[duncan_idaho]

Side note (file this for the "you can't judge a High A prospect just by his stats" case):

Baseball Prospectus released its midseason Top 50 today. I disagree with some of the rankings (for instance, leaving Byron Buxton atop the list despite his lack of PT this year, and despite Kris Bryan'ts unbelievable offensive display at AA and AAA - he's slugging nearly .800 at AAA), but they have both Mondesi and Almonte in their top 30.

Reports on Almonte's progress with his breaking pitch are particularly pleasing. It seems he's progressing towards a plus breaking ball to pair with a plus fastball and plus-plus changeup.

So it's good for prospect hounds like me. It's also good for the Royals trade prospects. If those guys are showing out that well in live looks, their trade value is just as high as it was entering the season.

The Royals have trade chips, should they choose to use them. Not David Price level trade chips (If the Rays won't move him for a package built around Addison Russell, I don't know what they'll move him for... Addison Russell, Jarrod Parker and Dan Straily would have seemed to be pretty good value for him). But more than enough to go get a player that can help them offensively.