2012 Kansas City Royals Repository Thread

[alnorth]

2012 Slogan: Our Time

A better, more accurate 2012 Slogan: It is Finally Next Year
(from Great Expectations)

An alternative slogan if you don't like that one: Someone has to win this crappy division
(from alnorth)

With the beginning of a new year, it is time for the 2012 version of the Royals Repository Thread. We've got Hosmer, we've got a 2011-dominating Gordon, we've got Moose, we've got hopefully a killer bullpen, we've got a stereotypical slow slugging DH, we've got easily one of the best defensive shortstops in the AL, we've got a promising catcher in Salvador Perez. Hell, we've got offense and promising prospects galore.

We do not have starting pitching.

Oh yeah, we've also got this:



Get ready for, (as of January 2012 anyway), one of the most confusing puzzles of a baseball season in recent Royals history. Will they suck? Maybe, I don't know. Will we be given a year of 0.500 baseball? Possibly, I don't know. Will they win the division and go to the playoffs for the first time in 27 years? For the first time in a long time, it could happen, I don't know. 92 losses, 92 wins, or anything in between would not surprise a lot of us.

Everything goes here except Gameday threads and really big news. If a giant story breaks, the Royals achieve some awesome milestone, or we sign/lose a highly significant player/coach/mascot/whatever, then it might also deserve its own thread. This being Chiefs Planet, please do not clutter the board with new threads about trivial Royals news or you will only annoy those who come here for just Chiefs football. If you aren't sure and its not a Gameday thread, it goes here.

What sort of stuff often goes here? SPchief explained it well, so I'll just copy that:

If you locate something of interest.. ANYTHING.. deals on apparel, best ways in/out of the stadium, giveaways, great stories from this season or from seasons gone by, rumors, trades, anything.... feel free to post it here.

[Al Bundy]

Originally Posted by Demonpenz

Tigers are struggling. Maybe Prince Fielder can get sliced open like a tantan by hosmer to keep Danny Duffy's arm warm.

Ohh.... now that is great.

[DBoweShow]

Originally Posted by arrowheadnation

Classic!!! I pray that Yost used this exact speech!

[Al Bundy]

Lorenzo Cain is out for at least another 4 weeks with a strained hip flexor.

[Dr. Johnny Fever]

Originally Posted by UCF Knight

Lorenzo Cain is out for at least another 4 weeks with a strained hip flexor.

Good lord

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by UCF Knight

Lorenzo Cain is out for at least another 4 weeks with a strained hip flexor.

For real?
Unbelievable.
Can you believe the luck?
Kansas City never catches a break.

My god.
Everything that could go wrong is going wrong.

[Jenson71]

Teaford down to Omaha.

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/04/28...verworked.html

[alnorth]

We're probably going to start seeing more double-headers every time a game is postponed.

Today would have been tough since its a travel day, but in prior years they probably would have rescheduled it to something like June 28, which is open for both teams, and make that a 4 day series. In the new CBA though, you can have an extra player for double-headers. Both the twins and the Royals will be allowed to have 26 players on their active roster for the scheduled double-header on June 30th.

[Three7s]

Originally Posted by alnorth

Minor League prospect update

Omaha

Montgomery, 4.57 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 10BB, 18K, 1HR
Will Smith, 4.12 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 7BB, 18K, 1HR
Giavotella, .250/.330/.400, 10BB, 6K, 3 2B, 3HR

Northwest Arkansas

Arguelles, 6.05 ERA, 1.91 WHIP, 9BB, 8K, 1HR
Odorizzi, 4.08 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 6BB, 25K, 1HR
Dwyer, 6.32 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 11BB, 15K, 3HR
Myers, .319/.382/.623, 7BB, 23K, 6 2B, 5HR
Colon, .270/.304/.351, 3BB, 5K, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1HR

Very encouraged by Myers. Hope he keeps on rolling and gets Francouer out of here. Montgomery's ERA is at least respectable now, but that WHIP is still really really bad. The real anomaly is Odorizzi. How does someone with a 1.13 WHIP, 6 walks, and 1 homer given up have an ERA of over 4? That makes no sense.

Looks like Dwyer and Arguelles are complete shit and Giavotella has regressed. Will Smith is the king of getting out of jams.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Three7s

Very encouraged by Myers. Hope he keeps on rolling and gets Francouer out of here. Montgomery's ERA is at least respectable now, but that WHIP is still really really bad. The real anomaly is Odorizzi. How does someone with a 1.13 WHIP, 6 walks, and 1 homer given up have an ERA of over 4? That makes no sense.

Looks like Dwyer and Arguelles are complete shit and Giavotella has regressed. Will Smith is the king of getting out of jams.

Monty and Odorizzi both have been a little unlucky this year, looking at their FIP.

Monty's second start was pretty awful. Since then, in two starts: 14 IP, 13K, 3 BB, 2.56 ERA, 1.00 WHIP.

Here's a really great piece from Yahoo about him.

Side note: Monty's FIP this year shows a bit of bad luck, and his numbers in 2011 show his ERA should have been in the 4.30 range. Still not great, but much better than the concerning 5+ ERA he flashed in 2011.

Odorizzi's numbers don't make sense, either. His FIP is almost 1.5 runs lower than his current ERA.

He's going to get the call to Omaha soon, I think. His K/9 is REALLY high for that level (13 K/9 from a start at AA is sick). If he puts together another month of pitching at this level, I think they have to promote him.

Adam and Ventura look like the next two studs through the pipeline. Both putting up some eye-popping numbers at Wilmington.

[duncan_idaho]

Some updates on minor league hitters, too:

Wil Myers: Crushing the ball at NWA. Seems to have responded well to his first season of failure. Bigger, stronger, in better shape than before. K'd a lot early in the season (13 of his 24 Ks came in a 7 game stretch in the second week of April) but has returned to the low K, high walk ratio since. Going to get the call to Omaha soon. Possibly in another month or so.

Gio: Hitting over .300 with good power in Omaha. Going to get the recall soon, hopefully, though it honestly will probably take a 1-30 swoon from either Getz or Yuni.

Clint Robinson, David Lough: Continue to be productive players who need a shot somewhere.

Max Ramirez: Intriguing guy. Righthanded power bat who can catch a bit. OPSing nearly 1.000 right now.

Brett Eibner: Playing pretty well in Wilmington. Showing good power, good OBP skills he's known for. Hitting about as expected (.250-range).

Cheslor Cuthbert: Struggling mightily in Wilmington, which doesn't surprise me. It's nasty cold up there right now, something he's never really experienced.

Jorge Bonifacio: This might be a new name to many. Everyone knows about Elier Hernandez and Bubba Starling, but Bonifacio gives the Royals a THIRD under-20 outfielder with superstar upside. Good patience, impressive power with more to come. Probably a corner guy in the majors, but someone to watch.

Oh, and Christian Colon still looks like a bust. Which is shocking, considering he was viewed as one of the safest bets in the 2010 draft. Little power, disappointing average. At least Drew Pomeranz sucks, right? (Let's not talk about the awesomeness that is Chris Sale, OK?).

[Sure-Oz]

Not sure why David Lough doesn't get a shot in the bigs with us, can he not play multiple OF positions?

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

Not sure why David Lough doesn't get a shot in the bigs with us, can he not play multiple OF positions?

He's a corner guy, who can play CF in a pinch but doesn't fit what they want for the spot.

He's never really flashed amazing hit tools, so they haven't found a spot for him. I think they look at it as a situation where Maier is a known quantity and liked clubhouse presence. Lough's upside is basically Maier, so Maier sticks around.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Three7s

Very encouraged by Myers. Hope he keeps on rolling and gets Francouer out of here. Montgomery's ERA is at least respectable now, but that WHIP is still really really bad. The real anomaly is Odorizzi. How does someone with a 1.13 WHIP, 6 walks, and 1 homer given up have an ERA of over 4? That makes no sense.

Looks like Dwyer and Arguelles are complete shit and Giavotella has regressed. Will Smith is the king of getting out of jams.

Side notes:

Will Smith was clearly not right to start the season. Has only walked one batter since the first start (in which he walked 6 in 3 IP) and has allowed 23 runners over his last 19 innings. He's a command guy who probably is nothing more than a No. 5 starter, at best, but having some of those guys around is valuable.

Arguelles has never recovered the mid-90s velocity he flashed before signing. If he doesn't, he's not making the majors.

Dwyer cannot consistently throw strikes. I think he still can be an effective bullpen arm if nothing else.

[Sure-Oz]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

He's a corner guy, who can play CF in a pinch but doesn't fit what they want for the spot.

He's never really flashed amazing hit tools, so they haven't found a spot for him. I think they look at it as a situation where Maier is a known quantity and liked clubhouse presence. Lough's upside is basically Maier, so Maier sticks around.

Gotcha...thanks!

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Side notes:

Will Smith was clearly not right to start the season. Has only walked one batter since the first start (in which he walked 6 in 3 IP) and has allowed 23 runners over his last 19 innings. He's a command guy who probably is nothing more than a No. 5 starter, at best, but having some of those guys around is valuable.

Arguelles has never recovered the mid-90s velocity he flashed before signing. If he doesn't, he's not making the majors.

Dwyer cannot consistently throw strikes. I think he still can be an effective bullpen arm if nothing else.

I heard Arguelles velocity was up this year by 2-3 mph around 93-94.