***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.

[tk13]

Vinnie out here destroying baseballs.

[PHOG]

Another long HR Vinnie!

[WhawhaWhat]

Vinnie Pasquantino vs Davis Martin#TogetherRoyal

Home Run 💣

Exit velo: 106.7 mph
Launch angle: 29 deg
Proj. distance: 404 ft

No doubt about that one 🔒
That's a dinger in all 30 MLB ballparks

CWS (1) @ KC (1)
🔻 4th pic.twitter.com/NseataWmeT

— Would it dong? (@would_it_dong) August 10, 2022

[PHOG]

Damn it, Dozier

[tyreekthefreak]

Dozier just sucks....not clutch at all....

[TomBarndtsTwin]

Originally Posted by cosmo20002

Grienke has done a great job helping Singer and convincing him to use his change up more.

FYP

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by tyreekthefreak

Dozier just sucks....not clutch at all....

Why is he even playing?


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[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by tk13

In case you missed it the Royals high A team is playing at the Field of Dreams on MLB Network right now. Chandler Champlain is pitching, one of the guys we got for Benintendi. Looking good so far.

.@Royals prospect Chandler Champlain starts off #MiLBatFieldofDreams with three strikeouts in the first for the Blue Sox ( @QCRiverBandits)! pic.twitter.com/qesKRkvf3X

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) August 9, 2022

Champlain looked good.

Tyler Tolbert might have a future as a Gore/Dyson type player.


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[WhawhaWhat]

Baseball America updated it's organizational top prospect rankings including recent draft picks. #Royals new top 10:

1. Nick Pratto
2. Gavin Cross
3. Michael Massey
4. Cayden Wallace
5. Ben Kudrna
6. Maikel Garcia
7. Nick Loftin
8. Jonathan Bowlan
9. Jackson Kowar
10. Asa Lacy

— Lynn Worthy (@LWorthySports) August 10, 2022

[Prison Bitch]

Went yesterday. The quality of play was really good, so much better than the April games I attended. They are much more fun to watch now. DM/JJ at least have some nice young positional players which happened in like 99 and 2013 for a few years each. Most years since 1985 tho, we struggle to produce homegrown hitters.

Between games Big Vin had a huge crowd at the dugout signing balls. He’s obv already the fan favorite, I’d say more so than Witt Jr is. That was unexpected for me.

[KChiefs1]

Craig Brown:

I’m going to give the beleaguered Mike Matheny a bit of credit here. Since they’ve arrived, he’s done a nice job making sure the rookies have gotten the most of the time in the lineup.

In the eight games since August 2nd:

Salvador Perez has made eight starts - five at catcher and three at DH.
Bobby Witt Jr has made seven starts - three at third and four at short.
MJ Melendez has made seven starts - three at catcher and four in left.
Kyle Isbel has made six starts - three in right, two in left and one in center.
Nicky Lopez has made seven starts - three at second and four at short.
Vinnie Pasquantino has made seven starts - two at first and five at DH.
Nick Pratto has made seven starts - five at first and two in left.
Michael A. Taylor has made seven starts - all in center.
Hunter Dozier has made six starts - five at third and one at first.
Michael Massey (recalled 8/3) has made five starts - all at second.
Nate Eaton (recalled 8/4) has made four starts - all in right.

That’s nine players who are pretty much playing every day, with some rotation to include Massey and Eaton. Only Massey and Taylor are locked into their defensive positions. There’s probably a bit too much time for Dozier, but you’ll notice there haven’t been any starts for Ryan O’Hearn.

This isn’t an easy roster to manage, but Matheny seems to have found a solid balance where the players who need to have playing time are getting it.


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[KChiefs1]

Royals first-round pick Gavin Cross: Exciting potential, calm demeanor

Spoiler!

He was told to call a man in East Tennessee.

Kurt Elbin had recently been hired as Virginia Tech baseball’s recruiting coordinator. He sought to expand the team’s recruiting footprint. A colleague, Casey Dykes, who now happens to be the New York Yankees’ assistant hitting coach, suggested the Hokies could tap into the Tennessee talent base. Dykes told Elbin he needed to dial Adam Cross, a former minor leaguer who coached a youth travel team called the East Tennessee Crusaders.

Elbin dialed, and Cross answered.

The conversation flowed, finding its way to the talented young players Cross coached. Cross began with a left-handed pitcher. “He’s not going to blow the radar gun up,” Cross told Elbin, “but by golly, he can pitch.” Elbin jotted down the name. Cross continued, bringing up a catcher. Again, Elbin scribbled down the information. Finally, Cross mentioned a particular left-handed-hitting outfielder.

“He goes through this long list of players,” Elbin recalled recently in a phone conversation, “and then goes, ‘Oh, by the way, my son, Gavin Cross — I think he’s going to have a chance.’”

The father’s comment sounds laughably understated considering what occurred a few weekends ago. The Royals formally introduced first-round pick Gavin Cross, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound three-year outfielder at Virginia Tech. On that day, Gavin sat inside the news conference room at Kauffman Stadium, thanked his family, described his playing style and listened to Royals staffers such as scouting director Danny Ontiveros outline the reasons behind the club’s selection.

Cross’ hit tool was easy to grade. So were the speed and the size and arm. But the emotional maturity? “He reminded me of the temperament of an Alex Gordon,” Ontiveros said. Asked where his calm demeanor came from, Gavin cited his father and the East Tennessee Crusaders. Adam, interestingly, believes the foundation of his son’s temperament goes back further, to Gavin’s earliest days on a ballfield.

Adam Cross can still picture the scene: 2-year-old Gavin bouncing around the baseball field at Walters State Community College, tossing the ball and slinging around a bat.

“You could tell even then that baseball was probably going to be what he was passionate about,” Adam said.

At the time, Adam was a baseball coach at the school. He had played at the only school that offered him a baseball scholarship: NAIA’s Milligan University. “If it wasn’t for that offer,” he said, “I guess my baseball journey would’ve been done.”

Instead, the opportunity later earned him transfer interest. He landed at East Tennessee State, where he played infield for three years before longtime Atlanta Braves scout Jack Powell signed him as an undrafted free agent in 1995. A few years later, he exited pro ball and began coaching at Walters State. And then he and his wife, Becky, had a son, who was running around the practice fields.

By age 6, Gavin could swing fluidly. “He was staying balanced,” Adam said. “Loading his hips. He had movements you sort of have to teach along the way. What I knew was, ‘He’s got a chance to be pretty good!’” Wanting to further Gavin’s development at age 9, Adam started a travel team, compiled of players from the Tri-Cities: Kingsport, Johnson City and Bristol. Adam believed he and a few of his fellow coaches could enhance the players’ skills.

Adam recalled a conversation with the players about hitting.

“Who’s the best hitting coach you’re ever going to have?” he asked them.

“You, Coach!” they responded.

Adam shook his head. No.

“My dad!”

Nope.

The kids were confused.

“Yourself,” Adam told them.

Essentially, the goal was to make players understand how knowledge of their own swing would be most useful over their careers. Gavin internalized the thought and continued to further his baseball passion. In 2010, he attended Opening Day in Atlanta at Turner Field. In the first inning, Jason Heyward, who was making his debut, homered to right-center. “That’s when it was like, that’d be something I want to do,” Gavin said. “I don’t know why that sticks out in my head. But it was like, ‘I want to be that guy one day.’”

If Adam Cross remembers correctly, the first time Kurt Elbin scouted Gavin was a summer weekend at LakePoint Baseball Complex in Emerson, Ga. It was late at night. Rain delays had affected the entire day’s schedule. Kurt happened to remain at the fields through the mess of the day, and he just so happened to stumble upon Gavin, who was hammering baseballs inside a cage.

The hit tool was partly what earned him first-team all-state honors while at Tennessee High School (Bristol, Tenn.) in 2018-19. He stole bases (in 2018, he set the state record with 41). He ranged for balls in the outfield. Physically, he was imposing.

“The biggest thing that stuck out to me was he had an insane amount of talent,” Elbin said.

By then, the newly hired Virginia Tech recruiting coordinator had learned about Adam’s background and why he’d started the youth team. Adam also understood that expanding the footprint with a player of Gavin’s status could alter the course of the program. So, the Hokies offered. Gavin, thinking he could start immediately, accepted.

Among the father-son conversations that occurred during Gavin’s freshman year, one from the fall stood out.

“How’s it going?” Adam asked.

“It’s good,” Gavin responded. “The only thing is, sometimes I feel like I get stuck on velocity in.”

Adam remembered that word.

Stuck.

Elbin recalled the results of Gavin’s swing feeling: hard-hit balls on the ground.

“He just couldn’t lift the ball,” Elbin said. “He didn’t know how to do it.”

The realization spurred a swing change that helped unlock Gavin’s potential. Essentially, Gavin’s swing featured what Adam termed as a “conventional load,” meaning there was not a ton of movement. Elbin offered some suggestions, beginning with opening up his stance to better connect with pitches out front.

“We tried to open his move up to stay behind the ball in his swing,” Elbin said. “Just telling him, ‘Swing at pitches you can drive in the air more.’ Gav went out and executed. But, the bat-to-ball skills were always there. Probably one of the best pitch-recognition, strike zone disciplines that I’ve ever coached.”

That winter, before Gavin batted .369 in 16 games as a freshman, he returned home. One night, he and his father drove to the cages to hit. While Gavin was hitting, another man asked, “Hey, what have you been working on at Virginia Tech?” Gavin, who had been loosening up with some swings on a tee, stopped hitting and proceeded to talk for 30 minutes about his mechanical changes.

Adam, listening from afar, sat down on an empty ball bucket, blown away. He thought back to the conversation with the young players. About how they would be their own best hitting coach. Adam was observing this in action … with his son.

“In my mind, it was like, ‘He doesn’t need me anymore,’” Adam recalled. “It was a really proud moment. And it was sort of a tough moment, too.”

Tough because this was the type of moment any parent is familiar with; one that indicates the times are a-changing.

Proud because any parent hopes their child takes their advice to heart.

The first time Danny Ontiveros met Cross was after practice this past fall. Virginia Tech coach John Szefc walked Cross over. He sat down. And he and Ontiveros chatted for 20 minutes about family and baseball and school.

“The one thing that stood out was how organic the conversation was,” Ontiveros said.

That night, Ontiveros had to drive from Blacksburg, Va., to Raleigh, N.C. The car ride went swiftly.

“It felt like it went by in 10 minutes,” Ontiveros said. “My mind was running. Is he going to get to pick No. 9?”

By that point, the Royals had scouted his rangy outfield talent and bat-to-ball skills for a couple of years. Keith Connolly, the Royals’ East Coast cross-checker, had written a glowing report at the ACC Tournament during Cross’ sophomore season. Two more Royals scouts, Howard McCullough and Todd Guggiana, confirmed what Connolly had seen while evaluating Cross’ dominant performance with Team USA, which included multiple homers.

Cross’ tear at the plate continued when the collegiate season began. In 280 plate appearances, he batted .328 with a .411 on-base percentage. He also hit 17 home runs. More impressive, at least in Elbin’s eyes, were the ways Gavin responded to slumps and approached his at-bats on a pitch-by-pitch level.

Rather than heading to the cage to take a thousand swings during a slump, he’d spend 20 minutes in front of a mirror, working on a specific body movement. Facing a certain pitcher, Cross could almost predict how he would be approached. “For us, and our group, he kinda moved the needle,” Elbin said. “You know what I mean? The things we were trying to do as a program.” This, of course, was the hope when he was told to call a man in East Tennessee so many years ago.

Ontiveros’ hope — that Gavin would fall to No. 9 — came true on the first night of the draft. Which led to his introductory presser, and to a question about his calm demeanor. Gavin recalled a moment as a youth when he struck out, then showed up the umpire by tracing the path of wayward pitches by drawing lines in the dirt with his bat. The outburst, he said, earned him a benching for the entire weekend.

“I think lessons back then helped,” Gavin said.

Adam, speaking days later, recalled another line he offered to the youth team: “If we can learn not to go up and down, and to stay the course, we’re going to be more consistent.”

The advice stuck throughout Gavin’s high school and college years. And although professional baseball is an entirely different beast, emotional maturity remains an essential piece to reaching the goal he’s had since he watched Jason Heyward. The goal of wearing a big-league uniform. Of stepping into the batter’s box in a big-league ballpark. Of making an impact in a big-league game with a crowd going nuts.

https://theathletic.com/3485548/2022...ss-draft-pick/


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[Nightfyre]

I am curious for Duncan's take: would it be worth/feasible for the Royals to take a shot on Roki Sasaki?

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Nightfyre

I am curious for Duncan's take: would it be worth/feasible for the Royals to take a shot on Roki Sasaki?

Worth it?

I think the answer is 1 million percent, yes.

Feasible? I think it would be a really tough pull. Impossible, actually. He's an absolute monster and would translate extremely well to the US. He's outperforming Ohtani at the same age (though obviously not a hitter, too).

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat

Baseball America updated it's organizational top prospect rankings including recent draft picks. #Royals new top 10:

1. Nick Pratto
2. Gavin Cross
3. Michael Massey
4. Cayden Wallace
5. Ben Kudrna
6. Maikel Garcia
7. Nick Loftin
8. Jonathan Bowlan
9. Jackson Kowar
10. Asa Lacy

— Lynn Worthy (@LWorthySports) August 10, 2022

Why is Tyler Gentry not on this list?