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]
The Rays acquired CJ Cron from the Angels, then turned around and cut Corey Dickerson, who was the starting DH for the American League in the All-Star game last year. Figure that one out.
Corey Dickerson was just DFA’d by the #Rays to make room for CJ Cron via a trade from the #Angels for a PTBNL. Dickerson was a 2.7 WAR player in 2017 ($5.95m in 2018). Cron, a 0.8 WAR player in 2017 ($2.3m in 2018). That’s official.
Originally Posted by RubberSponge:
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.
Oh, absolutely. But the special ones stand out. Gore's combination of stuff + pitchability + raw tools is rare, rare, and it's obvious watching him. Very few prospects come through with his combination of amazing raw stuff and feel for pitching.
If he can build up to a full workload and maintain the stuff throughout it, he's going to be a star. Literally the only question is if he can maintain his velocity and sharpness through 180+ innings. Time to go on that one, but there are no logical warning signs against it. [Reply]
Originally Posted by seaofred:
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.
Yep. Name an old player with a crazy loopy swing who can still hit into their middle 30s. [Reply]
Rays DFA Dickerson to open up a spot on the roster for Cron and then trade Odorizzi for an A ball prospect minutes later... what am I missing here? [Reply]
Yes to Corey Dickerson. Projected .268/.316/.484 with a OPS of .800 with 25 HR's. The downside is that he strikes out way too much for my liking of 137K's to 40 walks. But I'm speculating that a possible 1.5 to 2.5 WAR range type of a guy, the Royals should look into him for the DH position. [Reply]
I think they finally realized that they have no chance of catching NYY and Boston in this division, and unlikely to secure a WC spot. Plus, with a possible new stadium on the horizon, I can see them dismantling the team to build for the future. [Reply]
Well that's a bummer, but I'm not surprised. Seemed like there was a lot of smoke that he was leaning toward San Diego. Curious to see what the terms are. 100 years from now, his dash home from 3rd base will probably still be one of the top 5 plays in Royals history. [Reply]