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]
Adalberto Mondesi is hitting at a 20-HR/60 SB clip (if projected over a full season of ABs).
That’s... rather exciting.
If he’s a .750 player with this kind of power and speed, that’s a very nice player to have at SS. Little more upside in the bat, too (has the tools and skills to hit .290-.300).
Still needs to show better plate discipline and draw more walks, but the tools are exciting. [Reply]
That Alcides Escobar plate appearance triggered another $75,000 bonus. It’s the 13th PA bonus he’s collected this year, totaling $975,000. That’s in addition to his $2.5 million base salary. #Royals
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
They are now. They started being that in 2014/2015.
In 2012, when Matheny took over the defending World Champs, Theo Epstein was about 3 months into the job and just restarting the rebuild process. The Cubs weren’t good until 2015 and their farm system didn’t reach elite levels until 2014.
Matheny took over a team with an established, elite hitter (Holliday), one of the 2-3 best catchers in baseball (Molina), a legitimate ace starter (Wainwright), several good emerging young players (Allen Craig, David Freese, Lance Lynn, Jaime Garcia, Jon Jay) and a top 5-10 farm system at the outset of 2012 that became the top farm system as the season wore on.
It also was a team that was able to attract Carlos Beltran in free agency.
Matheny won a lot of games early because of what he inherited, but he also burned through several young arms (he’s a great example of bullpen abuse - not just overusing guys in actual games, but also of “getting them hot” multiple times in a game, which is just as damaging),
He took over a very good MLB roster and they stayed near the top of the League for 5 years. It seems to me that's just as expected. Cards fans can't accept they've been passed by several teams (incl their rival) and Matheny is the fall guy.
Originally Posted by :
he struggled with young players who were not part of his clique (Wong, Tavares, Shelby Miller, Carlos Martinez have all had difficulties with him), and FA goodwill dried up.
Once Tavares died, that pipeline looked a bit thin. I don't agree they had a very good collection of talent at all, it's middle of the pack to me. Certainly not the Cubs insane level (no point even listing them all, but I will point out Gleyber Torres and Eloy Jimenez never even made it to Wrigley, the talent is so good).
The Cubs, Astros are on a diff level. Dodgers, Nats a bit behind.
Originally Posted by :
The Cubs surpassed the Cardinals in 2016, but up to that point, the Cardinals were the stronger organization.
Dunno about that, Cubs beat them in the 2015 playoffs, had a better year metrics wise, and were brimming with incredible young talent. I'd say it happened 2014 at latest. Possibly June 2013 when Bryant was drafted.
Originally Posted by :
Matheny’s ineptness in so many key phases of managing (clubhouse, player development, bullpen) is a key part of the Cardinals’ fall.
Mozeliak owns a big part of their decline, too. But Matheny owns a huge portion of it.
Could be. But it's hard to win with an aging roster and middle of the pack pipeline. GM was able to dump Shelby Miller and Heyward at the perfect time, wrapped up carpenter cheap, and has developed some nice cheap young arms so there's that. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla:
Why did the people in charge of building/acquiring the Lambo hand it to Matheny?
He wasn't the same manager at hire as the one he ended up. I'll leave this here. Please feel free to bookmark it and rub it in my face if he successful in the Royals organization. But, you were warned,
According to what I've been reading thats the time(World Series 2013) he started playing "favorites" more. Ones that happened to be a part of his bible study class taking place in the locker room. BTW, who the fuck allowed that to happen? You want to meet, go to your own place or a hotel room on the road.
He started to ignore the statistics he was given and trust his gut more. Let players "play through" a downturn until it was way too late and cost the team too many wins. Freese and Craig come to mind. He would play vets over young players, even ones that joined the team that year and are batting .200 (Moss).
He would only trust 1-2 relievers. He would pitch them until they broke down and their careers were over. He would trust his pitchers to get out of jams when everyone in the ball park could see they were having issues with control on that day. Cost us so many wins. And the 2013 World Series. [Reply]
@Kurkjian_ESPN: The Royals have not made an error in their last 14 games, but they are the only team in history to win only four games during a 14-game errorless streak, confirmed by @EliasSports. #quirkjians [Reply]
Originally Posted by Sure-Oz:
@Kurkjian_ESPN: The Royals have not made an error in their last 14 games, but they are the only team in history to win only four games during a 14-game errorless streak, confirmed by @EliasSports. #quirkjians
The Royals own so many of these little weird stats of futility. [Reply]
