***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.

[warpaint*]

So what's a realistic expectation for the team this season?

[kstater]

Originally Posted by warpaint*

So what's a realistic expectation for the team this season?

.500


Might be a game or few below, but .500 is a realistic expectation. More than a game or few below is a failure imo

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[dlphg9]

If they lose more than 85ish games, then the season is a failure.

[OKchiefs]

Well since DM is no longer technically the "General Manager" he can deflect criticism for a while longer now.

[ROYC75]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

I like Law's idea of moving Nick Loftin to CF full-time. Might as well get on with it and carve out some space for him.

I think it's a year too early, will most likely struggle with hitting. MT should be serviceable again this year!

[ROYC75]

Originally Posted by warpaint*

So what's a realistic expectation for the team this season?

Depends on the young pitching! If they come around and ball, plus if we can put together a good pen, it's not out of line to think we could contend for a WC spot. Anything more than that is well wishing! I agree, if we lose 85 games or more, it was a failed season.

Last year, we played contenders hard, very well and lost to the duds! Got to PU the bottom feeders if we want to move up!

[dallaschiefsfan]

Originally Posted by ROYC75

I think it's a year too early, will most likely struggle with hitting. MT should be serviceable again this year!

I don't think that was his meaning. I think he means get him into CF this season and develop him as an outfielder in the minor leagues...so that he's ready to go as an outfielder when his bat is ready for the bigs. IOW, abandon SS for his future and just get moving on making him a potential CF of the future.

[ROYC75]

Originally Posted by dallaschiefsfan

I don't think that was his meaning. I think he means get him into CF this season and develop him as an outfielder in the minor leagues...so that he's ready to go as an outfielder when his bat is ready for the bigs. IOW, abandon SS for his future and just get moving on making him a potential CF of the future.

Got it, my bad, I was wondering why duncan was so far ahead of things like this, it's not him. Makes sense now, I just misread his post and took it wrong!

[KChiefs1]

https://www.royalsreview.com/2022/2/...or-this-season

Wishful Thinking:
Four things I am hoping for this season

By Jackson Bracken Feb 14, 2022

Following a year of unbelievable ups and downs in 2021, I am a lot more optimistic heading into the next season. While the Royals didn’t make any big changes via free agency prior to the lockout, there is still plenty to look forward to. The team went 74-88 last season after having an 11-game losing streak and a 9-game losing streak (within a 4-21 stretch). Coming into the eventual 2022 season, the Royals’ starting pitchers (who have been the biggest problem area) now have another year under their belts and the highly anticipated hitting prospects will soon be called up.

This team should, at the very least, take the next baby step forward and begin to compete a little more next season. Below are the four things I am hoping for the most.


1. More production from third base:

In 2021, five different players started at least 20 games at third base. Combined, these fielders put together the most errors and lowest fielding percentage in the American League (25 and .942 respectively) and were also last or nearly last in several defensive run saved categories. This position was manned by Hunter Dozier, Kelvin Gutierrez, Hanser Alberto, Emmanuel Rivera, and Adalberto Mondesi last season, who all combined to hit .224/.273/.355 at the position, the second-worst OPS in the American League at third base. Neither the offense nor defense was good from third base last year. With the call-up of Bobby Witt Jr. looming, the question remains as to where he will be placed on the left side of the infield. If Bobby is slotted at third full time, then it would be safe to assume that many of these problems would go away. An eventual infield of Witt, Nicky Lopez, Whit Merrifield, and Nicky Pratto could not only have a chance to be special offensively, but defensively, the young pitchers couldn’t ask for more glove help.

2. Starting pitching improvement:

Out of the 111 games started by pitchers under 25 last season, the eight that pitched for the Royals - Brad Keller, Kris Bubic, Brady Singer, Daniel Lynch, Carlos Hernandez, Jackson Kowar, Jon Heasley, and Angel Zerpa - combined for a 5.11 ERA. A major league team will not go anywhere if starting pitching like this does not improve. I am hopeful for change in 2022, following the starters' turnaround in the late summer (where most of the teams’ quality starts began rolling in from) many more games resulted in the win column. Following a year of experience and adjustments (at least 10 games started for five of those eight pitchers), I expect several of them to take the leap and separate themselves from the pack with their performances. My picks for the most improvement year-over -year next season would be Daniel Lynch and Brad Keller.

3. Players meeting expectations in the first half:

Pre-All-Star break, the Royals had two players bottom four in the league in OPS (Dozier and Jorge Soler). Dozier was dead-last in the entire MLB in batting average in that stretch as well where he slashed .174/.242/.344 with a .586 OPS and Soler wasn’t too far behind him slashing .186/.279/.320 with a .599 OPS. Of course, players will fall into slumps and break out of them naturally throughout the season, but having these two players (who dominated in 2019) collapse for this long just snowballed the team’s losses in the first half. When the Royals already expected guys like Michael Taylor and Nicky Lopez to have a low OPS throughout the first half (#13 and #15 from the bottom pre-All-Star), the “heavy-hitters” can’t be dropping the ball like that. In 2022, the Royals must have fewer disappointments early in the season.

4. Quick rookie adjustments:.

By the time that Bobby Witt Jr., MJ Melendez, and Nick Pratto are all in the majors, in some way or another there will be many adjustments for each player to make. The sooner these players can adjust and meet expectations, the sooner the Royals head towards playoff contention again. The perfect example that I have used before is Wander Franco on the Rays. Wander looked great his first game out, slumped for a while, and looked rushed up, then once he got 100 at-bats in, a switch flipped, and he quickly became a leader on that Rays team. The sooner this transition happens for the young Royals the better, as our competitive window opens and closes with how well they perform.

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[KChiefs1]

The Royals need a right fielder.

Hunter Dozier is not the answer, and neither is anyone else who has recently played right field for the Royals.

Right field could be filled with several viable options.

Option 1- Seiya Suzuki/Free agency
Several right-fielders could be signed by the Royals, Kyle Shwarber, Nicholas Castellanos, Nelson Cruz, and Jorge Soler to name a few; However, I believe Seiya Suzuki is the best option.

The biggest reason for signing Suzuki is the bat. Suzuki just obliterates baseballs. Suzuki will end his nine-year career in the NPD with a batting average of .309, an OBP of .402, an SLG of .541, and an OPS of .943 when he signs with an MLB team. No current Royals players are consistently producing like this. Suzuki would also solve the defensive woes plaguing the team, as he has won 3 gold gloves. Do not be worried that his game won't translate to the MLB. Scouts have repeatedly said he is a patient hitter who sits on fastballs, consistently putting home runs over the leftfield and centerfield fence. This is a good indicator that he will not falter to the high-speed fastballs we have seen other Japanese players fall victim to.

The one huge drawback is the price. Suzuki is seeking a five-year contract in the 7-10 million range; This is not a problem. Dayton Moore consistently spends 7-10 million on subpar baseball talent.

As we know, Moore spent 16.75 million on Mike Minor and Carlos Santana this past year. They both sucked. This year, if Dayton Moore can refrain from spending money on worthless free agents, then we should have enough money to sign a highly valued free agent.

Option 2-Adalberto Mondesi
With the emergence of Nicky Lopez, Mondesi has found himself on the outside looking in for the infield. Still, Mondesi is too talented of a player to not play consistently. Right field could be an option. Because of his athletic ability, he has the potential to be an above-average defender in right field. More importantly, it would allow him to focus on his bat, where his real value belongs.

Alex Gordon made a similar transition from the infield to the outfield. Although he suffered from different problems, he does show that this transition could be successful. Fernando Tatis also transitioned from shortstop to right field to help manage his injury. Right field could potentially help Mondesi with the injury issues he can not get rid of. Ultimately Mondesi needs to be in the lineup, and right field could be his way onto the field.


Option 3-Hunter Dozier
Hunter Dozier will be on next year's team, no matter how much we wish he was not. Keeping Dozier means we will also be keeping his 20 million price tag across the next three years. Since the organization is paying him that much, he will have to play consistently somewhere. Currently, the infield is set. Leftfield is set, and center field “appears” to be set. Leaving Dozier to play in right field. He is statistically terrible at every aspect of the game, so I hope a miracle prevents this scenario from happening. However, out of the three options, Dozier in right field has the highest chance of happening. The front office does not want to spend money. The front office also needs to play someone whom they drastically overpaid. Dozier in right field achieves both of those goals.

Seiya Suzuki could be the superstar the Royals have been lacking.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seiya_Suzuki




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[TLO]

WE'RE GOING TO WIN THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!

[KChiefs1]

https://youtu.be/-CKC3nvyuKM


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[KChiefs1]

Royals Review:

I’d send Pratto, Daniel Lynch and let’s say two other guys in the 7-13 range of team prospects to the Pirates for Bryan Reynolds and David Bednar. Bednar is honestly just a bit of an extra in the deal because I’m a big fan of his and would love to see the Royals get him, but Reynolds is the prize here. He’s a 27-year old switch hitting center fielder who has power, patience and can hit for average. The one thing the Royals system especially lacks is center field talent. It’s why they felt compelled to give Taylor an extra two years.

Yes, a middle infielder could move to the outfield and take to it well as so many have over the years or maybe Kyle Isbel could handle the spot for a couple seasons, but Reynolds is a legitimate difference-maker.

We started with the three prospects, so we might as well end around them. Here’s a name for you: Nathan Webb. You will read much more about him soon. For now, know this: He is a Kansas City native who throws 100 mph and has a plus changeup. He also already has a World Series ring. Again, check back soon for so much more.

Tally up all of his individual tools, and Witt’s scouting report might be the most loaded of any prospect going. He’s a plus runner and even earns some 70s from scouts. He shows legit plus-plus power in games, and while that’s rare for any position, it’s especially so for a defensively gifted shortstop. His special arm will be handy if the Royals roster necessitates a move to third base this summer. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine Witt in another life as a mobile quarterback roaming and firing all over the gridiron. Or maybe even as a kicker since his leg appears to be his sixth tool too.

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[BWillie]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

Royals Review:








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Oh hell yes. (Trading Pratto and Lynch if you can get Reynolds)

I'm not as high on Pratto as most people. Suspect hit tool. Huge whiffer. Great defender but wasted at 1B. Vinnie will hit better than Pratto anyway, and any difference in defense is small at 1B.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Oh hell yes. (Trading Pratto and Lynch if you can get Reynolds)

I'm not as high on Pratto as most people. Suspect hit tool. Huge whiffer. Great defender but wasted at 1B. Vinnie will hit better than Pratto anyway, and any difference in defense is small at 1B.

Pratto will be an All-Star for multiple years from this scouting report.