It's the end of the world as we know it... and we feel... fine?
2018 is a season of transition for the Royals, or at least it is at this point. Dayton Moore is back. Will he swing full into THE PROCESS 2.0? Or will he try to load up again and make some reload magic happen?
Pending Free Agents:
1B | Eric Hosmer | San Diego Padres, 8 years, $144 million ($5 million signing bonus; $20 million/year in Yrs 1-5; $13 million/year in Yrs 6-8 wth player opt out)
Spoiler!
(DI's Guess: Texas Rangers, 6, $118 million)
3B | Mike Moustaskas | Kansas City Royas, 1, $6.5 million
Spoiler!
(DI's Guess: Los Angeles Angels, 5, $98 million)
CF | Lorenzo Cain | Milwaukee Brewers, 5 years, $80 million
Spoiler!
(DI's Guess: San Francisco Giants, 4, $68 million)
RP | Mike Minor | Texas Rangers, 3, $28 million
Spoiler!
(DI's Guess: Los Angeles Angels, 3, $35 million+ $12 million team option
SP | Jason Vargas | New York Mets, 2, $16 million
Spoiler!
(DI's Guess: Baltimore Orioles, 2, $29 million)
SS | Alcides Escobar | Kansas City Royals, 1, $2.5 million
In case I, picks would be #32, 33, and 34, if Alex Cobb of Rays signs for $50 million guaranteed.
Kansas City will likely have 5 of the top 40-45 picks in the draft, and the bonus pool money should rival that of the teams drafting 1-3 in the 2017 draft. This should give KC tremendous flexibility in acquiring talent that otherwise might slip or not be "signable."
2018 Draft Names to Watch
RHP Kumar Rocker, N Oconnee HS, Georgia.
Spoiler!
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. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chiefspants:
Ah, cool. Looks like they were waiting for the Pads to go official. That makes a heck of a lot more sense than my tinfoiling.
Smart for the Royals to take the high road. Hos got what he wanted, his money/contract. Royals rebuild.
The 2 WS appearances and the victory parade will be the Royals highlights for a generation. Happy to have been here for those. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Prison Bitch:
Yes. Sprinting max speed, 28.8 feet/sec, down from over 30 in 2015.
(Whit is now faster, ranking 24th.)
Alex is a joke, as expected. Ranks 291, sandwiched between known sloths Brandon's moss and Evan Longoria
Definition of losing a step, but he's still an excellent defender and perfect 4th OF type. He's also nice insurance for the brittle AJ Pollock. That's a great economy deal. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Bufkin:
What’s gonna make this year suck isn’t the fact that we may lose 100 games. It sucks that even the few rootable players we will have like Duffy and Merrifield aren’t completely safe to stick around the entire year.
I guess we can at least guarantee that Gordon and Escobar ain’t going anywhere at the deadline. :-)
Losing 90+ games while watching Escobar do his best Neifi Perez impersonation may not be fun to watch. I don't get the whole Esobar thing. Mondesi-Whit seems obvious. [Reply]
Originally Posted by FringeNC:
Losing 90+ games while watching Escobar do his best Neifi Perez impersonation may not be fun to watch. I don't get the whole Esobar thing. Mondesi-Whit seems obvious.
I think if Mondesi didn't look so overmatched last year it's an easy call. I have high hopes for him but you can't run him out there every day if he's struggling to hit .100 either. Posted via Mobile Device [Reply]
