Damn. That's great news.

As has been discussed, Chen won't start more than 14 games, bonus in his contract. It's the reverse of last year, he'll start out in the rotation and move to the pen

Are we not allowed to comment on a Billy Butler non-home-run? I wasn't even complaining about it, just commenting on how funny it is that of course Billy hits the ball only inches from being a home run. But by all means, let's not note anything comical about that play.

More importantly, though, Ventura was awesome, and I'm excited about him. That was fun to watch.

Also getting more excited about Aoki the more I see.

Triple-digit heat

Hammer, two-plane 11-7 curve that he was spotting at willing (could throw it for strikes or to get a chase on 0-2).

Changeup looked good (good separation from heater and some fade).

Oh, and extremely pitch efficient.

Guys just sit back and enjoy a legend in the making

If he's not, it's possible Zimmer is ready..

Thanks.

I'm getting pumped.

@JoshVernier · 29s

#Royals Shields on Ventura "Competitor...Electric stuff...He's definitely well on his way...Hard worker & it definitely shows out there."

Ventura to start 3rd game in Detroit

Going with Ventura to start the season is exciting, and I really don't even care about losing Santana at this point. We got a suitable replacement in Vargas, we have a good player to plug in for Chen if need be (Duffy), and we have Zimmer hopefully ready to go in the summer. I hate to be giddy about a team saving money, but here, it really seems like the Royals didn't need to spend that money on Santana considering our options. Fun times.

I just rewound and watchd Moustakas's swing in his second at-bat 3x.

His swing is noticeably shorter, and he's not hiding from who he is (a strong guy with great pull power).

@McCulloughStar · 1m

Ron Washington on Yordano Ventura: "Where did they find that guy?"

Under a fine ass pile of Colombian sugar.

Quitters never win, bitch.

#Royals Chen continued guilt tripping us for our translating need. He faked a call w/ wife concerning sick kids. "Ventura's more important!"

@JoshVernier · 1m

#Royals Ned told Ventura he's in, but don't say anything. Kid's a pro. Prior to Ned's announcement, I asked Yordano: "It's not my decision."

This was my first chance to see Ventura this year...all I can say is, "wow."

Don't remember exactly why but I thought his name was thrown around here some last year since "the Royals pitching prospects never pan out" or "he projects out to a reliever with that build". I may have my years mixed up though. Regardless good on DM for hanging in to him.

Now that I think about it I think his name was floated when talking about kendricks.

My 2nd favorite memory of last year was him walking off the mound in his debut. The K was absolutely rocking. I'm so ready for the season to start.

Was funny watching Andrus shake his head going back to the dugout as if to say "damn... so its gonna be like that tonight, eh?"

There was understandably some fatigue on Royals pitching prospects at this point last year. Then Ventura went out, dominated at AA and performed very well at AAA, especially for his age.

Ventura's success at AAA came about the time the light clicked on for Kyle Zimmer and he went on a tear at A+ and AA.

Each has succeeded at a higher level/more impressive level than any of the Royals top 5 guys in 2011.

What was even better... his at-bat in the 6th, when he pulled the string in a fastball count for strike 2 (swing and miss) and then froze him with gas at the knees for strike 3 looking.

Went and looked. Prison Bitch, Tegu, and Chiefs Country lead the charge of Ventura for Howie last July. You should all be beaned with a Ventura heater, gentlemen.

This.

Early in the year, there was some dreaming about trading for Stanton. I'm confident Ventura's name will likely be in that mix. By the end of last year, though, Ventura was moving out of "prospect" status.

Citation please. I like Ventura a lot. I seem to recall thinking they wouldn't do a deal without him or Duffy in it. personally I never liked Duffy so that's what I recall saying I would do but I could be wrong.


Either way, acquiring Kendrick would've saved us 8M per on Infante (who is worse) and that money could've been allocated to retaining Santana anyway.

You said you were cool letting Duffy or Ventura go but wanted to hang on to Zimmer.

You are assuming the Angels were going to eat Kendrick's salary I'm guessing?

I'm still having a hard time figuring out how that ball Billy hit didn't bounce over the fence. It's like it hit it square on the top and bounced right back in play.

On Dec 6 2013 at noon I did write that Ventura & Duffy were not good trade values for Kendrick due to the 10M cost he brings which effectively wipes out his WAR value. And that we need them to plug the hole from Shields leaving:
http://m.chiefsplanet.com/showthread...75329&page=215

Good. I'm glad you changed your position from your July 2013 post.

Looks like you were the one arguing about giving up Ventura:

http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showp...postcount=7891

Plot thickens.

LMAO I was wondering if I was back then to. Ill take one between the shoulder blades with ya.

I think the scenario has changed substantially since then as (1) we were able to see Ventura pitch at the MLB level and succeed, (2) we lost Santana, and (3) signed Infante.


That said young pitchers are no sure thing either. Jarrod Parker, Kris Medlen, Brandon Beachy, and Corbin in AZ are all out for the year. It's crazy how many are dropping this spring.

The thing we now understand about Ventura is even if he fails his ceiling is WAY too high to give up on in the near future barring injury.

Absolutely.

Correct... I really can't wait to see what he brings this year. Us most likely losing Shields after this year, we're gonna need him.

I was also resigned to a trade for Kendrick that included Ventura last year. Did not recall those discussions.

Looks like what the Angels seemed to be asking for and what I thought was acceptable were pretty far apart. Of course, at the time that was all in discussion, he had all of 1 or 2 starts at Omaha. He's improved a little bit as a prospect since then.

Jason Parks/Baseball Prospectus continue to show they are the bets in the business... had Ventura at No. 12 overall entering this season, his highest ranking by quite a bit.

Stock up on Lucas Giolito now if you're in any dynasty leagues. Parks is orgasmic for him.

Thrilled about Ventura.

Not thrilled with the idea of Duffy in the pen. I'd rather he be in Omaha learning to get through 6 innings consistently, and I'd prefer we exhaust that option before going to the pen.

Duffy may excel in relief, but that might A) dissuade the Royals from moving him back to the rotation, or B) not translate to success in the rotation. I'd rather he prove he can -- or can't -- start before we go down that path.

I'm beginning to think the Royals should just cut Valencia loose. I'd hate to get rid of the Moose insurance even though Moose looked great in spring, but with what's been going on with Escobar and Infante, we're going to need that backup middle infielder. I also think we need Dyson to back up CF, so if its Maxwell or Valencia, I'm choosing to keep Maxwell.

Especially considering how well Maxwell's been hitting this spring. He'd be a nice power bat off the bench.

Is Maxwell out of options? Probably been asked before.

I get that... only issue with it is that it doesn't limit his innings early in the season, like pitching out of the pen would.

The highest upside option would be that they get through May with Duffy pitching about 15 innings out of the pen and Chen making about 8-9 starts.

Then Duffy could slide into the rotation and be available for about 21-22 starts over the rest of the season, with no real innings limitations.

If he's pitching at Omaha for those two months on a starters schedule, that probably burns about 60 of his 150 IP limit this year. So they wouldn't be able to use Duffy down the stretch.

all 3 of the bench guys are out of options.

Let's just hope he can hang onto his approach once the season actually starts. If he has a slow (unlucky BABIP) start, I have a feeling he'll pull a "Hosmer 2012" and go back to his old ways.

They seem to think he's past all of that. If they're right, he should be able to play through that issue.

I watched last night until Ventura was done. Some observations:
1) Ventura looked good, but he's got a funky delivery. Hope his shoulder and elbow hold out. If he keeps pitching like this, he'll be a fine replacement for Santana. We'll see how he holds up during the grind of the season. He could use a little more muscle.

2) Moose looks like a new player. He doesn't look "doughy" like he did last year. He looks like a ball player, and you can tell he's much more comfortable at the plate. Last year he looked lost up there. If he comes around and hits .260 or better, it will be a vast improvement. His defense has always been good to very good. I think the light switch finally got kicked for this guy and he gets it now. Let's hope he has a breakout year like Hosmer did last year.

3) I love Sal Perez. I watch him more than any other player. He calls a good game and just has a calming effect on our pitchers. They know he'll block everything, and will shoot down about half (or more) of the guys who try to steal on him. Such a blessing after the years and years of lousy catchers we've had.

4) Breakfast looks trimmer too, but he's still slow on the bases. Hopefully he won't hit into as many DPs this year.

5) Gordon's move down in the lineup could be a very good thing. He's not really a lead off guy. He'll have more RBI's in the five or six hole.

6) Gio is the classic "AAAA" player. He thrives in Omaha, can't quite hack it in the bigs.

If we can avoid going Oh for May, we might have a shot this year. Detroit is weaker, Cleveland about the same, Twins a little better, Chisox has Sale and that's about it.
I like our chances.

One thing about Ventura's mechanics:

He's got a little of the Tim Lincecum step-over (extreme stride) technique going on. That's where all the extra velocity comes from. It helps him create front-side separation and generate all the velo.

It's a little risky as a tactic, but he isn't as extreme as Lincecum.

He's also bigger and stronger/thicker than Lincecum. Looks like a legit 6-0, 195/200ish now, as Dave Eiland has said, rather than 5-8, 160 (Lincecum's true size).

This is true.

For anyone who wants to relive the beauty that was last night

<iframe src='http://m.mlb.com/shared/video/embed/embed.html?content_id=31572069&topic_id=8877722&width=400&height=224&property=mlb' width='400' height='224' frameborder='0'>Your browser does not support iframes.</iframe>

Thanks

His ability to locate that curve was so damn impressive.

I hope this kid stays healthy.. please oh please let him stay healthy.

What? Citation?

Ventura's curve is ****ing sick.

I didn't realize that Ventura was so slight of frame. Hope he can hold up.

Does anyone have a clue on why Tim Lincecum's performance these last 2 years has completely deteriorated? Was it because of his build? He was absolute dynamite for 4 years and then just fell off of a cliff.


EDIT: I'm asking this in relation to Ventura and his build.

LMAO

I know we'd all rather have someone who is 6'4" and 220, but he's not THAT small.

It's because he's 5-8 and weighs about 160 pounds, and his mechanics created extreme velocity for his size, but his body couldn't hold up to throwing that hard, long-term.

Step-over/stride extending mechanics tend to amp up the MPH you can produce, but a lot of guys can't hold up to throwing that way for a long period of time.

At 5-11/6-0 and 190 LBs or so, Ventura is a better bet to hold up long term but no guarantee.

Still, a lot more guys have held up at that size than at Lincecum's...

Dude's tiny. Of course, I'm old and fat, so they all look that way.

Thanks :thumb:

... so you're saying he's a pussy?

"little bitch" is probably more accurate.

I messed up my shoulder in high school, in part because I was using a step over technique at age 15/16. I threw hard (low 80s/control, could touch 85/86) but it eventually caused some problems.

Too many sliders, and I played for my dad. Who I bullied into letting me pitch too much.

I'm really excited about Ventura being in the rotation. That jelly-legger to strike out Andrus was a thing of beauty.

I'm excited about Ventura but worried about Duffy.

http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showp...postcount=8040

Don't sweat it though man. Many of us missed on this one.

Yeah that doesn't resemble anything close to leading a charge to trade Ventura for Kendrick.

LMAO I was just flipping shit. Lighten up brother. I apparently was out in front myself with Duncan.

Ah, no worries. I probably missed the context since I was just breezing through it after being about ten pages behind.

The context was I just watched Ventura pitch and the endorphins were bouncing around in my brain on overdrive so I was in a good mood and threw a few friendly jabs. :D

Easy to get endorphins bouncing when Ventura pitches.

So that's why my trousers got super tight

that's the hotdogs and beer

/baseballporn

It was the green uniforms

Ventura's game worn green hat and jersey are at $660 right now

royals.com/green

Unreal

Pawn Stars guy says best he can do is $20.

After he called in a buddy to evaluate it first.

A Long Journey to Spring!
 

Its official, Duffy will begin the year in KC, in the bullpen. Yost says they will start out using him in low-leverage situations until he gets used to it.

They have decided he can't improve in AAA, because if he does what he's currently doing wrong in AAA the hitters might strike themselves out and he'll experience success and not learn anything.