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.

[Jerm]

I wonder if the Yanks or Cards would give us some crazy deal for Shields...I'd def be listening on him.

[Hootie]

Cards are too smart. Yankees? Well they probably have nothing to give us.

But so uhm yeah! If the Cards wanna give us Taveras for Shields and Holland...cool. Deal. Yesterday.

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by Al Bundy

Alex Gordon was fuming after the game. He questioned his team’s lack of intensity and energy. “We need to look in the mirror,” he said.

— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) July 20, 2014

I'm super glad he was mad. I've said it with both the Chiefs and the Royals, somebody has to be the outwardly emotional leader. Nether team has their "Ray Lewis", they just take losses WAAAAY too in stride. And occasionally it needs to be public, it's a sport, it has fans, if there's only yelling going on behind the scenes, well then it's either not helping or not happening.

And the fatty needs to be either called-out in public or NOT CALLED to be in the dugout with the team (much less play). I know he feels picked on, but he's the one player with ONE JOB, and like it's been for the last couple of years, he's a joke to the other team - not a threat in the least.

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by tk13

That's not homerism or optimism. It's 3.5 games. That's one good week of baseball. They had a hot week or two about a month ago and were in 1st place. If someone gives you a Samardzija type deal maybe you listen about Shields. I'm not sure that'll happen though. Trading Gordon or Hosmer or anyone else is crazy. It's basically throwing in the towel during a 4-5 football season when you're one game out of a WC spot.

Last year after 97 games this team was 5 games under, and 9 games out of a WC spot. This year they're 3.5 and there are less teams to hop... Toronto's come back to earth, the Yankees are missing two of their best pitchers, we still have several games against Cleveland and Seattle has to battle Oakland/Anaheim. Dayton should be out there trying to wheel and deal for help to overtake these teams. His job should depend on it.

That's a good rational take. But I would certainly shop the Fatty while allowing another player to DH. At this point he's a liability to let play. And no, he WON'T come around...

[Hootie]

shop him? What are we going to get for the "least valuable player in the AL?"

Nothing. He has zero trade value. We could eat the rest of his salary and trade him for a non-prospect but what's the point?

Just DFA the mother ****er and be done with it.

[ChiefsCountry]

Go get Carlos Quentin and Ian Kennedy from the Padres.

[Hootie]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

Go get Carlos Quentin and Ian Kennedy from the Padres.

and then trade Shields

[Why Not?]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

Go get Carlos Quentin and Ian Kennedy from the Padres.

For whom? That would cost a nice prospect grab.

[Anyong Bluth]

Originally Posted by Hootie 2.0

shop him? What are we going to get for the "least valuable player in the AL?"

Nothing. He has zero trade value. We could eat the rest of his salary and trade him for a non-prospect but what's the point?

Just DFA the mother ****er and be done with it.

Hell, a couple of high risk high reward lowball guys would be fine with me. A couple of guys with holes but show signs of being mashers is a-ok with me to take a flyer on.

[Sure-Oz]

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt...cle771525.html

Good article...should put on some heat. Someone paste I'm mobile

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt...cle771525.html

Good article...should put on some heat. Someone paste I'm mobile

Hope is not a plan. Belief is not a right. Patience went out years ago. You want to talk about the problems with the Royals? That’s a good place to start.

So is this:

They regularly shrink as the moment grows.

As much as anything, that is the mark of these Royals. They laid down with four hits and no fight in a rare game that even the same-day-everyday baseball establishment recognized as important in Boston on Sunday, opening the most important second half of Royals baseball in a generation with a sweep that alternated between infuriating and incompetent.

When the Royals do this — and, basically, they do it every time expectations raise even a smidge — they expose all their other flaws in gruesome detail. They stink with the bats, haven’t developed nearly enough hitting, and are less than three months from losing the ace they mortgaged part of their future for to free-agency.

Remember when they surged into first place by winning that series in Detroit that we all thought was important at the time? The Royals are 9-17 since then, now in third place, below .500, and closer to last than first.

The Royals always seem to do this, don’t they? Grab just enough of your attention, and then scatter. For the last few years, the Royals have regularly played their worst when the attention is the heaviest.

It is often said of good teams and good players that the brighter the lights shine, the better they play.

For these Royals, the brighter the lights shine, the more their flaws are exposed.

This could be a column pointing out that Ned Yost torpedoed a game with a brain-dead pitching change on Friday, the kind of failed leadership the Royals just can’t afford. This could be a column pointing out that Dayton Moore has had more time in charge of the Royals than the constitution allows presidents in the White House, all without a postseason while the team that just passed them in the standings is on its second successful rebuild in that time.

This could be a column pointing out that it’s always about the players, good or bad, and too many of them are content and pampered and have been celebrated beyond their achievements.

Actually, each of those three specific columns may be written very soon. But right now, really, this is on all of them.

The Royals are dropping an opportunity eight years in the making with a combination of weak hitting, bad decisions and an inability to justify the trouble. They seem to wait until the stakes are just high enough to let you down.

They are the worst kind of hometown team: too slow in developing, too quick to claim victory, not good enough to be more than hope and not bad enough to completely forget.

Because, sure. The Royals could turn the season. They could win 10 in a row the way they did last month or they could win 17 of 20 the way they did this time last year. Eric Hosmer could keep up this form, Billy Butler could regain his, and there is enough talent on the roster to come up with a realistic way for the Royals to end the longest playoff drought in North American sports.

But to do that, aside from a long list of lucky breaks, the Royals would have to break their habit of charring under the spotlight.

There is no reason to believe they’ll do that. No reason to expect it. Some Royals players and others in the organization are reading these words. You can put these men into one of two groups: those self-aware enough to understand this is all true, and those with enough delusion and arrogance to think it’s not.

This team should be better. By now, this should be a winner, not a team trying to win. Three years ago, in 2011, the joke among scouts in spring training was that the best team anyone saw was the 2014 Royals. The coming success was so locked that a Back to the Future-style article in Sports Illustrated talked about the playoffs in 2013 and the world championship in 2015.

The 2014 Royals are now seven games behind the Tigers, 3 1/2 behind the Mariners for the second wild card, and, barring a break from character, 65 games from becoming the first franchise in more than 20 years to not make the playoffs within four seasons of being chosen baseball’s best farm system by Baseball America.

It is impossible to single out one problem for all of this, of course. The slow development of top-shelf prospects like Mike Moustakas and Hosmer get most of the attention. Christian Colon over Chris Sale still keeps some in the organization up at night. Danny Duffy and Yordano Ventura are the first smell of good homegrown starting pitchers. We could go on.

But they are also developing quite the reputation for an inability to perform under any modicum of expectation. They are too often at their worst when it matters most.

They have baseball’s worst record in one-run games despite a lockdown bullpen, and — whether it’s the season opener, gagging in front of big home crowds, the 9-17 nosedive since the 10-game win streak, losing three of four to the Tigers going into the break or being swept out of Boston out of the break — seem to find the precise wrong moment to go soft.

On Sunday, the Royals hit one more low. Alex Gordon said the players needed to look in the mirror. Yost called a closed-door meeting. The Royals have fired the hitting coach, juggled the lineup, demoted a should-be slugger and heard the manager admit that the players need to grow up.

It’s all led here, to a team that wipes out good streaks with bad, and good pitching with weak hitting. They have scored one more run than they’ve allowed, and lost one more game than they’ve won. They are, in other words, a near-perfect picture of mediocrity.

Actually, so far, they’ve shown mediocrity is where they’re most comfortable.

Here ya go boss

[Kidd Lex]

Best article Sam has ever scribed.

[KCUnited]

If we hadn't of had that 9-17 stretch, our record would've been good enough for a wildcard spot. /March 2015

[ChiTown]

They lose this series with the Pale Hose and we are done. I don't give a **** how many games back we are of the last WC spot, this Team will fold and go away until they are 8-10 back of the WC SPOT. Then, they will make a mad dash in the last 30 days of the season just to finish slightly above .500

Rinse, repeat, stuck in neutral, slit your wrist, full of hope in the Spring of '15. FML

[Archie F. Swin]

"For these Royals, the brighter the lights shine, the more their flaws are exposed." canon scripture