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 BigCatDaddy:
I think with a little cleaning up they could duplicate what they did the 2nd half of this season.
Which is what, maybe 70-75 wins over a full season? That's better than this year, but I'm not sure it's sustainable until another wave arrives. I think Duncan made the comparison to the Twins a couple of years ago when they played out of their minds for a season but returned to mediocrity soon after. I guess if it keeps the fans interested and brings in more money for the team it's a good thing. [Reply]
Originally Posted by OKchiefs:
Which is what, maybe 70-75 wins over a full season? That's better than this year, but I'm not sure it's sustainable until another wave arrives. I think Duncan made the comparison to the Twins a couple of years ago when they played out of their minds for a season but returned to mediocrity soon after. I guess if it keeps the fans interested and brings in more money for the team it's a good thing.
Just depends on what they do pitching wise next year. I don't see scoring being a big problem. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Bufkin:
O’Hearn with another moonshot last night. Absolutely possessed since being called up. Between him, Keller, and Mondesi, its been fun.
He cost us some late-inning runs because of an error, but I was glad to read in The Athletic this morning that the error bothered him and that he took responsibility for it. Ned and Dayton are good about letting the players play and make mistakes that they can learn from. I think we could win about 80 games next year, if we get a little bit lucky with our pitching staff. O'Hearn looks to me like he could put up a good OPS in the majors, but we still need to see what happens after a few more months, when we see how he responds to how the league responds to him. [Reply]
Originally Posted by OKchiefs:
Which is what, maybe 70-75 wins over a full season? That's better than this year, but I'm not sure it's sustainable until another wave arrives. I think Duncan made the comparison to the Twins a couple of years ago when they played out of their minds for a season but returned to mediocrity soon after. I guess if it keeps the fans interested and brings in more money for the team it's a good thing.
2B/UTIL - Merrifield
SS - Mondesi
RF - Soler
1B - O’Hearn
C - Perez
LF - Gordon
DH - Bonifacio (or Soler)
3B - Dozier
CF - Phillips
Those are the young guys I want to see primarily to start the year. Need to see a lot of Phillips and O’Hearn. Also want to see Schwindel get some DH ABs if Bonifacio is just OKish again. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Titty Meat:
Tough pill to swallow but unlike the past few years they are doing the right thing. It's too bad DM had to sign guys like Jay, Duda, and Moose though. Totally pointless
Lol. Just posted and got taken back to the first page, where I saw this gem. [Reply]
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
My 2019 lineup looks like this to start:
2B/UTIL - Merrifield
SS - Mondesi
RF - Soler
1B - O’Hearn
C - Perez
LF - Gordon
DH - Bonifacio (or Soler)
3B - Dozier
CF - Phillips
Those are the young guys I want to see primarily to start the year. Need to see a lot of Phillips and O’Hearn. Also want to see Schwindel get some DH ABs if Bonifacio is just OKish again.
Are you officially off the Cuthbert train? I wish we just could give him one season of AB's while we were rebuilding. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chiefspants:
I just realized that not only is Manaea missing the rest of 2018, but that there's a good chance he may miss 2019 as well.
I've hassled Moore about trading Manaea over Almonte, but KC's scouting on Manaea's health has been pretty dead on.
As good as they were on scouting Manaeas health they were just as bad as scouting/developing Almonte. [Reply]