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.

[Al Bundy]

Buster Olney ‏@Buster_ESPN 14m

The asking price for pitcher Ervin Santana is said to have dropped significantly, perhaps to a three-year deal. Was over $100m in November.

[alnorth]

Buster Olney ‏@Buster_ESPN 34m

The asking price for pitcher Ervin Santana is said to have dropped significantly, perhaps to a three-year deal. Was over $100m in November.

Looks like DM jumped way too quickly, the pitching market is a lot cheaper than almost anyone expected. Vargas is starting to look a little bit overpaid.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by alnorth

Looks like DM jumped way too quickly, the pitching market is a lot cheaper than almost anyone expected. Vargas is starting to look a little bit overpaid.

From hearing him talk the other week, he likes to move quickly in FA when they can get a deal done early, are comfortable with the player and with the value. It's an attempt to avoid bidding wars. Same thing with offering extra years. It was pretty clear they'd rather add another year to keep the AAV in a reasonable realm than try to win a bidding war on the same years as another team.

Might end up biting them here. Don't think anyone saw the draft comp. attached to Santana and Jimenez and etc. devaluing them this much. Also don't think anyone saw Garza's medicals being bad enough to run his value down that far.

It shouldn't be a crippling deal, though. $8 million AAV for a guy who's going to throw 200 innings a year and give you league average pitching still doesn't seem crazy to me.

Also don't think it should keep them from making a Kyle Lohse-type deal for Santana. But that's on Moore and Glass.

That's where the failure of the system in developing pitchers bites you, though. You don't have to spend medium money in FA on an innings eater if you develop some of those guys internally...

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

That's where the failure of the system in developing pitchers bites you, though. You don't have to spend medium money in FA on an innings eater if you develop some of those guys internally...

Not even "some" - just one... ONE. Just develop ONE FREAKING PITCHER.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

From hearing him talk the other week, he likes to move quickly in FA when they can get a deal done early, are comfortable with the player and with the value. It's an attempt to avoid bidding wars. Same thing with offering extra years. It was pretty clear they'd rather add another year to keep the AAV in a reasonable realm than try to win a bidding war on the same years as another team.

Might end up biting them here. Don't think anyone saw the draft comp. attached to Santana and Jimenez and etc. devaluing them this much. Also don't think anyone saw Garza's medicals being bad enough to run his value down that far.

It shouldn't be a crippling deal, though. $8 million AAV for a guy who's going to throw 200 innings a year and give you league average pitching still doesn't seem crazy to me.

Also don't think it should keep them from making a Kyle Lohse-type deal for Santana. But that's on Moore and Glass.

That's where the failure of the system in developing pitchers bites you, though. You don't have to spend medium money in FA on an innings eater if you develop some of those guys internally...

Yeah, I'm not necessarily second-guessing the decision to move quickly, I'm just a bit frustrated that it worked out this way. Its easy to complain that we should have waited, but I think back in November most of us thought the value of pitching was going to be sky-high, and if you really think pitchers will get paid a ton then you should grab the first guy whose contract demands are anywhere close to reasonable because you don't want to be one of the last teams scrounging around in that musical chairs game. Next year acting quickly could be the correct move.

[DeezNutz]

There's no financial reason why the Royals could not sign Santana. None.

Injury concern? Productivity? Valid reasons. Financial? Bunk.

[DeezNutz]

Oh, and it should be noted that Royals threads are easily some of the best on CP since the great douche migrations of '09 and '13.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

There's no financial reason why the Royals could not sign Santana. None.

Injury concern? Productivity? Valid reasons. Financial? Bunk.

Agreed.

If you're looking at paying him 60-75 million over 4-5 years? OK, sure, the injury concern/inconsistency combined with the cost might not make sense.

But when you're talking 3 years at what you paid him THIS season? A Kyle Lohse deal? That's definitely within the realm of affordability for KC.

Worried about payroll? Flip some of the payroll waste spots (Luke Hochevar, Wade Davis, Bonifacio - though I wouldn't consider him waste) for whatever you can get out of them. Even if that's a bucket of balls.

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

Oh, and it should be noted that Royals threads are easily some of the best on CP since the great douche migrations of '09 and '13.

I love the Royals threads. The mood level is fun to watch from game to game. The level of extremes are intense and funny.

[duncan_idaho]

Projected 2014 rotation (with Santana on 3 year deal - moving Hochevar and Davis for Salary relief):

Shields
Santana
Vargas
Guthrie
Chen (to start year - 10-12 starts)/Ventura

Duffy works out of the pen or at Omaha.

2015:

Santana
Ventura
Vargas
Guthrie
Duffy/Zimmer

2016:
Santana
Ventura
Duffy
Vargas
Zimmer

[ChiTown]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Projected 2014 rotation (with Santana on 3 year deal - moving Hochevar and Davis for Salary relief):

Shields
Santana
Vargas
Guthrie
Chen (to start year - 10-12 starts)/Ventura

Duffy works out of the pen or at Omaha.

2015:

Santana
Ventura
Vargas
Guthrie
Duffy/Zimmer

2016:
Santana
Ventura
Duffy
Vargas
Zimmer

If we can get another 1/2 season of production out of Chen as a Starter, I will be absolutely amazed. I would have guessed that we had squeezed about as much blood out of that turnip as humanly possible.

[ChiTown]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

Oh, and it should be noted that Royals threads are easily some of the best on CP since the great douche migrations of '09 and '13.

[Prison Bitch]

Fan graphs was good with th Vargas deal. And they hate Dayton Moore with a passion and they hate the Royals and almost everything we do. That says a lot.

[ChiTown]

Oh, and BTW, BIG shout out to Duncan and AL for their Royals and Baseball input/knowledge. You two are fkn amazing when it comes to working the stat lines and analyzing the data. Many thanks, especially for those of us that are more challenged in that arena.

[gblowfish]

Mellinger today talks about "Royals Slogans." This has been one of my favorite topics for a long time. First, his article, then, a list of all the Royals Official Slogans over the years:

Here’s why the Royals’ new slogan is bland
February 3
By SAM MELLINGER
The Kansas City Star

NEW YORK — They say the roads are as bad back home as they are here, where the sidewalks are like a war zone of puddle-shrapnel and the airport is full of suckers like me with canceled flights.

Which means you and I are in perfect position to take part in one of Kansas City’s most time-honored traditions.

Making fun of the Royals’ new slogan.

The club is going with “Be Royal” this year, which is sort of … meh … which, actually and sadly, is the whole point. “Royal” rhymes with loyal, and (even if the team won’t say it out loud) ties into that “Royals” pop song the kids like. So, fine.

This slogan doesn’t make any promises about the team, and even if it opens up the club for jokes — doesn’t this team need to be better than what the Royals have been over the last generation? — it’s mostly just empty calories for highway billboards.

Before we go any further, let’s acknowledge how senseless it is that the Royals (or any other team) hire a bunch of suits in cubicles to come up with marketing slogans that follow the first rule of medicine: Do no harm.

And all teams do this, by the way. The gazillion-dollar Dodgers are going with “Live. Breathe. Blue.” Breathing means living, and not breathing sometimes means turning blue, but whatever. It’s better than “Your Mortgage Payment is Our Players’ Dry Cleaning Bill.”

The problem with a slogan is that in the best-case scenario, people will forget it. Quick, can you name the Royals’ slogan last year? I’ll wait.

“Come to Play.”

That was a relative success, a vast improvement over the year before, when “Our Time” became a boilerplate punch line for people to throw stones at a team that was supposed to be strong but instead lost 90 games.

The Royals backpedaled when that season turned to mush, forced to try some revisionist-history spin that the slogan referred to holding the All-Star Game, not the actual team. But you can bet that general manager Dayton Moore and others in baseball operations are now given a heads up before the marketing department goes public with a check the team may not be able to cash.

This is how it goes. Marketing departments are bigger (and often more detached from baseball) than ever before. And those billboards aren’t going to fill themselves. So men and women sit around and bounce ideas off each other until — and this really is the goal — they find one empty enough that it can’t be used to hang a losing team. In 2011, the White Sox bumped up payroll and went with “All In,” which turned into a disaster when they finished 16 games out of first place.

There is just no winning here. No profit in slogans. No traction to be made. If the team loses, the slogan is remembered only with irony. If the team wins, chances are something better and organic comes along to replace it. Had the Royals experienced more success last year, you can bet James Shields’ weird neon deer in the clubhouse would’ve become a thing. They didn’t, but 86 wins were the team’s most since 1989 and enough to keep “Come To Play” away from infamy.

But baseball teams feel like they need these things, even if a T-shirt giveaway and fireworks can put twice as many people in the seats as any slogan (and a winning team does much better).

Can we guess the runners-up to “Be Royal?” And remember, you can’t overpromise.

“We’re Due.”

“Ned’s Actually Very Funny Away From The Cameras.”

“Kids Under 12 Race Billy Butler For Free.”

“Our Last Playoff Appearance Is Old Enough To Be A Doctor.”

“C’mon, There’s No Good Movies Out.”

Actually, this is kind of fun. Come up with a marketing slogan that wins, but only if it doesn’t lose. Sort of like a teenager who throws a party when his parents are out of town and doesn’t get caught.

I tried that once. I was 16.

And I got caught.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/02/03...#storylink=cpy

1976: Star Spangled Summer
1977: Super Summer
1978: Catch Royal Mania
1979: Catch Royal Mania: What the Good Times Are
1980/1: We’re Where You Want to Be!
1982: Go for the Action
1983: Turn on the Action
1984: Something Special in the Air
1985: You’ve Got a Hit on Your Hands
1986: The Thrill of It All
1987: Get in the Swing of it!
1988: A Major League Attraction
1989: It’s a Hit
1990: Catch the Thrill
1991: Turn on the Good Times
1992: It’s Here
1993: 25 Years
1994: For the Fun of It All!
1995: Bring It On!
1996: Get in the Game
1997: Come on Home
1998: This…is Hardball
1999: Be a Part of it All
2000/1: You Gotta Love These Guys!
2002: Join the Fun!
2003: Your Hometown Team/Believe!
2004: Together We Can
2005: It’s All About Royals Baseball
2006: Your KC Royals
2007: True. Blue. Tradition.
2008: New. Blue. Tradition.
2009: You Belong at The K/40th Anniversary
2010: It All Happens Here
2011: Major League Moments
2012: Our Time
2013: Come to Play
2014: Be A Royal