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.

[mr. tegu]

I do hope Billy restructures and comes back.

[alnorth]

Also, when you mention WAR, I think most people assume you are using baseball reference. If you use Fangraphs, you should probably call it fWAR. I prefer baseball reference. I think what fWAR is doing with defense is interesting, but I really don't like the fact that Fangraphs uses FIP for pitchers.

[Don Corlemahomes]

Meh **** it

Go Royals

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Yost claims "I've never been wrong about young talent" and says the keystone cops are fine. Does anyone in our media ever call him out by pointing the facts? Instead of looking at Smardjia we ought to be looking at 1B (and frankly DH since fatty isn't comin back). Our rotation looks ok even next year but until we can hit from our hitting positions we won't be a threat

They said it would take a butt load including possibly Duffy to get Samardjia. That's not happening. I think Zobrist is the most likely given his ability to play 2 positions we are weakest at and it wouldn't cost a ton.

[alnorth]

Fun Fact: In baseball's modern era, the greatest single season of all time as measured by WAR is Babe Ruth in 1923 (14.0). The 2nd-best is Dwight Gooden in 1985 (13.2).

That in a nutshell is one reason why people love WAR. How do you objectively compare the value of a given pitcher to a given non-pitcher who played in separate leagues over 60 years apart? That is really the only way.

[blake5676]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

They said it would take a butt load including possibly Duffy to get Samardjia. That's not happening. I think Zobrist is the most likely given his ability to play 2 positions we are weakest at and it wouldn't cost a ton.

I keep seeing people float the Zobrist thing and part of their reasoning is him being able to play 3rd, something he's actually never even really done as a MLB player. Yeah, the guy is Mr. Utility, but he's much more of a 2B, SS, OF guy.

All of this is assuming you meant play for Moose when you wrote 2 weakest positions. If not, nevermind.

[Don Corlemahomes]

Luis Valbuena- plays third, mashes righties, perfect platoon partner for valencia.

[DeepSouth]

Originally Posted by alnorth

Fun Fact: In baseball's modern era, the greatest single season of all time as measured by WAR is Babe Ruth in 1923 (14.0). The 2nd-best is Dwight Gooden in 1985 (13.2).

That in a nutshell is one reason why people love WAR. How do you objectively compare the value of a given pitcher to a given non-pitcher who played in separate leagues over 60 years apart? That is really the only way.

AL, I've got a "Fun Fact" for ya, In 1980, Matt Keough threw 187 pitches in a 14 inning complete game for Oakland. You'll never see that in today's MLB.

[Don Corlemahomes]

Valbuena

vs RHP: .287/.384/.476/.860
vs LHP: .269/.367/.346/.713

[Great Expectations]

HAVANA -- Cuban authorities say hard-hitting outfielder Yasmani Tomas of Havana's powerhouse ballclub Industriales has defected.

Communist Party newspaper Granma said Friday that he left the island "through unscrupulous, illegal human trafficking."

According to BaseballdeCuba.com, Tomas hit .286 last year with 15 homers, 45 runs scored and 60 RBIs.

The website says he is "without doubt the 'slugger' of the team."

[Dartgod]

We lose one game out of 10 and Prison Bitch turns into a...well, bitch.

[DeepSouth]

Originally Posted by Dartgod

We lose one game out of 10 and Prison Bitch turns into a...well, bitch.

I think he's really bitter with the current Royals organization. He might really be Frank White?

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

They said it would take a butt load including possibly Duffy to get Samardjia. That's not happening. I think Zobrist is the most likely given his ability to play 2 positions we are weakest at and it wouldn't cost a ton.

Eval I did on another site regarding trading for Samardzija and the potential gains (based on WAR)

• Shark has 2.3 WAR in 15 starts. 0.15 per start. Worth 2.4 over a half season.
  
• Duffy has 1.0 in basically 9 starts. 0.11 per start. Worth 1.8 over a half season. Half win difference.
  
• Vargas has 1.9 in 15 starts. 0.13 per start. Worth 2.08 over a half season. 1/3 win difference.
  
• Ventura has 1.3 in 13 starts. .1 per start. Worth 1.6 over a half season. 0.8 win difference.
  
• Guthrie has 0.8 in 15 starts. 0.05 per start. Worth 0.9 over a half season. 1.5 win difference.

If they could replace Guthrie with Samardzija, the Royals would probably pick up a few wins, at least on paper. It sounds like, though, to acquire Samardzija you're talking about moving either Duffy or Ventura to make that happen. Then the gain is marginal and the cost is extreme.

The Royals would gain a lot more by acquiring a RF at a much lower cost (Rios, Byrd, Seth Smith, etc).

At least for this season... and if Samardzja continues to pitch at this level (something he has yet to prove he can really do). He fell apart from June on last year, and has an ERA approaching 6 in June this season...

[Don Corlemahomes]

Duncan, you know your shit- I think valbuena is a natural fit for us, but nobody entertains the idea. What am I missing here?

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Cunning Linguist

Duncan, you know your shit- I think valbuena is a natural fit for us, but nobody entertains the idea. What am I missing here?

Valbuena would be a nice fit and shouldn't cost much at all. Like the versatility and LH pop.