2013 Kansas City Royals Repository Thread

[duncan_idaho]

Proposed 2013 Slogan: Tigers: They're what's for dinner
Actual 2013 Slogan: Come to Play
A better, more accurate, or alternative slogan: All in, no panic, we promise.

Dayton Moore has pushed all his chips in and is riding on King/Jack suited, hoping it comes together, he gets some good luck, and he hits the nuts by the river card. There's potential, oh yes, there's potential. There's also risk.

At the midway point, Dayton is left counting on the river card. The flop and turn didn't help him, and he's looking at the Tigers holding a pair of Queens and the Indians holding a pair of 9s. His 2013 plan hasn't failed - yet - but the odds are not in his favor.

Burning questions updates below.

Burning Questions for 2013:

1) Will the improve rotation be improved enough? Does James Shields pitch like a fringe No. 1 away from Tampa Bay? Does Ervin Santana pitch to his highest upside in his walk year? Can Jeremy Guthrie build on his strong performance as a Royal in 2012? Can Wade Davis bring his new mentality- and velocity - back to the rotation?

Midseason check-in: Yes, the rotation is certainly improved enough. Shields has pitched like a fringe No. 1 and Santana is having his best season. Guthrie has horrible peripherals but has continued to perform well at his home park and eat innings on the road. Davis brought neither his kick-ass mentality or improved velocity back to the rotation and is in Luke Hochevar/Hiram Davies territory.

2) When will Luke Hochevar be shown the door?
Midseason check-in: It appears, never, at this point. Hochevar has been solid in non-leverage situations, though pretty much every time he has been used with men on base in an inning, it has been a disaster.

3) Does Hosmer bounce back?
Midseason check-in: It took some time, but Hosmer's performance from June 1 on is probably the most encouraging thing about the 2013 season so far.
4) Can Moustakas hit for a whole season like he did in the first half of 2012?
Midseason check-in: Nope. Moustakas was god-awful, then great for about 3 weeks, then god-awful again. He has been better since he started working with Brett and Grafol but still has a long way to go.
5) Who regresses?
Midseason check-in: Welp, Alicides Escobar is not a surprising name here (though Yost's stubborn insistence on hitting him second is ridiculous). Billy Butler is a surprise. He isn't having a terrible year - still contributing a lot to the offense - but he's not hitting for the average or power he has displayed over the past several years.
6) Who plays 2B?
Midseason check-in: A whole bunch of people, and not that great. Gio is at least getting a shot, though he once again is not doing much with it.
7) Can Jeff Francoeur be at least replacement level, rather than epic horrible level?
Midseason check-in: Hahahahahahahahahahaha
8) Will Dayton Moore survive to see 2014?
Midseason check-in: Outlook uncertain. Probably still around, unless the team completely tanks in the second half and he does something foolish. My guess - he sacrifices Ned Yost this offseason and gets one more shot with a new manager in 2014.
9) Will Danny Duffy come back healthy? And if he does, is he the same, better or worse?
Midseason check-in: Yes. Velocity looks the same, and it looks likely he is the same guy as before.
10) And the big one: Has KC added enough to run down the big-money Detroit Tigers?
Midseason check-in: Doesn't look like it, does it?

[Saul Good]

What is Santana's trade value right now?

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

So is keeping Santana just out of the question?

That would be a question for Mr. David Glass. My heart tells me he would consider an offer, my mind tells me he will flee to the absolutely exploding market for starting pitchers.

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

So is keeping Santana just out of the question?

Probably. He's going to get offered a huge contract by someone if he keep this pace up. That type of thinking doesn't sit well with a cheap owner.

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

What is Santana's trade value right now?

If we're five games back at the deadline, the consensus has been we should hold onto him for a potential playoff run. However, if we're over 10 games back, we should definitely shop him for a better bat at RF or 2B.

[Ceej]

All trade value inquiries should be directed to resident trade value guru ChiefsandOsfan.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by Chiefspants

That would be a question for Mr. David Glass. My heart tells me he would consider an offer, my mind tells me he will flee to the absolutely exploding market for starting pitchers.

Originally Posted by Bowser

Probably. He's going to get offered a huge contract by someone if he keep this pace up. That type of thinking doesn't sit well with a cheap owner.

We will be unloading a lot of payroll after this season. I wonder how much that would play into it. It isn't like we will be after any big name free agents at any other position. At least I don't think we would.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

So is keeping Santana just out of the question?

They'll make a qualifying offer to him, to ensure they get a draft pick in compensation, but it's unlikely he signs a one-year deal.

And I don't think a team like KC can really afford to take the RISK of a 4-year, $60 million deal with Santana. If he reverts/go bad/finally throws one slider too many, that contract becomes crippling.

It's a combination of risk and cost.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by Chiefspants

If we're five games back at the deadline, the consensus has been we should hold onto him for a potential playoff run. However, if we're over 10 games back, we should definitely shop him for a better bat at RF or 2B.

I feel like we should consider moving him regardless of our record if the value is there. We have replacements for Santana. We have nothing in RF nor 2b.

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

We will be unloading a lot of payroll after this season. I wonder how much that would play into it. It isn't like we will be after any big name free agents at any other position. At least I don't think we would.

Unfortunately, we might have to unload 3/4th of the team to be able to make a competitive offer toward Santana.

It's important to remember that Zack Greinke (Who Santana is currently outpitching) signed a 6 yr/147m contract last season.

Also, Anibal Sanchez (who did not have Santana's resume) nabbed a 5 yr/80m contract last season.

If Santana continues his incredible production, it's not crazy to suggest that he'll be offered a contract somewhere between (the yearly monetary value of) these two deals (due to his age and propensity for homeruns, I doubt his deal exceeds Greinkes. However, with this market, who knows.)

Why the Royals are out of it might be because we have never offered a contract that exceeds 5/55m.

[Chiefspants]

I will say that I love Santana, and I feel like Kauffman is one of the best home ballparks he could have due to his pitching style, but I doubt we can offer a 4/70 or even a 4/60 to stay competitive for him this offseason.

Would he would sign a team friendly deal (for the ballpark and the team)?

Well, we can dream.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

I feel like we should consider moving him regardless of our record if the value is there. We have replacements for Santana. We have nothing in RF nor 2b.

Who are you comfortable replacing Santana with? And with the less playing time for Frenchy RF has not been nearly as big of a black hole as it once was. Santana is much more important than a few more hits from 2B.

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

Who are you comfortable replacing Santana with? And with the less playing time for Frenchy RF has not been nearly as big of a black hole as it once was. Santana is much more important than a few more hits from 2B.

If someone offered us a competent 2B who's signed for the next three years (as Duncan I believe suggested) it may be pretty tempting to at least consider the offer (if we're ten games out or more, we should absolutely be all over that deal).

[CaliforniaChief]

Some pretty good stuff on Yordano Ventura:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/art...nclick_check=1

Tattooed across Yordano Ventura’s left forearm is a baseball leaving a trail of flames.

Heat has become a primary part of the Kansas City Royals pitching prospect’s game.

Ventura earned his first triple-A victory Sunday afternoon, tossing five strong innings as the Omaha Storm Chasers defeated the Iowa Cubs 3-1 at Principal Park.

“Super impressive,” Iowa manager Marty Pevey said of Ventura.

The 22-year-old prized prospect of the Royals dazzled the 9,214 fans at the park with his explosive fastball that was consistently clocked in the high 90s, even touching 99.

Ventura, ranked the third-best prospect in the Royals system by Baseball America entering this season, signed with the team as a 17-year-old out of the Dominican Republic in 2008.

He began the season in double-A, compiling a 2.34 ERA in 11 starts and striking out 74 hitters in just 57.2 innings.

The success earned him a promotion to Omaha, where he struggled to find consistency in his first two starts. He threw five solid innings in his debut before getting hit hard in his second outing.

Ventura bounced back with another strong start Sunday, surrendering just three hits in five innings while striking out five.

He outdueled Iowa starter Guillermo Moscoso, who was nearly as good. The Cubs pitcher struck out four while giving up three runs on five hits in five innings to fall to 2-5.

The lone blemish on Ventura’s day came when Edwin Maysonet smacked a first-inning solo home run that bounced out of an inflatable glove above the Cub Club in left field.

The Spanish-speaking right-hander was nearly unhittable after that.

“He felt fine,” Ventura said through teammate and interpreter Christian Colon. “He felt like he was hitting his spots when he needed to.”

Ventura was oftentimes his worst enemy. He struggled to find the strike zone with all three of his pitches: a curveball, his changeup and the electric fastball.

He finished the day tossing 81 pitches, 51 for strikes.

“Right now, his command of all his pitches he just needs to continue to work on,” Omaha manager Mike Jirschele said.

There is plenty to be excited about, though.

“If the command comes through, he’s going to be a really good pitcher,” Jirschele said.

Jirschele, who once managed former Royals ace Zack Greinke in the minors, said Ventura is a step ahead of the current Los Angeles Dodger.

“He’s got better stuff than Zach Greinke when he came through,” he said.

Ventura didn’t start the sixth after finishing the fifth near his 90-pitch limit.

“Just getting him experience here at this level,” Jirschele said.

With each successful start, more and more excitement builds around the youngster.

“He knows that there is a lot of hype on him,” Colon translated. “He just wants to perform and work as hard as he can to get where he needs to get.”

So hey, Colon can at least interpret Spanish to English.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by Chiefspants

I will say that I love Santana, and I feel like Kauffman is one of the best home ballparks he could have due to his pitching style, but I doubt we can offer a 4/70 or even a 4/60 to stay competitive for him this offseason.

Would he would sign a team friendly deal (for the ballpark and the team)?

Well, we can dream.

Use the same thing they must have said to Guthrie. Just point out that it is not a coincedence that he pitches very well in The K. But I guess he might not care about that if he is going to get more guaranteed money somewhere else anyways, even if he does perform worst.

On a side note, Guthrie's home and away spilts are essentially polar opposites.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by Chiefspants

If someone offered us a competent 2B who's signed for the next three years (as Duncan I believe suggested) it may be pretty tempting to at least consider the offer (if we're ten games out or more, we should absolutely be all over that deal).

I haven't seen any names suggested. I could have missed it somewhere. The only thing is, the only team who will want a rent a player is a contender. And they won't be giving up a controlled everyday 2B for that since that 2B is needed and would probably be part of their success already.