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.

[BlackHelicopters]

With posting fee it is 7 years 175

[WhawhaWhat]

So wishful thinking... hopefully the Yankees can't offer Santana a deal now and the Royals have one less team to compete against.

[BlackHelicopters]

So Santana gets what? 5/90?

[C3HIEF3S]

Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat

So wishful thinking... hopefully the Yankees can't offer Santana a deal now and the Royals have one less team to compete against.

I doubt the Yankees and that park would be a very good fit for Ervin.

[duncan_idaho]

Stuff should start shaking out now, though the whole compensation pick thing could still have teams dragging their feet on Santana and Jimenez.

I don't think really affects the Santana market, other than getting the ball rolling. The Yankees were never going to sign him (guys that give up bombs + Yankee Stadium=disaster).

[alnorth]

Fantastic. I actually wanted Tanaka to go to the Yankees all along, if not them, then the Dodgers I guess to keep him out of the AL. His best seasons are going to be wasted up there, and it obviously destroys their chance at staying under 189 unless they shed payroll elsewhere.

The Yankees are not a good team on paper at all, and their short-term future looks pretty bleak even with their ability to spend in free agency every year.

Since we aren't really competing for the same players, I see New York as a big fat talent sink, helping us out by absorbing free agent talent away from teams that might actually stop us from making the playoffs.

[Infidel Goat]

Originally Posted by theelusiveeightrop

With posting fee it is 7 years 175

More like 7 years/$240 M

Rany Jazayerli ‏@jazayerli 23m
That's $175M for Tanaka, and, what, $50-100M for not resetting the luxury tax? That means his true cost is $225-275M for 7 years.

Dan Lewis ‏@DanDotLewis 21m
@jazayerli Luxury tax resent isn't $100m. When I did the math earlier, it was about $65m, tops.

Rany Jazayerli ‏@jazayerli 19m
That makes it 7/$240. $34.3M per year.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by Infidel Goat

More like 7 years/$240 M

Rany Jazayerli ‏@jazayerli 23m
That's $175M for Tanaka, and, what, $50-100M for not resetting the luxury tax? That means his true cost is $225-275M for 7 years.

Dan Lewis ‏@DanDotLewis 21m
@jazayerli Luxury tax resent isn't $100m. When I did the math earlier, it was about $65m, tops.

Rany Jazayerli ‏@jazayerli 19m
That makes it 7/$240. $34.3M per year.

And they'll get swamped with A-Rod money next year. Their farm is so bad and they have so many holes, they'll be forced to keep overspending every year in a futile effort to compete.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by alnorth

Fantastic. I actually wanted Tanaka to go to the Yankees all along, if not them, then the Dodgers I guess to keep him out of the AL. His best seasons are going to be wasted up there, and it obviously destroys their chance at staying under 189 unless they shed payroll elsewhere.

The Yankees are not a good team on paper at all, and their short-term future looks pretty bleak even with their ability to spend in free agency every year.

Since we aren't really competing for the same players, I see New York as a big fat talent sink, helping us out by absorbing free agent talent away from teams that might actually stop us from making the playoffs.

Good points.

The Yankees lineup is still old and thin. When Ellsbury gets hurt and misses a big part of the season, they'll run into trouble.

[SPchief]

My favorite:

#Yankees have spent half a BILLION dollars this winter & still have Kelly Johnson likely stating at 3B & Brian Roberts at 2B

[duncan_idaho]

Likely Yankees lineup (guys likely to miss 20 games or more in bold):

Ellsbury
Jeter
Beltran
McCann (technicality - catcher)
Soriano
Teixeira
Kelly Johnson
Brendan Ryan/Brian Roberts
Brett Gardner

Sabathia
Tanaka
Kuroda
Nova
Phelps/Pineda

with Robertson as the closer.

Not sure that's a playoff team. What I am sure is that it is an old, expensive team. With almost no depth to cover for the multitudes of injuries that are coming.

If Ellsbury has another big injury and misses another big chunk of the season... they could be in serious trouble.

[tyton75]

I would think Jeter would be likely to miss at least 20 games as well.. right?

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by tyton75

I would think Jeter would be likely to miss at least 20 games as well.. right?

There's a good shot, though it's not a slam dunk lock like it is with the other guys, IMO.

He's only missed that many games 3 times in 19 years, though two of those are in the past 3 years.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by tyton75

I would think Jeter would be likely to miss at least 20 games as well.. right?

His glove is so bad and his bat is not as impressive anymore, that I'm not really interested in whether he misses time. He'll be 40 years old and in 70+ AB last season he didn't break .600 OPS. If he did get hurt, his replacement might not be much of a downgrade.

edit: holy smokes, I just looked him up last season. He only played 17 games, but he was so incredibly terrible in those 17 games, that he managed to rack up a -0.7 WAR. That is not bad, its horrific. He probably won't be a -7 WAR player over a full season, but he's just about done.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by alnorth

His glove is so bad and his bat is not as impressive anymore, that I'm not really interested in whether he misses time. He'll be 40 years old and in 70+ AB last season he didn't break .600 OPS. If he did get hurt, his replacement might not be much of a downgrade.

edit: holy smokes, I just looked him up last season. He only played 17 games, but he was so incredibly terrible in those 17 games, that he managed to rack up a -0.7 WAR. That is not bad, its horrific. He probably won't be a -7 WAR player over a full season, but he's just about done.

Jeff Francoeur thinks that doesn't sound so bad...

But seriously, their backup is Brendan Ryan. Not hard to see a situation where Beltran/Teixeira/Jeter are sitting with injuries and the Yankees have multiple black holes in their lineup.