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.

[tk13]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

I hate to quote him, because he is a pompous ass but I was listening to Kevin Slaten in St. Louis and he said if you have pitching and defense you are always in it. I know we need a big bat but if you pitch well and defend well, we will be in it.

There's no doubt about that. Just look at the last two years of Royals baseball, and compare it to those years we had Damon/Dye/Beltran/Sweeney and couldn't even post a winning record.

[WhawhaWhat]

Cain gets the day off today.

[LoneWolf]

Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat

Cain gets the day off today.

Well, he has played 1 game in the last 6 days. He's probably tired.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat

Cain gets the day off today.

Does that mean Ibanez is starting?

[WhawhaWhat]

Originally Posted by Big Smoke

Does that mean Ibanez is starting?

Gordon, Dyson, Aoki.

After The Damage Lineup: Dyson 8, Infante 4, Hosmer 3, Perez 2, Gordon 7, Butler DH, Moustakas 5, Aoki 9, Escobar 6, Duffy 1. #royals

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) July 19, 2014

[WhawhaWhat]

Cain is fine. "I'm not hurt," he said, then went back to Clash of Clans. Yost is resting him to he can face LHP Lester in Sunday's day game.

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) July 19, 2014

[cmh6476]

anyone feeling lucky enough to start today's game thread? We need about a 5 or 6 game winning streak

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by tk13

There's no doubt about that. Just look at the last two years of Royals baseball, and compare it to those years we had Damon/Dye/Beltran/Sweeney and couldn't even post a winning record.

Damon, Dye, Beltran, Sweeney and Randa made beautiful music together at the plate. But our pitchng back then was atrocious.

[tk13]

Maybe we should get Wily Mo Pena back from Japan. This was in the Japanese All-Star Game. He can still hit a fastball 10 miles.

[WhawhaWhat]

Originally Posted by tk13

Maybe we should get Wily Mo Pena back from Japan. This was in the Japanese All-Star Game. He can still hit a fastball 10 miles.

One of the farthest balls I have ever seen hit at the K was by him. It just kind of disappeared into the night never to be heard from again.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by tk13

There's no doubt about that. .

There's plenty of doubt about that, because it's not true. Your objective is to score more runs than the opponent however method you are best at. Run differential = win/loss record, not just ERA. In fact, Bill James said that hitting is more valuable than pitching anyway on balance.

[Anyong Bluth]

Originally Posted by Billy Butler

I haven't lost any bat speed.

Next, he'll tell the media he swears he's playing at the same weight he was his senior year of high school.

Not a power bat or homerun machine : Check!

Has a pitiful BA: Check!

On the rare occasions he does get a hit, it's invariably NOT with guys on:
Check!

Because, when we do have somebody on base, you've got a 50/50 pick'em on him either grounding into a double play or otherwise fail to move the runners, or God forbid, drive them in to score:
Check!

Has nothing to offer if his bat is cold because he isn't fit to spell a guy at any position- especially on this team:
Check!

And, to top it off, he's a detriment to our singles happy to score offense because he's only in scoring position from 3rd. Second to home may as well be a 10k to that fatass even entertaining the thought of scoring from 2nd. His chances of successfully attempting to do this are probably the lowest in MLB: Check!


Double Playotamus can **** off and ride pine simply based on the above!

[Sure-Oz]

This team sucks cause of Butler Hosmer and Moose. Period.

[Valiant]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

This team sucks cause of Butler Hosmer and Moose. Period.

Especially when they were supposed to become leaders.

I don't know how they can look the pitching staff in the eyes.

with average players we are a playoff team. Possibly winning a series.


To make matters worse: coach/gm/owner will not man up and correct problems during the season.

Thankfully butler will/should be gone.
moose hopefully will be.
Hosmer unless he wants to play for peanuts should follow. This diva mentality needs gone

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by Anyong Bluth

Next, he'll tell the media he swears he's playing at the same weight he was his senior year of high school.

Not a power bat or homerun machine : Check!

Has a pitiful BA: Check!

On the rare occasions he does get a hit, it's invariably NOT with guys on:
Check!

Because, when we do have somebody on base, you've got a 50/50 pick'em on him either grounding into a double play or otherwise fail to move the runners, or God forbid, drive them in to score:
Check!

Has nothing to offer if his bat is cold because he isn't fit to spell a guy at any position- especially on this team:
Check!

And, to top it off, he's a detriment to our singles happy to score offense because he's only in scoring position from 3rd. Second to home may as well be a 10k to that fatass even entertaining the thought of scoring from 2nd. His chances of successfully attempting to do this are probably the lowest in MLB: Check!


Double Playotamus can **** off and ride pine simply based on the above!

This...