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]
Originally Posted by tk13:
It occurred to me that the Padres are playing at the Brewers tonight. Hosmer, Moose and Cain all on the same field again.
Yep. I was following that game earlier. Moose had a good night. Would have been cool for Hos to go deep as well but I'm not sure he does that anymore. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Deberg_1990:
Cant any manager do that though?
If you want to appreciate Ned Yost, go take a look at the Nationals results from 2013-2018.
They were perinalliy picked to win it all (especially in 2015) and almost always had clubhouse dysfunction derail them either in or before the playoffs.
Even this year, it’s been reported that several of the players aren’t on speaking terms.
Clubhouse chemistry matters, so much so that even all numbers Billy Beane made that a priority with his last rebuild - and Ned is the flat out master at managing personalities.
Also, the fact that Ned outmanaged all of his opposing managers in the 2015 postseason prove that not everyone can do it (Terry Collins made Ned look like Tesla).
It'd seem easy, but it definitely isn't. Look at Buck Showalter. If you polled baseball fans, 100 out of 100 probably would take him over Ned. He's considered one of the greatest tactical managers around. But Ned absolutely evolved during those playoff runs. He learned to be less stubborn and be more aggressive and it made a huge difference. Buck Showalter refused to use the reliever who had the greatest relief pitching season in history in extra innings of an elimination game. Ned actually has more playoff wins and whipped him head to head. [Reply]
A friend of mine notes that, with Sunday’s loss, the Royals have a losing record since the beginning of the 2014 season, a span that includes two pennant winners. That’s how bad this season has been. It’s completely offset the 2014-15 team’s success.
As Kurtis explained in a response the Braves lost theirs at the beginning of that run (which included the #1 overall pick that netted them Chipper Jones.) [Reply]
A friend of mine notes that, with Sunday’s loss, the Royals have a losing record since the beginning of the 2014 season, a span that includes two pennant winners. That’s how bad this season has been. It’s completely offset the 2014-15 team’s success.
As Kurtis explained in a response the Braves lost theirs at the beginning of that run (which included the #1 overall pick that netted them Chipper Jones.)
I’ll take a Chipper Jones with the first pick please. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mecca:
What's funny is Chipper Jones was a signability pick.
He wasn't so much a signability pick as Van Poppel was just considered the best in the draft but fell because he was a prick about signing. Jones was still considered one of the top 5 guys. That story has more to do with Van Poppel than Jones. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Prison Bitch:
People shouldn't be going to the games
DM needs a message sent about Alshittys and Hammel and Butera and more
Play younger guys fine. But not MLB worst, who are aging vets
Yep. I get that you want/need vets on the Team to help aid the progression of the younger guys. But, those 3? JC, why? Alcides shouldn't play another game in a Royals uni. .202/.253/.273 slash :-) [Reply]
My good pal Steve is a huge baseball fan in Chicago. He sent me this blurb from a baseball writer he follows named Joe Sheehan. Interesting to get an outside perspective on the state of the Royals organization:
"Kansas City Royals (27): I really liked the Mike Moustakas trade. For two months of a decent player (there’s a mutual option for $14 million marginal that the Royals were never picking up), the Royals got the kinds of gambles they are free to take right now. Brett Phillips was swamped by the Brewers’ flood of outfielders from outside the organization. He’s a plus defensive outfielder with what will be one of the best arms in the game. The bat...he’ll never hit for average, but he could be a low-average contributor. He’s not shaped like Rob Deer, but that’s the kind of player he could be, a .230 hitter who is still a very good player because he does everything else.
Jorge Lopez was a rated prospect two years ago. Since then, he has a 6.63 ERA in 111 innings at Triple-A, and hasn’t been all that effective in a couple of stints at Double-A, either. Like Phillips, he’s a post-hype sleeper with six years of control left who can be paid the minimum or a tick above for the next four years. It’s not that Phillips and Lopez will be here when the Royals are ready to win; it’s that they could build value and be traded for players who will.
I’d be happier about the deal had Dayton Moore not chosen to speak in its wake. From the Kansas City Star. “We didn’t want to do a prospect-type deal in this case, because of the nature of where we are at the major-league level and what we’re trying to accomplish.”
The Royals are 34-78, and have been outscored by almost two runs a game. They have scored the fewest runs in baseball and they have allowed the most runs in baseball. What in the world is Dayton Moore talking about? “Where we are at the major-league level” is having the worst team in baseball. It’s not like it’s a young 34-78, either. Adalberto Mondesi is 22, but somehow he can’t get on the field because the Royals are still playing 31-year-old millstone Alcides Escobar. Phillips, 24, becomes the second-youngest Royals position player this year. The farm system is terrible. The team isn’t going to spend to bring in superstars.
I circle back to what I said three years ago. If you want to go all RINGZZ!! with Dayton Moore, that’s fine. But when you look at his actual decisions, it’s basically the Zack Greinke trade eight years ago (a huge win), and then signing every low-OBP slugger who was willing to play for cheap. If the Royals won the Wil Myers trade, it was after spending 16 months trying Wade Davis as a starter when even on the day they traded for him he looked like a reliever. I don’t think Dayton Moore is a good GM, even with the jewelry, and my evidence is his own words, his own thinking, his own transactions. The Royals are going to wander until he’s let go." [Reply]
Originally Posted by gblowfish:
My good pal Steve is a huge baseball fan in Chicago. He sent me this blurb from a baseball writer he follows named Joe Sheehan. Interesting to get an outside perspective on the state of the Royals organization:
"Kansas City Royals (27): I really liked the Mike Moustakas trade. For two months of a decent player (there’s a mutual option for $14 million marginal that the Royals were never picking up), the Royals got the kinds of gambles they are free to take right now. Brett Phillips was swamped by the Brewers’ flood of outfielders from outside the organization. He’s a plus defensive outfielder with what will be one of the best arms in the game. The bat...he’ll never hit for average, but he could be a low-average contributor. He’s not shaped like Rob Deer, but that’s the kind of player he could be, a .230 hitter who is still a very good player because he does everything else.
Jorge Lopez was a rated prospect two years ago. Since then, he has a 6.63 ERA in 111 innings at Triple-A, and hasn’t been all that effective in a couple of stints at Double-A, either. Like Phillips, he’s a post-hype sleeper with six years of control left who can be paid the minimum or a tick above for the next four years. It’s not that Phillips and Lopez will be here when the Royals are ready to win; it’s that they could build value and be traded for players who will.
I’d be happier about the deal had Dayton Moore not chosen to speak in its wake. From the Kansas City Star. “We didn’t want to do a prospect-type deal in this case, because of the nature of where we are at the major-league level and what we’re trying to accomplish.”
The Royals are 34-78, and have been outscored by almost two runs a game. They have scored the fewest runs in baseball and they have allowed the most runs in baseball. What in the world is Dayton Moore talking about? “Where we are at the major-league level” is having the worst team in baseball. It’s not like it’s a young 34-78, either. Adalberto Mondesi is 22, but somehow he can’t get on the field because the Royals are still playing 31-year-old millstone Alcides Escobar. Phillips, 24, becomes the second-youngest Royals position player this year. The farm system is terrible. The team isn’t going to spend to bring in superstars.
I circle back to what I said three years ago. If you want to go all RINGZZ!! with Dayton Moore, that’s fine. But when you look at his actual decisions, it’s basically the Zack Greinke trade eight years ago (a huge win), and then signing every low-OBP slugger who was willing to play for cheap. If the Royals won the Wil Myers trade, it was after spending 16 months trying Wade Davis as a starter when even on the day they traded for him he looked like a reliever. I don’t think Dayton Moore is a good GM, even with the jewelry, and my evidence is his own words, his own thinking, his own transactions. The Royals are going to wander until he’s let go."
