Free Agent Signings:
Carlos Santana
Mike Minor
Michael Taylor
Ervin Santana
Top 10 Prospects:
1 Bobby Witt Jr., SS
2 Asa Lacy, LHP
3 Daniel Lynch, LHP
4 Jackson Kowar, RHP
5 Erick Pena, OF
6 Nick Loftin, SS
7 Kyle Isbel, OF
8 Khali Lee, OF
9 Jonathan Bowlan, RHP
10 Carlos Hernedez, RHP [Reply]
White Sox general manager Rick Hahn says Eloy Jiménez suffered a rupture of his left pectoral tendon. He needs surgery, and Hahn says the recovery timeline is typically 5-6 months
Mike Matheny on Kyle Isbel, who is starting today in RF for the second straight game: "He's another guy who is in the mix and conversation (for the Opening Day roster). We're trying to get as many looks as we can before we make our final decision."
Whit has played more 2B as of late...and with Isbel's performance, we would actually see an uptick in RF defense over time (I think he's more used to CF and LF) and slight drop-off in 2B defense. I'm down for this. Isbel has "it" in terms of attitude and all-out effort to win a game. That will play if he holds his own at the plate. [Reply]
Originally Posted by dallaschiefsfan:
Whit has played more 2B as of late...and with Isbel's performance, we would actually see an uptick in RF defense over time (I think he's more used to CF and LF) and slight drop-off in 2B defense. I'm down for this. Isbel has "it" in terms of attitude and all-out effort to win a game. That will play if he holds his own at the plate.
No matter how closely you follow offseason transactions, there are always a few players in the “oh that’s where this guy ended up” bucket come spring training. That makes for a good segue into Taylor and Dyson.
Taylor figures to get the majority of reps in center. At this point, it’s clear that 2017’s three-win season was the anomaly for a player who hasn’t mustered a .300 wOBA since. I’m getting tired of pretending to make something of last year’s statistics, but for what it’s worth, Taylor actually hit for decent power while striking out less than normal in 2020. That doesn’t do much for me, personally, but rational people can plausibly forecast a one-win season here.
Dyson’s speed and defense have aged remarkably well, but there will come a point when the bat deteriorates too much for it to matter, and he’s been testing those waters recently. He has a 54 wRC+ since the start of 2018 and, surprisingly for a fast guy who hits the ball on the ground a lot, a .251 BABIP. Hopefully he hits at least a little because he’s still magic on the bases.
Merrifield is obviously the best player on this list; I imagine his time in center will be dictated in part by how well others play and whether Kansas City keeps afloat in the standings. Olivares is interesting on paper, but the tools will likely play down due to an awful approach. [Reply]
No prospect is generating more buzz right now in Spring Training than Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. or in college baseball than Vanderbilt right-hander Jack Leiter. So naturally, the Pipeline Inbox has questions about both of them.
There has been the Witt vs. Abrams debate, but let me pose the Witt vs. Franco debate -- if you had to take one shortstop right now to build your franchise around, who would it be? And while it was a small sample size, would Witt's spring have impacted his Top 100 Prospects placement at all?
-- Joe L., Easton, Md.
I tackled the under-21 shortstop debate of Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals) vs. CJ Abrams (Padres) vs. Marco Luciano (Giants) in a Pipeline Inbox last month, and I'm game for breaking down the top two shortstop prospects in baseball. Wander Franco (Rays) ranks No. 1 on our Top 100 Prospects list, six spots ahead of Witt.
Franco is nine months younger and already has excelled in High Class A, while Witt had a so-so pro debut in Rookie ball, but this is still a tough call. I'll go with Franco because when two prospects are close, I'm going to bet on the superior hitter, and Franco has an 80-grade bat. He'll get every bit out of his plus raw power, he has solid speed and arm strength and he's a capable shortstop, even if he'll probably move to a different position because Tampa Bay has better defensive options there.
All that said, it's hard to pass on Witt, who has the best all-around shortstop tools to come out of the Draft since Alex Rodriguez. Beyond his hitting ability, which is at least solid, his tools are all better than Franco's. He has well above-average raw power; his speed, arm and defense all grade as plus; and he's not moving off shortstop.
As impressive as Witt was in big league camp, where he hit three home runs (including a 484-foot shot off Yusmeiro Petit), I don't read much of anything into Spring Training statistics because of the widely variant levels of competition and the small sample sizes. So if we were doing the Top 100 today instead of in January, he'd still rank seventh. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DeepSouth:
What do you do with Nicky Lopez?
Lopez has minor league options and is still a player that you want to see develop into a major league hitter (even if he's eventually a trade candidate). To relegate him to utility status this early would be foolish. He plays every day Omaha. Alberto is out of options. But while he was signed to a minor league deal, I'm guessing he's the best option to play the utility role, despite the fact it costs us a 40 man roster spot. We'll see. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Prison Bitch: CENTERFILDERS 25. Royals 0.7fWar
No matter how closely you follow offseason transactions, there are always a few players in the “oh that’s where this guy ended up” bucket come spring training. That makes for a good segue into Taylor and Dyson.
Taylor figures to get the majority of reps in center. At this point, it’s clear that 2017’s three-win season was the anomaly for a player who hasn’t mustered a .300 wOBA since. I’m getting tired of pretending to make something of last year’s statistics, but for what it’s worth, Taylor actually hit for decent power while striking out less than normal in 2020. That doesn’t do much for me, personally, but rational people can plausibly forecast a one-win season here.
Dyson’s speed and defense have aged remarkably well, but there will come a point when the bat deteriorates too much for it to matter, and he’s been testing those waters recently. He has a 54 wRC+ since the start of 2018 and, surprisingly for a fast guy who hits the ball on the ground a lot, a .251 BABIP. Hopefully he hits at least a little because he’s still magic on the bases.
Merrifield is obviously the best player on this list; I imagine his time in center will be dictated in part by how well others play and whether Kansas City keeps afloat in the standings. Olivares is interesting on paper, but the tools will likely play down due to an awful approach.
Originally Posted by Prison Bitch: Inbox: Wander or Witt Jr.?
By Jim Callis | March 24, 2021
No prospect is generating more buzz right now in Spring Training than Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. or in college baseball than Vanderbilt right-hander Jack Leiter. So naturally, the Pipeline Inbox has questions about both of them.
There has been the Witt vs. Abrams debate, but let me pose the Witt vs. Franco debate -- if you had to take one shortstop right now to build your franchise around, who would it be? And while it was a small sample size, would Witt's spring have impacted his Top 100 Prospects placement at all?
-- Joe L., Easton, Md.
I tackled the under-21 shortstop debate of Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals) vs. CJ Abrams (Padres) vs. Marco Luciano (Giants) in a Pipeline Inbox last month, and I'm game for breaking down the top two shortstop prospects in baseball. Wander Franco (Rays) ranks No. 1 on our Top 100 Prospects list, six spots ahead of Witt.
Franco is nine months younger and already has excelled in High Class A, while Witt had a so-so pro debut in Rookie ball, but this is still a tough call. I'll go with Franco because when two prospects are close, I'm going to bet on the superior hitter, and Franco has an 80-grade bat. He'll get every bit out of his plus raw power, he has solid speed and arm strength and he's a capable shortstop, even if he'll probably move to a different position because Tampa Bay has better defensive options there.
All that said, it's hard to pass on Witt, who has the best all-around shortstop tools to come out of the Draft since Alex Rodriguez. Beyond his hitting ability, which is at least solid, his tools are all better than Franco's. He has well above-average raw power; his speed, arm and defense all grade as plus; and he's not moving off shortstop.
As impressive as Witt was in big league camp, where he hit three home runs (including a 484-foot shot off Yusmeiro Petit), I don't read much of anything into Spring Training statistics because of the widely variant levels of competition and the small sample sizes. So if we were doing the Top 100 today instead of in January, he'd still rank seventh.
It moved.
^ To not just be immediately dismissed when compared to Wander Franco is high praise.
Yes, he's a top 10 prospect, but Franco stands out among No. 1 overall prospects (as we have discussed in weeks past). [Reply]
Originally Posted by Prison Bitch:
I mean, Callis isn’t exactly a mouth breather, or an unknown. That’s some serious praise given who he is.
I usually see kids of great players exceed expectations. Mahomes, Currys, Klay, etc. Mondesi kinda doesn't fit the mold as he was highly touted but I expect him to finally break thru this year. Woud be awesome if BWJ became the next real star for the Royals. As far as REAL stars Id say offensively we've only had a few since Brett. Damon, Dye, Sweendog (injured tho). Lets go. [Reply]
