*** 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.

[Bufkin]

Originally Posted by Valiant

I say keep Whit with what he is worth to us and what we can get in exchange for him.
Just need to keep adding young fast players, plus defense and hit for average. Then luck on some pitching finally panning out.

The one I would move is salvy, if we can get a good haul.

This team will trade Matt Stairs before they trade Salvador Perez, and Matt Stairs hasn’t played for the Royals in 12 years.

[OKchiefs]

Originally Posted by dlphg9

We need a complete over haul of how we develop pitchers. I'm not an expert or anything that's remotely close to an expert, but I don't think there are any pitchers in the system that have T.O.R ceilings. Just a bunch of 3's. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

My point is that we will have to be extremely lucky to have multiple pitchers pan out. Winning like we did in 14 and 15 isn't gonna happen again. Having a bullpen like we had back then was a once a generation thing.

We need someone to over pay for Duffy in the offseason and hopefully get a pitcher that's been groomed good enough by a good organization and we can't ruin them. We should trade Salvy and or Whit for some pitching. We need lots of pitching.

The ship has sailed on trading Duffy anytime soon after this abortion of a season from him. The time to trade him was last offseason. He's going to have to pull his head out of his ass to have any value next trade deadline or in the following offseason. As it is he's way too inconsistent and unpredictable to fetch much at his salary.

[OKchiefs]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

I've never understood the fetish to trade good players for potential. Most times it doesn't work out.

It's pretty simple. He'll be around 34 and a free agent by the time we're competitive again. Oh, and he's blocking Nicky Lopez. Rentals get almost nothing in return nowadays, so the only way to get anything significant in a trade is to trade someone affordable with remaining team control. Just about every other team in the league would trade such a player if they were 4-5 years away from competing. Failing to do so would be like trying to reinvent the wheel. Without significant trades we are relying on building the future solely through the draft. The last worthwhile international signing was probably Mondesi in 2011. Most of our other IFA signings have been failures, and we've done almost nothing the last 3 years after blowing our load on Matias. So again I question, how are we building a winning team faster than the last 7-8 year rebuild without making significant trades?

[OKchiefs]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

It used to work but teams over value prospects these days..much like several posters.

The only change has been the return for rentals. Players with remaining control are still fetching decent returns.

[Prison Bitch]

Kendrys set Jays record 7 straight with a Hr

1 off MLB record by Mattingly, Griffey, Long

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by OKchiefs

The only change has been the return for rentals. Players with remaining control are still fetching decent returns.

Obviously control matters. Still doesn't bring back what it used to. See Dee Brown trade.

[tk13]

Originally Posted by OKchiefs

It's pretty simple. He'll be around 34 and a free agent by the time we're competitive again. Oh, and he's blocking Nicky Lopez. Rentals get almost nothing in return nowadays, so the only way to get anything significant in a trade is to trade someone affordable with remaining team control. Just about every other team in the league would trade such a player if they were 4-5 years away from competing. Failing to do so would be like trying to reinvent the wheel. Without significant trades we are relying on building the future solely through the draft. The last worthwhile international signing was probably Mondesi in 2011. Most of our other IFA signings have been failures, and we've done almost nothing the last 3 years after blowing our load on Matias. So again I question, how are we building a winning team faster than the last 7-8 year rebuild without making significant trades?

This is what I'm talking about.

If you really truly believe what you're writing, then they really are doing it all wrong. They might as well trade everyone, including the top prospects in the minors. Being 7-8 years away literally means that the next core group of guys like Lee, Lopez, Mondesi, Pratto, are all pretty much going to be on the way out by then. You are arguing about Whit, but really what you are arguing with this is that they should trade anything of value in the system to build a core of players who will arrive to the majors somewhere around 2024.

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by Valiant

I say keep Whit with what he is worth to us and what we can get in exchange for him.
Just need to keep adding young fast players, plus defense and hit for average. Then luck on some pitching finally panning out.

The one I would move is salvy, if we can get a good haul.

Keep Salvy, Whitley, Mondesi...strength up the middle is key. Build around them. Find a CFer. Develop pitching.

[KChiefs1]

[Infidel Goat]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

Obviously control matters. Still doesn't bring back what it used to. See Dee Brown trade.

Dee Brown? Man, he's old, was never any good, and hasn't played in a decade.

Dee Gordon? He had 97 OPS+ last year (and a 77 OPS+ the prior) before being traded. Also, his contract guaranteed him $37 million over the three remaining years.

Whit would fetch more...

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by Infidel Goat

Dee Brown? Man, he's old, was never any good, and hasn't played in a decade.

Dee Gordon? He had 97 OPS+ last year (and a 77 OPS+ the prior) before being traded. Also, his contract guaranteed him $37 million over the three remaining years.

Whit would fetch more...

My bad.

I was trying to find a comparison to what would be a Whit trade. Gordon was the best I could think of even given the significant differences.

[Al Bundy]

On Royals prospect Daniel Lynch: “We’d see him pitch in college (and he’d be) 91 to 93 mph. He’s had nights (in pro ball) where he’s been 95 to 97 (mph) ... if he was throwing this way in May, he would have never gotten to the 18th pick.” https://t.co/nmiHqlExZa

— Rustin Dodd (@rustindodd) August 27, 2018

[Al Bundy]

The Royals won a series against a playoff contender for the first time in three months. Ryan O’Hearn is hitting homers. Brad Keller is pitching well. What young players could be next in September? https://t.co/t0RGacuSps

— Rustin Dodd (@rustindodd) August 27, 2018

[BigCatDaddy]

Wasnt Lynch considered a money saving pick?

[duncan_idaho]

Lynch wasn’t a pure money pick. He wasn’t an overslot guy, but several places had him as a comp round guy.

Re: Merrifield and Soler, neither one has to be move for a deal that isn’t prime. They can hold out a little on both and make sure they get great value.

Soler is arb eligible in 2020 at best (for him), which means they still control him through 2022 or 2023. The deal he signed with the Cubs expires in 2020, but that doesn’t negate the years of team control or service rules.

They should trade them if they get the right type of return. If they don’t, hold them a while longer and wait for the right situation to pop up in front of you.

Also: the Royals just signed another international FA, Dutch kid named Darryl Collins and playing in Curaçao.

They also announced the signing of a South Korean teenager who was clocked / supposedly - at 95 mph.

They’ve made some outside-the-box moves in IFA. Like seeing the flexibility of thought!