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.

[Mother****erJones]

The issue with KC is they literally have no power. Your main power hitter, if swinging for shit he wouldn't get a whiff. Your pitching will be fine but your offense is a joke. Sucks because I want to see KC do well. Hope it turns around for ya guys!

If not send me James shields and holland! Lol

[Mother****erJones]

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

We were outscored 21-5 against the ****ing Twins.

That's a fireable offense

[Dragonocho]

That was the Most Royals last inning and a half I've seen in a few years to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. At least we're only two years from our ESPN 30 for 30 on our playoff drought.

[duncan_idaho]

Was out most of the weekend... not much to say about that sweep other than: "It was ugly."

Random thoughts:

1) It's funny that Yost spends so much time worrying about "getting in his guys' dome" ... because it's pretty goddamn clear they spend plenty of time getting in their own domes.

2) The complete collapse of the 3-5 hitters is really dooming this team right now. Alex Gordon is not the player, right now, that he was two years ago. Neither is Billy Butler. Eric Hosmer hasn't hit the ball with the authority this season he displayed late last year, 8th inning 2B against Minnesota aside. (MOAR OF THAT, PLEASE)

3) The time for being uber-patient with this squad is past. Guys need to be rewarded/punished accordingly. Mike Moustakas has a .386 OPS right now. If he doesn't turn things around in the next 10 days, it's time to demote him, his "dome" be damned. Salvador Perez is producing. Butler gets another week or so. If he still isn't hitting, he and Perez flip.

4) The entire announcing team is just awful. Hudler and Lefevre are bad enough when the Royals are winning. It's made worse when they and Physioc and Stewart start trying to shift blame, make excuses and cover for the team.

Physioc's gaffe of blaming the players' problems/struggles on the impact of social media is a moronic statement bordering on Jack Maloof "we can't try to hit home runs" territory. That's instant-fire bad.

And if the Royals players truly are weak enough mentally to be bothered by what they see on social media... well, Jesus titty-effing Christ, how do they respond when they're in an opposing ballpark and get heckled?

Actually, considering the complete inability to hit the ball on the road so far this season, maybe I have my answer?

5) It makes me wonder if they're missing something in the minor league development program. When you've got an entire roster full of home grown guys, and an entire roster full of guys who can't handle pressure at all, there almost has to be some sort of connection there.

It's got to be something behind the scenes, if true, because many teams in baseball try to build waves and play their best players together on the same team, to create an atmosphere of winning.

6) The season is long, and there's time to save it. Heck, there's time to save this stretch (sweep a different team and win 2/3 of the other series, and you avoid a complete disaster).

That's what the Royals have been unable to avoid under Yost in the past, though. So this will be a real test. Everything that's happening right now has the feel of the disastrous, impossible-to-recover-from losing streak.

7) I think I've made no secret of the fact that I think two things about Ned Yost:
a - He's the best manager the Royals have had in a long time
b - He's not good enough tactically to skipper a team to a pennant. It would have to win in spite of the 2-3 games a year his poor tactical managing costs them.

Yost is a pretty solid developmental manager because of how loyal he is to guys and the atmosphere he creates in the clubhouse. It's good for young guys. He's not good at holding those guys accountable when it's time to do so, though.

Yesterday's game provides just another example. His team rallies for a critical 3-2 lead in a game it needs to salvage, desperately. And instead of going to the guy he's deemed his 8th inning guy (who actually has been OK when on normal rest and starting a clean inning, the situation he faced yesterday), he decides to use Aaron Crow because "he was already warmed up."

Why? Why?

There is just no rational baseball explanation for that, especially from a guy who is SO reliant on using guys in the roles he sets up for them. Yost is all about setting things up for his 8th and 9th inning guys. He had that in the bag yesterday. And then inexplicably doesn't go to it.

This is what is most frustrating about Yost. He zigs when he should zag. He sticks to his guns when he should explore another option (i.e. Continually trying to use Tim Collins as a LH specialist). He deviates when he should use the standard approach.

He's the baseball equivalent of a blackjack player who can't decide if he hits on 16, and changes his strategy hand-to-hand based on "His gut..."

8) Like I said, the season is long. There's more than enough time to turn things around. But the hopeful optimism that they will... it's pretty tough to summon right now, and getting harder by the day/game.

[siberian khatru]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Was out most of the weekend... not much to say about that sweep other than: "It was ugly."

Random thoughts:

1) It's funny that Yost spends so much time worrying about "getting in his guys' dome" ... because it's pretty goddamn clear they spend plenty of time getting in their own domes.

2) The complete collapse of the 3-5 hitters is really dooming this team right now. Alex Gordon is not the player, right now, that he was two years ago. Neither is Billy Butler. Eric Hosmer hasn't hit the ball with the authority this season he displayed late last year, 8th inning 2B against Minnesota aside. (MOAR OF THAT, PLEASE)

3) The time for being uber-patient with this squad is past. Guys need to be rewarded/punished accordingly. Mike Moustakas has a .386 OPS right now. If he doesn't turn things around in the next 10 days, it's time to demote him, his "dome" be damned. Salvador Perez is producing. Butler gets another week or so. If he still isn't hitting, he and Perez flip.

4) The entire announcing team is just awful. Hudler and Lefevre are bad enough when the Royals are winning. It's made worse when they and Physioc and Stewart start trying to shift blame, make excuses and cover for the team.

Physioc's gaffe of blaming the players' problems/struggles on the impact of social media is a moronic statement bordering on Jack Maloof "we can't try to hit home runs" territory. That's instant-fire bad.

And if the Royals players truly are weak enough mentally to be bothered by what they see on social media... well, Jesus titty-effing Christ, how do they respond when they're in an opposing ballpark and get heckled?

Actually, considering the complete inability to hit the ball on the road so far this season, maybe I have my answer?

5) It makes me wonder if they're missing something in the minor league development program. When you've got an entire roster full of home grown guys, and an entire roster full of guys who can't handle pressure at all, there almost has to be some sort of connection there.

It's got to be something behind the scenes, if true, because many teams in baseball try to build waves and play their best players together on the same team, to create an atmosphere of winning.

6) The season is long, and there's time to save it. Heck, there's time to save this stretch (sweep a different team and win 2/3 of the other series, and you avoid a complete disaster).

That's what the Royals have been unable to avoid under Yost in the past, though. So this will be a real test. Everything that's happening right now has the feel of the disastrous, impossible-to-recover-from losing streak.

7) I think I've made no secret of the fact that I think two things about Ned Yost:
a - He's the best manager the Royals have had in a long time
b - He's not good enough tactically to skipper a team to a pennant. It would have to win in spite of the 2-3 games a year his poor tactical managing costs them.

Yost is a pretty solid developmental manager because of how loyal he is to guys and the atmosphere he creates in the clubhouse. It's good for young guys. He's not good at holding those guys accountable when it's time to do so, though.

Yesterday's game provides just another example. His team rallies for a critical 3-2 lead in a game it needs to salvage, desperately. And instead of going to the guy he's deemed his 8th inning guy (who actually has been OK when on normal rest and starting a clean inning, the situation he faced yesterday), he decides to use Aaron Crow because "he was already warmed up."

Why? Why?

There is just no rational baseball explanation for that, especially from a guy who is SO reliant on using guys in the roles he sets up for them. Yost is all about setting things up for his 8th and 9th inning guys. He had that in the bag yesterday. And then inexplicably doesn't go to it.

This is what is most frustrating about Yost. He zigs when he should zag. He sticks to his guns when he should explore another option (i.e. Continually trying to use Tim Collins as a LH specialist). He deviates when he should use the standard approach.

He's the baseball equivalent of a blackjack player who can't decide if he hits on 16, and changes his strategy hand-to-hand based on "His gut..."

8) Like I said, the season is long. There's more than enough time to turn things around. But the hopeful optimism that they will... it's pretty tough to summon right now, and getting harder by the day/game.

And you didn't even bring up letting Moose face Perkins down 1 in the 9th. Why is Valencia on this team if not to hit in that situation? Why is the roster crunched if not to accommodate Maxwell and/or Valencia, yet they almost never play?

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

And you didn't even bring up letting Moose face Perkins down 1 in the 9th. Why is Valencia on this team if not to hit in that situation? Why is the roster crunched if not to accommodate Maxwell and/or Valencia, yet they almost never play?

Yes, that decision was the best. Loved his polite conversation with Laz Diaz and completely calm demeanor after the play. Good fire, coach.

Items 1, 3 and 7 all speak to what's happening there.

He didn't want to get in Moustakas's dome. He's loyal to his guys. And he's a tactical moron.

[Prison Bitch]

Moose is terrible but its on Butler and Gordon. Those worthless pos are making 8m each. They are paid to produce, Moose is still min wage. I'd have a sit down with those two and ask what's going on and how we can change things. Then if that didn't work I'd tell them I'd be working on solutions kncluding putting both on the trade block

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Moose is terrible but its on Butler and Gordon. Those worthless pos are making 8m each. They are paid to produce, Moose is still min wage. I'd have a sit down with those two and ask what's going on and how we can change things. Then if that didn't work I'd tell them I'd be working on solutions kncluding putting both on the trade block

Agree 100%. These two guys are supposed to be the backbone of the team. Veterans in the "alledged" primes of their careers.

Im with Duncan. There has to be something systematically wrong in the organization for so many talented players to all fail at once.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Moose is terrible but its on Butler and Gordon. Those worthless pos are making 8m each. They are paid to produce, Moose is still min wage. I'd have a sit down with those two and ask what's going on and how we can change things. Then if that didn't work I'd tell them I'd be working on solutions kncluding putting both on the trade block

Really, looking at the numbers, Butler is the far bigger issue at this point.

Gordon has not been awesome, but you could live with .275/.320/.450 out of your No. 5 hitter. He's on pace for 15 HR, 60 2B (obviously not sustainable) and 135 RBI (also obviously not sustainable). Pair that with an excellent defensive profile, and you've got a very good player. Not a super star, but a good player who helps you win (KC's slightly more powerful version of Nick Markakis).

Gordon is maybe the one guy in the middle who's doing his job. It probably was not fair of me to lump him in with Hosmer and Butler.

But Butler? I've defended the guy. I'll continue to be patient with him a while longer because his track record says he's much better than this. He doesn't have an endless leash, though. And if he's still struggling at the end of April, you have to look at alternatives in the lineup. If Butler continues to not hit as you get into May, then you might even go to the point of DHing Perez on days he isn't catching.

[Prison Bitch]

Does Butler realize he's killing his career? Does he know he's in a contract year? If he sucks in 2014, he's going to cost himself probably 20m bucks. If not more. A .290-25-90 season would've (1) had his 12m option picked up and (2) likely have gotten him extended a few more years at that rate. Now? What's he going to get?


If he ends up .265-12-75 he is not going to return. He'll pocked the 1m buyout then what? Go sign with Seattle, for like $3m?

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

But Butler? I've defended the guy. I'll continue to be patient with him a while longer because his track record says he's much better than this. He doesn't have an endless leash, though. And if he's still struggling at the end of April, you have to look at alternatives in the lineup. If Butler continues to not hit as you get into May, then you might even go to the point of DHing Perez on days he isn't catching.

I don't know why we couldn't legitimately try and trade him for whatever we can get and just platoon Maxwell and whoever there, Dyson even. I'm not kidding. That duo would outproduce Butler when you factor in the speed they bring to the basepaths. Butler doesn't hit for power any longer anyway, so you're not losing anything when he's out.

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

But Butler? I've defended the guy. I'll continue to be patient with him a while longer because his track record says he's much better than this. He doesn't have an endless leash, though. And if he's still struggling at the end of April, you have to look at alternatives in the lineup. If Butler continues to not hit as you get into May, then you might even go to the point of DHing Perez on days he isn't catching.

But, we don't want to go getting in his dome or anything.

[BlackHelicopters]

Welcome to the 2014 Royals. Same as the old Royals.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

I don't know why we couldn't legitimately try and trade him for whatever we can get and just platoon Maxwell and whoever there, Dyson even. I'm not kidding. That duo would outproduce Butler when you factor in the speed they bring to the basepaths. Butler doesn't hit for power any longer anyway, so you're not losing anything when he's out.

I don't know that the potential benefit of trading Butler outweighs the risk. Nothing they get for him is going to be as valuable to the Royals as he potentially is, so they probably don't trade him. If he doesn't start hitting as he has in the past, his season and career in KC likely go out with a whimper, with a $1 million buyout at the end of the year.

DHing Dyson is pointless, but putting Dyson in CF and using the DH to spell either Gordon or Aoki (with Aoki sliding to LF on days Gordon DH, with Cain to RF) would make sense. Also, obviousy, Maxwell would get the nod vs. LHP.

[Prison Bitch]

True on Gordon, seems like he takes a pounding out in Left. I'd def give him 15-20 games at DH every year esp on those 95 degree Sundays. And we need his bat in there. Just doesn't seem to make sense giving Butler 8M if he can't do the 1 thing he's asked to do.


Imagine if Shields was 0-3 with a 9.55 ERA right now. People would be pissed. That's where Billy is at.