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.

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by DeezNutz

Cool. Left-handed compliment from the President.

White Sox fan...

The president didn't write that response. An actual life long royals fan did. Read it again.
Posted via Mobile Device

[stonedstooge]

Originally Posted by C3HIEF3S

Yes, opening series was in Chicago then they played 3 in Philly before playing in KC.

Thanks. Not sure why it isn't staggered every other year

[TribalElder]

Oakland fans are super excited

[alnorth]

One more clarification on the new baseball drug policy. There was a bit about how if a player didn't intend to cheat, then an arbitrator could reduce the punishment, but that part wasn't clear. Here are the details on that:

1) If its steroids, testosterone, or human growth hormone, forget it.

2) The standard of proof is "Clear and convincing evidence" that the positive test was not due to "significant fault or negligence".

3) penalties can be reduced by up to 50%.

[CaliforniaChief]

#Royals Lineup: 9 Aoki, 4 Infante, 3 Hosmer, DH Butler, 7 Gordon, 2 Perez, 5 Moustakas, 8 Cain, 6 Escobar. 12:08 First Pitch tomorrow on 610

— 610 Sports Radio- KC (@610SportsKC) March 30, 2014

[stonedstooge]

Originally Posted by alnorth

One more clarification on the new baseball drug policy. There was a bit about how if a player didn't intend to cheat, then an arbitrator could reduce the punishment, but that part wasn't clear. Here are the details on that:

1) If its steroids, testosterone, or human growth hormone, forget it.

2) The standard of proof is "Clear and convincing evidence" that the positive test was not due to "significant fault or negligence".

3) penalties can be reduced by up to 50%.

I can live with that/Ryan Braun

[C3HIEF3S]

It's time to love the Royals again
Write up from a typical KC sports fan

Spoiler!

Guest commentary: It’s time to love the Royals again
March 30
BY JASON KANDER
Special to The Star

Every Kansas City baseball fan my age has a vivid memory that serves as the rock-bottom moment of their fan journey.


Mine happened on June 25, 2004, during Army officer training at Fort Lewis, Wash..

Weeks earlier, when I reported for duty, the Royals had real hope. They had just come off a promising, winning season (the only of my adult life up to that point), but the drill sergeants kept us closed off from the outside world and I had no idea how the season was going.

My platoon had just been through the gas chamber, which is at least as miserable as you think. I had finally filled my lungs with breathable air when Master Sgt. Williams sapped what was left of my morale with one devastating sentence: “Hey Kander, the Royals are in dead last and yesterday they traded Carlos Beltran.”

I am 32 years old. For my generation of Kansas Citians, Royals fandom is advanced, doctorate-level stuff. For my father’s generation, it was child’s play. Dad was at game seven in 1985 among thousands of men and women his age celebrating a championship. I was at Kauffman Stadium in 1993 among thousands of kids my age watching George Brett kneel down and kiss home plate in his final home game. As if we knew what the future held for the team, we were all crying.

It’s just different for our generation. I hate the Yankees because they treat the Royals like a minor-league affiliate. Dad hates them because they were our honest-to-goodness rivals in the ’70s. Dad’s generation remembers summers highlighted by Fred White’s narration of deep playoff runs. My generation’s fondest memories of Kansas City baseball sound like this: “Leemonade Leemonade Leemonade — Woooo!”

So it’s been nearly 10 years since my lowest moment of Royals fandom and now the team is coming off their second winning season of my adult life. We have hope again.

That dangerous, frightening Shawshank Redemption-kind of hope that Red claimed could “drive a man insane.”

So it’s understandable, Royals Nation, that you’re a little scared. But your cynicism isn’t inherent, it’s learned: Who can blame you for becoming more than just a casual St. Louis or Boston fan these last few years? Who could judge you for closing yourself off and protecting yourself from believing the team you love will stop disappointing you?

As a 9-year old Yankees fan from Brookside once said to me, “Every little boy has the right to root for a winning team.”

But something happened last fall: Meaningful September baseball. Your pessimism started to crack and that old flame began to flicker.

You have reason to believe again. And yet, you’re scared all over again. You don’t want to be hurt.

I’ve never stopped believing since that terrible day one decade ago when I resolved to surf the wave of powder-blue disappointment forever knowing it would usually pull me under and try to drown me before the All-Star break.

But I’m writing this column to tell long-suffering Royals fans of my generation that this is not 2004.

This team is for real. Trust me.

I’ve been watching so closely this past decade that my wife instituted a rule prohibiting more than 25 percent of our conversations from being about the Royals and their farm system.

But this is the year we stop talking about the farm system, because the future is no longer in Omaha. It’s in Kansas City and it goes by names like Gordo, Moose, Salvy, Hos, Guts and Esky. You don’t get more KC than a clean-up hitter named Country Breakfast with his own rally-inducing barbecue sauce.

This team truly likes one another, they’re having fun, and it shows. It’s why they win.

Come on, you know you want to fall in love again. Give yourself over to it with reckless abandon like that guy on the Jumbotron with the huge belly and awesome moves. It’s OK.

Really. The wait is over. The Royals are contenders and 2014 is going to be the kind of season I’ll tell my son about.

See you at the K.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/03/30...#storylink=cpy

[Deberg_1990]

That guest column could have been written by Joe Posnanski nearly every year he was in KC.

[DeezNutz]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

The president didn't write that response. An actual life long royals fan did. Read it again.
Posted via Mobile Device

Don't put facts in the way of my ability to bitch about politicians. For ****'s sake, man...

[Mama Hip Rockets]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaChief

#Royals Lineup: 9 Aoki, 4 Infante, 3 Hosmer, DH Butler, 7 Gordon, 2 Perez, 5 Moustakas, 8 Cain, 6 Escobar. 12:08 First Pitch tomorrow on 610

— 610 Sports Radio- KC (@610SportsKC) March 30, 2014

That's a good-looking lineup. Glad to see Infante is playing.

[Mother****erJones]

Good luck this season guys! Go White Sox lol

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by Mother****erJones

Good luck this season guys! Go White Sox lol

[TLO]

I don't think I'll be doing much sleeping tonight.

[Shogun]

Royals opening day fun fact from my favorite Royal (and most of yours) of all time.
Since Brett hit .390 in 1980, nobody has ever averaged above that, or even close really since him. And the last person to average higher than George was Ted Williams in 1941, who hit .406 that year.

one of my favorite stats from brett

[stonedstooge]

Originally Posted by Mother****erJones

Good luck this season guys! Go White Sox lol

You got us scheduled for your "Fans Attack Night" promotion again this year?