2014 Royals Repository

[duncan_idaho]

With my 6,000th post on ChiefsPlanet (it only took me 12 years to get here), I bring you: The 2014 Kansas City Royals Repository.

To be discussed here: All things Royals, as they attempt to post another winning season and make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 1985.

25-man RosterAvailable HERE

AL Central Standings:

Link

Duncan's Top 20 Royals Prospects

Spoiler!

1) 3B Hunter Dozier ETA: 2015
Dozier started slowly at A+ Wilmington but caught fire in May and June, earning a mid-season promotion to AA Northwest Arkansas. Big, strong kid with good plate discipline skills and solid power who projects to be an above-average glove at 3B with solid power.

2) SS Raul (Adalberto) Mondesi ETA: 2017
Mondesis is the opposite of Dozier…. Started red-hot at Wilmington before back spasms derailed him for a few weeks and hasn’t gotten it going since coming back. Scouting reports have been great – defense and speed both improved over the offseason. Still a chance to be an elite SS, with 40 SB speed, plus glove, .300 average and some pop.

3) LHP Sean Manaea | ETA: 2015
Scouting reports outperform the stat line so far. Missing a ton of bats at A+ but not preventing runs like you’d expect to see. Needs to work deeper into games (gradually working about an inning deeper/month so far this year) and improve control. Walks are biggest concern right now, but could be elevated due to work on extra off-speed offerings. Still has No. 2 starter potential, could be higher if the great control he exhibited before his hip surgery eventually comes back.

4) RHP Kyle Zimmer| ETA: 2015
Should be NO. 1 on the list and is probably the Royals most VALUABLE current prospect, but he hasn’t thrown a ball in 4-5 weeks and had only been throwing for 2-3 weeks when he was shut down then.

5) LHP Brandon Finnegan| ETA: 2015
Top 2014 draft choice is an undersized lefty who will start at A+ Wilmington after anchoring CWS run for TCU. Good fastball, better slider, change that needs work to stick as a starter, but if he sticks, No. 2/No. 3 starter upside. Likely a top 10 or even top 5 pick if he doesn’t miss 1 start in the middle of the college season as a precautionary move.

6) RHP Miguel Almonte| ETA: 2016
Have heard some say Almonte is more advanced as a pitcher at A+ than Yordano Ventura was (comparison because both were cheap signs out of Latin America). Really advanced changeup and a curve that is working out well (where the ‘more advanced’ comment comes from). Fastball velo is good but not great – 92-94. Like Manaea, working on his second-best offspeed pitch and leaning less on his bread-and butter (changeup), which has hurt his numbers a bit.

7) RHP Christian Binford 2017
Reverse case of “don’t just scout stat lines.” Based on his stats at A+, you’d think he was an elite prospect, but there are questions about Binford’s stuff playing up at higher levels. Tall righty with great command of fastball, slider and a good and still developing changeup. None of those pitches profiles as better than average, though, limiting his likely upside to back-end rotation guy.

8) SS Orlando Calixte| ETA: 2016
I still like him more than many. Good combination of SS/MI skills and power. Started hot at NWA but in a slump at moment.

9)LHP Foster Griffin | ETA: 2019
Tall, projectable lefty taken in 2014 draft. Viewed as a great value in the sandwich round and probably would have been KC’s pick at No. 17 if Finnegan hadn’t fallen. High school arm who is going to take a while to develop.

10) RF Jorge Bonifacio| ETA: 2016
Hasn’t hit as well as expected in his second go-round at AA NWA. Power still sapped, and average skills have dipped. Once looked like he might be an option in RF at some point in 2015, now looks like 2016 is optimistic. Still young for his level.

11) 3B/2B Cheslor Cuthbert| ETA: 2016
Cuthbert has had better luck at NWA than Boni and is also extremely young for level. HE’s been moved to 2B since Dozier was promoted, which could put a new spin on Cuthbert’s prospects. If he sticks at 2B, bat plays up much better. Good OBP/plate discipline and solid power, but needs to continue improving contact skills

12) C Chase Vallot| ETA: 2020
Young (just 17) C with tremendous power. One of the top prep bats and a great value for KC where it got him. If he sticks at C, expect him to move slowly, but the bat may force the issue (or force him to another position).

13) C Zane Evans| ETA: 2017
GA Tech product has handled Wilmington better than most RH bats and probably is in line for a promotion to NWA sometime soon. Decent pop, decent skills behind the plate. Could be a nice reserve catcher.

14) RHP Scott Blewett| ETA: 2020
Tall, projectable righty with a fresh arm but some injury concerns on his shoulder that slipped him out of Round 1 of MLB draft. Big time potential.

15) CF Bubba Starling | ETA:
Bubba Starling has great tools. Bubba Starling (still) can’t hit. That’s all I have to say about that.

16) 1B Samir Duenez| ETA:
I still like him, even though the attempt to run him through full season ball at 17 did not go well.

17)LF/RF Elier Hernandez| ETA:
Hernandez still pops up in scouting reports but still is very raw and toolsy.

18) RHP Pedro Fernandez| ETA:
Pop-up player on the same track as Ventura and Almonte. Similar signing, similar profile. One to watch over next few years.

19) SS Marten Gasparini| ETA:
Royals’ most expensive international signing likely moves to CF eventually, but his speed and athleticism are intriguing abilities. Early reports from complex ball are very positive on him.

20) RHP Niklas Stephenson| ETA:
Interesting pop-up candidate who found 10 more MPH on his fastball by using a weighted ball during workouts over the winter. Now sits mid-90s with fastball and is dominating at rookie ball (after having an ERA over 8 there a year ago). Likely promoted to a higher challenge soon.

[C3HIEF3S]

Originally Posted by 58-4ever

The group of Royals fans on this board seem to be really good people.

Yes, definitely a good group of guys in here.

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

Andy McCullough ‏@McCulloughStar 18s

Despite word Santana will take a 1-year deal, Moore says Royals "moving forward" w/out him. "The candidates for our rotation are in-house."

This is just straight insincere. There is NOBODY in house that can give the Royals a replica of what Santana did in '13. Hopefully this is just some form of super secret double probation GM talk.

If not, then GMDM just needs to come out and say it - "My boss has refused to give me any more money to sign players."

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by 58-4ever

The group of Royals fans on this board seem to be really good people.

You ****ing sassing us with sarcasm, brah???!!!

[CaliforniaChief]

Refusing to re-engage Santana is disappointing, especially on a 1 year deal. But at least things are moving toward a draft pick.

[C3HIEF3S]

Originally Posted by Bowser

This is just straight insincere. There is NOBODY in house that can give the Royals a replica of what Santana did in '13. Hopefully this is just some form of super secret double probation GM talk.

If not, then GMDM just needs to come out and say it - "My boss has refused to give me any more money to sign players."

While this seems to be absolutely true, there is one problem. A lot of people, not just the Royals, seem to believe that not even Santana can repeat what Santana did last year. I'm basing this off of his very inconsistent career ERA-wise. He has a very high ceiling, no doubt, but a very low floor as well.

But on a low-risk 1 year deal.. yeah I don't have much else to say. Frustrating.


Just trying to make sense of this..

[stonedstooge]

Originally Posted by C3HIEF3S

While this seems to be absolutely true, there is one problem. A lot of people, not just the Royals, seem to believe that not even Santana can repeat what Santana did last year. I'm basing this off of his very inconsistent career ERA-wise. He has a very high ceiling, no doubt, but a very low floor as well.

But on a low-risk 1 year deal.. yeah I don't have much else to say. Frustrating.


Just trying to make sense of this..

Man, I'd still rather invest long term in Santana then Shields. Leading the league in innings pitched year after year. There's been a few dude's whose arms held up, but not too many

[Coach]

Originally Posted by alnorth

He was not insured. Teams don't do those except for huge long-term deals. The premium and terms these days apparently make it not worth it except for insuring deals that would cripple your team if they get hurt.

edit:

Well for 5 million for a small market like the Royals, for a reliever, that's crippling, in my opinion. And, while the injury to Luke was just sad and sucks for everyone involved, that's just piss-poor management by Dayton Moore and the Royals.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by Bowser

This is just straight insincere. There is NOBODY in house that can give the Royals a replica of what Santana did in '13. Hopefully this is just some form of super secret double probation GM talk.

If not, then GMDM just needs to come out and say it - "My boss has refused to give me any more money to sign players."

Part of the job of a GM is to not throw your owner under the bus, and to stick to your budget without explicitely saying you have a hard budget.

If you can't or won't do that, you won't be a GM, especially for a small-market team.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by C3HIEF3S

While this seems to be absolutely true, there is one problem. A lot of people, not just the Royals, seem to believe that not even Santana can repeat what Santana did last year. I'm basing this off of his very inconsistent career ERA-wise. He has a very high ceiling, no doubt, but a very low floor as well.

But on a low-risk 1 year deal.. yeah I don't have much else to say. Frustrating.


Just trying to make sense of this..

An argument can actually be made that Vargas might be the better pitcher. Santana's highs are higher than Vargas, but Vargas won't give up the amazing number of home runs that Santana did in Orange County.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by Coach

Well for 5 million for a small market like the Royals, for a reliever, that's crippling, in my opinion. And, while the injury to Luke was just sad and sucks for everyone involved, that's just piss-poor management by Dayton Moore and the Royals.

"crippling" is defined as a career-ender in the first few years of a Pujols type of deal. You might be thinking that the insurance only costs 50k or something, but that may not be the case.

This isn't some blunder by the royals, it is widespread MLB practice to rarely take out these insurance policies for any but the richest of contracts. Apparently the pricing and restrictions for baseball player insurance is so unattractive, that you don't buy the insurance unless you really have to. $5MM for 1 year is not even remotely crippling for any team. The insurance company is not a non-profit, they aren't going to price the contract at a break-even. If you are going to write this kind of a weird exotic policy without a lot of Actuarial data, you are going to demand a lot of expected ROI.

[58-4ever]

Originally Posted by lewdog

You ****ing sassing us with sarcasm, brah???!!!

No, but if you want to come at me, COME AT ME bro!!!

[blake5676]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaChief

Refusing to re-engage Santana is disappointing, especially on a 1 year deal. But at least things are moving toward a draft pick.

Looking like something might happen as early as today. Reports this morning that he has a 1 year deal in place for $14 million with an unnamed AL team. Has to be disappointing for Erv in a big picture, but with as desperate as things have gotten for him I'd have to consider that a slight WIN.

At the end of the day, he's going to be getting a contract at the same value as the QO he turned down months ago. But it's a lot better than some of the speculation of late once he said he was willing to play on another 1 year deal.

[1moreTRich]

Originally Posted by blake5676

Looking like something might happen as early as today. Reports this morning that he has a 1 year deal in place for $14 million with an unnamed AL team. Has to be disappointing for Erv in a big picture, but with as desperate as things have gotten for him I'd have to consider that a slight WIN.

At the end of the day, he's going to be getting a contract at the same value as the QO he turned down months ago. But it's a lot better than some of the speculation of late once he said he was willing to play on another 1 year deal.

Do we still get the draft pick?

[nychief]

Cheap ****ers. I hate the ****ing Glass family.


Dollars to donuts our comp pick is in 50's... because at this point those are the teams willing to give up a pick and the money.

[blake5676]

Originally Posted by 1moreTRich

Do we still get the draft pick?

Yes, we'll still get a comp pick. The only way we wouldn't, unless I misunderstand the rules, is if he waited to sign until after the draft.