Wow Look at these rotations !

While most baseball prospects pros have targeted the AA NW Arkansas rotation as the best in baseball Dayton Moore hasn't stopped there in loading this system with potential starting pitchers.

Potential Team
Name
Omaha Storm Chasers
Danny Duffy
Everett Teaford
Edgar Osuna
Mario Santiago

NW Arkansas Naturals
Mike Montgomery- BA - If you are talking about fastball-curveball-changeup, Montgomery's stuff grades out the best for his top three pitches.
John Lamb- BA - Few lefthanders can match Lamb's combination of three possible plus pitches and exquisite command.
Chris Dwyer
Aaron Crow
Will Smith

Wilmington Blue Rocks
Jake Odirizzi BA - "Two scouts called him a lesser version of Zack Greinke."
Tim Melville
Tyler Sample
Justin Marks KL - Marks is a solid inventory prospect
Noel Arguelles KL -Arguelles is a physical specimen with a workhorse frame.

Kane County Cougars
Jason Adam KL - "Adam was 92-94 mph with a plus two-plane curveball at 76-77, and most impressive of all was his plus command of both pitches, throwing the curve for quality strikes to both sides of the plate."
Robinson Yambati
Yordano Ventura KG -" This undersized teenager has plus-plus velocity and impressive command."
Crawford Simmons

That is 17 quality minor league starters with quite a few with solid upside. Even with the usual prospect failures KC should be able to piece together a solid staff of starters from 2012 and on.

KG= Kevin Goldstein checkout his stuff at Baseball Prospectus or on Itunes with his podcast Up and In. www.baseballprospectus.com
KL= Keith Law ESPN.com Insider subscription http://search.espn.go.com/keith-law/
BA= Baseball America www.baseballamerica.com

Breaking down the potential Omaha Storm Chasers roster

Very Likely
Position Players
1b Clint Robinson - 2010 Texas League Triple Crown Winner
2b Johnny Giavotella - Texas Lg All Star .855 AA OPS
3b Mike Moustakas - 15 HR in 52 AAA games
C Manny Pina - 45% Caught Stealing rate at AA
CF Jarrod Dyson - Hit .272 in 46 AAA games also swiped 13 bags in that time
LF David Lough - 2nd Half of AAA Season .865 OPS w/.403 OBP 21/26 BB/SO rate
OF Derrick Robinson - 50 Stolen bases in 2010
OF Paulo Orlando - 2010 had career highs in every offensive category
Pitchers
SP Luis Mendoza - 4.10 ERA in 24 Games (22 starts) for Omaha in 2010
SP Everett Teaford - One of 6 Royals Minor Leaguers on the PanAm Team
SP Edgar Osuna - Lots of struggles in AAA 3.7 HR/9
SP Mario Santiago - Slipped thru the Rule 5 draft
RP Louis Coleman - delay the clock
RP Tim Collins - delay the clock
RP Blaine Hardy - Pitched 67 innings for Omaha with a 3.49 ERA
RP Brandon Sisk - Royal best 2.51 ERA in Arizona Fall League

Competition
SS Irving Falu - Escobar trade hurt his chances with Royals longterm
IF Lance Zawadzki - Organization depth
IF Joaquin Arias - Organization depth

50/50
1b Eric Hosmer - .977 OPS between AA and A+ 72 extra base hits compared to 59 Ks
SP Danny Duffy - Found new velocity in 2010 reaching 98 mph on some guns
SS Jeff Bianchi - Back from Tommy John surgery
RP Henry Barrera - High strikeout low BB reliever
RP Patrick Keating - Averaged 12.8 K/9 between High A and AA
RP Blake Johnson - 1.40 ERA in Winter Ball 22 IP
RP Jeremy Jeffres - Delay the clock

Strengths- Bullpen- The bullpen should be loaded with skilled and power arms. Tools- whether all the tools will translate or not this will be one of the most skilled set of players to come through Omaha in quite sometime.

Weakness- Youth - These players will get tested against the AAA veterans for the first time.

New Stadium, New Name, New Players, Young talent makes for the most interesting AAA season in Omaha in quite a long time.

New Top 20, Greinke trade and predicting the 25 man roster.

Rank Player 2011 Start
#1 Wil Myers NW Arkansas
#2 Eric Hosmer Omaha- waivering back and forth between repeating AA or not but ala Lough I think he starts in Omaha after a good spring.
#3 Mike Montgomery NW Arkansas
#4 Mike Moustakas Omaha
#5 John Lamb NW Arkansas
#6 Christian Colon NW Arkansas
#7 Chris Dwyer NW Arkansas
#8 Danny Duffy Omaha
#9 Cheslor Cuthbert Kane County- I'll stand by my love of Cuthbert. Young, built, great approach and made to play baseball.
#10 Jake Odorizzi Wilmington Blue Rocks
#11 Aaron Crow NW Arkansas
#12 Louis Coleman Kansas City
#13 Tim Collins Kansas City
#14 Jeremy Jeffress Omaha
#15 Yordano Ventura Kane County
#16 Robinson Yambati Kane County
#16 Tim Melville Wilmington
#17 Brett Eibner Kane County
#18 Salvador Perez NW Arkansas
#19 Jason Adam Kane County
#20 David Lough Omaha

On the outs#19 Johnny Giavotella Omaha- I've never been as high on Johnny as most but the trade for Escobar really puts a pinch on Giavotella as now he has to compete with Christian Colon at 2b.

The Royals traded their Ace Zack Greinke for four players from the Milwaukee Brewers. This trade has been discussed over and over by much better baseball people than myself so I won't get into it much other than to say of the available trades that were being talked about between the Royals, Blue Jays, Rangers, Nationals, etc. this seems to be the best one available to them.

KC has upgraded the middle of their defense with Alcides Escobar and Lorenzo Cain, added a potential shutdown arm to the bullpen and added to their already loaded list of starters in the minors. Will all the players meet their peak potential? Doubtful but the good thing about this kind of move is that if you find one gem then that player can equal or surpass Greinke's value over a two year span. All in all I like the move because it didn't seem like Zack wanted to be here anymore and Escobar and Cain add to a weakness in the organization while Ordozzi and Jeffress have decent ceilings.

With the additions I see the 25 man roster like this:
1B Billy Butler
DH Kila Ka'aihue
2b Mike Aviles
SS Alcides Escobar
3b Wilson Betemit
LF Alex Gordon
CF Lorenzo Cain
RF Jeff Ugh Franceour
C Brayan Pena
Bench
Melky Cabrera
Lucas May
Chris Getz

SP Luke Hochevar
SP Vin Mazzaro
SP Sean O'Sullivan
SP Kyle Davies
SP Bruce Chen- With available money I believe KC will resign him.

RP Dusty Hughes
RP Tim Collins
RP Robinson Tejeda
RP Gil Meche
RP Blake Wood
RP Kanekoa Texeira
RP Louis Coleman
RP Joakim Soria

It will be ugly as I see this team as probably the worst overall in all of baseball unless Escobar and Cain perform above expectations while Billy starts to hit the ball over the fence. It's not about 2011 though and the worst overall record wouldn't hurt all that much just add another piece to the longterm puzzle.

Omaha Rename

As most of you know the Omaha Royals have changed their AAA stadium and team name. I was a season ticketholder last season because of the announcement of the move to the new stadium in Sarpy county which is going to be about 5 minutes from my house in La Vista. Obviously by that rationale I was heavily in favor of the move away from Rosenblatt and biased to it being in Sarpy county but now I'm warming up to the new identity also.

Rosenblatt for all the nostalgia and history behind it was old and full of inconveniences. It wasn't in a greatest part of town(not terrible), it had extremely small walk ways which was ridiculous when there was a large crowd, crappy parking, the distance was too far away from the majority of families in the area(target market). While having a new stadium for the College World Series probably wasn't that needed by the city and keeping the CWS contract just yet it was needed for AAA baseball to survive in Omaha longterm.

As part of that longterm plan some unwanted changes were going to have to happen. When I first heard that management was going to have a vote to change the name I thought to myself why change the name at all and I hope Golden Spikes isn't a nominee. I knew though that merchandise sales is one of only a couple revenue streams that minor league teams have to survive and tying their string to a team whose major league affiliate has been a joke for awhile wasn't a good thing longterm. I knew they needed a name that was local (not much midwest is known for other than changing weather) and one that would increase sales. Really the wackier name the better but being that Omaha and Nebraska in general is about as crazy as a morman convention I knew a name similar to the Flying Squirrels was never gonna happen. So I reveal to you the new jerseys and hats for the Storm Chasers.





Not too much to get excited about I doubt fans are going to rush out to buy these primary jerseys as I've never thought blue and gray was that great of color combo. Kids should like the hats but the C in Chasers reminds me more of a ocean wave than something to do with a storm. Hopefully the color scheme and logos are going to be tweaked into something more like the alternative jerseys and hats that they have already released and they are just taking their time to convert people away from the old Omaha Royal colors.





I know the staff in Omaha lead by Martie Cordaro know what they are doing and don't need advice from me but I'm going to give it anyway. Take two trips to see how teams do things. Make one to Wilmington Delaware and copy what the Blue Rocks do with their team and fans. Its true family excitement and wackiness their promos are some of the best in the business. Also go to the Dominican and hire these girls. WOW !





Next Up: Royal minor league roster predictions.

Fall and Winter Ball

The Royals are performing quite well in the PanAm games for Team USA. While Moustakas, Hosmer, Collins, Duffy, Teaford and Montgomery are playing well I can't wait to see how the Duffy, Montgomery, Sisk, DRob, Hosmer, Perez and Giavotella handle the light Arizona air later this month. I'll drop a new Top 25 following winter league ball.

Keep a lookout

14 for 77 Royal Minor League Player of the Year

It was a tough year to come up with a Royal minor league player of the year with so many outstanding performances. It started with Mike Montgomery and Eric Hosmer taking over Wilmington from the start of the year. Soon Mike Moustakas would get healthy and start his obliteration of minor league pitching on his way to a ton of Home Runs and extra base hits. John Lamb, Chris Dwyer and Wil Myers would all start to get take over in May and zoom thru levels of competition while Danny Duffy wouldn't be far behind. As the season wore on the pitchers either got challenged by injuries or extra levels as their production slowed. Myers, Moose and Hos excelled as they all got promoted a level and while Hosmer was probably the leader 3/4 of the way thru he gets a slight notch against him as his promotion probably helped his numbers more than the other two. That leaves Moose and Myers as my finalist.

Moustakas 35 Home Runs jumps off the page as do his 74 extra base hits compared to 65 strikeouts but in the end he played in two pretty decent hitting environments.

My Royal Minor League Player of the Year is Wil Myers. Wil put up a .916 OPS in two and a half months of the Midwest league as a 19 year old. He also hit 10 HRs in 239 ABs, at that pace he probably would have bested Moustakas 22 at the same level when he was 19. Myers then promoted to Wilmington a very difficult park on right-handers and a difficult hitting level in general. Wilmington was the same level that ate Hosmer and Moustakas up in 2009 but Myers would dominate with the bat from the moment he arrived. Absent of more HRs one can say nothing about Myers game other than he struggles behind the plate. Neither Moustakas or Hosmer are above average defenders so Myers difficulty behind the plate isn't that big of a hit against his season considering he is playing a more difficult position in general. At only 19 years old for him to have the type of year he has had at the two most difficult hitting environments in the Royals minor league system Myers has done enough to be my minor league player of the year.

Arizona Fall League Rosters announced

The Royals will be sending Danny Duffy, Mike Montgomery, Patrick Keating, Derrick Robinson, Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez to Surprise Arizona this fall for the Arizona Fall League. Perez at only 20 years old will be the 2nd youngest position player in the league and should present quite the challenge for the young catcher. Perez had a stellar August in the Carolina League powering up for 4 Home Runs which is 1 more than he had hit in the previous four months. Overall for the month Perez line of .390/.412/.623 is easily the best line he has posted in his young minor league career. On top of the bat improving Salvador's defense remains above average throwing out 43% of runners on the season. Perez definitely has to improve his patience at the plate but overall I have a lot of respect the season the young catcher has put together in the Carolina league.

.283/.312/.406 7 HR 20 doubles 16/37 BB/So 43% CS 11 PB 82 gms

Royals Announce signing of Eibner and Adam

The Royals completed the draft signing period Monday announcing the signings of Brett Eibner (2nd rounder) and Jason Adam (5th rounder). Total KC spent approximately 7 plus million on this years draft as well as spending 1.1M on the signing of international free agent Shortstop Humberto Arteaga of Venezuela. I love the strategy of spending big in the draft and internationally as I just can't see how it could fail for them longterm. I would like to see them get back into that 10+ million range every draft as the Red Sox did this season but I'm not going to squawk over a couple million here or there especially considering many peoples thoughts on this year overall being a weak draft.

BA quote on Arteaga-

Arteaga is a smart player with a skinny, projectable body, though he isn't a great runner. Scouts have said he stands out more for his defensive tools—especially his soft hands—than for his bat.

Lower Minors getting pub

Baseball America had a nice blurb about Yordano Ventura of the Arizona Royals hitting 98-99 mph with his fastball. Pretty impressive for a 5'11 150 lbs 19 year old to show that type of stuff already. Along with him Crawford Simmons was named Appalachian Pitcher of the Week for August 9th by milb.com. Simmons a 14th round pick last season is considered to be a good overall athlete as he could've had a scholarship in golf or baseball to Georgia Tech but passed on both to sign with the Royals for $450,000. Simmons according to BA sports the usual Royal minor league repertoire fastball,curve and change up averaging 86-90 while touching 91 with his fastball prior to signing. Simmons combined with a teammates Leonel Santiago and Willian Avinazar are leading the Burlington Royals to above normal season for the usual Burlington(NC) bottom feeders. Those four plus 19 year old Robinson Yambati in Arizona combine to give the Royals a possible second wave to the solid prospects they already have at the top levels of the system.

KC should be thinking of shutting John Lamb down for the season not because of his recent struggles but because he has pitched 58 more innings already over what he pitched last season. Even if you don't support the Verducci Effect or other systems Lamb is only 20 and recent struggles could be hints of injury or lead to possible injury down the road with too great a increase in workload.

Revising The Top 20

Rk/ Name/ Current Age Where they will start next season

#1 Wil Myers 19- I've touted him as the possible #1 player in the system but held off off on changing the rankings until now. Still only 19 he's the best hitter in the system and I really don't think it's close his combo of power and patience to all fields will be too much for opponents at every level. I like Hos and Moose and think they'll make an impact but Myers is the real deal and IMO will become the best player to where Royal blue since Carlos Beltran. Myers should push for a September callup next season if his defense just gets a tad better and will join Hos and Moose in KC by 2012. No matter what happens with the rest of this list get ready to be excited about Wil Myers. 2011-NW Arkansas

Myers in Burlington video

#2 Eric Hosmer 20- The Hos has stepped up his game at AA leaving the cavernous spaces of Frawley Field and turning those doubles into Home Runs. The Hos has hit 8 of them since his promotion and unlike Moustakas did crushing the ball on the road as well as home(.909 Rd OPS). He'll join Moustakas at AAA next season and should push for a spot in KC next September if Kila doesn't prove to be a DH/1b type. I think it's a little early to talk about trading Billy in favor of Hosmer but the fact that the discussion can take place is a good sign for KC. 2011-Omaha

#3 Mike Montgomery 21- Throws mid 90s has a solid breaking ball and an above average change up in the future. He and Lamb both love to compete and go at hitters still a little question as neither have had to pitch in hitters environments for a full season yet but Monty has handled Arkansas well when he's been healthy enough to pitch. 2011-Omaha

#4 Mike Moustakas 21- He's struggled at AAA so far but has flashed the power that makes him a top prospect. I've heard a fan toss out Ryan Braun comps but I don't think he'll hit for that kind of average as his splits are too dramatic. JJ said Moose is going to play winter ball which is a good thing because he needs to refine his approach at the plate. He swings at too many pitches and makes contact too easily leading to some weak contact which shouldn't happen for a player with true 75 power. 2011-Omaha

Moose in Omaha

#5 John Lamb 20- Breezed thru two levels of the minor leagues without using one of his breaking balls hopefully adding the slider to his bag of tricks will have him build even more on his success. 2011-NW Arkansas

#6 Chrisitan Colon 21- In the middle of four lefties. The 2010 first round pick is playing in tough territory for a right hand hitter but is said to be a safe bet to be at least a average major league player. 2011-NW Arkansas

#7 Chris Dwyer 22- Has been lights out and the control has been much better than anticipated. His last start was probably due to the bad back but it's something to watch. If he continues to pitch the way he has this season he and Myers picks will lessen the blow that could be Crow. 2011-Omaha

#8 Danny Duffy 21- I'm going to leave him here despite BA reporting he is touching 97 while regularly pitching 93 to 94. Duffy already has a solid curve, can change speeds with his fastball and is said to have a solid slider that he hasn't got a chance to use. As good as Lamb and Montgomery have been if Duffy's velocity has increased this much he might be the best of the bunch. 2011-Omaha

#9 Cheslor Cuthbert 17- This kid can flat out hit, period. Only 17 and performing in the 3 hole in Idaho Falls. He'll fly up these charts next season if he can handle the Midwest league at only 18 years old. He and Myers mark my words will be the Top 2 prospect by the end of the season next year if Hos and Moose are both in KC. A GREAT FIND by the Royals international crew !!! 2011-Burlington

#10 Aaron Crow 23- Demotion to Wilmington, Crow is showing the signs that he might be a reliever at his peak. 2011-NW Arkansas

#11 Louis Coleman 24- The sample size is small with only 94+ IP but his numbers versus lefties is better than righties which is a good sign that he'll be more than just a Righty v. Righty guy. Like Collins he could be part of a solid Royals pen in the future. 2011-KC

#12 Tim Collins 20- Power throwing lefty via the Braves getting sent to Omaha. If he maintains the 13+ K/9 and 2.46 FIP he won't be on this list long. 2011-KC

#13 Tim Melville 20- Up and down season for Melville just when you think he has it he loses it. On the 7 day DL but should be back pretty quickly. Still only 20 years old which is still young for High A. 2011-Wilmington

#14 Tyler Sample- 21- Prior to his last start Sample had been outstanding in June and July with a sub 3 ERA and averaging a K per inning. The walk total is still too high at 5.60 BB/9 but he is showing glimpses of being more than just a future reliever. 2011-Wilmington

Sample in Burlington

#15 Salvador Perez 20- The backstop is young at only 20 years of age. A solid defensive backstop who is slowly getting better with the stick. Pretty impressive he's been able to hang in High A though at such a young age. 2011-NW Arkansas

#16 David Lough 24- A big dip from me as I was really high on him to start the season. He should be in CF to max his value but learning to be more patient at the plate which should only help him in the long run. Plenty of tools and should push for playing time in KC next season. 2011-Omaha

Lough in Omaha

#17 Brett Eibner- Should sign later this month

#18 Derrick Robinson 22- His OBP has dipped every month this season not a good sign(.427,.374,.319,.301). 2011-Omaha

#19 Jordan Parraz 26- Big Arm in Right Field who's numbers finally settled in July after having back to back strong months. 2011-Omaha

Parraz HR

#20 Johnny Giavotella 23- Really heated up this month but still questions about his glove. 2011-Omaha

The Future is getting closer than even Dayton Moore could have envisioned prior to the season. Of the guys in the Top 20, seven have been promoted one level while John Lamb has been promoted two levels. That is outstanding results and should lead to a #1 organizational overall ranking by Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus.

UP Next: Video of Mike Moustakas, Tim Collins and Louis Coleman hoping to get video of the Arkansas guys prior to the end of the month.

Deadline Swap

Deadline Deal- KC Royals trade Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth to the Atlanta Braves for Gregor Blanco, Tim Collins and Jesse Chavez.

Gregor Blanco is a 5'11 170 lbs slap hitting average fielding centerfielder who has hit 3 HRs from '06-10 between the minors and bigs, what does he provide to the Royals? Nothing really, he doesn't run the bases well, doesn't play above average defense which he would need to be worth something, overall he is a below average player who probably does nothing more than move Maier to a corner OF spot where he loses his value. Blanco is the type of player that should be stored in AAA and brought up as an injury fill in.

Jesse Chavez - 6'2 Righty throws a mid 90s fastball with a 90 mph bump slider along with a high 80s change up. His fastball didn't appear to have much movement on it Sunday as he got tagged for a HR but he can throw hard and seems to be another possible reclamation project for McClure who had done well with Tejeda and Farnsworth the last couple seasons.

Tim Collins - Collins was the key to the deal for the Royals, he came into the season ranked as the #10 and #19 rated prospect for the Toronto Blue Jays(part of the SS deal with Braves) by Kevin Goldstein and Baseball America. Collins as I'm sure you've read elsewhere is a short hard throwing lefty with a 94 mph fastball and good 12 to 6 curve. He is only 20 and has dominated every level he has been at never recording a K/9 below 10.5 at any stop. Collins will report to AAA Omaha where he and Louis Coleman will hopefully team up as bullpen stoppers in AAA this season and in KC next.

Overall this trade is a major win for the Royals adding a couple BP arms one of which could be a real contributor with an AAA 5th OF fill in type for two soon to be Free Agents while also clearing room for younger players who need opportunities to play. Dayton Moore deserves alot of criticism for his mistakes with the big league roster in the past but the signings of Rick Ankiel, Kyle Farnsworth and Scott Podsednik turned out to be halfway decent. He got decent play from Podsednik and a half seasons worth from Farnsworth while Ankiel thanks to injury didn't block anyone. He overpaid for two of them but in the end it worked out to 5 prospects and some ok play. If GMDM continued to net those type of results from free agent signings I would be cool with it as should most Royals fans.

Ranking of the 3 deals:
#1 Sean O'Sullivan and Will Smith for Alberto Callaspo
#2 Tim Collins, Jesse Chavez and Gregor Blanco for Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth
#3 Lucas May and Elisaul Pimentel for Scott Podsednik

Countdown Deadline

GMDMs objectives should be simple:

#1 Find Kila Ka'aihue At Bats- KC goes into next season without a bonafide DH on the roster due to the Jose Guillen contract expiration and GMDM needs to find out if Kila Ka'aihue is a real option. If GMDM can unload Guillen at the deadline then Kila could appear in as many as 58 games, earning in the neighborhood of 260 ab's which should be enough to see if the AAA stats translate or not.

#2 Bring back prospects- GMDM already has done that with the additions of O'Sullivan, May, Pimentel and Smith but any other additions are worth it. There are going to be casualties in the prospect rise and any other troops GMDM can bring in will help soften the blow.

#3 Adding positional prospects- So far GMDM has concentrated on pitching but he needs to look at the possibilities of adding more positional prospects because the guys in the system are far from locks. Just taking a quick peak at the prospects at positions at the upper levels one can see some shaky ground up the middle.

C Pina, May
1b Hosmer, Kila, Robinson
2b Giavotella, Bianchi
SS Bianchi, Falu
3b Moustakas
RF Parraz
LF Lough, Smith, Orlando
CF Dyson, Lough, Robinson, Orlando

There doesn't appear to be much coming up the middle although Giavotella has had a good second half offensively, his defense is still very bad though. Who knows how Bianchi recovers from Tommy John and Falu profiles as a Bloomquist type not an everyday player. The outfielders look more like a group of 4th outfielders with perhaps Lough being the best of the group if he can build on his more patient approach in July. 1b and 3b look to be set if Moose can hit at AAA while Colon and Myers aren't far behind and could be the starters of the future at SS and C/RF. GMDM needs to see if he can add some positional prospects at the upper levels the way he added Pina, Parraz and Smith the last couple of seasons.

#4 Trade Joakim Soria- Anytime a team like Kansas City has an opportunity to trade a closer and redirect the direction of their franchise they should really consider it. Montero is on the board for the Yankees if they add one more upper tier prospect to the mix or maybe Brett Gardner then GMDM should do it. He'll have 2 to 3 years to find a replacement closer since KC isn't looking at being in the mix again for a division until 2012 or 2013. After seeing what the Nats pulled for 1+ year of Matt Capps, Montero and Gardner doesn't seem out of line.

#5 Giving Alex and Maier playing time- Need to move Ankiel it appears to do this and that seems unlikely but GMDM needs to see if these guys are real starter options for next season. I believe Maier could be a 2 WAR player in CF which is definitely worth him starting everyday in KC but Gordon's return is bringing up more and more question marks. Alex's offense is the worry to me as he has shown no pop since his callup maybe he just needs more time to recover but his good second half in '08 is getting farther and farther away while career path is looking more like Mark Teahen's, one good half of baseball and below average play besides that.

I don't expect all of this to get done in fact just a Jose Guillen trade would be enough as long as Kila was called up but anything more on top of that would help clear up the foggy 2011.

I was wrong thank god Pods traded

I came out and said I doubt GMDM would trade Podsednik and oh man am I glad I was wrong. The Royals tonight turned him along with the rest of his contract to the Dodgers for Lucas May and Elisaul Pimentel. May is an AAA catcher who was converted from shortstop a couple years ago. He has a decent bat but has struggled with breaking balls and the conversion to backstop at times. He probably profiles best as a backup catcher in the bigs but has some potential as a possible second division type starter. The other player in the trade Pimentel is a 22 year old right-handed starting pitcher who throws in the 89-93 mph range with his fastball while also throwing a slider and change up although those two are inconsistent from what Ben Badler tweets. These prospects aren't anywhere near the Carlos Santana-Casey Blake deal that the Dodgers got roped into a couple years ago but Royals fans should be happy that Podsednik wasn't apart of the long term plans and as a 34 year old performed better than the 1 million the Royals paid him and returned a couple prospects in return.

MLBTradeRumors also reported that the Royals are interested in making more deals. With what we have heard about the Royals getting close on a DDJ deal prior to the injury and supposedly close on a Guillen deal with the Giants GMDM seems to recognize his window to load up on prospects.

Dutton reports that early signs show Greg Holland will get the promotion in place of Podsednik a good deal for Greg who has been on fire in July carrying a 16.45 K/9 rate. He's compact guy at 5'11 throwing mid 90s with a good slider. Holland's biggest weakness is his lack of control something as fans we are quite used to but hopefully his fastball slider combo will be enough to keep him out of trouble. Look for Louis Coleman to be the next arm up from the minors if Farnsworth would happen to get traded.

Hello GMDM 3 days left and the future is getting closer

Rumors- Nothing really, NL West teams were calling on Podsednik but the Padres were said to not be a good fit. The Giants don't need him as they have plenty of lefty bats and some speed in the outfield they are much more likely to get Cantu and perhaps Guillen as a consolation prize. The Rockies are 8 games back which means they are closer to becoming sellers than buyers. That leaves the Dodgers who currently have Garrett Anderson hitting .183, Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp but also have Manny on a rehab assignment. Perhaps only being 5 games back they would be interested in Pods and as Royal fans the Dodgers are definitely the team we want interested in a player. The McCourts are cash strapped and have given away good young controllable talent for mediocre major league players (Carlos Santana for Casey Blake). I just don't see it though I hope I'm wrong but with the way Gordon has looked in the outfield since getting called up and Podsednik's decent season I just see GMDM looking more and more at exercising Pods option, I hope I'm wrong though.

Farnsworth sore leg is another sign of the bad Karma KC is continuously dealing with. Of course it couldn't be Guillen getting injured it had to be Farnsworth and DDJ who could yield some good young players instead Guillen will flash his immobility in the outfield no one will come a calling and then KC will try to get someone to bite after clearing waivers and unless Kenny Williams doesn't grab someone for that DH spot I doubt anyone will. Glass is such a penny pincher and looking to unload this team that they won't outright release him giving him the job thru September and yet again blocking Kila from getting a real audition.

Down in the Minors it appears John Lamb and Danny Duffy has been promoted to NW Arkansas where they'll join Aaron Crow and Chris Dwyer in the rotation. What a rotation if Mike Montgomery joins them later this season I would have to believe that is the most stacked minor league rotation in quite sometime. Let’s take a look at where everyone is currently


Mike Moustakas- Omaha Royals
Mike Montgomery- Arizona Royals rehab assignment
Eric Hosmer- NW Arkansas
Wil Myers- Wilmington
John Lamb- NW Arkansas
Christian Colon- Wilmington
Chris Dwyer- NW Arkansas
Danny Duffy- NW Arkansas
Aaron Crow- NW Arkansas
David Lough- Omaha
Louis Coleman- Omaha
Tim Melville- Wilmington
Kila Ka'aihue- Omaha
Salvador Perez- Wilmington
Tyler Sample- Burlington
Jordan Parraz- Omaha
Cheslor Cuthbert- Idaho Falls
Derrick Robinson- NW Arkansas
Tim Smith- NW Arkansas
Johnny Giavotella- NW Arkansas

That's 12 of my Top 20 in the Upper two levels of the minors and that's not including Mike Montgomery on a rehab assignment. The Future is coming and it's starting to really pound on that door. While I don't believe GMDM should rush these guys he needs to look at what he has and start adding to it because there is going to be some failures on this list and passing on deals for Podsednik, Farnsworth, Soria or anyone else on this failing major league roster is a plan to fail in 2012 when some of these guys are here to play and stay.

ORoyals video and Soria rumor pops up again 5 days left

I've attended the last three ORoyals games a doubleheader Sunday and the afternoon game Monday. Quick thoughts on a few guys

Jarrod Dyson- Only got to see him show off the wheels once as he stole a base Monday afternoon but he showed a good arm in center when he would've had Morrison on a close play at the plate had Pina hung on to the ball. Looked alright at the plate as one could expect a couple line drives with not much pop.

Dyson single

David Lough- The usual solid performance from David played solid defense in left while becoming a bit more patient at the plate. His bat is as quick thru the zone as any Royal minor leaguer in the system and despite his size provides nice pop. David's BABIP is attrocious this month(.132 comin into today) but even with that he is carrying a .368 OBP his highest of any month this season and has drawn 9 more walks(19/10) than he did in April-June. If he can build on his last 10 games .257/.386/.514 and the solid approach KC has a solid ML CF/4th OF, in the mold of Brett Gardner with a tick less speed but a tick more pop.

David Lough Groundout
David Lough Forceout

Mike Moustakas- I don't think we'll have to worry about groundouts to second ala Alex because I didn't see him hit a ball on the ground during the three game set but unfortunately I didn't see him square up a ball either. He seems to be taking every first pitch which at the triple A level probably isn't the best approach as the pitchers are savvy enough to feed him offspeed pitches when he is down in the count and get him out with pitches out of the zone which is exactly what happened in the three games I saw. Quite a few popouts and a couple he hit on the button at people. Defensively he didn't get many chances other than a tailor made 5-3 double play he turned. I think AAA is a good challenge to Mike and it'll be a good challenge to him and force him to start hitting down in the count.

Mike Moustakas flyout to CF
Mike Moustakas strikes out swinging

Kila Ka'aihue and Logan Morrison- As usual Kila is the man was unloading on all swings and knocked out a opposite field HR on Monday. He's patient looks for pitches he can crush in "his zone" and when he sees one there is no wasted swing. Other than Logan Morrison Kila was the best looking hitter on the field and uncoiled on all hit attempts. He has a professional approach everytime and is looking for something he can handle. He never waivers no matter what the count, I wish KCs hitters would do the same unfortunately it probably doesn't matter what Kila does cause GMDM is a moron. As I mentioned Morrison is a total stud who is country strong and combines Kila's approach with a little more raw talent and bat speed. Morrison probably doesn't have Kila's strength but he is a solid gap hitter that could probably be an above average hitter at the ML level within a year or two.

Kila Ks
Logan Morrison Groundout

As you can see with the videos I tagged I had some bad luck with the cam as far as results but I was mostly looking to show off the bat speed of these guys. Video quality is better than yesterday.

Rumor- The latest rumor today was that the Yankees offered Montero as apart of a deal for Soria. Jesus Montero is a lock for pretty much every Top 10 list of prospects in baseball, is a catcher by his current position only and a 20 year old holding his own at AAA, so pretty much there isn't much not to like. In fact Jon Heyman said on MLBNetwork they offered the same package as Cliff Lee to the Royals and they turned it down. If true then GMDM is an idiot an even bigger one than we already thought. So in two days KC has rumors they are interested in Frenchy and turned down a deal for Montero+, if those aren't fireable offenses then I don't know what are. The Royals are said to want more pitching, why? They have quite a bit of pitching in the system already how much do they need, yes they are going to deal with some prospect failures but come on they already have more pitching in the minors than any other team in the bigs. They need the best talent made available to them whether that is a stud hitting catcher, outfielder or a centerfielder. GMDM should be doing nothing but stockpiling talent at all positions not just pitching, does he not realize if he has Montero, Myers and Perez behind the dish at least one is going to fail, one is going to make it and he can deal the other. This guy just doesn't get it. If the Yankees did offer this and GMDM passed well I guess 2012-2014 will probably just turn out to be more of the same.

6 Days left and the new hellish rumor

Before I get to the latest rumor and why I want to stab my eyes out I thought I'd give you a couple video's of Mike Moustakas and Logan Morrison. At the current time you can see the differences in their games as Morrison is a bit more patient although the Royals didn't toss any lefties at him while Mike got the majority of his ABs Sunday versus lefties. I thought I'd have more video but the cam was acting up. Hopefully I'll have some more Monday.

Mike Moustakas single

Logan Morrison Double

Rumor
Royals-Mets swap Kyle Farnsworth, Jose Guillen, Gil Meche for Oliver Perez, Jeff Franceour and Luis Castillo.

This is a godawful idea in absolutely every way, Perez sucks, Frenchy continues to suck and Castillo might be worse than the other two. It is so bad but almost inevitable as Dayton Moore is such a shitty GM that every time there is a rumor about him liking some shitty ballplayer getting traded to the Royals it goes down. First it was Farny, then Yuni now Frenchy, these rumors all started three years ago and then just when we forget about them boom shit is on the roster.

We fans hated the Farnsworth signing but he has actually pitched himself into being worth something and instead KC is going to ship him out for a worse player than what KC already has on the roster I can't even express how dumb that is to even think about let alone do. They should be trading him for a B or C level prospect not a a crap player like Franceour. This will cement sure victory for GMDM in the crap GM contest. How does Minaya even have the balls to ask for GMDM to take on Perez, Frenchy and Castillo? Oh ya because it's GMDM on the other end of the line, the worlds most ignorant baseball GM. I have praised Dayton for the prospects in the system but when you toss in his ignorant major league moves it is apparent he is nothing more than a scouting director and anything above that is over his skillset.

A week to go and the Greinke rumors are starting

Rumor-

But when clubs inquire about Greinke, the Royals respond by saying they would want two major-league-ready pitchers with top-of-the rotation potential in return.

Their logic is that Greinke gives them a chance to win 35 times a year. To move him, they would want to multiply that number to, say, 70 times a year.

According to Jon Heyman and Ken Rosenthal everyone on the Royals roster is attainable including Zack Greinke. I'm like most who have the opinion that no one is unsellable given the right offer but this one kind of wreaks of sell off. Additional rumors of Glass possibly selling the team and needing to trim salary to make it more attractive might be behind this. Greinke is owed 27 million over the next two years which at his talent level is not a huge sum but is also affordable to other small market teams with talent. What should KC be looking for in return?

TB- Two of Desmond Jennings or Jeremy Hellickson with Matt Moore or Wade Davis

ATL- Julio Teheran and Mike Minor

I just don't see a real good match as the teams that would pull this off Sox and Yankees don't have much top end pitchers in their system while the Rays probably wouldn't unload the top talent it would take. I'm not against the move but I would definitely want more than what the Mariners got for Cliff Lee. They might need to get a third team involved to get what they want and deserve for Zack.

Alex Up, Kila waits, DDJ Out 8 Days left

8 Days Left til the deadline and DDJ is officially out for the season. Maybe this isn't so bad because the Royals can look to move Scott Podsednik instead of DDJ, Pods definitely hasn't been a bad signing in fact one of GMDMs better ones but if he can return something worth while do it. DDJs injury also allows the Royals to take a look at Alex Gordon in the outfield. The games I've seen Alex he has decent movement in the outfield not great coverage but playable while he also has a very good arm. Hopefully this move is made to have Alex play OF as opposed to 3b.

The deadline is approaching the best chip the Royals have is out for the season and the roster continually gets aligned with dead soldiers like Guillen and Ankiel. The Royals need to make some moves to give this team a chance to compete in the future, one of those moves needs to be bringing up Kila Ka'aihue to see if he is a legit DH candidate. Unfortunately I just don't see that coming soon unless JoGui can get traded soon.

Rumor- Royals interested in Franceour. This is idiotic and makes absolutely no sense unless the Royals are just looking to unload JoGui and even at that I'm not interested in Frenchy blocking playing time from Gordon, Maier or anyone.

Alberto Callaspo Trade finished and Greg Holland Heating up

The Royals traded Alberto Callaspo today for Sean O'Sullivan and Will Smith. Both starters project as #4/5 types or as bullpen arms which for the way Callaspo was hitting this season really isn't that bad of a return. O'Sullivan is only 22 and should fit into the rotation as a better alternative to Davies and gives the Royals some flexibility to trade either Bannister or Davies (why would a team trade for him) as I mentioned earlier in the week when the trade was rumored. The other piece to the deal was Will Smith a 21 year old lefty who the Angels bounced around the system this season after performing decently last season in the Midwest league. The Royals have already assigned him to Wilmington; the level Smith should've been most the season instead of the PCL and Texas League. Both pitchers lack a so called out pitch from scouting reports but are advanced pitchers who have performed alright considering their age at advanced levels. I think this is a win trade for GMDM but definitely far from a Home Run, it could look better if the Royals could trade Bannister for another Smith type prospect or more.

As the Major league team was getting worked over by the Yankees due to a bullpen collapse the Omaha Royals were watching their young bullpen arms slice thru the Memphis Redbirds for 7 innings after Phil Humber got ejected. The key to the slicing and dicing was Greg Holland who was touching 95 with his fastball working both sides of the plate and missing bats with a nice 86 mph slider. Holland has looked very solid his last 11 or so outings after some mixed performances here and there during the season. Those last 11 games have computed to 17.2 IP 27 Ks 8 Hits 9 Walks while only yielding 1 run. That's a pretty good run of it lowering his ERA to 3.86, the 11 outings is a very arbitrary number but it hopefully is a sign he's turned a corner and perhaps could be ready to join the bullpen next season.

9 Days left and David DeJesus may have locked in his spot on next years roster by injuring himself in New York. Seems appropriate for a team with the Royals luck to have their highest rated trading piece in years injure themselves just days before the deadline.

Trade Deadline Countdown 11 Days and counting

Callaspo for O'Sullivan plus
The newest rumor of the day is that the Royals reportedly turned down a offer from the Los Angeles Angels that featured Sean O'Sullivan and a "fringe" prospect for Alberto Callaspo. When I first saw this deal I wasn't really interested in it and then I thought to myself O'Sullivan has been pitching in the PCL West which is the equivalent of the Coors stadium league and while his peripherals weren't great he could probably pitch to the level of Brian Bannister. O'Sullivan would be cheaper than Bannister and the Yankees expressed interest in one Brian Bannister last season maybe the Royals could also turn Bannister into a prospect at the level of O'Sullivan say Zach McCallister or someone at that level. Overall they would take some money off the payroll by trading Banni and Callaspo and possibly add a starter and a reliever in O'Sullivan and McCallister while also adding a fringe prospect. KC would probably be forced to move Alex back to 3rd base or start Aviles there if they are really that against Gordon playing the infield but is that really that bad a thing for a team that should be focusing more on 2012 than 2010? In the end it doesn't look like it matters as GMDM turned down the deal and he doesn't appear ready to blow up this god awful team just yet.

* By the way Mike Moustakas hit his first HR a deep shot off Memphis Redbird starter Lance Lynn.

Hosmer 2 HRs and my trade wishlist

Well it's been 3 games and Eric has hit 2 HRs and a double in Arvest ballpark. The Royals might have to consider moving those fences back if they have a home AA park that allows players to put up CAL league type numbers. Prior to this season the park was playing neutral according to minorleaguesplits probably because their wasn't enough data but now I would say we are looking at either an imbalance at the park or the Royals have some unbelieveable offensive machines. I tend to believe it's the park unfortunately even though I love the prospects that have been coming thru.

13 Days to the Deadline
Jeff Passan reports that the Royals steep asking price for David DeJesus is the following: a major league-ready prospect, along with at least one midlevel prospect or a pair of lower-level players. I can't really fault GMDM asking price here in fact anything less would be ridiculous and with his affordable salary seems more than reasonable. Who fits this asking price? Here is my Royals Trade Wishlist:

DDJ - Boston Ryan Kalish, San Diego Aaron Cunningham or Kyle Blanks, San Fransisco Jonathan Sanchez or Madison Bumgarner or Brandon Belt(if Hos can play outfield)

Kyle Farnsworth - Cincinnati Chris Dickerson

Joakim Soria - New York Yankees Jesus Montero

Scott Podsednik - Top 15-30 prospect in the system

Brian Bannister - Not really in favor of trading Bannister as he is a solid 5th starter who can eat innings. Not a real reason to trade him as he isn't that costly and can be flipped any year once the prospects start filtering in.

Rick Ankiel/Jose Guillen - Just get them out of town prior to August.

Hos promoted to AA NW Arkansas 14 days left

Eric Hosmer was promoted from Wilmington to NW Arkansas after last nights game. The Hos who had a rough start to his minor league career being swept up in the Alvarez problem in 2008 and then again with injuries that caused problems with his play has had a major bounce back season so far in 2010. Eric leaves the Carolina league while leading the league in BA, OBP, OPS and doubles and almost a guaranteed League MVP. Expect some of those doubles to turn into home runs as he moves into a better hitting environment playing at NW Arkansas.

It's a little early in the day so MLBTradeRumors aren't bouncing off the wall so I thought I'd take a look at the positional depth in the minor leagues to show what positions the Royals could possibly be looking to fill. The date in paragraphs is the expected possible ETA(if ever) while the players are put in order of talent.

Catcher- Wil Myers (2013), Manny Pina (2011), Salvador Perez (2014)
First Base- Eric Hosmer (2012), Kila Ka'aihue (2010), Clint Robinson (2012)
Second Base- Jeff Bianchi(2012), Johnny Giavotella (2012)
Shortstop- Christian Colon (2012), Jeff Bianchi (2012), Irving Falu (2011)
Third Base- Mike Moustakas (2011)
Corner Outfield- Alex Gordon (2010), Wil Myers (2012), Jordan Parraz (2011), Tim Smith (2012), Paulo Orlando (2012)
Centerfield- Derrick Robinson (2012), David Lough (2011), Jarrod Dyson (2012), Paulo Orlando (2012)
Starting Pitcher- Mike Montgomery (2011 "if healthy"), John Lamb (2013), Chris Dwyer (2012), Danny Duffy (2012), Aaron Crow (2012), Edgar Osuna (2012), Tim Melville (2014)
Relief Pitcher- Louis Coleman (2011), Blaine Hardy (2011) Not listing any other relievers

As you can see I listed Wil Myers twice with a quicker ETA if he is moved to the outfield. Relief pitching is easily replaced and the majority of relief pitchers that make it to the bigs when pitching in that role in the minors is low usually if you can't hack it as a starter in the minors you usually aren't going to hang in any role in the majors. With relief pitchers not included the weakest spots in the system are probably up the middle. Second base is extremely weak with Bianchi's injury problems and Giavotella resembling a light hitting Dan Uggla. KC is fortunate that they have control of Getz and Aviles to man that position even if they do it somewhat poorly. After 2b centerfield appears to be the weakest on the surface with a rejuvenated Derrick Robinson and David Lough as the tops on the list. Speed is the key here with Robinson, Dyson and Orlando but light hitting careers leaves much to be desired. Lough has taken on a new approach his last 10 games drawing 10 walks out of his last 33 plate appearances, a good sign if he can raise that average over .130 during the same span. Lough has the best overall game of the group but might be a platoon partner with Maier only (Maier is also a lefty but hits better vs Lefties). CF represents a large group of longshots and unless Eibner is signed and produces probably the least amount of overall talent.

Royals Minor League Positional Strength.
#1 Starting Pitching
#2 First Base
#3 Third Base
#4 Corner Outfield (moves ahead of Moose if Myers gets moved)
#5 Catcher
#6 Shortstop
#7 Centerfield
#8 Second Base

Countdown 15 days to deadline

15 days and counting for easily the most important time period in Dayton Moore's career. 2012-2014 was the supposed deadline to have a contender if that is true then the players he returns this year for DDJ and crew will be ready by then. We'll be tracking the rumors that are swirling about and making quick comments on each.

Rumor #1 "top Royals talent evaluator" was on hand for the Mets/Giants game at AT & T Park tonight.

If this is a trade to involve David DeJesus I can't say I would be all that interested in what the Giants have to offer outside of Bumgarner or Brandon Belt. I think Bumgarner probably isn't on the table and Belt really isn't at a position of need for the Royals with Butler, Kila, CRobinson and Hosmer already at first base and perhaps Moustakas needing a position swap later. Maybe the Giants are in need of something else or are willing to drop one of their few big name prospects in Wheeler, Bumgarner or Belt but overall I think it's as likely that the Royals scout was catching up on pro teams scouting after the draft and the Royals told him to take a trip just in case they have a diamond in the rough.

Rumor #2 Yankees Covet Soria

This is a big one as GMDM has an opportunity to really build a strong system and roster with this trade. It's quite obvious to me that the Yankees are in love with Cliff Lee and are going to after him hard this offseason so if they had landed him then Phil Hughes would probably be attainable here but with the Rangers sneaking in at the last second I doubt KC could land him. With Hughes off the table and Jesus Montero being a stud but not really a catcher option add to the muddled first base options so that leaves Austin Romine a talented receiving catcher with a decent bat but I don't think he's a talented enough prospect to trade Soria for. To me the Yankees system is hyped as always but unless Montero can stay at catcher or they are willing to part with Hughes, I pass for now.

Moose promoted and Jordan Parraz not going anywhere

This post was entitled Jordan Parraz not going anywhere, well until I checked my twitter prior to posting. The announcement that Moustakas is going to Omaha while just another minor league transaction is an important one for KC fans. It shows that progress is happening and it will be quite the challenge for Moustakas. I think we've seen that David Lough who has equal amount of patience as Lough at times has struggled against these veteran AAA pitchers who throw much more solid offspeed offerings. Another reason this is important in my mind is that it confirms to me that GMDM is going to continue to run big prospects thru Omaha as opposed to bouncing them to the majors from AA. Hopefully Moustakas continues to build on a more patient approach and continues to kill the ball the way he did in AA and pushes for a look in September along with a few others, Gordon, Kila and a possible longshot Jordan Parraz.


It took a month for Jordan Parraz to adjust to AAA but has he ever came around since. Parraz is hitting .330/.404/.496 since the start of May, those are solid numbers after hitting well all last season. Parraz's April can be explained easily by rust after finishing '09 injured just look at his BB/K ratio and you can see the difference. His April ratio was terrible 4 BBs to 17 Ks and he was looking overpowered at times that I saw him but since April his numbers have stabolized 25/28 BB/K rate. Jordan is an awkward athlete but has good enough movement in the outfield as well as having a cannon for an arm. He's always been thought of as a 4th outfielder type but if he continues his stellar play since May in the second half might prove to be a solid corner outfielder.

Hos, Moose and Time to Sell

Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas competed in the MLB Futures Game Sunday night and flashed what KC fans hope will be a corner infield of stars. Moustakas struggled at the plate with a pop out and a couple groundouts but flashed the leather with a nice 5-4 Force out and apparently putting on a show in batting practice. While Mike was struggling at the plate during the game Hosmer was putting on a clinic collecting 4 hits in 5 trips including an eighth inning double. Hosmer was doing an outstanding job covering the plate and going the opposite way with the ball. Hos is very advanced in his hitting approach and overall a much more complete hitter than Moose.

With the minor league guys sucking in the attention the big league guys were officially ending their so called chance at contention with a three game beatdown at the hands of the White Sox. Hopefully that three game sweep was the brick that we fans needed to knock some sense into Dayton Moore and get the trading season started in Kansas City. Guillen, Podsednik, Farnsworth and David DeJesus are the pieces that can be moved all for different reasons. Guillen needs to be either moved, benched or cut and very quickly for the sake of the Royals. Kila Ka'aihue is a enigma to fans and the front office, a player with the skillset that most front offices glorify yet that this one doubts. Either way he's hit 46 HRs and walked 203 times in 238 AAA games, he's earned a shot and he's possibly a cheap alternative at the DH position. The only way to find out is give him a 300 AB audition, if GMDM thinks he needs to win he's wrong he needs to find out if he has players prior to the end of this season.

Guillen is the most important piece to be moved while David DeJesus needs time to field offers to weed through good ones and bad ones. With similar types Corie Hart and Nyjer Morgan available, DDJ having a career season and being the best of the group should field some attractive options. Expect a team like the Giants, Padres or maybe even a darkhorse like the Mets to be players in the trade mix for DDJ. I believe the Royals need to bring in a high level talent with some warts (Kyle Blanks, Aaron Cunningham or Fernando Martinez)and another B level prospect ala Jaff Decker or Reese Havens for Davids services. The receiving team wins by getting DeJesus the consumate professional on a fair contract who could bring them back draft picks via Free Agency. It's a big trade for Dayton as he has yet to yield a productive player via trade and while he had the excuse of not having many pieces prior DeJesus is a legitimate big league player who offers value. I'm not expecting him to bring back Carlos Santana via Casey Blake but a whiff like Joey Gathright could cost him his job.

As for Kyle Farnsworth and Scott Podsednik they should be moved for similar reasons as the above. Podsednik is blocking Alex Gordon and needs to be moved to get him some regular big league at bats while Farny has actually built a little value out of the bullpen. I maybe wrong but perhaps Farnsworth could fish a Chris Dickerson out of Cincinnati where he is stuck on the bench behind Drew Stubbs and they are in need of bullpen help. If you have to throw in a Podsednik that wouldn't be too much for me. If not then Pods and Farny should bring back some Manny Pina/Tim Smith types that could help the '12/13 bench.

While Dayton has become the whipping boy for good reason this trade deadline could become the most important time period yet in his career as a general manager.

John Lamb and Mike Moustakas

John Lamb improved his earned run string to 26 IP without allowing an earned run by pitching 5 Innings allowing 3 hits 1 walk while striking out 4 in the Rocks 5-0 win on Friday night July 9.

The Royals gave Mike Moustakas a few days off as he travels to the Futures Game. Its been assumed my most people following the Royals that instead of going back to Northwest Arkansas he'll instead go to Omaha and begin his AAA stint. If true Omaha will be returning home the weekend of July 23rd for a 6 game/4 day stint. I'll be there to capture video and post on the site.

Baseball America rankings

Baseball America just came out with their midseason rankings and the Royals organization had five ranked in their Top 50.

Mike Moustakas #12- Kind of surprised Moose wasn't in the Top 10 but based on his struggles last season and dramatic Home/Road splits it's not without basis. Moose could easily crack the Top 5-10 if he continues to succeed at AAA Omaha after the Futures Game.

Eric Hosmer #13- BA have taken a conservative approach to Hosmer for most of his career ranking him lower than Keith Law most of the time. Hos also could peak into the Top 10 with more power production at AA. He could easily crack the Top 5 for Keith Law with similar AA performance.

Mike Montgomery #18- Monty would've probably been closer to #10-15 if it wasn't for his forearm problems.

John Lamb and Wil Myers 26-50- They didn't rank the 26-50 spots individually but I would think Lamb would be closer to the Top 35 while Myers would be in the Top 50 range. As far as both of them I've been on record that Myers is the most talented overall hitter in the system while Lamb could crack the Top 25 if KC would give him a shot to go and dominate at AA.

This was GMDMs design all along to build through the minor leagues and the draft and at this point one would say it's looking very positive.

NEXT: Video of Omaha Royals Friday 7/9

Anonymous Scouts view

Grant Paulsen of XMs Minors and Majors tweeted a couple of quotes from scouts about Wil Myers and Eric Hosmer after seeing them the other night.

Wil Myers: "Will hit enough to play anywhere. Could end up in RF. Has great power. Not sure he can catch in majors."
This is exactly what many of thought myself included. I think Myers is advanced with his approach and power to actually play with Hosmer the rest of the way meaning if they wanted to promote them both tomorrow Myers bat would be fine, his glove on the other hand is probably still at rookie level. If GMDM thinks the team can compete in 2012 it might be a wise move to move Myers now so he's ready for the jump with Hos, Lamb and company. Teams can easily hide average to below average catchers in comparison to corner outfielders. I don't think GMDM needs to move Myers now but this time next season if he's at AA and his catching hasn't improved significantly the move will probably force itself.

Eric Hosmer: "I don't know if I'm going to file him as a very good big leaguer or as a super star guy. He'll make an ASG."
Wow it sure is nice to even have a guy in the system that is possibly worthy of superstar status and I believe KC has a few of them in the system. Hosmer is showing off more speed and just recently started to ding the Home Run bell a few times. He's ready for the jump to AA and a more friendly hitting park where if his buddy Moose's HR increase shows anything then Hos with his patience and overall hitting approach will be just as dominant. His athleticism and hitting approach and talent have scouts and Royal fans alike thanking GMDM for taking Eric over Gordon Beckham, a decision this time last year looked to be very very foolish.

Lamb is too much for Wilmington

I've never been in favor of rushing a prospect from level to level let a guy show he is deserving of that bump then move him up but then there is the case for John Lamb. The kid is absolutely dominating the High A level right now. After cruising thru Burlington Lamb has only gotten better against tougher competition. Thru 9 High A starts he's yielded more than 1 ER only once and he currently operating on a 21 IP earned run scoreless streak. He has a 11.18 K/9, 2.24 BB/9 and yielding a 1.09 WHIP. Those numbers are outstanding for a 22 year old college lefty top prospect like Brian Matusz let alone a 19 year old like Lamb, oh by the way Lamb's k rate and bb rate are both better than Matusz was last season. Lamb has just been too smooth for the High A competition and with his competitiveness and knowledge of pitching would up for the AA challenge. It's early July and while it's probably not in the cards for a promotion this season I wouldn't mind if KC did bounce him up a level I think he's shown he could handle it.

Quick Thought David Lough

Lough continues to be impatient at the plate but has added some punch to his bat since April. Eight home runs, five doubles and six triples since May 1 leading to a .284/.318/485 while the BA and the SLG are definitely good enough to play CF instead of Maier the on base percentage isn't going to cut it. Lough makes easy contact has plenty of speed and arm to hack it defensively in center but his lack of patience will create a tough hill to climb to the majors. I've always contended that Lough could be DDJ with less on base skill but more power and I think he is well on his way to becoming that player although a sprinkle more of patience would definitely help. July was the month Lough took off last season so be on the lookout for a leap in numbers hitting at the top of the order in Omaha.

Danny Duffy on the mend

Duffy who took a hiatus from baseball has been in Arizona for the last month and should be ready to join his crew in AA very soon. Duffy has pitched the last two nights in Arizona pitching 2 innings each night while striking out six in total. Duffy's addition to the Naturals would be a nice addition prior to 2011 when a few Nats should start filtering into the big league roster.

Royals send Myers and Colon to Wilmington

The Royals signed Christian Colon last week and quickly moved him to Wilmington where he'll be joined by Wil Myers who was promoted from Burlington(IA). Myers in my opinion is the best overall hitter in the system combining power and patience to go along with tons of raw tools. These additions combined with the players already there will make Wilmington the top draw by Royals prospect followers and could push them into a playoff run.



Wilmington Top Prospects
1.Eric Hosmer 1b- #1 in Carolina league in Avg and doubles, #2 in Lg OPS
2.John Lamb SP- Putting up as good of numbers as Duffy, Montgomery, Matusz, Kelly or any prospect in the Carolina League the last couple years.
3.Wil Myers C
4.Christian Colon SS
5.Chris Dwyer SP- Solid season for a guy many expected to take time to get thru the system.
6.Tim Melville SP- Early struggles were tamed but his last couple of starts have been tough.
7.Salvador Perez C- Great start to the season but struggled greatly in June.
8.Buddy Baumann SP/RP- Profiles as a Loogy down the road but is pitching well from both spots starter and reliever.

Colon has struggled so far going 0-12 with 4 strikeouts and hitting into 3 double plays. Colon was thought by many to be a sure fire major leaguer so hopefully these are nothing more than early struggles. I am a tad worried as the guy he is most compared to Grant Green hasn't exactly lit the very very hitter friendly Cal League on fire with a .844 OPS.

If Colon plays to the ability we all hoped and KC doesn't promote Hosmer or Lamb to AA then Wilmington will probably earn a shot in the Carolina League Playoffs.

First Half Tops and Bottoms

Omaha Royals
Top
The play of Kila Ka'aihue and Alex Gordon has been outstanding leading the ORoyals to only a game back of first place as of June 18th. They currently are ranked #2 and #3 in OPS in the league while Alex has learned to play a functional outfield.
Bottom
The fact that the two of them are playing in Omaha is quite ridiculous and should be remedied very soon.

NW Arkansas Naturals
Top
Mike Moustakas and Mike Montgomery didn't take long to flex their muscles at the AA level. While both have fallen victim to injuries the ability they have shown is a bright sign to all Royal fans.
Bottom
The struggles of 2009 1st round pick Aaron Crow are a bit troubling as he has done a solid job creating groundballs at a near 4-1 rate but has been victim to the longball early and low strikeout totals. Johnny Giavotella's lack of power is also troubling as he is only slugging .355.

Wilmington Blue Rocks
Top
Eric Hosmer and John Lamb have shown why they are top level Royal prospects. Hosmer came out of the gates on fire clearing thru April with a .421 BA. While he cooled in May to .301 and a .788 OPS he has heated back up to close the 1st half with a .362 BA and .978 OPS so far this month. The power isn't evident yet but considering the difficulty of hitting in Frawley stadium we can wait until Arkansas to get worried yet. Lambs performance at Burlington and so far in Wilmington has been terrific adding his name to that of Monty and Duffy as possible stud Lefties.
Bottom
Nothing extremely surprising or disappointing Tim Melville's name would definitely fit the bill here if he hadn't seemed to have turned it around this month. To me the the most disappointing thing is that Noel Arguelles won't make it to Wilmington to pitch this season.

Burlington Bees
Top
Wil Myers after the usual slow April has been fantastic prompting me and a few others to think about moving his position. While it might be too early for that this kid can flat out hit. He's improved every month and if it wasn't for his struggling glove would definitely be pushing for a promotion
Bottom
The injury of Kelvin Herrera is a tough one on the Royals system. While he isn't a top name on the Royals prospect charts he definitely has an explosive arm and a knowledge of pitching that could move him thru the system. His arm injury might result in either a move to the pen or a move out of baseball all together, let's hope for neither.

Royals High School draft info on Michael Antonio and Jason Adam

The last two seasons the Royals have concentrated mostly on college players in the draft a strategy that definitely draws some mixed reviews among the fanbase. While in most seasons I wouldn't agree with that strategy either this season with a lack of talent I agree with taking college kids who are limited ceiling wise but cheaper and quicker to the big leagues for the most part. Two of the Royals Top 5 picks were High Schoolers and after reading info about both I must say I love the picks of Michael Antonio and Jason Adam. This week I luckily got a little more info into them by talking with a Royals insider on Antonio and Adam was nice enough to answer a few questions.

Jason Congratulations on getting drafted by the way it must be a huge thrill.

Were you watching the draft online when you got drafted?
My family and me were all huddled around the computer watching the draft and when we finally got that call it was incredible.

JJ Picollo stated that you and your family have a good relationship with the organization, were the Royals the leaders within your family for who you wanted to get drafted by?
The royals have been front runners in our minds because they are the hometown team and they have a great organization from top to bottom that we've been able to get very close to.

Being a local kid are the Royals your favorite team and if not who?
Yes definitely, I grew up watching them and going to their games.

What person has had the biggest influence on your pitching? When did you think you had a chance to get drafted out of High School?
My summer coach Jeremy Jones has helped me immensely these past years to improve my pitching and help me turn into a man. I didn't realize I was actually going to have this opportunity until right before my high school season when the attention really picked up.

As a Missouri commit will the rumors of the Big 12 possibly dissolving have any influence on your decision to sign a pro contract?
It doesn't really play a factor because it wont take effect until my junior year and I chose Missouri because I liked Mizzou not because I liked the big 12.

What do you think is your best pitch currently?
Probably my spotted fastball.

Finally what did you think of the scouting process and the draft process in general?
It has been very exciting and maybe a little stressful but I enjoyed every second of it.

Of all the Royals draftpicks the one that made people scratch their heads the most was the pick of Michael Antonio, a HS Shortstop from Manny Ramirez's Alma matter George Washington HS in New York. Antonio was projected to be picked anywhere from the late 3rd to 6th. His stock was said to be heading down going into the draft and to be honest I didn't know much about Antonio heading into the draft but after reading about him and checking out his swing on various sites I have to say I like the pick quite a bit. The kid has upside and almost seems like a poor mans Manny Machado in that he has a big growing frame at 6'3 190 where he possibly could grow out of the position of Shortstop but if everything went right could become a talent at the SS position that moves Colon over to second base eventually. A contact within the organization had this to say about Antonio:

Antonio is a strong, athletic kid but raw. He’ll need the full development time in the minors. He’s a dead fastball hitter and has a little difficulty recognizing off-speed stuff. Runs pretty well and is a solid defender…although he would get a little too cute/fancy from time to time in the field. I suspect that could be attributed to being a high school kid who’s the best player on his team. That attitude will probably go away once he’s around a bunch of players who are as good or better than him.

I can see him developing more power...that’s definitely a possibility. He has tremendous athleticism and upside if handled right and with patience.

In the end this draft didn't have the flash of Hosmer, Melville and Montgomery or the second 1st rounder like Myers but it has added some talent at the top end with the additions of Colon and Chapman while adding some upside potential in Eibner, Antonio and Adam. Hopefully like all drafts a diamond in the rough will be uncovered as well.

The Good The Bad and the Yasmani

John Lamb is quickly showing why many had him rated extremely high in the Royals minor league rankings. With his Sunday performance 6 IP 2H 9 Ks 2 BBs 1 ER and one pickoff Lamb looks even more impressive than Mike Montgomery did while there a year ago. Lamb from the get go has shown his ability to strikeout hitters averaging 10.5 K per 9 while carrying a 1.04 WHIP pretty impressive for a still 19 year old in High A ball against more advanced competition. Look at Lambs start compared to that of other prospects in the same league.

Danny Duffy 1.11 WHIP 8.65 K/9 2.82 BB/9 Carolina Lg #11 Prospect
Mike Montgomery 0.87 WHIP 9.04 K/9 2.02 Bb/9 Royals #1 Prospect
Casey Kelly 0.85 WHIP 6.7 K/9 1.34 BB/9 Preseason #24 Overall
Brian Matusz 1.15 WHIP 9.94 K/9 2.82 BB/9 Preseason #5 overall prospect Car Lg #2
Lambs numbers 1.13 WHIP 10.5 K/9 2.63 BB/9

With all the excellent performances by Royal minor leaguers Lamb's pitching has went under the radar but if he keeps it up he'll be at the top of most prospects charts alongside Moustakas, Hosmer and Montgomery.

As good as Moose and company have been almost equally disappointing 2009s first round pick Aaron Crow has been. Crow is striking out only 5.5 per 9 innings while allowing 4.16 BB/9 and 8 HRs in 12 starts. Crow is creating groundballs at nearly a 4:1 ratio so those Homers should start to lessen but he has got to develop that change up and hit the strikezone more often to become anything of value in the rotation. His 1.65 WHIP is a scary stat but he could still be working on things after being off for quite some time so his second half stats might be more telling. Hard to believe some thought he might start the season on the big league club.

The 2010 draft takes place today and if you follow the rumors as I do KC is down to basically two players. Yasmani Grandal and Chris Sale, I think most of you that have read my blog or comments at Royals Review know that I'm more in favor of taking Sale than Grandal. I lean towards higher ceilings and Sale has a much higher ceiling than Grandal who is a safe pick. Frank Piliere has let out many rumors that a deal is being worked on with Grandal, his people and the Royals somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 million. At those figures I can't say I have a problem with the pick but anything in the neighborhood of Buster Posey money would be absurd. Grandal is having an excellent season and while this could be a step forward offensively I'm still worried about his past track record in college, the cape and for Team USA. Whoever KC picks in the first round is just preliminary as this draft and any draft can be changed greatly by adding talent in the 2nd rounds and on like KC has each of the last two seasons. We fans might not be having this discussion if KC would have gave Yasmani the 1 million in 2007 that he desired instead of saving 500K on 2nd rd bust Sam Runion.

Great News Danny Duffy is back and so is Tim Melville !

Danny Duffy returned to the Royals Arizona facility Wednesday to restart his baseball career. This is a big deal to the Royals as Duffy was a Top 10 minor league prospect and any organization like KC can't have Top 10 guys just up and quit. He'll begin is road back from arm injury in Surprise and hopefully get back to AA where he can show what he has against more advanced competition. This is Danny's first bit of adversity in his career and hopefully he will show his ability to conquer challenges as there will be many more during his baseball career.

Along with the comeback of Duffy another Royal minor leaguer has seemed to have righted the ship. Tim Melville's first seven starts were definitely forgettable but his last four have been much better. Over his last four starts he's pitched 24.2 innings yielding just 16 hits against 5 walks while striking out 21 and allowing 8 ERs(2.92 ERA). Melville has started to create more groundballs over his last two starts causing 15 groundouts compared to 5 flyball outs. It's still early but if this is going to become a regular thing but it is a definite good sign.

May Minor League Players of the Month

Burlington Bees
Wil Myers The third round 2009 draftee had an excellent second month of Single A ball hitting a robust .330/.459/.500 with a 21/17 BB to So ratio. In comparison Moose and Hos had .835 and .905 OPS numbers during their Bee seasons in May.

Wilmington Blue Rocks
Salvador Perez- The 20 yr old catcher had an impressive May putting together a .867 OPS while hitting 3 HRs to equal his previous minor league total.

NW Arkansas Naturals
Mike Moustakas YAHTZEE !!! For as good as Hosmer was in April Moustakas was even better in May. The former 2nd Pick crushed everything he saw to the tune of .393/.486/.775. There were even rumors of a premature promotion. If Moustakas continues this type of hot hitting a September call up is almost assured.

Omaha Royals
Alex Gordon- Who would've thought that Alex would still be tooling around in the minors in 2010. Right or wrong he is where he is and it's quite refreshing to see him still putting in the effort. He is playing a decent outfield from what I have heard and the one game I saw and is hitting the ball the way we all expect at AAA. His May stats of .355/.496/.667 are really too good for him to spend much more time there but I'm sure GMDM will have him sit on the bus thru the CWS road trip the way he did to Billy a couple seasons ago.

Overall this season the minor leaguers look incredible. Montgomery and Lamb are overpowering hitters while Moustakas, Hosmer, Kila, Gordon and Myers are knockin the ball around consistently. Even Salvador Perez is showing off his skills behind the plate as well as at it. From the sounds of Rany's latest article is sounds as if Duffy is coming back to join the party, let's hope that is true.

Alex Gordon to Right Field

Went to my first Omaha Royals game in quite a while today (5/31) to watch Alex play right field. From what I saw he appeared to get good reads off the bat, has a cannon for an arm and possesses average range out there. If KC does decide to keep Alex this move to right field was an intelligent one as it allows David DeJesus to be moved back to left while allowing Alberto and Moustakas opportunities at third base. Alex didn't get a whole lot of work catching a few flyballs but did show off his arm unleashing a throw to third base that was slightly off line but got to third in a hurry without a hop. He definitely has the arm for the position and has enough range to make it work. His plate approach was professional as always and he hit the ball solidly to the tune of a 1 for 3 day.

Hopeful 2010 ML Roster
2-Kendall(Stuck with this one)
3-Butler
4-Aviles
5-Callaspo
6-Betancourt(Another mistake)
7-DeJesus
8-Maier
9-Gordon
DH-Kila
Bench
Getz
Falu Inf/Outfiled utility
Parraz or Lough 4th OF
Pina C

The reluctance of playing Brayan Pena probably opens up a spot for Manny Pina and considering his advanced defensive game he is probably a better fit for a 25 game catcher. Irving Falu can do everything Willie Bloomquist can do and probably better as well as being much cheaper. Parraz or Lough are probably not the answer as of yet to the 4th OF as I'm sure GMDM will look to bring in someone to fit into the OF. Kila is definitely worthy of an opportunity to DH and split with Billy at 1b but we'll find out if GMDM is all talk this offseason about giving him an opportunity.

Machado, Grandal or Sale according to mockers

We are closing in on what has become every Royals fan's favorite time of the year, the major league draft. Every year since 2004 KC seems to be fairly out of the race by this time and fans need something to bring us hope again that the 70's and 80's just aren't that far away again so MLB rolls out the youngsters for us to dream. This season’s top of the draft is said to be weaker than past drafts but we really don't know if that is quite true yet or not and won't know for at least 5 years. So who are the candidates for the Royals pick at #4?

There are many qualified candidates but the mockers, Keith Law, Jonathan Mayo, Baseball America staff and Andy Seiler have narrowed the list down to 3.

Manny Machado- I hitched my wagon to Machado very early in this process reading about him and falling in love with him back in December. At the time Baseball America had him as the #11 overall talents in the draft and while some might have considered it a reach I thought outside Harper he had the highest ceiling as well as having a good overall toolset to work with. That's all changed now as everyone is on his bandwagon and Machado seems to have possibly moved up to the #2 overall spot where the Pittsburgh Pirates are drafting so it's a 50/50 at best whether he'll be there for the Royals at #4. If he is it seems like a no brainer to me for an organization lacking with good hitters let alone shortstop talent.

Yasmani Grandal C- Grandal is a switch hitting catcher from the U. Grandal has been a smooth defender since his high school days when many teams viewed him as a late first round or early second round prospect. Grandal can catch it and throw it while his bat has been late to the party it finally arrived this season to the tune of ACC Player of the Year and a 1.311 OPS with 13 HR and 50/28 So/BB ratio. I've never been a big fan of taking Grandal at #4 as I don't see the minor league weakness at catcher that some seem to think KC has. In fact in a couple years KC could be doin alright at catcher if Myers continues to develop. Manny Pina doesn't have a great bat but is solid defensively and would make for a great backup while Salvador Perez at only 20 is doing well in a tough righty hitting environment in Wilmington plus Myers who is hitting quite well in his first full season at Burlington. Perez and Myers are still far away but drafting Grandal might just stunt their growth as well unless KC thinks he is so polished offensively and defensively that he could step into AA ball right away which would be a stretch in my mind. Teams shouldn't draft for need they should take the best talent available and according to most boards taking Grandal at #4 would not be doing that.

Chris Sale LHP- Sale is a tall and lean hard throwing lefty who throws out of a 3/4 arm slot, who some have classified as a injury risk. I don't want to talk about injury risks or not because you just don't know the makeup of a person’s body. His motion and arm angles do not look good but neither do other pitchers who seem to survive. What he does have is a plus fastball and change up which would help him in the High A and AA levels but his breaking stuff isn't quite there yet. He's said to be developing his slider currently and it could develop into a 55 type pitch from what I've read. If he was to join the KC system he surely would be a taught a curveball as they don't like younger players to throw sliders although as a college lefty they might change their mind. I don't know if Duffy was still in the system if KC would be looking at Sale quite as strongly as they would already have Danny, Monty, Lamb and Dwyer working their way towards the top but his absence has opened up a potential spot for another lefty I guess. Sale as a college lefty and Cape Cod Player of the Year should move thru Wilmington quickly if started there and an above average fastball and change up would probably have him besting the AA league. He'll need the breaking pitch to succeed in the Majors but I think he would be a quality pick at 4 if Machado isn't there.

In conclusion if Machado is there I think this draft is deep enough in pitching to take the stud SS and grab a good one like Cam Bedrosion (son of Steve) in the second round. If he isn't I think the money is on Sale who with a solid breaking ball could develop into a #1 or #2 starting pitcher in my mind.

Redoing the Royals Prospect List 11-20+

#11 Noel Arguelles - Still on the bench hopefully we'll see the 7 million dollar man later this season.

#12 Kila Ka'aihue - Moved him back up because of all the GMDM and Yost quotes. I think he might actually be apart of this organization next year.

#13 Salvador Perez - A coming out party of sorts for the young catcher. Only 20 and holding his own with the bat around a .800 OPS and throwing out 41% of runners against.

#14 Jordan Parraz - Parraz was off to a horrible start in Omaha but seems to have corrected things and is having a great May.

#15 Derrick Robinson - Probably a bit too early for DRob after just a 3 month turn around but his solid defense, speed and on base pct have him leaping into prospect status again. That combined with the lack of prospects around these final spots.

#16 Johnny Giavotella - Good OBP skills but a lack of defense and pop.

#17 Tyler Sample - Struggling with control still but stays low in the zone and has good tilt on his pitches.

#18 Keeton Hayenga - Made his first Burlington appearance the other day out of the pen hopefully he'll be moved to the rotation and can take advantage of the enormous potential in his arm.

#19 Cheslor Cuthbert - Probably starts in Arizona league in late June.

#20 Edgar Osuna - Osuna's change up has him looking very impressive against AA opponents but he's going to have to develop a couple other offspeed options to be anything more than a LOOGY in the majors.

Honorable Mentions

Blaine Hardy/Brandon Sisk/Buddy Baumann/Patrick Keating- All four of these bullpen arms are having outstanding seasons at their levels. Keating and Baumann are striking out more than 1 per inning while Sisk and Hardy have 4 saves each and sub 2 ERAs. Still the road for relievers to the majors is a bumpy one and don't expect many to get thru it.

Off the list

Kelvin Herrera - Was off to a very solid start to the season until his last 3 starts and arm troubles popped up again. Watching Kelvin's body language while charting pitches at the Bees game I went to reminded me of the movie "Sugar". I can't imagine how foreign it must be to be in a country that you can't communicate well in while you experience arm problems while trying to latch onto your golden ticket. Hopefully things turn around for this hard thrower but it doesn't look good.

Carlos Rosa - Traded

Redoing the Royals Prospect List 6-10

#6 David Lough- Quick bat and adjusting to fulltime duty in CF. Still wish he was more patient at the plate but he is still young in his baseball career.

#7 John Lamb- Dominated Single A ball and has earned the quick promotion to Wilmington.

#8 Chris Dwyer- Adjusting well to his first full season of pro ball.

#9 Louis Coleman- Under 1 Whip while showing he can make it thru multiple innings. Don't be shocked to see him in KC by seasons end

#10 Tim Melville- Struggling with control and mechanics. Has definitely been the biggest disappointment of the Royal prospect season thus far.

The rumors were flying Monday as some speculation came out about a possible big promotion of a KC prospect was tossed around. While we are still unsure of the prospect or the rumor any move to KC for a prospect such as Crow, Moose or Montgomery would be a mistake in my opinion. KC is not contending this season and the short term gains of moving a prospect 2 levels to the bigs without as much as 2 months in AA ball would be a reach. You don't see the Marlins moving Mike Stanton or the Nats calling up Strasburg yet do you. And those teams are way closer to being in the race as the Royals are. Let them dominate and if you want to call them up in September then give them a crack otherwise you are just playing to attendance and job concerns.