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]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kaito Yuki is headed to the Kansas City Royals organization instead of attending high school in Japan.
The team signed Yuki, a 16-year-old pitcher, out of junior high to a minor league contract Sunday. He is thought to be the first Japanese junior high school player to sign with a major league club.
"I wanted to play in the United States as soon as possible, rather than playing high school ball at Koshien Stadium (in Japan's iconic national championship)," Yuki said in statement issued by the Royals.
Yuki is listed at 6-foot-2, 170 pounds and his fastball has been clocked at 87-88 mph. He was born on May 12, 2002.
"My goal is to do well in the majors. Not everybody is given that chance, so I want to do my best," he said at a news conference in his hometown of Osaka.
Yuki has been studying English before his move to the United States. The Royals are optimistic that after paperwork is completed, he will arrive in August at the team's spring training complex in Surprise, Arizona, to begin familiarizing himself with the local culture and language.
He would participate in the Royals' fall instructional league in September and October, with the objective of making his professional debut in the minors next year.
"The first thing is for him to be patient and build up his body, and then if he stays on course, in five years get an invite to major league spring training," said Hiroyuki Oya, a Royals international scout.
Yuki has been compared to Chicago Cubs pitcher Yu Darvish, who grew up in the same city.
"I'm anxious, but I am more excited now," Yuki said at his news conference in Japan.
He garnered the attention of scouts last year while representing Japan in a youth tournament in the United States.
"We are excited to add Kaito Yuki to our organization," said Rene Francisco, Royals vice president and assistant general manager of major league and international operations. "We are very much looking forward to seeing him get started in professional baseball next year. I'd like to thank and congratulate our Pacific Rim coordinator Phil Dale and our scout in Japan, Hiro Oya, for the tremendous work in identifying and signing this young man."
Yuki is also believed to be the youngest player from Japan to sign with a big league team.
"He's not even in high school," Francisco said. "He and his family chose to sign with Kansas City instead of going the normal route Japanese players take. It's pretty amazing what this kid is doing. Credit to Phil and Hiro."
The Royals have had four Japanese players: pitchers Hideo Nomo, Mac Suzuki and Yasubiko Yubuta, and outfielder Nori Aoki.
Aoki, acquired in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, was the most recent. He was a starter on the 2014 team that won the American League pennant and lost to the San Francisco Giants in the World Series. [Reply]
@ClintScoles: Payroll is going to be low enough when Whit gets expensive that you don't trade him without getting an excellent haul back. A return similar to the Herrera deal will not do. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Sure-Oz:
@ClintScoles: Payroll is going to be low enough when Whit gets expensive that you don't trade him without getting an excellent haul back. A return similar to the Herrera deal will not do.
The only hesitation for keeping Whit is that he could be a roadblock for Nick Lopez. Unless, you play Whit in CF? But then, where would Bubba Starling play?
The good thing about Whit being under control for so long, and he's inexpensive for several years, is they do not have to trade him now. They could wait for the off season. [Reply]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kaito Yuki is headed to the Kansas City Royals organization instead of attending high school in Japan.
The team signed Yuki, a 16-year-old pitcher, out of junior high to a minor league contract Sunday. He is thought to be the first Japanese junior high school player to sign with a major league club.
"I wanted to play in the United States as soon as possible, rather than playing high school ball at Koshien Stadium (in Japan's iconic national championship)," Yuki said in statement issued by the Royals.
Yuki is listed at 6-foot-2, 170 pounds and his fastball has been clocked at 87-88 mph. He was born on May 12, 2002.
"My goal is to do well in the majors. Not everybody is given that chance, so I want to do my best," he said at a news conference in his hometown of Osaka.
Yuki has been studying English before his move to the United States. The Royals are optimistic that after paperwork is completed, he will arrive in August at the team's spring training complex in Surprise, Arizona, to begin familiarizing himself with the local culture and language.
He would participate in the Royals' fall instructional league in September and October, with the objective of making his professional debut in the minors next year.
"The first thing is for him to be patient and build up his body, and then if he stays on course, in five years get an invite to major league spring training," said Hiroyuki Oya, a Royals international scout.
Yuki has been compared to Chicago Cubs pitcher Yu Darvish, who grew up in the same city.
"I'm anxious, but I am more excited now," Yuki said at his news conference in Japan.
He garnered the attention of scouts last year while representing Japan in a youth tournament in the United States.
"We are excited to add Kaito Yuki to our organization," said Rene Francisco, Royals vice president and assistant general manager of major league and international operations. "We are very much looking forward to seeing him get started in professional baseball next year. I'd like to thank and congratulate our Pacific Rim coordinator Phil Dale and our scout in Japan, Hiro Oya, for the tremendous work in identifying and signing this young man."
Yuki is also believed to be the youngest player from Japan to sign with a big league team.
"He's not even in high school," Francisco said. "He and his family chose to sign with Kansas City instead of going the normal route Japanese players take. It's pretty amazing what this kid is doing. Credit to Phil and Hiro."
The Royals have had four Japanese players: pitchers Hideo Nomo, Mac Suzuki and Yasubiko Yubuta, and outfielder Nori Aoki.
Aoki, acquired in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, was the most recent. He was a starter on the 2014 team that won the American League pennant and lost to the San Francisco Giants in the World Series.
The article wasn't on the previous pages, but there was a discussion from yesterday. Basically, this was a sneaky signing and it's being reported quite a bit in non-KC markets due to the kid's age and the Darvish comparisons. I just saw that the signing made the drudge report as well. We signed Gasperini when he was like 9 (I kid), so it's not like the age-thing is earth shattering. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Sure-Oz:
@ClintScoles: Payroll is going to be low enough when Whit gets expensive that you don't trade him without getting an excellent haul back. A return similar to the Herrera deal will not do.
I'm willing to move Whit because he'll be 30 in January.
He makes this team a better team now, but I'm not convinced playing him 150 games a year will make us better when he's 32. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Sure-Oz:
@ClintScoles: Payroll is going to be low enough when Whit gets expensive that you don't trade him without getting an excellent haul back. A return similar to the Herrera deal will not do.
Anyone who is thinking about giving Whit Merrifield an expensive contract when he's like 33 is a moron and shouldn't be commenting. [Reply]