Possibly goes top 10 but is a big, physical SP with ace potential. Moore and co. will be all over him if he slips a bit and could offer top 10 money at No. 16
OF Jarred Kelenic, Waukasha West HS, WI
Spoiler!
Kelenic is the top prep bat, toolsy OF. Royals would be ecstatic to have shot at him.
1B Triston Casas, American Heritage HS (FL).
Spoiler!
Tremendous raw power, best in HS bats. Royals typically like HS arms or HS bats with "special" tools. He qualifies.
RHP Carter Stewart, Eau de Gallie HS (Ga).
Spoiler!
Another big, physical specimen with huge upside. More likely to be available mid-first than Rocker.
ANY Any, Any (Any). Any current top projected pick who slides for injury concerns. Includes current top prospect prospect SP Brady Singer, U of Florida.
Current Prospects to Watch:
OF Seuly Matias - Huge tools. Hit 2 HR in Lexington (A) season opener.
1B Nick Pratto - Top pick in 17 has advanced approach and good glove; needs to start tapping into power in first full year in minors. Also at Lexington.
OF Michael Gigliotti - Good defender in CF, good OBP skills, plus baserunner. Next mainstay in CF for KC, IMO. Advanced college bat also starting at Lexington.
OF Khalil Lee - Probably has highest upside in Royals' system. Could hit 30 HR in majors, could steal 30 bases. Plus defensive ability in RF. Nice test at Wilmington this year.
3B Emmanuel Rivera - Really nice approach and good contact skills. Power is still developing. Also getting a good test at Wilmington.
SP Foster Griffin - Made nice strides in 2017. Needs to continue to progress in 2018. Could be a lefty version of Jakob Junis (good breaking ball that he can really manipulate, OK fastball, good command).
1B Samir Duenez - Duenez still is intriguing, hoping for a step forward in his power production this year at Northwest Arkansas, which would turn him into a legit prospect.
Others to keep an eye on:
SP Gerson Garabito (Wilmington), OF Marten Gasparini (Lexington), C MJ Melendez (Lexington), RP Tyler Zuber (lexington), RP Richard Lovelady (Omaha), SP Dan Tillo (Lexington), SS Nicky Lopez (NWA), SP Scott Blewett (NWA), OF Brewer Hicklen (Idaho Falls),
In general, Lexington and Wilmington are the most interesting spots to watch. Nice depth and a lot of interesting pieces at both. [Reply]
To me this feels like the Greinke trade. The Royals got assets that aren’t your prototypically attractive prospects, but instead of getting one prospect back, the Royals got several that could complement a full team rebuild. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chiefspants:
To me this feels like the Greinke trade. The Royals got assets that aren’t your prototypically attractive prospects, but instead of getting one prospect back, the Royals got several that could assist with a full team rebuild.
I could be wrong, but I seem to remember Cain, Escobar, and Jeffries (spelling?) being more highly regarded than these guys. [Reply]
The problem is, almost nothing in recent memory would suggest that the "scouts" deserve to be trusted. Oh well, I'm just a guy behind a computer screen. I hope they prove me wrong. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chiefspants:
To me this feels like the Greinke trade. The Royals got assets that aren’t your prototypically attractive prospects, but instead of getting one prospect back, the Royals got several that could assist with a full team rebuild.
It definitely feels like that.
Escobar was two years removed from being a top 50 prospect whose shine was off. Cain was seen as an old org/4th OF type. Jeffress was a reliever with a big arm. [Reply]
Originally Posted by OKchiefs:
I could be wrong, but I seem to remember Cain, Escobar, and Jeffries (spelling?) being more highly regarded than these guys.
They were, but Greinke was 2 years of a starting pitcher compared to three months of a reliever with Herrera.
The thing with Zack was that people expected "more". We didn't get a "can't miss" ace or a power-hitter, but pieces that all had concerns that prevented them from being top prospects.
Esky, while considered a defensive maestro (a welcome plus after a Yuni world), had concerns that his bat would never develop.
Cain was relatively old for a prospect, and while he was highly regarded by scouts for his tools, those tools hadn't translated to the field and many were concerned that he was too fragile for a full season.
Jeffress was a reliever that was one suspension from being banned from the MLB for life.
And Odo was very young, many issues could have happened in his development, and at the time he didn't have an out pitch.
These prospects were definitely more valuable than what we got back today, but many (analysts included) thought the Royals could have got back "more" for an ace like Greinke. We now know that the scouts found players who were pitch perfect for Kauffman (Fantastic speed, incredible defense, and contact hitters whose hits would more often fall with the K's spacious dimensions). This trade seems in line with what Moore looks for - and considering Soler's recent emergence (injury notwithstanding), I'll be at least hopeful that they can emerge in our system. [Reply]
Man...These all seem like guys that may make the majors but may only be backup/utility type of dudes.
Once again shit like this is why fucking up the draft will kill you, rebuilding your farm system with trades is essentially impossible now.
It's not a great trade it's marginal but it's what you can get when no one will move on high level prospects anymore...so this is what you get. A shitty team with a high payroll with a bunch of guys no one will give anything of value for.
Dayton Moore has really screwed the pooch with this farm system over the last 5 years. [Reply]
@jorgecastillo: From someone who's seen Yohanse Morel: Pretty good arm. Has touched 95 with a good slider. He's 17 and has appeared in one game in the Dominican Summer League. Years away. [Reply]
Again, I hope Moore has the balls to trade someone like Merrifield. As some have mentioned, we may be even worse off than when Moore took over. We don't have any Butlers, Gordons, Greinkes, etc. in our system. Teams like Detroit and Chicago have been able to trade off valuable pieces like Verlander, Eaton, Sale, etc. for good hauls in recent years. We simply don't have much of value to trade, and I doubt Moore has the cajones to deal with the fan backlash from trading a Perez or Merrifield. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mecca:
Man...These all seem like guys that may make the majors but may only be backup/utility type of dudes.
Once again shit like this is why ****ing up the draft will kill you, rebuilding your farm system with trades is essentially impossible now.
It's not a great trade it's marginal but it's what you can get when no one will move on high level prospects anymore...so this is what you get. A shitty team with a high payroll with a bunch of guys no one will give anything of value for.
Dayton Moore has really screwed the pooch with this farm system over the last 5 years.
2 WS Appearances and WS Title is hardly screwing the pooch. [Reply]
