***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.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

Seeing How the Other Half Lives

The Angels wasted scoring opportunities, bunted inappropriately and the Royals capitalized on their mistakes.

David Lesky

Spoiler!

Sometimes it’s pretty easy to see how the Royals came into the season thinking they could be competitive. Maybe they wouldn’t compete for a division title or anything, but they’d be a competitive team. They’re now 22-20 over their last 42 games. That’s roughly an 85-win pace over the course of a full season. If they maintain this pace for the final 66 games, they’ll finish somewhere around 73-89, which would be a game worse than last year, but seem like a monumental improvement after starting the season 17-37. And if they play more games like last night, it almost seems possible.

Sometimes it’s pretty easy to see how the Royals came into the season thinking they could be competitive. Maybe they wouldn’t compete for a division title or anything, but they’d be a competitive team. They’re now 22-20 over their last 42 games. That’s roughly an 85-win pace over the course of a full season. If they maintain this pace for the final 66 games, they’ll finish somewhere around 73-89, which would be a game worse than last year, but seem like a monumental improvement after starting the season 17-37. And if they play more games like last night, it almost seems possible.

Now, the Angels are not a good team. They’re the bizarro Royals in a way. They were 27-17 and looking like they were finally going to get Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani to the postseason together. And then they lost 14 consecutive games, canned their manager and then just kept losing after that. So there are some things that happened in last night’s 7-0 win that probably wouldn’t happen this upcoming weekend against the Yankees. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t fun to see the Royals play against the team doing the things we see from the Royals far too often.

Pratto Patience

The young Royals first baseman came to the plate four times last night. He ended 0-0. How rare is that? He’s just the second player this season to come to bat at last four times and not record an official at bat. Max Muncy is the other and he did make an out, but it was a sacrifice fly. The last player to come up at least four times without an at bat and without making any sort of out was Yasmani Grandal, who walked four times in four plate appearances on May 1, 2021. Since the start of 2010, only 46 players in the whole sport have done it.

In Royals history, it’s now been done just nine times. The most recent was Billy Butler on July 3, 2010. He went 0-0 with two walks and two HBP. The others from most recent to farthest out:

Alex Gordon
Jeff King
George Brett
Frank White
Pat Sheridan
John Mayberry
Paul Schaal

What Pratto showed last night is what might make him an even better hitter than I thought.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Pratto sucks /BDouche

[DeepSouth]

I'm getting a little impatient waiting on a trade announcement. Shouldn't all parties know what they'll give up by now?

[PHOG]

Zerpa getting the start tonight.

[Prison Bitch]

Trade deadline is most exciting part of 90% of Roil seasons

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by DeepSouth

I'm getting a little impatient waiting on a trade announcement. Shouldn't all parties know what they'll give up by now?

An injury to Benintendi scares me but it can work both ways if another OF goes down on a contender too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Vladimir_Kyrilytch]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

Pratto sucks /BDouche

I'm rooting for Pratto but the guy had a 30% K rate in the minors. What will that become in the majors? 50%? That gets you cut.

[DeepSouth]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

An injury to Benintendi scares me but it can work both ways if another OF goes down on a contender too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You know of Benintendi gets hurt tonight, you'll be accused of jinxing him (or the Royals).

[Nightfyre]

Originally Posted by Vladimir_Kyrilytch

I'm rooting for Pratto but the guy had a 30% K rate in the minors. What will that become in the majors? 50%? That gets you cut.

Well, in his first 31 big league PAs, he has 7 Strikeouts. Seems like a reason to shade optimistic instead of pessimistic.

[KChiefs1]

No trade yet.




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[dlphg9]

Wonder how long Witt Jr. will be out?

[WhawhaWhat]

Originally Posted by dlphg9

Wonder how long Witt Jr. will be out?

Not being on the IL is hopefully a good sign that they think he can get back by the NY trip.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

Pratto sucks /BDouche

Hes looked good so far. After 400 ABs we'll have a better Vinnie vs Pratto understanding. I just want to trade one, and Pratto has more trade value.

[Mizzou_8541]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Hes looked good so far. After 400 ABs we'll have a better Vinnie vs Pratto understanding. I just want to trade one, and Pratto has more trade value.

Why not keep both? Pratto at 1st and Vinny DH?

[dallaschiefsfan]

Originally Posted by Vladimir_Kyrilytch

I'm rooting for Pratto but the guy had a 30% K rate in the minors. What will that become in the majors? 50%? That gets you cut.

Context matters. It's not like he was striking out in the minors due to free-swinging / swing-and-miss ways. He's super patient and particular on "his pitch" and therefore, strikes out looking quite a bit. I actually think that plays up in the majors. The small sample size seems to bear that out thus far. As crazy as I get over umpires that won't call strikes on the edge of the zone, there are enough of those ego-monsters in the MLB umpiring ranks that might make Pratto into an OBP machine.

And on the larger subject of our rookie hitters, can we all just marvel at how competent and confident these guys look? I mean, the young guys that made up the 2015 WS team took SO long to get their stroke to a MLB championship level. These guys mostly look ready from day one. The amount of professional at-bats these guys are having is just super encouraging.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by Mizzou_8541

Why not keep both? Pratto at 1st and Vinny DH?

We have too many guys who play 1B/DH or cant really play OF.

Salvy
Pratto
Vinnie
Melendez
Dozier
OHearn

OHearn is easy. You just DFA. But when Salvy comes back you dont have any spots. I dont want Dozier in the OF or 3B. Hes a DH...and we already have three better ones.

Rivera > Dozier at 3rd and eventually Witt Jr may get moved there. Salvy and MJ cant catch at the same time.

Trading Pratto or Pasquantino appears inevitable to me. And Dozier has very little trade value, at least I suspect.