Quote:
Originally Posted by alnorth
If "Ace" Ventura develops as we hope, then there's no reason why the Royals can't remain competitive after Shields leaves for at least another couple years and maybe even 2017 if we extend Gordon.
2018 is obviously looking iffy unless we find a bunch of cash or find a replacement for some of the young guys who hit free agency.
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Yes, what's lost a little bit in the excitement about the development of Ventura, Manaea, Zimmer and Almonte is that the hitting prospects are not nearly as exciting.
I love RA Mondesi, but he's more of a contributing offensive player than a lineup-carrier. .280/15/30 SB from a SS is a tanatalizing line and within his reach, but that's more of a good No. 2 hitter or lower-order hitter than a middle of the lineup star.
Dozier is a nice prospect at 3B but is probably more of a nice contributor than huge impact guy, too (Kyle Seager is a good comparison/target, I think).
Bonifacio is Billy Butler lite, but able to play RF.
Beyond those three, you're having to hope a lot. If Starling can figure out the hit tool enough to be a .260 major league player, he's a useful offensive player. Especially if he continues to post an OBP 75-90 points higher than his average (That upside would make him basically Nick Swisher if Swisher was a Gold Glove-level CF).
Elier Hernandez and Alexis Rivera and Cheslor Cuthbert are all younger, high-priced LA signings, but none has EXPLODED onto the scene yet. Also hear good things about Samir Duenez. But like I said, there's a lot of hope involved with those guys.