It's the end of the world as we know it... and we feel... fine?
2018 is a season of transition for the Royals, or at least it is at this point. Dayton Moore is back. Will he swing full into THE PROCESS 2.0? Or will he try to load up again and make some reload magic happen?
Pending Free Agents:
1B | Eric Hosmer | San Diego Padres, 8 years, $144 million ($5 million signing bonus; $20 million/year in Yrs 1-5; $13 million/year in Yrs 6-8 wth player opt out)
Spoiler!
(DI's Guess: Texas Rangers, 6, $118 million)
3B | Mike Moustaskas | Kansas City Royas, 1, $6.5 million
Spoiler!
(DI's Guess: Los Angeles Angels, 5, $98 million)
CF | Lorenzo Cain | Milwaukee Brewers, 5 years, $80 million
Spoiler!
(DI's Guess: San Francisco Giants, 4, $68 million)
RP | Mike Minor | Texas Rangers, 3, $28 million
Spoiler!
(DI's Guess: Los Angeles Angels, 3, $35 million+ $12 million team option
SP | Jason Vargas | New York Mets, 2, $16 million
Spoiler!
(DI's Guess: Baltimore Orioles, 2, $29 million)
SS | Alcides Escobar | Kansas City Royals, 1, $2.5 million
In case I, picks would be #32, 33, and 34, if Alex Cobb of Rays signs for $50 million guaranteed.
Kansas City will likely have 5 of the top 40-45 picks in the draft, and the bonus pool money should rival that of the teams drafting 1-3 in the 2017 draft. This should give KC tremendous flexibility in acquiring talent that otherwise might slip or not be "signable."
2018 Draft Names to Watch
RHP Kumar Rocker, N Oconnee HS, Georgia.
Spoiler!
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. [Reply]
Looking at the current roster, it looks like there is only one left handed bat in the starting lineup. That's assuming Dozier starts at 1st and Orlando in CF. How important is it to have Left/Right combinations? [Reply]
My hope is that DH will finally become a combination spot that Soler, Salvy, and anyone else that deserves at-bats will use when getting a day off in the field. Outside of Morales we haven't really had a bat good enough to fill that spot like we have used it. [Reply]
Outside of Salvy, I think Merrifield is my current favorite Royal. His utility in the outfield and his consistency at the plate is so freaking valuable. I would be pretty sad if we traded him away in the process of a tank job [Reply]
Originally Posted by mr. tegu:
I still don’t believe the team is going to be all that bad so tanking just for the sake of tanking doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t much care about the money it would take to sign Hos because they have proven that when the time comes they will spend so I don’t think his salary would really prevent anything if the team turns out to be good enough to need to add pieces and in the next few seasons.
This is where I'm at.
There is no way this team can compete with the Yankees and Astros in the foreseeable future. I'd rather watch a team with some recognizable stars and fond memories win half of its games than watch a team with no legitimate MLB prospects lose 110 games every year. We have no players ranked in the top 100 MLB prospects, so that tells me we can't look forward to the next group coming in and learning how to dominate.
I guess I've resigned myself to the fact that this team isn't going back to the World Series in my lifetime, so I'm opting for Martyball over a Scott Pioli team (to mix my sports metaphors).
That's pretty bleak and pessimistic, and I don't expect anyone to agree with me. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RealSNR:
Outside of Salvy, I think Merrifield is my current favorite Royal. His utility in the outfield and his consistency at the plate is so freaking valuable. I would be pretty sad if we traded him away in the process of a tank job
Originally Posted by Lex Luthor:
This is where I'm at.
There is no way this team can compete with the Yankees and Astros in the foreseeable future. I'd rather watch a team with some recognizable stars and fond memories win half of its games than watch a team with no legitimate MLB prospects lose 110 games every year. We have no players ranked in the top 100 MLB prospects, so that tells me we can't look forward to the next group coming in and learning how to dominate.
I guess I've resigned myself to the fact that this team isn't going back to the World Series in my lifetime, so I'm opting for Martyball over a Scott Pioli team (to mix my sports metaphors).
That's pretty bleak and pessimistic, and I don't expect anyone to agree with me.
Partially agree that I doubt to see another WS in my lifetime. Two in this market is enough for me. Not a prospect in the top 100. This bleak. GMDM doesn’t have it in him. Neither dies Starbucks Ned. Start over from top to bottom. Bottom to top. Two decades? So be it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RealSNR:
Outside of Salvy, I think Merrifield is my current favorite Royal. His utility in the outfield and his consistency at the plate is so freaking valuable. I would be pretty sad if we traded him away in the process of a tank job
