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 Bufkin:
I would love to see the comparison to the 2005 Royals at this point in the season. We are competing for worst team in franchise history.
Well, we are 4 games away from tying the longest losing streak in 2006.... [Reply]
Originally Posted by Al Bundy:
Well, we are 4 games away from tying the longest losing streak in 2006....
I believe we had a 19 game losing streak in 2005. It followed a sweep of the 1st place Yankees. Man that team was terrible, but better and more entertaining than this one. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Bufkin:
I believe we had a 19 game losing streak in 2005. It followed a sweep of the 1st place Yankees. Man that team was terrible, but better and more entertaining than this one.
At this point in 2005 the Royals were 26-51 at this point in the season, and they finished at 56-106. [Reply]
If Moore really thinks we can contend by 2020 he's a bigger dummy than I thought. We caught lightning in a bottle our last run, I doubt we can repeat using the same formula.
I wouldn't expect them to be competing in 2020, but they absolutely might bring up the next wave of players that season... and pretty much all the terrible money we have on the books will be gone, except for Kennedy. Duffy and Perez will be the only guys we have left, and Soler will be in his last year unless Moore tries to extend him. [Reply]
Originally Posted by tk13:
I wouldn't expect them to be competing in 2020, but they absolutely might bring up the next wave of players that season... and pretty much all the terrible money we have on the books will be gone, except for Kennedy. Duffy and Perez will be the only guys we have left, and Soler will be in his last year unless Moore tries to extend him.
That’s when I think we’ll see the first of the next wave of position guys arrive.
Soler, they have four years of remaining control, so the don’t need to worry about extending him.
That will be Kennedy’s last year, too.
Originally Posted by Al Bundy:
There's no way this team is going to lose 115 games, is there?
Losing 100 games is hard. Losing that many more than 100 is almost impossible. We’ll see. Typical trends would suggest they’ll have some inexplicable hot streaks that improve the pace. Same for Baltimore. [Reply]
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
That’s when I think we’ll see the first of the next wave of position guys arrive.
Soler, they have four years of remaining control, so the don’t need to worry about extending him.
That will be Kennedy’s last year, too.
Losing 100 games is hard. Losing that many more than 100 is almost impossible. We’ll see. Typical trends would suggest they’ll have some inexplicable hot streaks that improve the pace. Same for Baltimore.
Well the Royals are 22-52. At the 74 game mark in 2005 when they finished 56-106 they were 26-51. They did have a 19 game losing streak in 2005. [Reply]
Most of my life never missed a Royals game no matter how bad we sucked. Loved the 2014/15 run, but knew this season was a return to the garbage I endured for most of my life. I haven’t watched one pitch this season. I read this thread, and all the Royals development news I can find, but I can’t be bothered to watch a team of largely jags lose 100+ games. I’ll be back to full time fandom long before we are competitive again, but this break has been cathartic. [Reply]
Originally Posted by The GMDM Hypothesis:
Most of my life never missed a Royals game no matter how bad we sucked. Loved the 2014/15 run, but knew this season was a return to the garbage I endured for most of my life. I haven’t watched one pitch this season. I read this thread, and all the Royals development news I can find, but I can’t be bothered to watch a team of largely jags lose 100+ games. I’ll be back to full time fandom long before we are competitive again, but this break has been cathartic.
I saw my first live Royals game of the season sitting in a pizza place playing live trivia last night. Didn’t bother to stick around for the end. [Reply]
Originally Posted by The GMDM Hypothesis:
Most of my life never missed a Royals game no matter how bad we sucked. Loved the 2014/15 run, but knew this season was a return to the garbage I endured for most of my life. I haven’t watched one pitch this season. I read this thread, and all the Royals development news I can find, but I can’t be bothered to watch a team of largely jags lose 100+ games. I’ll be back to full time fandom long before we are competitive again, but this break has been cathartic.
I used to be that way about the chiefs. When I was a teen I knew every player since 1989 (I’m 35) and their stats, etc. I got divorced, remarried (a year and change in some order after the Alex smith trade) and stopped following religiously (used to be way more into draft, etc)... the break from constant devotion (which honestly filled a void formerly filled by porn, the chiefs, my cat and my former life) was very good for my soul and... nothing against anyone that rates the chiefs OR royals success or failure as even more than slightly important to one’s self esteem or worth, but... it’s way better on this side of the fence. Maybe it’s an amazing wife and amazing daughter, but... my personal self worth doesn’t hang on the fickle whims of my sometimes shitty sports teams (Mizzou, chiefs, royals, bulls)