June 30th is the last day of the 2nd quarter. Maybe that means something in MLB?

Where Chen's new nickname comes from:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...m=trash%20dick

The first line describes 99.9% of us males.

I wouldn't worry too much about being called out by a stripper LMAO

And a feminist stripper at that. LMAO

Of course I'm sure Sunday evenings they have their A squad working anyways. That has to be like the C or D team working.

I'm sure Chen was only there so he could interpret for Ventura.

That's the story that is suppose to go to Chen's wife.

Anybody post anything on Raul Ibanez being signed and Colon being called up?

Chuck E. Cheese

#don'tmasturbatethere

Don't waste your time with those filthy bitches, Yordano.

Raul Ibanez. hahahhahah

It wasn't enough for the Royals to have one guy batting below .180, they had to go out and get ANOTHER guy to bat under .180

In 166 ABs, 42 year old Ibanez has hit .157 with 3 homers. Come on Royals, you are better than this. No I'm just joking, you arent.

Apparently the Mendoza line is now .150

Of guys with 160 ABs or more, there is only one player with a worse batting average than Raul Ibanez. Moose is better than only FOUR players, and that includes Ibanez.

I really hope they dont play to ever use Ibanez in RF. Ever. Or even DH really. Butler hasn't been good, but he's been way way way better than Raul. Only thing that makes sense if if you want to teach Hosmer a lesson and send him up I-29 for a few weeks.

It probably would be the best thing that could happen to him. And it should have happened sometime in 2012.

It should happen, but not at the expense of trotting out Butler or Ibanez at 1st everyday.

This is troo. Who else can play 1st? The worst part is Hosmer has the most abs on the team. Alex Gordon should always have the most at bats on the team. Always.

Don't doubt the power of Dale.

Dale knows all

@McCulloughStar: Ned Yost on the idea of sending Eric Hosmer to Omaha: “That’s so far back off the radar, it’s not even close. Not even on the map.”

Well there goes that idea.

Cool. If we have a close game tonight Ned can bring in Ibanez to pinch hit for Esky, Cain or Salvy

Someone not named Big Smoke fire up a game thread! PBJ

Fix that awful swing you dumbasses

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>New arrivals Raul Ibanez and Christian Colon get their hacks in BP at Target Field. <a href="http://t.co/CphU4KuJAO">pic.twitter.com/CphU4KuJAO</a></p>&mdash; Mike Swanson (@Swanee54) <a href="https://twitter.com/Swanee54/statuses/483748523691622402">June 30, 2014</a></blockquote>
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If the Royals win tonight they better go back to that same strip club

Kruk just analyzed the AL East. Says its wide open and will go down to the end with 4 or 5 teams battling it out. What would we do without analysts?

Clint Robinson hit the game winning RBI for the Dodgers today

@McCulloughStar: Inside the Royals clubhouse, the post-game playlist featured a raucous version of "I Luv Dem Strippers" by 2 Chainz. Ballplayers, man.

I watched Sunday's game...the one you obviously missed

Barring some unforeseen injury or trade, the Royals have four starters already set for the 2015 season; Vargas, Ventura, Duffy, and Guthrie. In my opinion, that's not a bad start for a five man rotation.

Who will be the fifth starter? I looked at the starters currently at Omaha and only one has impressive stats. Dwyer, Lamb, Marimon, Brooks, and Verdugo do not look impressive. Clayton Mortenson (who I know nothing about) is 3 - 0 with a .99 era.

Based on stats alone, I see no one in NWA to get excited about.

If the 5th started is to come from within, we can only hope that either Zimmer or Finnegan make the jump.

If the 5th spot is filled by someone not currently in the organization, who are the candidates. Either by free agency (another Vargas) or trade (Shields / Wade), who could it be?

Interested to know what ya'll think?

I just hope they don't try to use Wade Davis or Hochaver to fill the spot.

I saw Brooks pitch last Saturday. He definitely has swing and miss stuff.

Isn't Hochaver a free agent after this year? And, speculation is Holland could be traded with Wade taking over closer duties.

Seems the Royals see something special in Brooks. They did give him a spot start in the majors (which he got hammered). And, his stats aren't that bad in Omaha; 7 - 2, 3.67 ERA. Maybe he's the one?

He made the OKC Redhawks lineup look reeruned. Occasionally someone would get a deep drive off him, but mostly they were left guessing.

The organization's plan was for Kyle Zimmer to be that guy, but that's questionable at this point (especially considering he has only thrown a few ST starts so far and isn't throwing currently - I think he's out a few more weeks. He's not going to be built up for a bunch of innings).

Finnegan will be a candidate if he moves quickly (they're starting him at A+ Wilmington).

Sean Manaea has not moved as quickly as expected. He's had some control problems at Wilmington and given up a lot of hits, though he's pitched better of late (as he is stretched out and able to go deeper in games). If something clicks - like it did for Zimmer last year - we could see Manaea move really quickly. He's missing bats at an incredible rate (78 Ks in 59 1/3 IP).

Beyond that, they may be looking at a not-bank-breaking FA arm. It's hard to say exactly what will be out there, as there are a lot of guys with team options or mutual options.

Actually, I was at that game. Was that the first game you watched in June?

I didn't include Manaea as a possibility after I looked at his line. He's only pitched more that five innings one time and that was his last outing. I guess they could be limiting his innings because he's still building up strength after hip surgery. And, his ERA is over 4.80.

What do you know about NWA's Juan Carlos Antonio Sulbaran? He's 5 -5 with a 3.02 ERA.

It's hard to just stat-watch with minor league players, especially at levels like Low-A.

Manaea has had consistently excellent scouting reports and is throwing the ball really well (velo, movement, deception). He also is missing an absolute ton of bats. They've been limiting his innings and pitch counts pretty closely (75 pitches earlier in the year, with a 30-pitch limit in an inning) and he's had bad luck with the bullpen and his inherited runners.

A+ is usually the level where the Royals take away the pitcher's most advanced secondary pitch to have them focus on developing other pitches (for Zimmer last year, his curve, for Manaea his slider, for Almonte his changeup, etc).

I place more stock in what we hear about guys at A+ than what their stat line is.

JC Sulbaran has an OK ERA at NWA, which shouldn't be pooh-poohed away, but he also is outpitching his peripherals (not missing many bats - just 62 K in 80 2/3 IP and a high WHIP). I don't think he's a REAL prospect, but he might end up as a bullpen arm (where his stuff would play up to an acceptable level).

I don't know where you get all your info but as always, it's greatly appreciated. thanks,

I just read where Sulbaran was part of the Broxton trade that also brought the Royals Donnie Joseph.

OP updated. Mid-season top 20 prospect list now available for those interested.

It's an amalgamation of:

Reading several sources (BA, BP, Scout board, PineTarPress, game stories, Twitter)
Understanding minor league scouting (what matters, when to pay attention to stats, what peripheral stats matter most)
Understanding the Royals minor league philosophy (I have an inside guy who helps me a bit on this one)

I'm an amateur and am usually pulling things together from what I hear/read, but I do have some basic training in baseball scouting and do try to get to NWA and Omaha at least once a year each.

You're slipping. The LINK says, "Top 15 prospects".

Duffy in June: 37.1 IP, 1.69 ERA, 31 Ks, 12 BBs, BAA .169, Opp SLG .237.

The ace of the staff so far this year, IMO

Shields has brought #5 starter crap the last couple of months. Not sure if he is hiding an injury or just lost his changeup, but he has been pretty "meh" lately.

It's all a ploy to reduce Shields' value so the Royals can afford him next year.

Whoops. Edited in Word because that's way too much to do in the edit box and ended up expanding my list a bit. Fixed now.

According to PitchF/X, Shields is throwing a lot more cutters this year, and that pitch has been hit pretty hard (.290 average against it). He also is not putting people away with the change like he has in the past (K rate has basically been halved on the changeup, though he's on track to throw about 200 fewer changeups this year).

Compare that to what we've seen, and it definitely seems like he's lost some of the bite on his changeup. Needs to find that pitch (and I expect once he does, we'll see vintage James Shields).

SO the Royals signed Raul Ibanez. Dudes old, but maybe he can bring a little power to the team. I know he struggled this year though.. Then again he is 42.

He has been lights out. I know people like to bash the offense (and deservedly so a lot of the time), but the Royals are a team that can win in the postseason if they keep pitching like this.

Too bad we got Lame Game James to totally screw over our pitching stats every 5th day.

Raul's theme song.....

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Am5s0vKcfiI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Alright here's a hypothetical scenario for you all.

We make the second wild card spot, travel on the road for a one game playoff. Who do you put on the mound?


Choose based on how the pitchers have pitched up until now, not what they could do in the second half.

That is an extremely tough question. I pondered the same thing last week as I was watching Shields blow ass again. I think a case could be made for and against all five starters. Obviously, Duffy has been the best recently and I think I'd go with the hot hand. However, if Shields returns close to form he's an easy choice.

Tough one. I knew Yost would put in Shields, but me? I dunno, I'd probably go with Duffy. He's been the most consistent pitcher on the roster.

I thought he hadnt lost since May.

And now, for the first time, a revealing look at Belly Butler's IPad. What's he doing this afternoon on line?

http://i57.tinypic.com/dg3v4m.jpg

I don't think the 2nd wc spot comes from the central. Royals have to win the division.

James has been mediocre in his last 10 games, but he is 5-0 with a 4.28 ERA over that time. That's not what you are looking for from a front of the rotation guy, but it's not like his starts are killing us. We are 8-2 over that stretch. His last two games have been really bad. We have lost both and he's carrying a 5.78 ERA over those 14 innings (2 games). Honestly, I don't really care what his stats are, as long as we keeping putting W's up when he takes the Hill.

If he can pull it together in the 2nd half, I like our chances of competing for the Central.

Whoever is up on the rotation schedule. All of our starters are about the same, we really don't have a true ace like a Kershaw, Wainwright, that you would want out there. I feel comfortable with any of them.

And in no part due to his performance.

Right now, I'd want one of Ventura or Duffy on the hill. If Shields regains his form, he'd be in that group as well.

Duffy scares me because his emotions can still get out of whack at times, and if that were to happen during that one-game playoff, I'd be pissed. Ventura is really good, but if his control is off, he's vulnerable, which has happened at times.

If Shields could figure out what's up with his changeup, he'd be a no-brainer.

Why? Te AL Central has some dog teams and we get to play a lot of games vs them whereas the other contenders have tougher divisions

Ventura easily but Ned would never do it.

Also Zimmer has to be our top prospect despite his arm issues. His second half last year was future 1-starter caliber. He may never get past those issues but we don't know that right now and that makes him remain our top player

Going to fire up a game thread unless someone else wants it?

Scratch that, alnorth's got this.

I'll move back to the top of my list the next time he throws a pitch. Just couldn't justify it right now.

Yeah, it's frustrating. He was being mentioned in all sorts of blogs and articles last year. We will just have to wait on him I guess.

How long until he returns to form?

When he forgets about that $100MM contract he wants after this season.

1. Alcides Escobar (R) SS
2. Eric Hosmer (L) 1B
3. Billy Butler (R) DH
4. Alex Gordon (L) LF
5. Salvador Perez (R) C
6. Raul Ibanez (L) RF
7. Omar Infante (R) 2B
8. Mike Moustakas (L) 3B
9. Jarrod Dyson (L) CF

Butler, Shields, Hochevar and Aoki gone we could clear close to 29 million from payroll next season. We would have the cash to go get a bat for right field and probably another starter.

What about Davis? I don't know about paying 5 million for a setup guy as good as he's been.

One of Holland or Davis is gone next year.

From ESPN Insider.... Bowden I think.

Kansas City Royals

Why? The Royals are last in the AL Central in runs scored and have had very little offensive production from right fielder Norichika Aoki, who has yet to hit a home run and has a .326 OBP. Rios hasn't hit for much power either (just three homers), but he's hitting .304 and has more upside -- and a better track record -- than Aoki, who would be better off as a fourth outfielder.

Who? The Rangers should be satisfied by getting approximately $6 million off the books for the rest of the season, as well as the $1 million buyout on Rios' 2015 team option ($13.5 million). They'll expect one or two mid-level type prospects in return, and the Royals could offer left-hander Sam Selman and catcher Zane Evans.

Will it happen? The Royals must improve their offensive production from right field, and the market is not flooded with solid options. I would give it about a 30 percent chance that it happens.

This is in regards to getting Alex Rios, for those who didn't know.

This tweet is referring to Art Stewart's new book, "the art of scouting":

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>2) Stewart says Royals had a deal with Deion Sanders to play baseball out of HS. Fell through when he got a Corvette to go to FSU.</p>&mdash; JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) <a href="https://twitter.com/jjcoop36/statuses/484334822823718912">July 2, 2014</a></blockquote>
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The Royals did draft him out of high school, but he didn't sign. Now we know why.

They have about $75 million committed in salary due to bumps in contracts and bumps in arbitration... so if they're staying at the same payroll, probably not as much cash as you might think.

If they can get Rios for that price, that's great. I'd rather see them nab Marlon Byrd, whose price should be similar. But either is a nice upgrade in RF over the current situation, at least offensively.