well and while they may have someone in Pasquantino, they need more. I don’t know if that would be a free agent or a trade, but if they want to win, they need winning players, not what they’re currently running out there as an excuse for leaders and winners.

Trading picks

This is an old story when you look at the news cycle that the Royals have been a part of, but I haven’t had a chance to write much about the trade. I did devote the bottom of an article to it on Tuesday on Inside the Crown, but I didn’t talk about much about the ramification of trading the 35th overall pick in the draft for Drew Waters, Andrew Hoffman and CJ Alexander. We know they traded the actual pick and we also know that the roughly $2.2 million in slot value that goes along with it was moved too. So that makes me wonder a few things. My first thought is that the Royals have a guy they want with their ninth pick and they’re going to need to pay full freight for him and that made them go away from a plan they’ve used as recently as last year where they overpay their second pick and underpay their first pick (relative to slot). But then I started wondering a little bit if it actually means they go under on that first pick still and hope someone they really want falls to 49. That seems unlikely and like a lot of hope. I certainly haven’t gone deep enough in this draft to know if there are 49 or more talents that you’d be happy to spend more than $1,584,100 on, but I would hope that’s not what they’re doing.

But I think there’s more to it than just altering the draft strategy. On thing I’ve wondered is if the Royals might be seeing that they have a bit of a logjam of bodies in the minors. They see Waters as a big leaguer soon (though I’ve heard they’d like to keep him in Omaha at least for most of the rest of the season to work with Drew Saylor). I think Hoffmann can move quick. And Alexander, to me, is just a piece of organizational filler. But I think more than anything, they believe Waters can fix some of the issues that have caused him to fall off the prospect map. Over the last couple of days when it seems like everything the Royals do is wrong, one thing they continue to do right is develop bats at the minor league level and I believe they are confident that they can help Waters with his approach to turn him into a two or three-win player at the big league level. Will it happen? My crystal ball remains in the shop, but it’s a weird feeling to believe in something they do, but I do believe in these guys to help get the most of hitters. I also like Hoffmann, for whatever that’s worth. I think he has a chance to be a solid piece as well.

Building for 2023

To take a foot off the gas of bashing the 2022 team, I’ve been thinking a lot about where the holes are on this roster for next season and what could be done to potentially do something like what the Orioles are doing right now. That team went 52-110 last year and while I don’t buy it long-term this season, they’re currently right smack in the middle of the postseason race. And you can joke that there are holes everywhere, but that’s actually not true. There are some pieces on this roster that I think we have a pretty good idea are set for even more than just one year. I don’t think the Royals have any need at catcher, shortstop, first base or second base. Depending on what they do with Taylor and if they believe Kyle Isbel can handle center full-time or if they want to hand things over to Waters to start next year, they might have a need in center. And I think they believe they’ve got at least one corner outfield spot handled with some combination of Edward Olivares, Dozier and Nick Pratto. Honestly, I’m not terribly concerned about the offense. They’ve got a lot of guys (more right now obviously) already up and a few more close. But the pitching staff is what has me curious.

We don’t know who will be in the bullpen on August 2 in the evening because of the deadline, but I doubt they trade both Scott Barlow and Josh Staumont. So they’ll have one of them. Dylan Coleman will be there. And they’ll field a handful of others and I think they’ve got enough arms to put together a quality bullpen, but I’d probably go out and sign a reliever. The question is what do they have in the rotation? I think we have a pretty decent idea that Brady Singer can be a starting pitcher now. I don’t think you can call him an ace or a number two even, though he could develop into that, but I think you feel pretty comfortable with him as a three or four moving forward. Who else do you feel comfortable with? Is it Brad Keller for his final season before free agency? Is it Jonathan Heasley who has been pretty good when healthy? Is it Daniel Lynch who has shown occasional spurts but not much consistency? Is it Kris Bubic, who has been pretty much a number five/swingman? I don’t think you can count on any of them but Keller and that’s only if he’s in the organization next season. I think that’s the spot they need to find some guys if they want to make that jump. Which I know isn’t breaking news, but when you break it down that really is the spot they just don’t have the horses.

Final draft thoughts

Without the 35th overall pick, the Royals draft strategy could change some, as I mentioned before. I maintain that given the Royals ability to develop hitting that they should go after a hitter. And there are so many quality hitters at the top of this draft that the Royals should have their pick of at least a couple even though they don’t pick until ninth. I think I’ve settled on my dream scenario being Cam Collier because I just love the swing and the fact that he can stick at third long-term without a need to move to left or first. But I don’t think he lasts until nine anymore, which really stinks. I’d be all over Jacob Berry because that type of bat doesn’t come around very often, but there is some risk there because he doesn’t profile as a plus at any defensive position, even first base. If the bat doesn’t make it, there is just no value to fall back on. So I think I’ve moved on to Gavin Cross as the best mix of realistically going to fall to nine and be someone the Royals would pick. He’s a corner outfielder who has been playing center and he’s been competent enough there but he won’t stick. He has power, good bat to ball skills and I like his chances to develop into a good big leaguer with the Royals offensive development crew.

Where I fear they may go if they can’t get who they want is a high school pitcher again. A lot of mocks have said the Royals have some interest in Brandon Barriera. He’s probably the one high school arm who I wouldn’t be upset with, but even though I think there’s a ton of projection there and a chance he ends up good, I’d still avoid that, given their track record. I’d pass on Brock Porter, Noah Schultz or really any of the high school arms left in the draft. I also very much hope the Royals don’t do something like take Kumar Rocker. He may very well end up a stud like people predicted a few years ago, but I just don’t like that risk given the injury issues. That said, he has been outstanding in the Indy leagues, but I still would hate it at nine. More likely some team later in the first pops him and then gets him to the big leagues to pitch out of their bullpen this year. Ultimately, I just very much hope for a bat heavy draft. There will be lots of pitching taken as always, but I want them to lean into their strengths.

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[BWillie]

Originally Posted by louie aguiar

Hoping Lacy can get healthy

Royals LHP Asa Lacy starts tonight at Double-A Northwest Arkansas. First start down there since April 17.

— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) July 15, 2022

And throw a strike.

[MAHOMO 4 LIFE!]

Vinny P as the Royals leader??? INJECT THIS INTO MY VEINS!!!

[Coach]

"No-Account Whit"

[ChiefsCountry]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/sto...rst-two-rounds

9. Kansas City Royals
Gavin Cross, RF, Virginia Tech

This is where the next juncture of the draft really starts and there have been rumors galore on what the Royals could do here. They could take the first pitcher, it could be a prep pitcher, it could be Cade Horton, it could be the best available college hitter, it could be Justin Crawford on a deal, etc. I think this is also the area where the teams themselves still don't know who they will take and are actively exploring options.

The Royals' brass (all the way to the top) was in Omaha to see Horton at the College World Series, and I think he gets a long look from teams starting here and he probably goes by pick 15 because there's so much interest. In a bad college pitching year, catching fire down the stretch in the biggest games, while also having a high school track record to match, seems to be the most marketable of the options. I'm looking at picks 9 and 10 together as both K.C. and Colorado are more traditional in style, and I think one of them would take Cross and the other Horton in this scenario. Later, the Royals are tied mostly to upside, making me think a cut option is also being explored here, along with Gavin Turley and a number of prep arms like Jacob Miller.

8. Twins - Brook Lee
9. Royals - Gavin Cross
10. Rockies - Cade Horton
11. Mets - Justin Crawford
12. Tigers - Jace Jung

[ChiefsCountry]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/ins...s-all-30-teams

Kansas City Royals
First 2022 MLB draft pick: No. 9 overall

Where their farm system ranks: No. 25 ($129 million)

Biggest system strengths: Pitching depth

Biggest system needs: Shortstop

How they typically draft: K.C. is right there with San Diego as the boldest drafting teams, both for taking on risk with high-upside types and prep pitchers early in the draft and also in aggressively moving money around at high picks.

Best fits: The Royals are at the top of the second tier of talent with their pick at ninth overall, with prep CF Justin Crawford coming up as a hot name that fits their type. At pick 49, I could see them pairing Crawford with a safer college type like Georgia RHP Jonathan Cannon, Florida LHP Hunter Barco or Florida State LHP Parker Messick.

Past five first-round picks: LHP Frank Mozzicato (2021); LHP Asa Lacy (2020); SS Bobby Witt Jr. (2019); RHP Brady Singer (2018); RHP Jackson Kowar (2018)

[Prison Bitch]

Remember how over the last few weeks, there have been various stories come out about how dark the Royals clubhouse or how quiet it is or whatever word people want to use to describe it on that day? I’m going to go ahead and guess that the fact that there are 10 players who chose not to go to battle with their team for four days was weighing pretty heavily on that. I’ve previously blamed Mike Matheny because it’s a manager’s job to run a clubhouse.



What evidence does he have that (1) players knew there were unvaxxed long ago and (2) that they cared

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by TomBarndtsTwin

He doesn’t teach it AT ALL! That’s the point.

Per Fangraphs, the Royals are the second worst baserunning team in the AL this year. 2018, the last year without Matheny as manager, the Royals were 3rd best.

Cardinals fans can testify to how Matheny’s teams consistently made mistakes on the base paths and were among the worst teams at running the bases. The baserunning metrics seem to back that up as well.

So what exactly do you think all that means?

Just a quasi happy coincidence. Matheny just a guy whose in the wrong place at the wrong time so often?

We put the hard numbers out there for PB to ignore.

Literally overnight the Cardinals went from among the worst teams in baseball at defense and baserunning to among the best. Like, bottom 3 to top 3 merely by firing their manager. It was that stark.

I'm not sure why anyone continues to argue otherwise.

[KChiefs1]

Our brilliant manager still not playing Michael Massey.




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[TomBarndtsTwin]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

Our brilliant manager still not playing Michael Massey.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I guess he figured it worked last night, so might as well trot the same lineup out there again . . . . .

Honestly, though, I don't know that I can see Toronto being held to less than 3 runs again in this series.

The problem with Massey is you can't really sit Lopez right at the moment for a guy whose never played at the big league level. He's just here as insurance for Lopez.

So unless he can play a competent right field . . . . . . .

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

Our brilliant manager still not playing Michael Massey.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

They are going to play as many guys that were in the bigs as possible.

[Prison Bitch]

If we didn’t know the players who didn’t vax, and had to guess who they were….how many of you would’ve immediately thought it was Wacko Zacko?

[MAHOMO 4 LIFE!]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

If we didn’t know the players who didn’t vax, and had to guess who they were….how many of you would’ve immediately thought it was Wacko Zacko?

Nah Greinke is chill, idk why so many hate on him

[cabletech94]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

If we didn’t know the players who didn’t vax, and had to guess who they were….how many of you would’ve immediately thought it was Wacko Zacko?

Nah, I said Dozier to my buddy just last week. Greinke is alright.

[dlphg9]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

They are going to play as many guys that were in the bigs as possible.

Yeah those shit sticks have sure earned it! A .470 OPS from O'Turd is HOF worthy. Maybe they can leave Matheny in Canada.