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 duncan_idaho:
Soler is arb eligible in 2020 at best (for him), which means they still control him through 2022 or 2023. The deal he signed with the Cubs expires in 2020, but that doesn’t negate the years of team control or service rules.
Soler can opt out when he becomes arb eligible. [Reply]
Originally Posted by jd1020:
Soler can opt out when he becomes arb eligible.
That's not entirely accurate.
He didn't have the Cespedes provision put in his contract that says he cannot be offered arb. He had the reverse done; he can opt out of his guaranteed contract and thus opt in to arbitration.
He can't force FA any sooner. Technically Cespedes didn't either - he just included language in his deal that said his team at the time could not offer him arb, thus making him effectively a non-tender.
Soler doesn't have that provision. He'd still be under Royal control until he gets his 6 years of MLB service time, he just gets his money through arbitration rather than the terms of his long-term deal. [Reply]
Is anyone paying attention if the Orioles are doing stuff like bunting in the first inning, or making a lot of unforced errors? I mean they have to be actively trying to tank right? [Reply]
Originally Posted by OKchiefs:
It's pretty simple. He'll be around 34 and a free agent by the time we're competitive again. Oh, and he's blocking Nicky Lopez. Rentals get almost nothing in return nowadays, so the only way to get anything significant in a trade is to trade someone affordable with remaining team control. Just about every other team in the league would trade such a player if they were 4-5 years away from competing. Failing to do so would be like trying to reinvent the wheel. Without significant trades we are relying on building the future solely through the draft. The last worthwhile international signing was probably Mondesi in 2011. Most of our other IFA signings have been failures, and we've done almost nothing the last 3 years after blowing our load on Matias. So again I question, how are we building a winning team faster than the last 7-8 year rebuild without making significant trades?
Things can turn around quickly. We play in a garbage division which really helps , that's one. I'm looking FW to the three 1st roun pitchers we took. What if we made some great picks? A good rotation, that's cheap, puts you back in the game awfully quickly [Reply]
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
Lynch wasn’t a pure money pick. He wasn’t an overslot guy, but several places had him as a comp round guy.
Re: Merrifield and Soler, neither one has to be move for a deal that isn’t prime. They can hold out a little on both and make sure they get great value.
Soler is arb eligible in 2020 at best (for him), which means they still control him through 2022 or 2023. The deal he signed with the Cubs expires in 2020, but that doesn’t negate the years of team control or service rules.
They should trade them if they get the right type of return. If they don’t, hold them a while longer and wait for the right situation to pop up in front of you.
Also: the Royals just signed another international FA, Dutch kid named Darryl Collins and playing in Curaçao.
They also announced the signing of a South Korean teenager who was clocked / supposedly - at 95 mph.
They’ve made some outside-the-box moves in IFA. Like seeing the flexibility of thought!
Thanks for the clarification on Soler, I had no idea. [Reply]
Rotator cuff tendinitis for Manaea. Melvin said the team hopes to get him back but said it’ll be a while. Unsure if he’s back this season. Another huge blow.
Speaking of former Royals pitchers I looked up Miguel Almonte the other day and he has a legit 9 ERA in AAA. Yikes. That guy had unbelievable stuff but he's never figured it out. [Reply]
Royals fans are so weird when it comes to attributing certain players to us winning the World Series. “If we didn’t have this one career bum who drew a walk in the 7th inning of the wildcard game, we wouldn’t have taken home the gold! As if not having mega bust Christian Colon on the roster would have meant we wouldn’t have a ring. [Reply]