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]
Originally Posted by Lex Luthor:
It's not misleading at all. He started in the minors at age 18. He played in 318 minor league games with 1,158 at-bats and a batting average of .281.
That's not exactly tearing it up in the minor leagues. He certainly didn't look like a batting champ and a future Hall of Famer when he first came up.
Well, when you're 19 and playing AAA you are way young for your age. Had George stayed another year or two he'd have prob hit 375.
At 22 he batted .308 in the bigs, and at 23 he won the batting title at .333. (The avg age today of a AAA player is 26 and avg age of MLB debut for those who even make it is is 24) [Reply]
Originally Posted by tk13:
I guess it's true in every division, but the only catch with the Padres is they share a division with the Dodgers and Giants. And as of right now even the D'backs and Rockies have talent and recent success. Even then, there's always going to be the Dodgers, especially with their young talent.
The Giants are going to have to rebuild in a few years, though, and I think the Padres are set up to surpass the Rockies and even the Dbacks soon.
Arizona has a few more years with its core before it will have to rebuild, too, unless they find a way to spend huge on Goldschmidt.
The Dodgers are always going to be a force. But if Gore and Baez hit like they can, that's a potent duo dominant enough to make the Padres competitive with anyone. [Reply]
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
The Giants are going to have to rebuild in a few years, though, and I think the Padres are set up to surpass the Rockies and even the Dbacks soon.
Arizona has a few more years with its core before it will have to rebuild, too, unless they find a way to spend huge on Goldschmidt.
The Dodgers are always going to be a force. But if Gore and Baez hit like they can, that's a potent duo dominant enough to make the Padres competitive with anyone.
Gore has a few years of development before he is even ready. What is he, 19? [Reply]
Originally Posted by LoneWolf:
Best thing long term for the Royals. I would be happy with this.
Yup. Don’t harness yourself to a guy with a 7 year contract in Hosmer. Not sure market on Moose but I bet he’d get a 3 year offer at best from KC as his market has been quiet. [Reply]
This seems like the perfect situation for the Royals to do some bargain shopping to stay competitive while buying more time to build up the farm system. [Reply]
Would MUCH rather have Moose on a short term contract than Hos on a 7 year contract. My head is literally exploding trying to understand how GMs are getting much smarter on contracts yet Hosmer is deciding between multiple 7 year 140M offers. Makes me think Boras is leaking complete bullshit information. [Reply]
Hosmer is the better player, has no major injury history and plays a position where you can age easy at. I don't get the Moose love over Hosmer. Other than KC likes fat guys over pretty boys. [Reply]
I think Moose will age better than Hos. Hos has a long swing and as he gets older it will be tough for him to keep his bat speed up to keep up with fastballs. [Reply]
If it were me, I'd take Hosmer first. I understand the mathematics of keeping Moose over Hos, though. But Hosmer is THE leader of this team and locker room. What's the price on an intangible like that? [Reply]
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
I'm not sure he's even 19 yet. He's a 2020/2021 arrival. But incredibly talented.
Like with the majority of prospects as young as Gore, there is a reality that comes with that. 2020/2021 arrival would mean everything went fantastically in his development and there were no set backs. [Reply]