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.

[Don Corlemahomes]

That said, i would like to see what it would take to get a guy like Luis Valbuena from the cubs. 17 doubles and opsing .859, plays 2b and 3b, cheap, and wouldn't pry away too much in the way of prospects.

[alnorth]

The #Astros are tied w\ the #Athletics in MiLB walks at 1112. Been drafting for OBP. Last place is #Royals at 780 pic.twitter.com/raemP0UXVV

— Daren Willman (@darenw) June 13, 2014

"OBP? I don't get this newfangled obsession over walks by Sabr nerds!"

/royals

[Three7s]

Originally Posted by alnorth

The #Astros are tied w\ the #Athletics in MiLB walks at 1112. Been drafting for OBP. Last place is #Royals at 780 pic.twitter.com/raemP0UXVV

— Daren Willman (@darenw) June 13, 2014

"OBP? I don't get this newfangled obsession over walks by Sabr nerds!"

/royals

I looked at our minor leaguers last night. All of our "prospects" are pretty awful, other than maybe Hunter Dozier. That Sean Manea that everyone was jazzing about has a 5+ ERA. Not to mention, he's walking the house according to the numbers.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by Three7s

I looked at our minor leaguers last night. All of our "prospects" are pretty awful, other than maybe Hunter Dozier. That Sean Manea that everyone was jazzing about has a 5+ ERA. Not to mention, he's walking the house according to the numbers.

You do realize that Manea is on a very short pitch count right?

[Three7s]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

You do realize that Manea is on a very short pitch count right?

Yeah, and?

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Three7s

I looked at our minor leaguers last night. All of our "prospects" are pretty awful, other than maybe Hunter Dozier. That Sean Manea that everyone was jazzing about has a 5+ ERA. Not to mention, he's walking the house according to the numbers.

You can't base everything off of statistical performance, as it doesn't take into account their age for the level, scouting reports, development schedule, etc. You're working with unfinished products in a lot of cases, especially at the low minors. A lot of pitchers have their bread and butter second pitch taken away from them at A+ by the Royals, to work on developing additional pitches.

Manaea's scouting reports have been universally glowing. Everyone who has seen him in person has walked away from the experience gushing about him. His biggest issues right now are building up his arm strength and endurance (he didn't throw from July on last year after having hip surgery) and developing his changeup. His strikeout numbers are off the charts... walks are high, but when a guy is working to develop a pitch, you're going to see some of that. He's also been working on strict pitch counts for games and for innings, so there have been several times he didn't get an opportunity to pitch out of trouble.

Almonte, also at A+, is in the same boat to a certain degree. He's working on developing a breaking pitch to complement his excellent fastball/changeup combo, and his numbers have suffered a little.

Last guy at Wilmington whose numbers don't tell the story is RA Mondesi. He was dominating until missing a few weeks due to back spasms. Looks like that was bothering him both before he sat down and still a bit when he got back, too. He's also an 18 year old playing against guys 4-5 years older than him, on average.

Bonifacio and Cuthbert have been mildly disappointing at Northwest Arkansas (Boni probably more so out of those two). That's the level where you really want to see hitters start producing. Cuthbert is still showing strong OBP skills... just hasn't hit with the authority you want from a corner guy. Still... power develops with age. OBP skills like that usually don't.

Orlando Calixte and Christian Binford are far exceeding expectations so far. Calixte, whom I've been high on for 2-3 years, is an intriguing bat and probably the closest bat to helping in the major leagues.

Binford is a guy who, if you looked at just his stats, you would expect is a future ace of the staff... but bring in his scouting report, and he becomes more of a middle-back-end rotation guy. Kind of shows the other end of the spectrum when 'scouting' from numbers alone.

[duncan_idaho]

BTW, will update my top 15 and maybe stretch it to a top 20 by the All-Star break. It looks like Blewett is a lock to sign, as well as Finnegan, but I'll wait to make sure.

Brandon Downes is the only really intriguing signability guy. I imagine they'll give him enough that he won't return to VA for his senior year, but I'd probably slot him in the Royals top 20 (I think the guy can hit, and just had a small sample size-driven off year).

[C3HIEF3S]

Great piece from Rany.
http://www.ranyontheroyals.com/2014/06/turnaround.html

[Three7s]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

You can't base everything off of statistical performance, as it doesn't take into account their age for the level, scouting reports, development schedule, etc. You're working with unfinished products in a lot of cases, especially at the low minors. A lot of pitchers have their bread and butter second pitch taken away from them at A+ by the Royals, to work on developing additional pitches.

Manaea's scouting reports have been universally glowing. Everyone who has seen him in person has walked away from the experience gushing about him. His biggest issues right now are building up his arm strength and endurance (he didn't throw from July on last year after having hip surgery) and developing his changeup. His strikeout numbers are off the charts... walks are high, but when a guy is working to develop a pitch, you're going to see some of that. He's also been working on strict pitch counts for games and for innings, so there have been several times he didn't get an opportunity to pitch out of trouble.

Almonte, also at A+, is in the same boat to a certain degree. He's working on developing a breaking pitch to complement his excellent fastball/slider combo, and his numbers have suffered a little.

Last guy at Wilmington whose numbers don't tell the story is RA Mondesi. He was dominating until missing a few weeks due to back spasms. Looks like that was bothering him both before he sat down and still a bit when he got back, too. He's also an 18 year old playing against guys 4-5 years older than him, on average.

Bonifacio and Cuthbert have been mildly disappointing at Northwest Arkansas (Boni probably more so out of those two). That's the level where you really want to see hitters start producing. Cuthbert is still showing strong OBP skills... just hasn't hit with the authority you want from a corner guy. Still... power develops with age. OBP skills like that usually don't.

Orlando Calixte and Christian Binford are far exceeding expectations so far. Calixte, whom I've been high on for 2-3 years, is an intriguing bat and probably the closest bat to helping in the major leagues.

Binford is a guy who, if you looked at just his stats, you would expect is a future ace of the staff... but bring in his scouting report, and he becomes more of a middle-back-end rotation guy. Kind of shows the other end of the spectrum when 'scouting' from numbers alone.

Thanks for the info!

The thing that scared me the most about the bats in the minors is lack of balance. Guys that had decent homer totals hit .260 or less. Guys with 300+ averages had zilch in the power department. Are we still teaching guys how to be slap hitters?

[KChiefs1]

http://kingsofkauffman.com/2014/06/0...m-danny-duffy/

Good read on Duffy since he pitches today:

Since coming back to the majors this season, Danny Duffy has appeared to be a different pitcher. He has been more in command, not just with his pitching, but on the mound as well. Even when things are not going right on the mound, Duffy has not let his emotions get the best of him as he had in the past.

Duffy has even had his moments of pure dominance, such as his performance on June 2nd, when he allowed only one hit and one walk while striking out five over six innings against the St. Louis Cardinals. The dominance has extended through the first two times he has faced a lineup this season, as Duffy has given up a combined .163/.262/.293 batting line the first two times he has faced a lineup as a starter heading into last night’s action. However, when facing a lineup for the third time, Duffy becomes far more mortal, getting hit for a .320/.393/.520 batting line facing a lineup for the third time.

Danny Duffy’s early dominance and later struggles both continued last night against the New York Yankees. Though the first two times through the batting order, Duffy only allowed two hits and two walks, as he pitched five shutout innings. However, the third time through the lineup saw the Yankees get three hits and a walk, accounting for three runs, as Duffy recorded only two outs. Yes, there was a bit of bad luck as Lorenzo Cain‘s dive came up just short on Yangervis Solarte‘s sinking line drive that fell in for a two run single, yet Duffy has continued to struggle the third time through the lineup.

Perhaps the biggest issue with Duffy is that he has essentially been a two pitch pitcher, relying heavily on his fastball and curve. While he does occasionally throw a changeup, that pitch has been mainly for show to plant the thought in the hitter’s mind. In fact, the fastball and curve has accounted for almost 83% of the pitches that Duffy has thrown this year, according to Fangraphs.

While being a two pitch pitcher can be effective as a reliever, or even the first couple of times through a lineup, yet that effectiveness is likely to wane as a pitcher gets deeper into a game. Typically, a starting pitcher needs three pitches that he can throw at almost any time in order to be able to keep major league hitters off balance. With Duffy, batters go into the batter’s box that third time having seen what he has to offer. Without that third pitch being a threat, they can focus on looking for one pitch and doing damage that way.

Perhaps with time, Danny Duffy can develop his changeup to the point where he has more confidence with it. Instead of using it as a throw away pitch and to give the hitter something to think about, perhaps Duffy will be able to refine the change to the point where he can use it to attack. Having that pitch as a better option could be the final piece to the puzzle for Duffy.

For the most part, Danny Duffy has been quite good this season. Once he is able to figure out a way to handle a lineup deeper in the game, he could turn into that top of the rotation starter the Royals envisioned he would become.

[alnorth]

This has been a really funny season so far.

The Dodgers, who everyone thought would annihilate the NL West, are 7.5 games back and barely have a winning record. The Rays are the worst team in baseball. The Astros aren't too terrible, the Blue Jays look good, Milwaukee is the 2nd-best team in the NL, the Red Sox are 8 games back, and... the Tigers have been falling apart, but only after they first looked like world-beaters for 2 months before the debt that is their horrific bullpen and gaping hole at SS finally came due.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Strange season indeed, al. I've witnessed some strange things, but this week, I was at the game where we scored on 4 SF's. I'm going to continue to sell this team short. They don't have the brains to make it the post season.

[Ceej]

EDIT - I should learn to read.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by alnorth

This has been a really funny season so far.

The Dodgers, who everyone thought would annihilate the NL West, are 7.5 games back and barely have a winning record. The Rays are the worst team in baseball. The Astros aren't too terrible, the Blue Jays look good, Milwaukee is the 2nd-best team in the NL, the Red Sox are 8 games back, and... the Tigers have been falling apart, but only after they first looked like world-beaters for 2 months before the debt that is their horrific bullpen and gaping hole at SS finally came due.

This Tigers team looks a lot more like what I thought it would than their early season showings.

Didn't expect Verlander to be this mortal (he might have honestly fallen off the same cliff Tim Lincecum did), but other than that, the Tigers are - overall - about what I expected at the start of the year.

They're vulenerable.

[Bowser]

The AL Central is wide open for any of these teams. I can't remember many years where someone could make that statement and have it be true.

The team that winds up winning the AL Central will likely get worked over in the playoffs.