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 BlackHelicopters:
This is clearly the case. Tons of examples. Can’t think of an example right now, but there are tons of examples.
Originally Posted by BlackHelicopters:
This is clearly the case. Tons of examples. Can’t think of an example right now, but there are tons of examples.
Originally Posted by gblowfish:
His ERA with the Royals was over 8, and he got a raise!
Ain't baseball great??
a slim bright spot;
Maurer’s contract is not guaranteed - the Royals could still cut him by the sixteenth day in spring training and owe him just one-sixth of his salary. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Prison Bitch:
A bit misleading. George was a 2nd round pick and was named our starting 3B when he was only 20.
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. [Reply]
Another Moose note from Jon Heyman tonight. Looks like the Braves aren't a great landing spot either.
Originally Posted by :
Mike Moustakas is seen as a long shot, writes Mark Bowman of MLB.com. The team believes Austin Riley is a year away, so they’d seem mostly likely to be interested in a short deal.
If you're wondering why Hosmer is interested in the Padres, and why they're interested in him... it's about their window and how he complements.
They have a lot of good pieces with more coming soon from an elite farm system.
Wil Myers is a good major league player.
Manny Margot (CF) is a dynamic young player. Similar to Cain in his all around skills, but with more power.
Austin Hedges and Hunter Renfroe look like good to above average MLb regulars. Hedges is a plus defensive C with power. Renfroe is a classic RF.
Dinelson Lamet is a young pitcher who can really miss bats and has great stuff.
Brad Hand is an elite bullpen arm.
And then in the minors...
Fernando Tatis Jr is an elite, elite SS prospect. Switch hitter with power who can stick defensively (the Padres somehow got him from the White Sox for James Shielfs).
And the Padres have pitching prospects abound. Michel Baez and Mackenzie Gore are two of my favorite 3-4 pitching prospects in the minors and both have ace stuff and few questions (durability/workload - both very young). Anderson Espinoza was the jewel of the Kimbrel trade and has a huge arm.
And Cal Quantrill leads a quintet of pitching prospects who have less upside but still could be mid-rotation starters in the show.
It all adds up to a team that, with Hosmer still producing at the tail end of his prime, looks to be a legit contender in 2020 and 2021.
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. [Reply]
