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.

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by SPchief

I got it covered.

xoxo

[Prison Bitch]

Butler Gordon Hosmer: 1 home run. TOTAL. It's almost May. I've never seen bigger pussies in my life.

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Butler Gordon Hosmer: 1 home run. TOTAL. It's almost May. I've never seen bigger pussies in my life.

Pretty much this. They can't keep this shit up......can they?

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Originally Posted by lewdog

Pretty much this. They can't keep this shit up......can they?

Well, they've been maintaining this course for 23 games- yes it's entirely possible to continue.

This entire team (save Esky) has fallen so far off the ledge offensively, that it's almost scary.

[Prison Bitch]

It's time for DM to call Butler and Gordon into his office and tear them new assholes for what they've become. It's just embarrassing how pathetic they both are. Punchless pussies at the plate. There is absolutely no reason these guys should've turned out like this. Not at their ages.

[ChiTown]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

It's time for DM to call Butler and Gordon into his office and tear them new assholes for what they've become. It's just embarrassing how pathetic they both are. Punchless pussies at the plate. There is absolutely no reason these guys should've turned out like this. Not at their ages.

At least Gordon isn't an embarrassment at the plate like Butler has been. Not only that, but Gordon's D has been awesome. Butler? His only job is to hit and he ****ing sucks at it.

[Anyong Bluth]

Originally Posted by ChiTown

At least Gordon isn't an embarrassment at the plate like Butler has been. Not only that, but Gordon's D has been awesome. Butler? His only job is to hit and he ****ing sucks at it.

Agreed. Gordon and Butler are completely different conversations.

Gordon has been worth at least 2 wins already.

Butler's only job is plate production, and he's been absolutely insufferable to watch.

[CoMoChief]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Butler Gordon Hosmer: 1 home run. TOTAL. It's almost May. I've never seen bigger pussies in my life.

YUP....which is the reason why this team won't make the postseason.

You can't have that kind of production from your 3 supposedly best hitters.

Moose may crack 20HR's this season, but his BA is still going to be shit unless he starts getting hot.

To have horrible production coming from your corners is going to anchor this team down from reaching their potential.

These guys are nothing but hyped up AAA minor leaguers that can't cut it consistently in the big leagues.

*Butler should be a 30-35HR/90-100RBI hitter. You're getting paid to hit the ball over the fence and move runners around to score.

*Hosmer,Moose,Gordon should all be avg 20-25HR 70RBI, there's no reason or excuse why they shouldn't be able to produce these kinds of numbers at this point in their careers.

*Salvador Perez should be able to tease the 20HR mark, but he's a badass catcher that goes through much more wear and tear through the games/season so he gets a pass IMO.

*Cain/Aoki/Dyson/Escobar's jobs are to get on base, rattle the pitchers by being able to steal and advance, allowing the others to hit them home.

[Prison Bitch]

More concerning is how infrequent Butler & Gordon even hit the ball hard. Gordon had a long double today, but it's become such a rarity for him to even hit a ball into the gap. His power was prodigious as a prospect and even his first couple years he'd hit some really long HR. Now? He's a slap hitting Rusty Greer clone. He tried to cut his swing down and go more opposite field to reduce his Ks but guess what? He's still striking out 140x/yr. Only now there's no power to go with it.


Butler isn't even worth talking about anymore.

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

More concerning is how infrequent Butler & Gordon even hit the ball hard. Gordon had a long double today, but it's become such a rarity for him to even hit a ball into the gap. His power was prodigious as a prospect and even his first couple years he'd hit some really long HR. Now? He's a slap hitting Rusty Greer clone. He tried to cut his swing down and go more opposite field to reduce his Ks but guess what? He's still striking out 140x/yr. Only now there's no power to go with it.


Butler isn't even worth talking about anymore.

Butler is definitely worth talking about, because he is the epitome of the problem. It's the entire team... At what point does Pedro Grifol's philosophy and teachings begin to take criticism? Because these aren't just slumps for a couple of players... These are multi-season production voids from players that have had historical success. Half a season of productivity with Hosmer does not offset the sweeping failure from the rest.

[Ceej]

Watching BBTN before the Angels/Yanks game since there isn't shit on made me wonder when the last time the Royals played baseball on ESPN was, if ever.

[C3HIEF3S]

Originally Posted by Ceej

Watching BBTN before the Angels/Yanks game since there isn't shit on made me wonder when the last time the Royals played baseball on ESPN was, if ever.

Opening day 2012 vs the Angels

Albert Pujols' first game in Anaheim.

I don't think we were the reason we were on ESPN. But we do have one national game on FOX this year and two games on Fox Sports 1 I believe.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by Zeke

Butler is definitely worth talking about, because he is the epitome of the problem. It's the entire team... At what point does Pedro Grifol's philosophy and teachings begin to take criticism? Because these aren't just slumps for a couple of players... These are multi-season production voids from players that have had historical success. Half a season of productivity with Hosmer does not offset the sweeping failure from the rest.

It's worth examining what the future really holds for these 2. If we look at their comps on Baseball Reference, we see they all fell off the cliff after age 30. Alex' best comp is Jeffrey Hammonds (4th overall out of Stanford vs. Alex 2nd OVerall, , 3rd rated prospect in BB America vs. Alex at 2), good but not great career). Ray Lankford, Eric Byrnes, Ivan Calderon etc all fell off the map shortly after turning 30. Alex is 30 now making $10m. He makes $12.5m in 2014 with the same $ option for 2016. Like his comparables his physical play in LF is taking a toll on him. His 2016 option will not be picked up.


Butler is tougher. Olerud, Kruk, Loney, Hrbek, Baines. Very disparate comps so nothing to glean there. I think you can just look at him last year and so far this year and realize he's not ever getting back to 2012 form. He may be finished. He will not turn out to be our Edgar Martinez.

[SPATCH]

I was trying to day-dream ways that we might address this team's utter lack of power once the trade window opens up, and I was sort of at a loss.

Do we get a 4th OF type with some pop and start DHing him?

Might be prudent, especially considering Cain will probably break again. Play Aoki in CF and put the power bat in RF.

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by SPATCH

I was trying to day-dream ways that we might address this team's utter lack of power once the trade window opens up, and I was sort of at a loss.

Do we get a 4th OF type with some pop and start DHing him?

Might be prudent, especially considering Cain will probably break again. Play Aoki in CF and put the power bat in RF.

Good with this.

And not that he would have been an answer to our power problems, but we never should have let David Lough be traded.