***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.

[Dartgod]

Originally Posted by Jerm

Imagine firing Matheny to hire Pedro Grifol…..

I'd rather not.

[dallaschiefsfan]

Originally Posted by Jerm

Imagine firing Matheny to hire Pedro Grifol…..

Does anyone really think that JJ is going to risk his first hire on Grifol?

[Mecca]

Dude JJ can't make that hire, that makes him doing nothing but promoting Moore guys and that is a bad look. He needs to distance himself from Moore.

[RockChalk]

Originally Posted by dallaschiefsfan

Does anyone really think that JJ is going to risk his first hire on Grifol?

Only morAns think that is possible

[Jerm]

Originally Posted by dallaschiefsfan

Does anyone really think that JJ is going to risk his first hire on Grifol?

Nah I don’t…seeing his name pop up and I’m just like **** no.

[dlphg9]

https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status...VPYCSZSHg&s=19

Clayton McCullough, #Dodgers first base coach, is among the candidates for the #Royals managerial opening, as I reported earlier today on @MLBNetwork.

Of note: McCullough's father, Howard, is a scout with the Royals.

@MLBNetwork @MLB

[ChiefsCountry]

With Mike Matheny out, who could Royals target as their next manager?
https://theathletic.com/3662893/2022...er-candidates/

To some within the Royals organization, the managerial transition from Ned Yost to Mike Matheny looked like a fait accompli long before Yost announced his retirement from the dugout at the end of the 2019 season. When Matheny joined Kansas City’s front office in 2018, as an advisor to Dayton Moore, several Royals officials noted that Matheny presented the sort of package — a decorated playing career as a catcher, a prior managerial tenure in St. Louis marked mostly by success, not to mention a lantern jaw and stern exterior — that might give him a leg up in the race to replace Yost.

So when Yost stepped down, few were surprised when the team’s search process landed on the man who had spent the previous 11 months looming as the likely replacement. Moore chose Matheny over internal candidates like Pedro Grifol and Vance Wilson. He targeted Matheny as the man with the ability to lead Kansas City through a second rebuilding effort and back into playoff contention.

Less than three years later, neither Moore nor Matheny hold power in Kansas City. Royals owner John Sherman fired Moore on Sept. 21 as the team blundered to its sixth consecutive losing season amid concerns about the team’s player-development system. Matheny became the next domino to fall, when general manager J.J. Picollo fired Matheny and pitching coach Cal Eldred late Wednesday, only hours after the Royals finished a 97-loss season.

Kansas City Royals Executive Vice President and General Manager J.J. Picollo announced that manager Mike Matheny and pitching coach Cal Eldred will not return for the 2023 season.

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) October 6, 2022

The changes are not expected to end with Matheny. Inside the organization, according to multiple team officials, there are expectations the club will overhaul its pitching-development team in the coming weeks. As the losses piled up this summer, Royals officials grew irritated by comparisons to their division rivals in Cleveland, a franchise with similar payroll restrictions but a bountiful pipeline of pitching prospects — a franchise in which Sherman just happened to once be a minority investor.

Sherman dropped a hint about the new direction of the organization when he described the club’s need to “make more data-driven decisions.” Sherman is expected to empower the analytics department run by assistant general manager Daniel Mack. The numbers will play a bigger role in both player acquisition, from the big-league roster to the draft, and in player deployment.

Matheny went 165-219 with Kansas City. The club was not expected to contend for the World Series in any of those seasons. But the front office — not to mention fans — expected the club to improve. Matheny drew criticism from rival executives and evaluators for his inability to optimize the rosters he was given. The results spoke louder than any words.

Sherman has tasked Picollo with pushing the organization closer to the proverbial cutting edge. The team could turn to Grifol, a well-regarded coach who worked in player development in Seattle, managed in the minors and has drawn praise for his work with seven-time All-Star catcher Salvador Perez. Grifol would maintain continuity for the players — which might be something the organization wants to avoid, through no fault of Grifol’s own.

Picollo may feel compelled to look outside his organization. One consistent criticism of Moore’s regime, lobbed by others around the game, was its insularity. The Royals believed in their process. That process has proven insufficient. It would make sense for Picollo, in searching for a new manager, to look toward coaches with experience in forward-thinking organizations, especially those with a background in player development and an open mind toward new ways of thinking about the game.

With that in mind, here is a preliminary list of candidates who would make sense for the Royals to pursue:

Joe Espada, Houston bench coach
Given the uncertainty in Houston, where Dusty Baker is managing without a contract beyond 2022, it may be difficult for the Royals to land Espada. Baker has said he would like to manage after this season. But if Astros owner Jim Crane decides to move on, Espada has been a vital part of the Houston operation since his arrival in 2018. He also spent several seasons coaching the infield for the Yankees, after a similar stint as the Marlins’ third-base coach.

George Lombard, Detroit bench coach
You want data-driven decisions? The Dodgers got into a flap with the league office for using lasers to mark outfield positioning during Lombard’s time as the outfield coach. He was a vital cog in the Los Angeles machine before taking a job as A.J. Hinch’s bench coach. The Tigers do not appear to be making much progress. But Lombard’s profile is still on the rise.

Clayton McCullough, Dodgers first-base coach
McCullough spent most of his career in player development before the Dodgers promoted him to manager Dave Roberts’ staff in 2021. In his prior role, he operated as the team’s minor-league field coordinator, with responsibility for the prospect-laden alternate site in the COVID-altered 2020 season. The Mets interviewed him as part of the process that eventually led to Buck Showalter.

Matt Quatraro, Tampa Bay bench coach
Quatraro has become a popular name at this time of year. He interviewed with the Mets and the Athletics for managerial openings last offseason. He checks a variety of appealing boxes for Kansas City: He coached on Terry Francona’s Cleveland staff for four years before becoming Kevin Cash’s No. 2 with the Rays. He also has experience in player development, having acted as Tampa Bay’s minor-league hitting coordinator before taking the job in Cleveland.

Mike Shildt, San Diego acting third-base coach
It might be tough for Picollo to sell the hiring of another recently deposed manager of the cross-state Cardinals. But Shildt did lead St. Louis to the playoffs in 2021, including on a 17-game winning streak, before getting iced shortly after the season.

Will Venable, Boston bench coach
Venable, who played for the better parts of a decade with San Diego, has spent the past two years working besides Alex Cora, who is considered one of baseball’s better tacticians. Before joining the Red Sox, Venable apprenticed in Theo Epstein’s front office and then spent three seasons coaching for the Cubs. He won’t turn 40 until later this month.

Dusty Wathan, Philadelphia third-base coach
His father, John, played for the Royals for a decade, managed them for half a decade and was a member of the front office until he just recently retired. Dusty managed his way up the chain of Philadelphia’s minor-league system before joining Gabe Kapler’s staff in 2017. Wathan has stayed on the staff despite turnover from Kapler to Joe Girardi to current interim skipper Rob Thomson.

Walt Weiss, Atlanta bench coach
Weiss was coaching high school baseball when the Rockies hired him to manage their club heading into 2013. Of course, he was a big-league shortstop for nearly 15 years before that and spent time in Colorado’s front office. He met the same fate as most everyone who tries to win at Coors Field. Since leaving Colorado, he has worked beside Brian Snitker in Atlanta.

[dlphg9]

Who is the best guy for the job? I have no idea about any of them lol. Besides Grifol, I do not want him one bit. Say no to any of the current staff.

If Grifol gets hired, then Picollo should be fired.

That's my saying.

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by dlphg9

Who is the best guy for the job? I have no idea about any of them lol. Besides Grifol, I do not want him one bit. Say no to any of the current staff.

If Grifol gets hired, then Picollo should be fired.

That's my saying.

The issue the Royals may have is the White Sox and Rangers jobs are open, those teams spend more money and in the White Sox case have more talent.

Some of these guys may prefer those jobs.

[Sassy Squatch]

Well, as long as you don't hire a complete buffoon like Matheny the managerial hire pales in importance compared to the overhaul of the pitching staff. Piccolo has to absolutely nail that.

[carcosa]

Salvy for Player-Manager?!!?

[dlphg9]

Originally Posted by Superturtle

Well, as long as you don't hire a complete buffoon like Matheny the managerial hire pales in importance compared to the overhaul of the pitching staff. Piccolo has to absolutely nail that.

Yep, just don't hire a guy that's gonna destroy the arms of your best young bullpen guys and then if we can get even middle of the pack when it comes to pitcher development then we will be in a really good spot. Get a pitching coach that has some idea how to help our pitchers succeed and maybe some of the young starting pitchers can show just positive development. Brady Singer is a great start, but no one else is even close to what they could/should be.

I know it's a small sample size, but it seems we may have a top 5-10 hitting development program now.

[ChiefsCountry]

Picollo press conference on right now on 810.

[poolboy]

He was really good at saying nothing

[Titty Meat]

Saw Beltran has 4/1 odds