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 BWillie:
Yes, but I still find it crazy they just gave up on a dude that damn near hit .400 in AAA. And look at that, he's a .300 hitter in MLB.
They never believed in his changes/improvements being sustainable. When he opened the next season with meh performance, it acted as confirmation bias, and they dumped him.
It was a mistake. I get why it happened and think some context is important. [Reply]
I think they obviously made a mistake on Martinez, but ideally you're developing enough players that it's not a big deal. That didn't happen, but we're also talking about a 30 year old guy who has a negative WAR so far this year. It's not like we let a Wil Myers type player walk for nothing. Granted we know 1B defensive metrics aren't the most accurate. [Reply]
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
They never believed in his changes/improvements being sustainable. When he opened the next season with meh performance, it acted as confirmation bias, and they dumped him.
It was a mistake. I get why it happened and think some context is important.
To me the problem is that a lot of the mistakes in the draft and other personnel decisions could be explained as bad luck when individually considered, but as a whole it really is hard to not see a worrying trend of mistake after mistake with personnel decisions. [Reply]
The draft is the biggest issue. They really need to nail this draft with the picks they have. The failure in the draft is why this team is terrible now, but it's possible they could build a group with Pratto, Lee, Lopez, etc.
They also seem to be right on Soler, which would be a huge deal. Brad Keller looks legit. Guys like Bonifacio, Merrifield and Junis have come up and looked like really good players. That's the kind of the thing good organizations do, so it's not all bad. But they need to hit on some of these draft picks. [Reply]
3. Kelvin Herrera and Jon Jay to the Astros for pitching prospect David Paulino and J.D. Davis.
Herrera has been touted here for weeks as the right one for the Astros. Paulino has been dangled by the Astros forever. The Royals will need corner guys with Mike Moustakas and Lucas Duda free agents.
6. Mike Moustakas to the Braves for A.J. Minter and Kyle Muller.
The Braves are likely to seek a third base upgrade, but probably not of a mind to deal top guys or add huge money, so Machado and Donaldson may be less likely. Moustakas is having a nice year at a reasonable rate, and he’d fit fine. [Reply]
3. Kelvin Herrera and Jon Jay to the Astros for pitching prospect David Paulino and J.D. Davis.
Herrera has been touted here for weeks as the right one for the Astros. Paulino has been dangled by the Astros forever. The Royals will need corner guys with Mike Moustakas and Lucas Duda free agents.
6. Mike Moustakas to the Braves for A.J. Minter and Kyle Muller.
The Braves are likely to seek a third base upgrade, but probably not of a mind to deal top guys or add huge money, so Machado and Donaldson may be less likely. Moustakas is having a nice year at a reasonable rate, and he’d fit fine.
