***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.

[Mizzou_8541]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I might have been able to put that pitch to the track. A batting tee would've given him a tougher AB.

Lordy, that pitch is about as bad as you can throw one. Just a comedy of badness. Looping curve to begin with, then it hangs, then it backs over the middle right at the belt. I mean it was bad it might have even been a slider; but it had so little shape its hard to tell. You just don't usually see sliders with a hump on them (nor do you see curveballs back up that often). Like I said - just an all-timer as far as bad pitches go.

Chris Getz could've sent that pitch out.

Lol fantastic

[KChiefs1]

Royals are 30-29 in their last 59 games. They’re 11-10 since the All-Star break.
They’re 6-4 since the trade deadline.

This looks & feels like a different team.
Now I’m worried this will keep Matheny & Eldred in their jobs next season.


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[Prison Bitch]

So the team is playing pretty good ball for two months now with exciting new players and you still want the coaching staff fired. You’re so set in your paradigm you can’t credit them for any of the turnaround or the player development.

Frankly at this point their job status along with Picolo and Skunkhead should have improved. Maybe to a coin flip, but it’s improved. Why not see what the players say?

[KChiefs1]

Craig Brown:

Spoiler!

Vinnie Pasquantino has played in seven of the Royals’ eight games on this homestand. Over that stretch, he’s hit .400/.448/.800 in 25 plate appearances. He’s walked three times and struck out just twice.

Oh, he’s also hit three home runs. Including this shot on Thursday to open the scoring for the Royals.

Pasquantino has now hit six dingers in his big league career. They have an average exit velocity of 104.7 MPH with a launch angle of 26.3 degrees. Here’s the wild part about this…They’re traveling just 384 feet on average.

Plenty of opposite field knocks. The power is (obviously) to the pull side. To me though, this gels with his strikeout and walk rates. The guy has a plan at the plate that evolves with the situation. He is capable of squaring the baseball and hitting it hard (he generally does with a hard-hit rate approaching 50 percent), but can adjust to get the ball in play.

It’s a 3-2 slider from Dylan Cease that’s down in the zone. He’s not supposed to be hitting that pitch out of the yard. It was an easy swing where the baseball just leaps off his bat. It was classified as a “barrel” by Baseball Savant, one of 13 Pasquantino has had this summer in 119 balls put in play. That’s close to an 11 percent barrel rate. That’s a really strong rate.

Minor matters

After the trade deadline and the draft, Baseball America updated their prospect lists. I’m no hard-core prospect hound, but I do enjoy lists. And BA updating their’s after all the mid-season action is more than welcome. Not only are there additions to be made, but there have also been plenty of subtractions as the Royals have fully committed to the young players.

Nick Pratto is BA’s top prospect. That’s not going to last long. Same for Michael Massey at number three.

Andrew Hoffman (15) and Drew Waters (17), who arrived to the organization from the Braves in the trade where the Royals sent their supplemental first-round pick to Atlanta, both land in the top 20. Pitchers Beck Way (Yankees for Benintendi), Maximo Castillo (Toronto for Merrifield) and T.J. Sikkema (Yankees for Benintendi) fall together from 23 to 25.

Recent draftees Gavin Cross and Cayden Wallace land at number two and four, respectively.

Overall, nine of the top 30 prospects according to BA joined the organization in July. That’s about restocking the minors.

Up next

It will be interesting to see how the Baby Royals match up against the best team in baseball. They have a .700 winning percentage for crying out loud.

Fri - RHP Tony Gonsolin (13-1, 2.30) vs. LHP Daniel Lynch (4-7, 4.79) @ 7:10 PM

Sat - LHP Andrew Heaney (1-0, 0.64) vs. RHP Brad Keller (6-12, 4.45) @ 6:10 PM

Sun - LHP Tyler Anderson (13-1, 2.72) vs. RHP Brady Singer (5-4, 3.49) @ 1:10 p.m.

A reminder that Buck O’Neil’s Hall of Fame plaque will be on loan in Kansas City from Cooperstown this weekend. On Friday, it will be on display at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum from 11 to 3. On Saturday, it will be at Kauffman Stadium as part of the Royals’ annual Salute to the Negro Leagues event. Fans can visit the plaque in the Royals Hall of Fame during the game.

It’s a good time for baseball in Kansas City.

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[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Mizzou_8541

This team is fun to watch. It’s a love/hate because the more they win it means Matheny might be back.

via GIPHY

[WilliamTheIrish]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I might have been able to put that pitch to the track.


Chris Getz could've sent that pitch out.

Ooohwee… that was just a big old beach ball coming up to the plate.

[WhawhaWhat]

#Royals welcome the Dodgers to town for the 1st time since 2014. Best record in baseball and a 10-game winning streak for LA. Lynch and Gonsolin on the hill. Pregame at 630 pic.twitter.com/D0bQXL0fOq

— Joel Goldberg (@goldbergkc) August 12, 2022

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat

#Royals welcome the Dodgers to town for the 1st time since 2014. Best record in baseball and a 10-game winning streak for LA. Lynch and Gonsolin on the hill. Pregame at 630 pic.twitter.com/D0bQXL0fOq

— Joel Goldberg (@goldbergkc) August 12, 2022

That lineup is about as perfect as it can get for me. It’s got the big 5 along with Isbel. Salvy at catcher, MAT in CF & Lopez at SS.

I’d like to see Eaton in there but can live with Isbel or MAT instead.


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[jettio]

Attendance Friday and Saturday should be strong. I would guess at least 33k Friday and at least 30k Saturday.

[KChiefs1]

CJ Alexander hit two HR’s last night and has hit six in his last eight games.


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[myselff77]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

So the team is playing pretty good ball for two months now with exciting new players and you still want the coaching staff fired. You’re so set in your paradigm you can’t credit them for any of the turnaround or the player development.

Frankly at this point their job status along with Picolo and Skunkhead should have improved. Maybe to a coin flip, but it’s improved. Why not see what the players say?

Believe I said this once before, but last year's team improved in the 2nd half as well. Why could Matheny & Eldred not carry over that improvement into the first half of this year? Why would we expect them to carry over the improvement this year into the start of next season?

I really hope for an overhaul within the coaching staff. I assume Eldred will be out (or reassigned within the organization). I'm guessing the front office will retain Matheny given the improvement, unfortunately.

[KChiefs1]

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[dlphg9]

Originally Posted by myselff77

Believe I said this once before, but last year's team improved in the 2nd half as well. Why could Matheny & Eldred not carry over that improvement into the first half of this year? Why would we expect them to carry over the improvement this year into the start of next season?

I really hope for an overhaul within the coaching staff. I assume Eldred will be out (or reassigned within the organization). I'm guessing the front office will retain Matheny given the improvement, unfortunately.

33-47 on July 1st last year and then 41-41 from July 2nd to the end of the year.

The thing that ****ed us last year was just one bad month.

June

We go 3-0 and are 29-26

Shit then hits the fan and we go 4-20. Take out June last year and we went 70-68.

This year is losing streak after losing streak and sucking shit pretty much every month.

[KChiefs1]

8 years since the Dodgers were in town.


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[tk13]

Gonsolin is going to throw a 70 pitch shutout at this rate.