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]
I didn't like DM comments about Orlando and burns leading for CF. what's the point, really what's the point? He plays guys like these or Frenchy or Rios or Alshittys or Getz....it really serves no purpose at all.
If he played Bubba 500 AB he wouldn't produce a worse war than Orlando. Or Mondesi 500 instead of Alshittys. If they work out their cheap building blocks for the future [Reply]
Originally Posted by Prison Bitch:
I didn't like DM comments about Orlando and burns leading for CF. what's the point, really what's the point? He plays guys like these or Frenchy or Rios or Alshittys or Getz....it really serves no purpose at all.
If he played Bubba 500 AB he wouldn't produce a worse war than Orlando. Or Mondesi 500 instead of Alshittys. If they work out their cheap building blocks for the future
This is kind of the "there's no way Tyler Palko is worse than Matt Cassell" argument, which I've always disagreed with. There's no doubt Matt Cassell is a terrible QB and I would never want him on my team, but you can always do worse. It played out that way.
Mondesi has a ton of talent but there's no point playing him before he's really ready. Last year he was completely overmatched and was on pace to be something like a -4 or -5 WAR player. Not .5... the whole number 5. Escobar wasn't good but he was a 0 WAR guy. It's one thing if a guy comes up and takes some lumps and is streaky, but if Starling gets in there and struggles to hit over .100, that isn't accomplishing jack squat for the major league team or the guy's development. Not even about winning games, it's just a disservice to the rest of the team and the other young guys who are trying to develop. [Reply]