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 TomBarndtsTwin:
Very impressed with Junis so far. I wouldn't compare him to Greinke at all. Greinke could overpower people with his stuff. That's not Junis. More of a thinking, outsmart your opponent pitcher. Seems to follow more in the footsteps of a Greg Maddux (not comparing him directly to him) type . . . .
Certainly not a valid comparison in terms of how they pitch, but more the end result. I’ll let him duplicate his dominance a few more times, and until then I’ll go with 2017 Jason Vargas. Either way, it’s fun to watch. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Bufkin:
Certainly not a valid comparison in terms of how they pitch, but more the end result. I’ll let him duplicate his dominance a few more times, and until then I’ll go with 2017 Jason Vargas. Either way, it’s fun to watch.
This, with regards to Maddux comparison.
Junis doesn't overpower people like Greinke did. That was more my point. [Reply]
Originally Posted by TomBarndtsTwin:
Very impressed with Junis so far. I wouldn't compare him to Greinke at all. Greinke could overpower people with his stuff. That's not Junis. More of a thinking, outsmart your opponent pitcher. Seems to follow more in the footsteps of a Greg Maddux (not comparing him directly to him) type . . . .
Current Greinke is actually a lot more like Maddux than 09 Greinke was. He's still one of my favorite pitchers to watch in the game today. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Ebolapox:
like, ever again? ever ever again? man, I dunno, we'll just literally suck forever.
It’s hard to bitch when you’ve seen them win two World Series in your lifetime but it would be nice to see them compete and consistently make the postseason every couple of years. [Reply]
If Duffy can get right and you get good Kennedy along with Junis. That's three decent starters. Pair that with a bullpen that's not putting Maurer in pressure situations and you probably have a competitive team right there. [Reply]
Originally Posted by PunkinDrublic:
It’s hard to bitch when you’ve seen them win two World Series in your lifetime but it would be nice to see them compete and consistently make the postseason every couple of years.
I think the reality of MLB and the current structure of revenue sharing/how teams are built these days stacks against the royals being great consistently. I think they need to be close to perfect while larger markets have a much larger margin of error. [Reply]
Originally Posted by PunkinDrublic:
Do you think it’s possible the Royals will be good again? Do we have enough legit prospects in our system? I honestly don’t know.
The Royals will be good again. It’s just a mater of when, and whether it will be with Moore and co.
They have a nice group of players at the A and high-A levels that you can dream on (1B Nick Pratto, C MJ Melendez, of Seuly Matias, Of Khalil Lee - whom Moore calls the most talented all-around player they’ve drafted since Hosmer - 3M Emmanuel Rivera, OF Michael Gigliotti, Of Marten Gasparini, SS Jeison Guzman).
If they do well in this draft and can add some pitching star power to that group, you start to build a wave that people can get excited about. They’ve got HS heavy the past few drafts... adding some polished college prospects to this grouping would seem to make sense. [Reply]
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
The Royals will be good again. It’s just a mater of when, and whether it will be with Moore and co.
They have a nice group of players at the A and high-A levels that you can dream on (1B Nick Pratto, C MJ Melendez, of Seuly Matias, Of Khalil Lee - whom Moore calls the most talented all-around player they’ve drafted since Hosmer - 3M Emmanuel Rivera, OF Michael Gigliotti, Of Marten Gasparini, SS Jeison Guzman).
If they do well in this draft and can add some pitching star power to that group, you start to build a wave that people can get excited about. They’ve got HS heavy the past few drafts... adding some polished college prospects to this grouping would seem to make sense.
I'm hoping the Royals will be competitive a lot quicker than people think. And, I think it will be based on very solid starting pitching. Right now, they have Duffy and Junis for several years.
If Skoglund does well, that's three of the five starters for years.
Hoping Kennedy and Hammel pitch well in the first half and are gone at the trade deadline.