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.

[CoMoChief]

This is a .500 ballclub with .500 talent. It's that simple.

Everyone needs to chill out, and accept this fact.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

This is a .500 ballclub with .500 talent. It's that simple.

Everyone needs to chill out, and accept this fact.

That's what I've said all year. My hope is that they can go on a run and finish enough above .500 to catch the Tigers, or snag a wildcard spot.

I'd still like to see a move that brings a power bat to our lineup...

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

This is a .500 ballclub with .500 talent. It's that simple.

Everyone needs to chill out, and accept this fact.

It has potential to be better thsn that. Most of the guys are well off pace of where you would expect them to be offensively. Aoki , Hos, Butler, Gordon....a huge hole at 3rd that finally got filled.

[TLO]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

It has potential to be better thsn that. Most of the guys are well off pace of where you would expect them to be offensively.

Agreed, but I think the pitching will drop off, at least to some degree.

It will be on the offense to help balance things out, if and when that happens.

[CoMoChief]

Originally Posted by Big Smoke

That's what I've said all year. My hope is that they can go on a run and finish enough above .500 to catch the Tigers, or snag a wildcard spot.

I'd still like to see a move that brings a power bat to our lineup...

Says every Royals fan for the past 30yrs.

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by Big Smoke

Agreed, but I think the pitching will drop off, at least to some degree.

It will be on the offense to help balance things out, if and when that happens.

I think the pen holds up and Shieds, Vargas, and Gutherie prettu much are what they are. The key is Ventura and Duffy taking a step up. They are the wildcards.

[CoMoChief]

If somehow the Royals were to make a WC spot. I think Shields and Ventura need to be the 1-2 punch guys on the mound.

[KCwolf]

Big Cat .... On your band wagon .... we have an upgrade for the moment @ 3rd ..... lets WIN some games and see what happens.... but Jeez have a little faith .... the whole AL is .500

[WilliamTheIrish]

Originally Posted by Big Smoke

I knew Bill the Drunk would end up in here. He has a hard on for anything and everything 810.

Li'l smokey... Chiefsplanet's very own little diva. Push your skirt back down, chica. If you need attention, you can find it in another thread.

"in".

[WilliamTheIrish]

Originally Posted by RockChalk

Ear-biting aside, it would be nice if the Royals had a veteran player willing to stand up to some of these young assholes who have been handed everything and earned very little.

Or a manager. I'm not asking for a Joe Torre type guy. But if we had a manager with even a minimal amount of blood flow to his brain, it's shit would have been nipped long ago.

**** Dayton Moore for allowing this to be a metastatic situation.

[Al Bundy]

Originally Posted by WilliamTheIrish

Because 810 isn't the god damn problem, al. It's a convenient excuse to blame a media outlet when the players (and the GM and the manager) are being galactic pussies.

As 'penz wrote a few posts back: hit a few HR's, go on a winning streak and all this is forgotten. Until then, stand in there, field the questions, and move on. You know... Be a professional. FF's sake, you're getting paid like one.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by CoMoChief

Says every Royals fan for the past 30yrs.

This has been discussed before. The Royals have had several power bats over the past few decades.

Bo Jackson, Tartabull, Gaetti, Dean Palmer, Jeff King, Sweeney, Beltran, and even Butler a few years ago.

Even The guys we have now, should be hitting for more power, but for some inexplicable reason they are not.

[stonedstooge]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

This has been discussed before. The Royals have had several power bats over the past few decades.

Bo Jackson, Tartabull, Gaetti, Dean Palmer, Jeff King, Sweeney, Beltran, and even Butler a few years ago.

Even The guys we have now, should be hitting for more power, but for some inexplicable reason they are not.

I still can't see how Hosmer is not hitting 400 foot line shots. He attacks the pitch as hard as any player I've ever seen.

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by KCwolf

Big Cat .... On your band wagon .... we have an upgrade for the moment @ 3rd ..... lets WIN some games and see what happens.... but Jeez have a little faith .... the whole AL is .500

Yep. Cain and Escobar are the only ones that I expect to take a small step back, but the other 7 guys should be taking huge steps foward the rest of the season on offense(including Valencia for Moose). They have grossly under performed on offense while the pitching has basically been what was expected and they are still 500. There is reason to be optimistic.

[SPATCH]

Originally Posted by BigCatDaddy

Yep. Cain and Escobar are the only ones that I expect to take a small step back, but the other 7 guys should be taking huge steps foward the rest of the season on offense(including Valencia for Moose). They have grossly under performed on offense while the pitching has basically been what was expected and they are still 500. There is reason to be optimistic.

Except that this is nearly the same offense as last season. And we finished in the bottom of the league in a lot of important offensive categories last season. Why should we believe that will change?

I guess Aoki, Infante, and Valencia can be better than Lough, Getz, and Moose. Hope that's enough.