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.

[DeepSouth]

Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat

(to spend the Fourth of July with his family)

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) July 2, 2014

Does that mean Ibanez will be playing left field Friday evening?

[siberian khatru]

Originally Posted by DeepSouth

Does that mean Ibanez will be playing left field Friday evening?

HIDE YO KIDS, HIDE YO WIFE

[C3HIEF3S]

Originally Posted by AndChiefs

Nah, he went 0/4 with a walk today. We can't put up with that kind of uselessness.

He's a streaky player, two weeks ago he was the hottest player on the team. I bet in 2 weeks he will be again.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

They have about $75 million committed in salary due to bumps in contracts and bumps in arbitration... so if they're staying at the same payroll, probably not as much cash as you might think.

This exact point has to be made multiple times each year since people don't understand how payrolls work.

[KevB]

Cole Manbeck ‏@Cole_Manbeck 1m
Billy Butler has a .338 slugging % over his last 425 at bats. Only 2 qualified hitters in the American League had a lower slugging % in 2013

Yikes

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by KevB

Cole Manbeck ‏@Cole_Manbeck 1m
Billy Butler has a .338 slugging % over his last 425 at bats. Only 2 qualified hitters in the American League had a lower slugging % in 2013

Yikes

With country fat-ass OPSing under .700 it's time to consider a platoon at DH with Raul. While fattys split is identical this year, it's .903 vs .780 career so clearly he hits LH better. Raul is .826 vs .730 so it makes all the sense in the world.

Of course he would throw a tantrum so management may be too afraid to make a move on him. Our inmates do run our asylum, however even Moose finally had to face reality.

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by KevB

Cole Manbeck ‏@Cole_Manbeck 1m
Billy Butler has a .338 slugging % over his last 425 at bats. Only 2 qualified hitters in the American League had a lower slugging % in 2013

Yikes

Billy's last year as a Royal?

[Prison Bitch]

I'd say probably, given the GM tried to trade him each of the past 2 years.

[Three7s]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

I'd say probably, given the GM tried to trade him each of the past 2 years.

Because he knows he has zero power.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

Billy's last year as a Royal?

Billy Butler would have to go through a legendary tear for the ages over the last 3 months for the Royals to pick up that huge option.

edit: and I predict that a bunch of dumb casual fans who aren't paying attention will howl in protest and say we're being cheap after the Royals cut him.

[DeepSouth]

Originally Posted by alnorth

Billy Butler would have to go through a legendary tear for the ages over the last 3 months for the Royals to pick up that huge option.

edit: and I predict that a bunch of dumb casual fans who aren't paying attention will howl in protest and say we're being cheap after the Royals cut him.

Duncan insinuated that Dozier might make it to KC next year. If that's the case, they'd be replacing a left handed bat (Moose) with a right handed bat (Dozier). To offset that, they would replace a right handed bat (Butler) with a left handed bat (Ibanez). That whole lefty/righty thing would even out.

This is all assuming Dozier makes it to KC and Ibanez can still play at 42/43. He would still be faster on the bases than Butler and can play the OF and 1st.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

Billy's last year as a Royal?

See below

Originally Posted by alnorth

Billy Butler would have to go through a legendary tear for the ages over the last 3 months for the Royals to pick up that huge option.

edit: and I predict that a bunch of dumb casual fans who aren't paying attention will howl in protest and say we're being cheap after the Royals cut him.

No doubt on all points. He'd need to hit 20 HR in the second half to even have a CHANCE to have it picked up, and even then I don't know that I'd trust him to keep it going.

Originally Posted by DeepSouth

Duncan insinuated that Dozier might make it to KC next year. If that's the case, they'd be replacing a left handed bat (Moose) with a right handed bat (Dozier). To offset that, they would replace a right handed bat (Butler) with a left handed bat (Ibanez). That whole lefty/righty thing would even out.

This is all assuming Dozier makes it to KC and Ibanez can still play at 42/43. He would still be faster on the bases than Butler and can play the OF and 1st.

I doubt Ibanez is in their long-term plans at DH, and I doubt they plan to bring in another full-time DH. I'd expect that position/that cash to be used to rest players and perhaps bring in a RF that would break the bank.

Someone like Marlon Byrd would be a great, low-cost option to slide between DH and RF.

Sal Perez gets 45-50 games as the DH next year. The 110 would be up for grabs. Someone like Byrd could grab about 1/2 of the remaining DH starts, with the rest being used for every day players.

Dozier fits in if Moustakas continues to suck. I could see him being a June call-up if Moustakas is again terrible.

If Moustakas starts hitting, I imagine the plan would be to use Moustakas at DH some once Dozier makes the big club.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by DeepSouth

Duncan insinuated that Dozier might make it to KC next year. If that's the case, they'd be replacing a left handed bat (Moose) with a right handed bat (Dozier). To offset that, they would replace a right handed bat (Butler) with a left handed bat (Ibanez). That whole lefty/righty thing would even out.

This is all assuming Dozier makes it to KC and Ibanez can still play at 42/43. He would still be faster on the bases than Butler and can play the OF and 1st.

I'd rather not have a full-time DH. Sure, maybe we can have a good bat off the bench who DH's a lot, but we should be embracing this new trend in the AL, where you use that spot to give guys a half-day off. It would also let us bat Salvy a lot of games.

A full-time DH only makes sense when you have an intimidating beast of a hitter who can't play the field. A few years ago we thought Butler might become that, but he didn't.

[alnorth]

The big debate today on the other board is whether or not the Royals should fly a flag if they get a wild card but don't win the ALCS. Uhhh... yeah, lets get there first. I'm not even sure if we're making the playoffs at all yet.

(for the record, the correct answer is no. Flags are for Division, League, or World Championships)

[DeepSouth]

Originally Posted by alnorth

A full-time DH only makes sense when you have an intimidating beast of a hitter

Where's Hal MCrae when you need him?