14 for 77

Making a Move

2011-04-20T15:36:00.001-07:00

I will be taking my work over to Pine Tar Press with Greg Schaum on a full time basis now. I plan on putting up similar work at that site as Greg and I are hoping to create a site that is as in depth on the Royals system as is available to the public.

If you like anything I've written in the past please follow read our work at www.pinetarpress.com or on twitter @pinetarpress

Kane County

2011-04-18T12:14:00.000-07:00

I'll be at today and tomorrows Kane County Cougars game. Follow me via twitter @kcscoliny and @pinetarpress. I'll post pics and videos of the players there within a couple days.

2011-04-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

14for77 Hitter of the Day Rey Navarro 4-5 2b

14for77 Pitcher of the Day Tyler Sample 3 IP 0 H 1 K 2 BB

Only two games on the slate tonight after a couple rainouts and I wouldn't consider one of the two that was played a game.

Naturals Recap
It was ugly. Enough said final score Missions 26 Naturals 5

Blue Rocks Recap
Justin Marks pitched well for 5 inning but ran into trouble in the 6th allowing a 3 run triple to fall behind 4-1. The Blue Rocks striked right back as they have a couple times this season with the big blow coming from an unlikely source when Alex McClure who was 2 for his previous 24 hit a 2 run homer to tie the game at 4. John Whittleman would later drive Rey Navarro in giving Tyler Sample the only margin he would need closing out the final two innings. Blue Rocks are now a surprising 5-2.
Whit Merrifield 2-4 BB

14 for 77 Minor League Recap 4/14/11

2011-04-14T16:12:00.000-07:00

14for77 Hitter of the Day Clint Robinson 2-3 HR

14for77 Pitcher of the Day Leondy Perez 5 IP 2 H 1 BB 0 ER 5 K

Cougars Recap
Another day another pitching dual between Kane County and Quad Cities. Leondy Perez again gave Kane County a solid start going 5 innings surrendering just 2 hits 1 walk against 5 strikeouts while again not allowing an earned run. That's 12 innings for Perez on the season with 0 earned runs allowed and all he has to show for it is a loss in his first start. This time however the Cougars would at least use the good pitching to their advantage as they would ink the games only run in the 10th inning when Yowill Espinal would drive in Gerald Hall with an RBI single. Quick note Alex Llanos stole the Cougars first base of the season today after being caught in their previous 7 attempts.
Gerald Hall 3-4 2b

Naturals Recap
Tough loss for the Naturals as Brandon Sisk and Patrick Keating blew a 3 run lead in the bottom of the 8th allowing 6 runs on 7 hits while breaking the Naturals 5 game winning streak. Timely hitting and a couple errors had given the Naturals that lead while Blake Johnson continued his solid pitching out of the pen going 2 innings and not allowing a run while mopping up for John Lamb who struggled with the strikezone walking 5 in just 3.2 innings.
Jeff Bianchi 2-4 RBI

Storm Chasers Recap
The Chasers bullpen struggled again as Round Rock came back to beat the Storm Chasers for the fourth consecutive night. Once again the Chasers jumped out in front this time with a 2 run homer via Eric Hosmer. Clint Robinson would hit a HR also while Lorenzo Cain would hit an RBI double but again it was not enough as Louis Coleman would blow his second save of the season giving up a 3 run triple to journeyman catcher Kevin Cash. The Storm Chasers will try to get that ugly four game series out of their heads as they head to Omaha for the opening of the new Werner Park
Clint Robinson 2-3 HR

14 for 77 Minor League Recap 4/13/11

2011-04-13T08:26:00.001-07:00

14for77 Hitter of the Day NONE

14for77 Pitcher of the Day Tim Melville 6 IP 5 H 1 ER 7 K 1 BB

Blue Rocks Recap
There was a terrific pitching matchup in Kinston today as Tim Melville battled Drew Pomeranz the 2010 5th overall pick. I'll let JJ Cooper via Twitter describe the action @jjcoop36.
Pomeranz sitting 93 in first three up three down
Melville gets out of trouble in first. Control problems with first batter then settles down. Sitting 92-93 gets a strikeout on solid change

2nd Inning
Pomeranz strikes out two in three up three down second. Pretty easy velo. Got one K with slow curve other just threw fastball by guy
Melville gives up solo home run on 91 fb in second. Recovers to strike out next batter relying on cb and ch

3rd Inning
Bottom of wilmington lineup doesn't have much chance. Pomeranz Ks two more in third. First time through one ball out of IF.
Getting ks with 91-93 Fb nice curve
both utilizing good sized zone
Thru 3 Innings Pomeranz 0 hits 5 K 0 BB
Tim Melville 2 hits 1 ER via HR 3 K 1 BB

Pomeranz has faced minimum through five. Toying with hitters. Fb has settled in at 91-92, 80-82 change slower 77-78 cb

Melville pitching well also. Last two innings 17 strikes in 19 pitches. Working both sides of plate. Using off speed well second time thru

Pomeranz loses no hitter on final batter he faces. Lifted at 85 pitches. Was tired. Last inning his fb sat 89-90. Hasn't dipped below 90 b4

Melville likely done as well after 83 pitches, 55 strikes. Was impressive. Maintained velo used cb and ch well. Was still touching 93 in 6th

Final Lines
Tim Melville Win 6 IP 5 H 1 ER 7 K 1 BB
Drew Pomeranz ND 5.2 IP 1 H 1 R 0 ER 8 K 2 BB

Melville doesn't have the same upper end stuff as Pomeranz but at this point in the season does a better job of maintaining it has he was pretty much the same pitcher if not better by the end of the start as he was at the beginning. The Blue Rocks got another run across in the 7th and that is all they needed as their bullpen shut the door from there. Kelvin Herrera and Kevin Chapman came in throwing the next 3 innings allowing just one infield single and striking out 5. Herrera was 96 on the stadium gun. Great pitching beats good pitching.

Storm Chasers Recap
The Chasers offense has went missing. Have you seen it? I have been watching and I certaintly have not seen it for a while, well at least for 21 innings. Last nights game perhaps they just ran into a Ace in the making in Neil Ramirez who breezed thru Moose, Hos and company as it took him 75 pitches (50 strikes) to get thru 6 innings allowing just 3 singles while striking out 5 against no walks. The Chasers didn't get a runner to 2nd base on the night ruining a solid outing by Jeff Suppan who went 5.1 giving up 6 hits and one long solo home run to Taylor Teagarden. The Chasers fall to 2-5 on the season.

Cougars Recap
Sugar Ray Marimon took a tough loss in his second start of the season going 5 innings allowing just 3 hits 2 runs (1 ER) and 4 walks as the 2 runs in the 5th were all it took for Quad City to secure a victory. Kane County had tough sledding against Rosenthal as he went 7 innings against just 1 run on 4 hits for the victory. More tough pitching for the Cougars tomorrow as they try to salvage the last game of this four game set.

14 for 77 Minor League Recap 4/12/11

2011-04-13T05:32:00.000-07:00

14for77 Hitter of the Day Wil Myers 3-5 2b,BB 3RBI

14for77 Pitcher of the Day Mario Santiago 3.2 IP 1 H 3 K 0 R

Cougars Recap

Prior to the season I thought the A Ball lineup and pitching staff could be limited and at times early they've showed that scoring 3 runs in all four losses. So far in the young season their staff has put up a 5.37 ERA which stands as second worst in the Midwest league and yesterday was more of the same as Leonel Santiago staked to a 1 run lead ran into trouble in the 3rd and 4th innings. Working with a fastball/curve combination Santiago gave up worked around baserunners in the first two innings but was unable to duplicate that success in the 3rd when he gave up a 1 run single but got out of the jam with a double play. Then in the 4th Santiago again looked to work around a leadoff double by getting the next two hitters, then the trouble started as Santiago earned a strike three for what appeared to be the third out however Travis Jones was unable to catch the wild pitch and the hitter advanced to first to keep the inning alive. Santiago couldn't work around that mistake allowing the next two hitters to get hits and his day was done allowing 4 runs over 3.2 innings. The Cougars would draw within 1 run in the 5th inning but couldn't get any closer as the Bandits tacked on an insurance run in the 8th.

Leonel Santiago 0-2 10.57 ERA 7.2 IP 14 H 10/3 K/BB
Alex Llanos 2-4 2b

Blue Rocks Recap

The Blue Rocks came back from a pretty shaky start by Elisaul Pimentel. Pimentel had trouble with most phases of the game as he wasn't missing bats (7 hits) or controlling the running game (3 stolen bases). The Rocks got him off the hook with a four run rally in the top of the 7th inning as two walks and three hits plus a wild pitch allowed the Rocks to notch four runs in the innings. The Rocks would score a unearned run in the top of the 9th on a Tim Ferguson ground out that allowed Nick Francis who reached via throwing error to score giving Wilmington their final winning margin. Bryan Paukovits and Ryan Dennick pitched effectively going a combined 6 innings giving up just 1 unearned run.

John Whittleman 3-5 3b 2 RBI, Nick Francis 2-5 3 RBI

Naturals Recap

Despite Chris Dwyer struggling (3.1 8 H 2 BB 4 ER) the Naturals turned a early 2 run deficit into a laugher scoring 8 runs thru the first 2 innings and 14 in total as they improved their record to 5-1. Every Natural in the starting lineup had at least one hit while six guys had multi hit games and only one (Christian Colon) didn't reach multiple times via hit and walk. Mario Santiago pitched another 3.2 effective innings of relief striking out 3 while only giving up 1 hit to earn the win.
Derrick Robinson 3-6 2 RBI

Chasers Recap

The Storm Chasers offense sputtered again on Tuesday night as they just couldn't push any runs accross after scoring 2 in the first inning. Mike Montgomery pitched well in his 2nd start of the season despite a little trouble finding the zone with his fastball. He mixed all three pitches much better than he did in his first start working in the low 90's while touching 94 along the way. Michael Kirkman the other prospect in this starting pitching matchup didn't fair nearly as well allowing 8 hits and 2 runs over 3.1 innings reaching his pitch total early in the fourth inning. His bullpen shut the door on the Storm Chasers however not allowing a run over the next 9.2 innings allowing time for the Express to tie the game in the 9th off Louis Coleman and win it in the bottom of the 13th off Steven Shell.

Johnny Giavotella 3-5 BB
Mike Montgomery 4 IP 2 H 5/3 K/BB 0 R

The Daily Tap is moving to Pine Tar Press

2011-04-11T06:46:00.000-07:00

I'll be transitioning some of my writing over to Pine Tar Press during the season with the Daily Tap being the first feature on Greg Schaum's site. My goal was in creating this blog was to provide as much info on the minor league prospects as possible and I'll continue to do that whether it is on this site or Greg's. If you have read my stuff and like it please continue to do so here or at pinetarpress.com

Cougars Recap
The home opener wasn't much fun to watch for the Kane County fans as Crawford Simmons struggle with his control despite working his FB in the 89-91 mph range. He was up in the zone while missing early in counts finishing the day with 4 IP 4 H 4 ER 3 K 3 BB. Greg Billo didn't perform much better as he followed Simmons and allowed 4 more runs over the next 3.2 innings.
Brian Fletcher 2-4 2b RBI .333/.364/.524
Struggling
Geulin Beltre has fallen into a bit of a slump going 0 for his last 13.

Blue Rocks Recap
Noel Arguelles enjoyed a nice debut as he took only 40 pitches to get through 4 innings while allowing only 2 hits and 0 runs while striking out one. Reports from the game had his velocity in the 87-90 mph range while throwing a curve in the 69-72 mph range. He only threw one change up from reports at the game. Michael Mariot took over for Arguelles and continued the good pitching mixing three pitches FB, slider, curve for an effective 5 innings allowing just 1 hit while walking 2 and striking out 4. He did allow a home run but that one run wasn't enough for the Indians to hold off the Rocks as Rey Navarro, Deivy Batista and John Whittleman paced the offence to 4 runs on 6 hits from the threesome.
John Whittleman 2-3 HR, BB
Rey Navarro 2-4 3b Rbi hitting .563/.611/1.063 thru 4 games
Struggling
Alex McClure 0-15 he's playing superb defense but at some point he is going to have to hit.

Naturals Recap
Just another 1 run victory for the Naturals making that four in a row after losing the season opener. The Naturals did it in a different fashion this time scoring 4 runs in the first two innings to take a 4-2 lead and hung on with good pitching by Edgar Osuna and Buddy Baumann.
Christian Colon 1-3 1 BB 1 RBI
Struggling
Salvador Perez .133/.235/.400 in four games

Storm Chasers Recap
The Chaser had one of those nights as the lineup went missing against the Round Rock pitching staff. The Chasers could muster only 3 hits and 2 runs via HR's by Clint Robinson and David Lough. On the mound Everett Teaford was on cruise control thru 4 innings not allowing a hit but he ran into trouble in the 5th inning giving up 5 hits and 5 runs in the frame (4 ER) while not surviving the inning and taking the loss.
Clint Robinson 1-3 HR(3) 1 BB .316/.435/.947
Struggling
Mike Moustakas 4-23 .174/.208/.304 1 HR 1 BB

Royals Minor League Daily Tap Mon April 11

2011-04-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Good day for the Royals as the major league team finished off a series win over the Tigers and the affiliates won 4 of the 5 games that they played in.

Daily Tap Hitter of the Day Ryan Stovall Kane County 3-4 HR 4 RBI

Daily Tap Pitcher of the Day Blake Johnson NW Arkansas 4 IP 1 H 5 So 0 BB

Cougars Recap
Alex Llanos capped a terrific series versus the Timber Rattlers getting the offense going with a two run homer in the third that woke up the offense which tagged on seven more runs on the day. Llanos finished the four game set strong with multiple hit games in the final three games. It wasn't an offense only show as Keaton Hayenga got his 2011 season off to a good start going 5 innings allowing only 3 hits, 2 runs (1 ER) and no walks against 4 strikeouts. This was a good sign for a pitcher that really struggled last year.

Alex Llanos (series) 6-17 2-2b, 1-3b, 1-HR 1 BB

Blue Rocks Recap
The Rocks resumed their rain suspended game on Sunday tied at five. They had Kelvin Herrera a former starter converted closer toe the hill and he delivered two solid innings striking out 4 while giving up just 1 hit and one walk. Herrera has a solid fastball to go with a potential above average curve and change up out of his 5'10 frame. Those two innings allowed the Rocks to mount an offensive charge in the 11th when Rey Navarro reached on a error and was driven in on a John Whittleman double, Whittleman would score on a Tim Ferguson double. That extra run came in handy when Kevin Chapman allowed a run in the bottom of the inning but hung on for the Rocks victory.

In the full game of the day the Rocks squandered a great pitching performance by Jake Odorizzi (4 IP 4 H 1 ER 6 K 1 BB) when they allowed a 2 run 8th inning to lose the lead and the game. Rey Navarro once again paced the offense with 2 hits in 3 at bats driving in a run while also scoring one. The young 2b/SS who the Royals picked up in the Carlos Rosa deal finished the series 7 for 12 with a double, triple and Home Run.
Nick Francis 4th OF assist of the season

Naturals Recap
The Naturals for the second day in a row won in walk off fashion when Wil Myers drove in Nick Van Stratten with a single in the 14th inning. Myers and Salvador Perez who had gotten off to slow starts enjoyed good days offensively as they had 5 of the 11 Naturals hits. The pitching was outstanding on the day as Rollins, Blake Johnson and Patrick Keating all pitched at least 3 innings each while combining for 12 strikeouts against only 2 walks and 5 hits while allowing only 2 runs (1 ER). Brandon Sisk worked a scoreless hitless 14th to get earn the victory for the Naturals.
Salvador Perez 2-5 2b, HR, Wil Myers 3-6 2b, BB

Chasers Recap
Despite a poor performance by Vin Mazzaro (2.1 IP 2H 7 BB 5 ER 3 K) the Storm Chasers offense and bullpen were able to overcome the Isotopes in the final game of their four day set. 8 of the 9 hitters in the lineup reached base via hit while the bottom third (Pina,Blanco,Orlando) of the order did the heavy lifting driving in 5 of the runs while scoring five also. The bullpen slowed down the Isotopes offense limiting them to 1 run and 4 hits over the final 6.2 innings to gain a split in the series.
Mike Moustakas 2-5 HR

Quad City River Bandits (Cardinals) Kevin Siegrist
at
Kane County Cougars Crawford Simmons

Simmons one of the Burlington(NC) three from last year makes his first start of the year. Simmons is a control lefty who throws in the high 80s topping out at 90-91 with feel for a change up and 12-6 curve. Simmons has solid command (2.2 BB/9 '10) and is a couple velocity ticks away from becoming a prospect worth watching for Royals fans.

Siegrist is a 41st rd draft pick who enjoyed some success early in his career making it to the High A level in his first two years where he enjoyed moderate success despite a 1.416 WHIP when he returned last year he was knocked around for over a hit per inning. Siegrist according to reports has decent movement on his mid 80s fastball while also featuring a cutter and forkball.

Wilmington Blue Rocks Noel Arguelles
at
Kinston Indians Giovanni Soto

This is a day that has long been in the works for the Royals and their staff. Arguelles signed a $7 million dollar major league deal with the Royals which was quite a coup as not many favored the Royals in the chase for his services. Unfortunately he sustained some arm problems and was forced to sit out last season. Arguelles is a physical specimen who throws in the low 90s from a 3/4 arm slot and has earned some comparison to Francisco Liriano.

Soto is a young lefty that the Indians received in the Jhonny Peralta trade with Detroit. He's young for the level (19) and performed well at High A last year when he was called up 2.61 ERA 83 IP 76 K 25 BB 1.21 WHIP. His stuff is less than impressive with a high 80s fastball, slurvy curve and less than impressive change up but he's survived thus far on pitchability.

Corpus Christi Hooks Kyle Greenwalt
at
NW Arkansas Naturals Edgar Osuna

Osuna could have a ceiling for AA as he had a solid season at that level last season but was knocked around when promoted to AAA Omaha. Osuna has a plus change up but he combines with a below average fastball which hitters can sit on at upper levels. Osuna will likely be the odd man out if a pitcher pushes their way to the AA level.

Greenwalt had a solid stint in the Arizona Fall league not allowing a HR in 15 innings which is no small accomplishment considering the light air in Arizona. He didn't have that type of success in the Cal league last season but scouts like his mix of pitches which includes plus change up and slider to go with an average fastball (89-91 touches 93).

Omaha Storm Chasers Everett Teaford
at
Round Rock Express (Rangers)Derek Hankins

Teaford had a breakout season last year at AA striking out 113 in 99 innings while allowing a 1.214 WHIP. Teaford was given an opportunity to make the big league squad in spring training but was knocked around in Arizona to the tune of 11 ER in 4.1 iP while surrendering 14 hits. Teaford also got knocked around in his one AAA start last season in Albuquerque allowing 7 runs over 4.2 innings. He'll need to show he can get upper level hitters out this season to be given another big league shot.

Hankins was picked up by the Rangers from the Pirates organization. He's roster filler at this point in his career as a 2004 MLB draftee that has yet to break the major leagues. He features a fastball, curve and change up none of which are plus.

Royals Minor League Daily Tap Sun April 10

2011-04-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

2 wins a game suspended by rain that was tied and a loss in the late innings are the results from yesterdays games. The big club had an outstanding day as well with Bruce Chen and the outstanding bullpen paced a 3-1 win over Detroit.

Daily Tap Hitter of the Day Rey Navarro 4-5 2b, HR, SB

Daily Tap Pitcher of the Day Leondy Perez 7 IP 4 H 3 K 2 BB 2 R 0 ER

Cougars Recap
Kane County let Jimmy Nelson off the ropes as he was having trouble throwing stikes but a couple Cougar double plays limited the damage to just run thru 6. In the 7th a Gerard Hall mental error followed by a Leondy Perez throwing error started the inning and helped the Rattlers take the lead 2-1. The Rattlers would tack on a couple more runs in the 8th would provide enough cushion for a two out rally by the Cougars to come up one run short. 4-3 tough luck loss for Perez.
Alex Llanos 2-3 2b, BB

Blue Rocks Recap
More of the same from Tyler Sample as the big righty again had trouble controlling the strikezone allowing 4 walks while only striking out 1 over 4.2 innings while allowing 3 hits. He left with the lead but also 2 runners on base when Justin Marks who KC got in the David DeJesus took over and promptly gave up a running scoring hit and a 3 run HR to Mike Olt giving up the Rocks lead. Marks would settle down from there working 3.1 innings in total striking out 3 while not allowing another hit. The game would stay at 5-4 until the top of the 9th when Rey Navarro would tie it at 5-5, soon after the game was suspended due to rain where they will likely pick it up today.
Thru 9 Rey Navarro 4-5 2b, HR

Naturals Recap
The Naturals trailed most of the night until a nice rally in the 7th lead by a Derrick Robinson RBI triple who later scored on a sac fly by Christian Colon to give the Naturals a 5-3 lead. Eric Basurto would give up the lead over the next two frames allowing a run in each. With the game tied Mario Lisson would step in and deliver a walk off Home Run in the bottom of the 9th for the defending Texas league champs.
Lisson 2-3 HR, BB 2 RBI Bianchi 2-4 3b, HR

Storm Chasers Recap
Danny Duffy delivered the best starting performances of the series so far for the Chasers as he went 5 innings giving up 7 H 1 BB 3R 2 ER with 4 Ks. Duffy was pitching in the low to mid 90s throughout the night while mixing in his change up and curveball extremely well. He threw his change up at the beginning of counts, down in counts and as a strikeout pitch as well. Besides one mistake from Jerry Sands (co-minor lg HR leader in '10) a HR to RF he did everything you want to do out of a starter. He was followed up well by Kevin Pucetas who pitched 4 innings of 3 hit ball allowing 0 runs and striking out 4. Pucetas kept the game knotted long enough for the Isotopes to make some errors in the 10th inning as the Chasers took advantage to the tune of seven tenth inning runs to take the victory 10-4.
Lance Zawadzki 2-5 HR,2b,BB 4 RBI, Eric Hosmer 2-4 BB

Omaha Storm Chasers Vin Mazzaro
vs
Albuquerque Isotopes Tim Redding

Mazzaro was the major piece in the Royals trade of David DeJesus. Mazzaro won't be in Omaha long as he'll be the big league starter as soon as one is needed. Vin through parts of two major league seasons has been a FB/Slider guys mixing in his change about 10% of the time according to Fangraphs. His fastball is said to have some sink to it but those results have yet to come up in the majors where he is only delivering groundballs at a 41% clip. He will have to fit in as a fulltime 3-4 starter for the Royals to draw a win in the DDJ trade.

Hard to believe Redding is only 33 to me maybe that's because I turn 33 today but he's seemingly been in the league forever in my mind. The journeyman righthander didn't make it up to the majors last season after making a combined 50 starts from '08 and '09 and will be looking to try to win a job this year if the Dodgers have problems in the rotation. The righty who has made 4.9M in his career has a four pitch mix that is fastball/slider heavy but he does mix in the curve and change nearly 10% of the time. His fastball was his top pitch in 2008 and 2009 despite only averaging in the high 80s.
I like the Chasers chances against any righty without an elite fastball.

NW Arkansas Naturals Heath Rollins
vs
Corpus Christi Hooks (Astros) Dallas Keuchel

Rollins was drafted in the 11th round out of the 2006 draft by the Tampa Bay Rays and was picked up by the Royals this offseason of waivers. Rollins is a pitchability type lefty who has a four pitch mix of FB, slider, CB and CU. He was working on a cutter while in Arizona as well. Mark Davis seemed to like him quite a bit while I was watching him but with a high 80s FB he'll need to survive by attacking the zone and keeping hitters off balanced.

Keuchel is the 23rd ranked prospect in the Astros system based mostly on what he used to be as opposed to what he is currently. He was picked in the 7th round out of college due to his low 90s fastball and potential above average curve but since being drafted his velocity has dipped to the low to mid 80s and his curve while solid versus lower competition is believed to be fringy at best. It's tough for any pitcher to survive with that type of fastball without teaming it with some type of plus pitch somewhere which it doesn't appear Keuchel has.

Wilmington Blue Rocks Jake Odorizzi
at
Myrtle Beach Pelican Barrett Loux

One of the prize pieces in the Zack Greinke deal makes his first start for a Royals affiliate. Odorizzi was rated the #1 Brewers prospect by Baseball America following the Brett Lawrie trade and is said to be a poor mans Zack Greinke in his own right. Odorizzi has been able to pitch well in previous levels primarily off his fastball and his command of it but will have to start mixing in a plus offspeed pitch this season something he hasn't had to do in the past. His curveball is said to have plus potential.

Loux was the 6th overall pick in the 2010 draft but when he failed a physical the DBacks decided to let him walk unsigned. MLB decided to do Loux a favor and declare him a Free Agent where he was signed by a already deep farm system. It was a surprise Loux was taken where he is despite his size (6'5 220) and solid FB (90-92 touchin 95) he didn't have a plus offspeed offering and was considered a late 1st rd/sandwich rd type talent. Loux had elbow surgery to remove bone chips in 2009 and while he hasn't ran into problems many teams backed off for because of that same reason which was confirmed with the failed physical.

Kane County Cougars Keaton Hayenga
vs
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Del Howell

Hayenga is back after a terrible 2010 after impressing many Royals scouts during instructs the previous season. Hayenga was absolutely beaten like a drum in 2010 allowing 130 hits over 105.2 IP while only striking out 43 as compared to 47 walks with a 6.13 ERA. It's hard for me to believe he can improve enough to deserve a spot on the staff but KC will give him that chance.

Bernies Crew Breakdown of Del Howell : Howell really struggled last season for the Timber Rattlers, posting a 4.68 ERA and walking almost as many batters as he struck out (66 strikeouts to 61 walks). The premium stuff he showed at the University of Alabama was largely non-existent -- though he still does have the ability to throw a low-90s fastball and a nasty slider. It was simply not always there . . . and sometimes rarely there.

Howell needs more consistent mechanics, however, and more consistency on the mound in general. The Brewers will probably move him to Brevard County next season due to the fact that he will be 23-years-old, but perhaps another season in Single-A would benefit him to regain his confidence in his abilities on the mound.

If you are a sucker for projection, though, Del Howell could be the right prospect for you in this competition. It is far too early to throw in the towel on the young man. He was a premium prospect during his time at Alabama for a reason. If you want to know anything about the Brewers Jim Breen and crew are nearly impossible to beat. You can find them at the link I listed abover or @Berniescrew via twitter

Futures Game Pics

2011-04-09T13:48:00.000-07:00

Royals Minor League Daily Tap

2011-04-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

A couple Royals affiliates broke through for victories during the 2nd minor league day of the season as the Kane County Cougars and Northwest Arkansas Naturals each came out victorious.

Daily Tap Hitter of the Day Christian Colon 2-3 2b, BB, HBP, 2 SB, 2 RBI off to a great start and filling the box score.

Daily Tap Pitcher of the Day Mario Santiago 4 IP 2 H 5 K 0 BB

Game Recaps
Cougars Recap - A strong night with the bats helped the Cougars overcome some so-so pitching and shaky defense from the catching position. Alex Llanos paced the offense with a couple RBI and two extra base hits while scoring a run himself, Geulin Beltre had two more hits on the night while Brian Fletcher tossed in a two RBI double. On the mound Sugar Ray Marimon ran into trouble in the 5th inning and had to be relieved by Matt Mitchell who allowed all three runners he inherited to score he stopped the damage from there and worked one more inning striking out 3 in 2 innings while giving up 3 hits and 1 walk. Chase Boruff a non-drafted free agent worked the next two innings allowing a run while striking out four to cut the lead to one but Chaz Byrne closed it out in the 9th with 2 K's in a perfect inning. Matt Mitchell equaled his win total from last season in the victory. Brett Eibner left the game early with a thumb injury that he sustained while diving for a ball. He tweeted me that he didn't think it was broken.
Brett Eibner 1-3 Bb

Rocks Recap - Tim Melville the 24th rated prospect in my rankings struggled to begin the season again for the Rocks as he struggled to control the zone early giving up 3 walks and 8 hits over 4 innings while also allowing 3 runs. Those 3 runs would be all the Pelicans would needs as the punchless Blue Rocks managed only 6 baserunners (5 hits) for the game while striking out 16 times in the contest. Melville was touted by the organization to have improved his control and gotten better at controlling the running game two things he did poorly last year, both of which didn't see much improvement in this first game of the year.
Rey Navarro 1-3

Naturals Recap - John Lamb and Casey Kelly squared off in a matchup of highly touted starting pitchers but neither were able to take hold of this contest. Lamb it appeared still suffering from lower velocity (85-88 reported) due to a muscle strain was limited to 3 innings on the night giving up 4 hits, 2 walks while striking out 2 and allowing 2 runs to cross. Kelly didn't fair much better giving up 3 over 4.1 innings. The Naturals lead til late in the game when Patrick Keating gave up a 2 run HR to tie the game that eventually went to extra innings. In extras Salvador Perez drew a walk and was pinch ran for by Anthony Seratelli who eventually came around on a Nick Van Stratten RBI single. Lamb's velocity isn't much of a scare to me as it is well documented he's experienced this strain with his muscle, Keating on the other hand has experienced a velocity dip all spring going from mid 90s to low 90s. That type of dip out of a bullpen arm is huge and could really hurt his ability which looked to be at the top of the rung of bp arms in the system prior to the season.
Wil Myers 1-4 SB

Chasers Recap- The Chasers pitching again was knocked around with some more help from bad defense behind them. Moustakas made two more errors while Hosmer committed one also combined with the seven hits and six walks allowed lead to 10 Albuquerque runs which was a few too many for the Chasers offense to overcome. For the second night in a row the Chasers outhit the Isotopes but were less timely in their results.
Mike Moustakas 1-4 1 BB, Eric Hosmer 3-5 2b

Omaha Storm Chasers Danny Duffy
vs
Albuquerque Isotopes Randy Keisler

Danny gets his first start of the season after a spring in which his control was spotty at best. Having seen him a couple times this spring he definitely has the stuff to be a mid of the rotation or higher type starter at the major league level if he can harness that mid 90s fastball. Like Montgomery on Thursday night Duffy could learn that he needs to use the change up and curveball more against upper level competition especially in a high run environment like Albuquerque.

Keisler is a former Yankees 2nd rounder that has appeared in 55 major league games (20 starts) with little to no success. He's a lefty which means he could pitch in the minors for the next 20 years if he so desires. Control has always been Keislers problem as at his peak he had a low 90s fastball combined with an average change up but averaging 4.5/9 BB/9 is difficult to handle for someone without truly elite swing and miss stuff.

Storm Chasers need to salvage one game in this series but they are going to need to play better defense to get that handled.

NW Arkansas Naturals Will Smith
vs.
San Antonio Missions Jorge Reyes

Will Smith gets his first AA start of the season as he is trying to for the Naturals. Smith was impressive during the Futures game against the AAA squad changing speeds with his fastball while spotting his curve well. I look for his agressive strike throwing nature to lead to good results in AA this year with a possible move to AAA not far away.

Reyes started his college career about as well as one could hope earning the Most Outstanding player award during the 2007 College World Series as a freshman. From there he was pretty up and down posting a 7.08 ERA as a sophomore and the rebounding to a 4.20 his junior year. Being represented by Boras Corp didn't help his draft stock much as he fell to the 17th round where the Padres selected him. His college scouting report listed him as a fastball/slider guy with neither being above average and no third pitch to speak about. He seems to be no more than organizational filler at this point since he isn't listed in any of the BA, Friar Forecast or John Sickels list.

The Naturals have the better lineup and starting pitcher in this matchup.

Wilmington Blue Rocks Tyler Sample
vs
Myrtle Beach Pelicans Robert Erlin

Sample is one of the most intriguing prospects in the Royals in the system as he has some solid tools in terms of size and speed on the fastball but he just hasn't been able to keep the ball in the zone. Sample gets good downhill plane on his fastball which should lead to success if he can develop that control. I think Sample's future is as a bullpen guy myself so these first few starts should be big test on the season for the 6'7 righty. '10 Stats 121 IP 105 H 95 BB 115 SO 4.69 ERA

Erlin was a possible trade piece that the Royals could've been looking at when the Rangers were said to be hot on Greinke as he is one of the Rangers top pitching prospects. Erlin is a a crafty lefty who relies on pitchability and offspeed stuff as opposed to a overpowering fastball. Jason Parks at Texas Farm Review says that his change and curve both have plus potential while his fastball is average at best.

Blue Rocks lineup doesn't excite me much and I can't imagine too many games they'll be favored in.

Kane County Cougars Leondy Perez
vs
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Jimmy Nelson

Perez in his first start at the A ball level is a 2007 Dominican signee who struggled in his Pioneer league season last year despite a increase in strikeouts (10.17 K/9). Leondy gave up over a hit per inning for the Chukars, numbers that will need to decrease significantly to have any sort of success at the A ball level but as a 21 year old without much of any hype around him seems to be battling a few other Cougars starters for a shot in the rotation if and when the young guns arrive (Adam, Yambati, Ventura) in warmer weather.

Nelson is another of the Rattlers 2010 college draftees was ranked 10th by BA prior to the Odorizzi and Jeffress trades meaning he's comfortably ranked in their Top 10 currently. The big bodied right hander (6'6 245) was used as a reliever in Alabama and in his first season in the minor leagues. The Brewers have decided to switch the righty over to a starter in hopes of him discovering a third pitch to team with his plus fastball and slider. He'll likely get relieved by Manny Para who is on a rehab assignment for Milwaukee.

It's likely Eibner sits out because of the thumb injury which probably give the Rattlers the edge in this one.

Royals Minor League Daily Tap featuring the 14for77 Matchup of the Week

2011-04-07T23:55:00.000-07:00

Tough day on opening day for Royals affiliates as all three clubs playing fell on the night. Inconsistent starting pitching was the name of the game as Chris Dwyer struggled throwing strikes with his fastball for the Naturals, Leonel Santiago struggled with a bit of everything giving up 7 hits 2 walks and 6 runs (5 earned) for the Cougars. As for Mike Montgomery it was a tale of two games for the young lefty. In the second inning the Isotopes jumped all over Montgomery early in counts as eight hitters came to the plate none of which went past a four pitch count while many were swinging away earlier and having success lining singles through the holes. After the second inning however Montgomery settled down and gave up just one run over the next three innings retiring the last 7 hitters he faced. On the night Monty finished with 5 IP 6 H 5 ER 2 BB 3 K not quite the start to the season the young lefty was looking for but in the long run was a good learning experience for the future. The game really got away for the Storm Chasers when Steven Shell got knocked around in his 1 inning of work giving up 5 runs partly due to a collision in the outfield by Paulo Orlando and David Lough.

Daily Tap Top Hitter Clint Robinson 2-4 2 HR 2 RBI

Daily Tap Top Pitcher Dusty Odenbach 0.2 IP 1 K 0 H entered with the bases loaded and stranded them there. Not many to really get excited about on the first day.

MATCHUP OF THE WEEK
AA
Northwest Arkansas Naturals John Lamb
vs
San Antonio Missions Casey Kelly

Our 14for77 Matchup of the Week features two top 35 prospects in John Lamb and Casey Kelly. Lamb has been recovering from a muscle strain that has kept his velocity down most of the spring but his craftiness and experience at the AA level should give him the upper hand versus AA hitters.

Casey Kelly was the top piece in the Adrian Gonzalez deal for the Padres and as a 21 year old in AA he has plenty of promise for their fanbase. Kelly should be a nice test for the Naturals hitters with his 89-93 peaking at 96 mph fastball and plus change up. Kelly also throws a curveball that has some average projection but he struggles commanding it currently. Kelly's delivery is smooth and easy and he's a above average athlete who should be a plus fielder as a former players son and a excellent high school shortstop in his own right.

The Naturals only punched out 5 hits last night and two of those were punched out by getting tossed out stealing. Kelly could prove a tough pitcher to get that offense going especially for a right handed heavy lineup like the Naturals whose 7 of the 9 hitters in last nights lineup were right handed. Christian Colon 2010 4th pick overall had a good night accounting for both Naturals runs homering in his first AA at bat and driving in another run in on a single later in the game.

Blue Rocks start their season
High A
Wilmington Blue Rocks Tim Melville
vs
Myrtle Beach Pelicans Neil Ramirez

Game Notes:
Tim Melville the Royals 2008 4th Round pick is back after a difficult season last year at High A Wilmington. Melville has the stuff to be a dominant pitcher with a possible plus fastball, curve combination combined with a change that has peaked above average at times as well. Melville's biggest problem has been his pace which leads to control problems. JJ Picollo touted Melville as a possible fast mover to the AA level this season which hopefully means they fixed things during instructs and spring.

Neil Ramirez is a soon to be 22 year old right hander who finds himself outside of the Top 20 prospects in a deep Texas Rangers farm system. According to Jason Parks at Texas Farm Review has two plus pitches in his 92-94 mph fastball and his curve that has heavy vertical movement.
Mike Olt and Leury Garcia are two of the top 15 prospect in the Texas Rangers system.

AAA
Omaha Storm Chasers Jeff Suppan
vs
Albuquerque Isotopes(Dodgers) Carlos Monasterios

Suppan rejoins the Royals organization after a few years away. He'll try to prove he's worth a look at the major league level and hopefully be a good mentor to the young guys coming thru the system.

Monasterios came over in the Bobby Abreu deal from the Yankees back in 2006 and spent quite a bit of 2010 on the major league roster. He threw 32 games (13 starts) in the bigs last season compiling a 4.38 ERA in 88.1 IP. Monasterios is primarily a fastball/change up guy as over 80% of his pitches in the majors were of that variety. His change up is his plus pitch with fading action on it at an average of 77.6 mph as that teams well with his 90.1 mph fastball last season. Carlos was prone to the long ball last season giving up 1.5+/9 last year which playing in LA's spacious park is quite alot and considering he'll be playing in the light air in New Mexico the Chasers could take advantage of that.

The Storm Chasers defense struggled in the first game as they left multiple outs on the field. The offense did account for 12 hits and 5 runs in the loss on the positive side.

A
Kane County Cougars Sugar Ray Marimom
vs
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Matt Miller

Sugar Ray Marimom is back for his second year at A ball where the young Columbian struggled in 14 starts allowing 1.429 WHIP and over 5 run ERA. He and a few others in the current rotation will be pushed to get off to decent starts prior to some of the younger arms coming after extended spring training.

Miller was picked last year in the 5th round out of Michigan and quickly earned rave reviews by folks in the Brewers system as he touched 97 mph on his normal 92-94 mph FB. He has a four pitch mix with the above average FB he also throws a plus slider, decent change up and began throwing a curveball last season in leading his Pioneer league team to a title. At 6'6 230 lbs and possessing a big time fastball Miller at worst looks the part as a future bullpen guy.

The Cougars struggled all over the diamond as the pitching staff gave up 14 hits in the first 7.1 Innings while committing three errors and the bats were held to just 6 hits only one of which was an extra base hit(Eibner HR).

Introducing the Minor League Daily Tap

2011-04-06T17:05:00.000-07:00

Christian Colon will try to bring home another AA championship

The daily tap is going to be a new feature at the 14 for 77 blog each day I will be selecting a Royals Minor League Hitter of the day and Pitcher of the Day from the previous days games during the Minor league season as well as a preview for that days games. I'll also give any information I may have seen or heard from attending whichever minor league game I was at as well as the next days pitching matchup. It's going to be a great season and I'm going to try to get as much Royal minor league info out there as any Royal blog going !

Audio broadcast of all the games are always free on milb.com and for another great value MILB.tv is a terrific value at only $29.99 for tons of games. Quite a few AAA games are on milb.tv !

If you are going to checkout the audio broadcast this year I rank the Royals minor league announcers like this:
#1 Wilmington Blue Rocks John Sadak
#2 Omaha Storm Chasers Mark Nasser
#3 NW Arkansas Naturals Steven Davis
UR Kane County Cougars ?
Sadak has major league pipes and calls a terrific game if you get a chance to hear him.

Pitching Matchups Opening Day
AAA
Omaha Storm Chasers Mike Montgomery (3)
vs
Albuquerque Isotopes(Dodgers) Dana Eveland
Game Notes:
Plenty of AAA debuts in this one for the Chasers as Montgomery, Hosmer, Clint Robinson, Giavotella and Paulo Orlando are all likely to make their level debuts. Montgomery has looked outstanding this spring but this will be a big test pitching in a tough run environment like Albuquerque that yielded nearly a quarter more runs(1.23 Park Factor) and over a quarter more home runs(1.27) in 2010. Look for good starts for the Storm Chasers offense.

Dana Eveland is your typical AAAA lefty starter and should prove to a nice test to the Chasers left hand heavy lineup. He's primarily a fastball/curveball guy but has four pitches in his repertoire and will likely work the youngsters backwards to see if they can adapt to the plus offspeed stuff. If he does get forced to come at them they should have the advantage as his fastball generally sits high 80s low 90s and that's not enough for the lefty threesome of Hos, Moose and Robinson.

The Isotopes feature three of the Dodgers top 10 prospects in Dee Gordon, Trayvon Robinson and Jerry Sands

AA
NW Arkansas Naturals Chris Dwyer(7) 6pm CST
vs
San Antonio Missions(Padres) Anthony Bass
Game Notes:
Chris Dwyer was looking pretty smooth at Double A last year until running into back problems forcing the Royals to play cautious and sit him for the rest of the year. First AA games for Colon, Myers and Salvador Perez all highly rated Royals prospects.

Anthony Bass is the 22nd rated Padres prospect according to Baseball America and features a 90-92 mph FB that can reach 96 at its peak. Along with that offering Bass comes at hitters from a 3/4 arm angle along with a sinking change up that flashes above average and a mid 80s slider. BA says Bass likes to work up in the zone which could be be a problem for him at the AA level.

Players of Note Jaff Decker and Drew Cumberland Top 10 Padres Prospects

Low A
Kane County Cougars Leonel Santiago
vs
Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Brewers) Austin Ross
Game Notes:
This game features a couple older pitchers for this level as both Santiago and Ross are 21 or older. Santiago had a good season last year at the Rookie level for the Burlington club. Santiago's 7.3/1.9 K/BB ratio should help him early in the Midwest league as it generally features a colder low scoring run environment for the first month of the season.

Ross is a 2010 8th Rd draftee from LSU who is ranked at #30 according to Baseball America. Ross pitched 10 games in the Pioneer League last year with a 2.70 ERA in 47 innings while carrying an impressive 52/6 K/BB ratio. According to BA he has a low 90s fastball, consistent slider and below average change up. At the A ball level his above average control (1.61 BB/9 in college) and two pitch control should serve him well but he'll need a third pitch and more juice at the next levels.

Wisconsin features only one prospect in the Brewers Top 20 Cody Hawn 1b from University of Tennessee

Jason Parks reacts to Yordano Ventura

2011-04-06T08:16:00.000-07:00

Who: He’s a 19-year-old Dominican smoke-thrower capable of causing this exchange:
JP: (incoming pitch; looks at gun reading; looks perplexed)
JP: (incoming pitch; looks at gun reading; looks around at other guns; looks perplexed)
JP: (incoming pitch; looks at gun reading) Did you get 98?
Scout: Yep
JP: (incoming pitch; looks at gun reading; endorphins begin to rush; brow begins to sweat; smile begins to creep onto face; pants begin to loosen) Does he normally throw 100 mph?
Scout: Why are you sitting so close to me?

Parks wrote a couple good pieces over at Baseball Prospectus on the Royals system as well as writing a great scouting blog about the Texas Rangers system. Both are great investments if you are into minor league players.

Futures Game Video

2011-04-05T20:22:00.000-07:00

Click on the line below to see video.
Mike Moustakas singles off John Lamb

Johnny Giavotella good play on a groundout on the shortstop side of second base.

Mike Montgomery Ks Wil Myers on a 96 mph fastball

Danny Duffy K's Christian Colon

Wil Myers doubles off Louis Coleman

David Lough HR off of Chris Dwyer

If you are interested to see more head over to my Youtube Channel kcscoliny. I'll post pics of the event within a couple days.

Grading the Minor League Rosters

2011-04-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

The Minor League Rosters were finalized on Tuesday with the Blue Rocks finalizing their High A roster. For a system loaded with talent it was interesting to see how many talented position players got left off rosters to start the season. Names like Cuthbert, Arteaga, Calixte, Lane Adams and a few other talented position players will have to wait to start their seasons. This could be a sign that a few players in the Royals system will get quick looks to see if they can get things going or fall victim to the talent behind them.

While a couple of the rosters are uninspiring currently lets breakdown each position group to see which teams have the most potential strength in the system.

Starting Pitching
Most Current Talent: Omaha Storm Chasers hard to argue with a staff lead by Mike Montgomery after his spring and Danny Duffy.

Most Potential Talent: Wilmington Blue Rocks - This staff has huge potential arms all over with Sample, Odorizzi, Melville and Arguelles even some guys in the pen could still be potential starters in Marriott and Herrera.

Relief Pitching: Omaha Storm Chasers - Coleman, Holland are guys I like to make it to KC this year combined with a solid lefty like Hardy makes this staff too much to overcome for the rest in the org. The Rocks could have a lethal combo later in the year if Sample and Herrera if both take to that BP role.

Catching: NW Arkansas Naturals Salvador Perez is the catcher of the future in this organization.

Corner Infield: Omaha Storm Chasers Hos and Moose enough said

Middle Infield: NW Arkansas Naturals - I'll take the Naturals in this one even though they will likely be playing their middle infielders at opposite positions. I think Bianchi could be a decent Utility infielder in the bigs playing 2b,SS and 3b in a pinch while Colon more than likely is a 2b longterm.

Outfield - NW Arkansas Naturals Wil Myers is the heavy weight in this race combined with Robinson gets the slight edge over the Storm Chasers. That tells you how highly I think of Myers considering that I believe three out of the four Omaha outfielders (Cain, Blanco and Lough) will likely get time at some point this season in KC.

I'll be going to:
April 15 Omaha Storm Chasers
April 18, 19 Kane County

Omaha Storm Chasers

SP
Mike Montgomery (3)
Danny Duffy (8)
Everett Teaford (29)
Jeff Suppan
Kevin Pucetas
Luis Mendoza
Steven Shell
Vin Mazzaro
RP
Greg Holland
Blake Wood
Blaine Hardy
Louis Coleman (12)
Jesse Chavez
C
Manny Pina
Cody Clark
1b
Clint Robinson (21)
Eric Hosmer (2)
2b
Johnny Giavotella (21)
SS
Lance Zawadski
Irving Falu
3b
Mike Moustakas (4)
LF
David Lough (20)
CF
Lorenzo Cain
Gregor Blanco
RF
Paulo Orlando

NW Arkansas Naturals

SP
John Lamb (5)
Chris Dwyer (7)
Will Smith (30)
Edgar Osuna
Heath Rollins

RP
Patrick Keating (31)
Harold Mozingo
Eric Basurto
Buddy Baumann
Brandon Sisk
Blake Johnson
Mario Santiago
Eduardo Paulino
C
Salvador Perez (18)
Ryan Eigsti
Ben Theriot
1b
Jamie Romak
2b
Jeff Bianchi (23)
Kurt Mertins
SS
Christian Colon (6)
UT
Mario Lisson
Anthony Seratelli
LF
Nick Van Stratten
Tim Smith
CF
Derrick Robinson (27)
RF
Wil Myers (1)

Wilmington Blue Rocks
SP
Tim Melville (24)
Jake Odorizzi (10)
Noel Arguelles
Justin Marks
Elisaul Pimentel
Tyler Sample
RP
Kelvin Herrera
Julio Pimentel
Michael Mariot
Glenn Gibson
Manauris Baez
Ryan Dennick
Bryan Paukovits
Brendan Lafferty
Kevin Chapman
IF
C Jose Bonilla
C Juan Graterol
1b Joey Lewis
2b Deivy Batista
2b/SS Rey Navarro
SS Alex McClure
UT Adam Frost
OF
RF Nick Francis
OF Carlo Testa
CF Adrian Ortiz
CF Whit Merrifield
LF Tim Ferguson

Kane County Cougars

SP Jon Keck
SP Matt Mitchell
SP Leonel Santiago
SP Crawford Simmons
SP Keaton Hayenga
RP Nick Wooley
RP Leondy Perez
RP Sugar Ray Marimon
RP Mitch Hodge
RP Chas Byrne
RP Greg Billo
RP Chase Boruff

C Ryan Jenkins
C Travis Jones
IF
1b Murray Watts
2b Angel Franco
SS Yowill Espinal
3b Fernando Cruz
2b/SS Gerald Hall Jr.
UT Ryan Stovall

OF
RF Geulin Beltre
CF Brett Eibner
LF Brian Fletcher
OF Alex Llanos

The Royals look into the future and past to start the season

2011-04-04T12:28:00.000-07:00

Typically a couple days away allows me to come down from excitement and not overreact to what I've seen as I never want to overreact or cloud my judgement but when it comes to Mike Montgomery I just can't seem to pace myself. I've seen him twice this spring once versus the Cincinnati Reds and then again in the Futures game and he's been lights out both times. 8 innings 2 hits 2 walks 7 K's and 1 run allowed during that time. On Saturday he sailed through a pretty solid AA lineup working 91-93 pretty consistently while blowing away Wil Myers in the 1st inning with a 96 mph fastball. He featured the fastball so there wasn't many changes or curves thrown to report on I'll sure I get to see many more of those as the season goes on but from what I've seen so far he definitely has the makings of a #1 who I think we'll see in KC before the year ends.

Johnny Giavotella vs Christian Colon - This is a rivalry that should be fun to watch all season long, Colon hasn't excited me defensively at SS and while I didn't expect him to I'm unsure if his defense is good enough at 2b to eclipse Gio's offense. Giavotella is patient, knows his offensive limitations and is a good enough baserunner that he might be a difficult hurdle for the higher drafted Colon to get over. Giavotella looked much better on defense during the Futures game than I've seen him in the past making a good turn on a double play and making a jumping throw from the SS side of second base. Giavotella is never going to be an All Star second baseman but he has the chance to have a plus bat along with at his peak a average glove. I overheard some Royals scouts getting excited by Giavotella's play.

Danny Duffy - Looked alot like the pitcher we've seen most of the spring showing a low to mid 90s fastball with some shaky control (walked 3). Duffy only gave up one hit an infield single which was quickly erased by a double play. In the second inning when Mario Lisson reached via a walk Duffy was a little too deliberate to the plate allowing Lisson to get a extremely good jump and stealing second base but Duffy made up for that mistake by freezing #4 overall pick Christian Colon with a 77 mph bender. Duffy essentially got five outs in his third inning of work striking out three despite having to work an extra couple batters due to a Moustakas error at third and a Falu error at short.

Other pitchers - John Lamb's velocity was far from exciting throwing anywhere from 86-89 while touching 91 with his fastball but he gutted his way thru 2.2 innings giving up just one run on three hits. Lamb gutted out his effort by picking off Lorenzo Cain and allowing only a couple hard hit balls. The early muscle problems should be good for Lamb a little bit of adversity to overcome when not at 100%. Brandon Sisk only got to face one hitter (Moustakas) but he tied him up with a 90-91 mph fastball and two solid change ups, four pitches and a K against a premiere prospect, not bad. Chris Dwyer again like Lamb wasn't as impressive as I had hoped in the the velocity department working in 89-91 range while exhibiting some iffy control (3 walks). The AA pitchers fell victim to some poor defense behind them which could've lead to some of Dwyer's troubles trying to be too fine. One pitcher who didn't disappoint was Will Smith who despite giving up a in the park HR on a misplayed ball in LF worked quickly while touching 93 a couple times with his FB. One nice sequence for Smith was against David Lough starting him off with a couple low 90s FB, a 93 mph FB and then freezing Lough with a 76 mph deuce for strike three. Patrick Keating was disappointing to me as he was throwing in the low 90's which is quite a bit off from where scouting reports had him last season.

Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer - Neither player stood out with their results although Moose hit several balls hard. Hos on the otherhand seemed a bit impatient which is to be expected playing in the major league park in game action for the first time. The pair finished a combined 1-12 at the plate while Moustakas had a ball go right thru the wickets on defense leading to a Naturals run. Hosmer looked good on defense making all the plays in his area while also making a nice pick of a Van Stratten hard hit near the line.

Wil Myers- Myers had a tough start to the game turning a Hosmer flyball into a circus catch in RF while striking out 2 of his first 3 times at the plate. He settled on defense however making some routine plays and looks as if he'll be fine in RF. He also lined a pitch from Louis Coleman down the third base line for a double, that's a good sign as I expect Coleman will be extremely tough on righty's in the bigs with his arm angle and start from the extreme right side of the pitching rubber.

Other notes- David Lough and Jamie Romak hit the only Home Runs off the arms of Chris Dwyer and Blake Wood. Wood was throwing in the low 90s as opposed to the upper 90s like some had reported during spring training. I'll watch the guns closely in Omaha to see if that is the case once the AAA season starts.

MVP Mike Montgomery
Offensive MVP Johnny Giavotella 1-3 2-BB 1-2b

Royals announced a minor league deal with Jeff Suppan today. Suppan started for four seasons with the Royals compiling 132 starts and 832 innings over a 4 year period from 1999-2002. This is a decent little low risk deal for a ML veteran, if a couple injuries would take place the Royals could bring up Suppan to take over in the rotation as opposed to rushing Duffy or Montgomery to KC.

NEXT UP Pics and Video of the Futures game
Omaha Storm Chasers Workout Wednesday at the new Werner Park

Season Predictions White Sox win it all

2011-03-31T08:50:00.000-07:00

I could easily toss out a Philly-Boston/NY World Series which is what everyone else is doing but I thought I'd go a different way and predict a scenario in which a different team wins it all.

AL East
Boston
NY
Tampa Bay
Toronto
Baltimore

AL Central
Chicago
Minnesota
Detroit
Kansas City
Cleveland

AL West
Texas
Oakland
LA Angeles
Seattle

Wild Card NY Yankees

Boston beats Texas
Chicago beats NY Yankees
Chicago beats Boston

AL MVP Kevin Youkilis
AL CY Young CJ Wilson
AL Jackie Robinson Award Kyle Drabek

NL East
Atlanta
Philadelphia
Florida
Washington
NY Mets

NL Central
Cincinnati
St Louis
Chicago
Milwaukee
Houston
Pittsburgh

NL West
Colorado
San Francisco
LA Dodgers
San Diego

Wild Card Philadelphia

Cincinnati beats Atlanta
Philadelphia beats Colorado
Philadelphia beats Cincinnati

NL MVP Jason Heyward
NL CY Young Roy Halladay
NL Jackie Robinson Award Freddie Freeman

Chicago shocks the world and beats Philadelphia in 6 games.

Putting the finishing touch on the Royals Winter

2011-03-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus let out a few more articles on the bright Royals future today. Those features wrap up a winter of unparalleled coverage for a team coming off yet another losing season. I definitely can't think of a time that a teams minor league players have been so extensively studied by pretty much every sports publication in this country. It sure has been fun to read, listen and watch what people have to say about these young Royals but even a prospect hound like myself has grown tired of it. I'm ready to watch them !

The final piece for Royals minor league fun will be the Royals Futures Game Saturday and as you would expect I will be there checking out the fun. After that it's opening day at Werner Park followed by a trip to Kane County April 18th and the 19th. Tweet me up if you are out at any of these events. See ya Saturday !

Royals Nation unhappy with the final roster moves.

2011-03-29T14:42:00.000-07:00

The Royals finished up with another win today their 20th of the spring while also finalizing their major league roster. As most people expected Coleman, Mendoza, Zach Miner, Irvin Falu and Lance Zawadzki will all be reassigned with Vin Mazzaro to minor league camps. Coleman, Mendoza and Zawadzki pushed hard going to the final day of spring but the fact that they weren't on the 40 man roster hurt their chances to break with the team. I expect Zawadzki and Coleman to get a shot at the bigs prior to the end of the year if they perform in Omaha.

Prior to these moves the Royals picked up Matt Treanor from the Rangers and added him to the 25 man roster while leaving Lucas May exposed. There are many in Royal fandom that have a problem with this and while Treanor may not be an average catcher in the bigs assuming that Lucas May who has just one average season at AAA is a huge loss is somewhat funny. I saw May quite a few times last season and he seemed like a straight fastball hitter that would get exposed by breaking stuff in the majors while also being a below average defensive catcher. I'm not saying I'm excited by this move but on the other hand I see the writing on the wall and this Salvador Perez's job and pitching staff for that matter in 2012 with a possibility of picking up a catcher via free agency if he struggles this season. I would rather the young bullpen guys had a chance to work with a experience vet like Treanor in the meantime.

The other moves that caused waves were adding Aaron Crow to the bullpen and taking Jarrod Dyson to KC while exposing Gregor Blanco to waivers. I had already expressed how I liked the Crow decision prior to KC making it here so I'll address the Dyson decision instead. Blanco is a nice player but has little to no longterm future with this team so keeping him isn't a huge addition while losing him isn't big either. Dyson is 26 going on 27 so the chance of him finding some kind of playable power to allow him to be a everyday centerfielder is asking alot especially after 1200+ minor league ABs. He is what he is a speedy defensive outfielder/pinch runner. If the Royals have a upside speedy centerfielder who could develop some pop it's Derrick Robinson in AA not Jarrod Dyson.

I don't understand the uproar about Blanco, when was he supposed to play after Cain was called up? His only available playing time at this point would be if Frenchy and Alex both fell off the canyons edge of performance something even I don't believe will happen with both of them. Maier is the better player and Blanco out of the fold is good to me in case Frenchy or Alex fold then KC might have to give David Lough a look as opposed to running Maier and Blanco both out there everyday. Lough has more upside than Gregor and Mitch and if he performs in Omaha should be in line for a spot after Cain. Blanco was given an edge to win a spot in the spring and he just didn't take hold of it.

The hyperbole is funny that has been tossed out there, these moves haven't stopped or slowed the process these were players that had little to no future with the Royals and losing them now isn't causing any losses to the huge talent pool that already exist.

2011 Kansas City Royals Prediction

2011-03-28T12:02:00.000-07:00

It's prediction time folks ! As a blogger about the Royals I am obliged to write my prediction of what I think will happen this season so readers can requote me later to tell me what I'm wrong about. So here you go I'm putting my pinky finger on the cutting board with a bucket of ice standing by.

2011 Record 75-87 4th Place

Hitting MVP: Billy Butler .320+ 25 HR 45 2b
Defensive MVP: Alcides Escober
Positional ROY: Mike Moustakas

DH/1b Billy Butler- I believe Butler is in line for his first .900+ OPS season. He's going to prove that the contract extension was a good decision despite splitting time at DH and 1b I think he'll put up a 3.5-4 WAR season. That's not a big improvement in WAR but I think he'll play quite a few games fewer at 1b this season.

1b/DH Kila Ka'aihue- I doubt Kila reaches BP's projections but I do think he'll be better than what KC has seen out of the DH position in the past. Somewhere in that .825-.840 OPS region with 20 HR and better defense than what Billy can provide at 1b. WAR Value 2-2.5

2b Chris Getz- I don't believe in Getz's ability to hit much. I think he'll hit his way out of Kansas City within a couple months posting a sub .600 OPS along the way and making room for Aviles to take over the spot when Moose is ready to come up.

SS Alcides Escobar- Spring training home runs are generally to be ignored but I saw one Escobar hit off the Reds while in Arizona and I came away pretty impressed. It wasn't a windy night or unusually warm but it was a high semi deep home run to left center that a light hitting SS in the TPJ mold wouldn't be able to hit. I'm not expecting Escobar to put up huge offensive numbers in KC but I think he'll put up better numbers than we expect. My guess OPS .750 range with plus plus defense 3-4 WAR.

3B Mike Aviles- Aviles will do what he does hit above .300 and mix in a little pop while moving to 2b when Moose is ready to go. OPS .800 range

Mike Moustakas- I think Mike will get off to a slow start but adjust and hit 10-15 HR's and get people excited for next season. Many in the prospect field are scared of Mike's patience which they should be but what most like is his strength combined with a flat plane swing that stays in the zone a long time that will allow him to hit for a decent average (.275-.300) and also allows him to hit any type of pitch once he's adjusted after seeing it. OPS .775 Range.

Wilson Betemit .750 OPS very limited playing time with Kila and Butler playing well.

Rookies to play this season: Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer(Sept.), Lance Zawadzki(Util when Getz goes down) and Johnny Giavotella(Sept.)

C Jason Kendall/Matt Treanor - More of the same out of the catching position for the Royals. Kendall and Treanor's performance will probably be interchangeable and will play too much and while putting up a sub .600 OPS.

C Brayan Pena - Pena would like the Royals to signa a longterm deal but that's not coming with Salvador on the way. Pena will struggle again at the plate and behind it as he gets sporadic playing time.

LF Alex Gordon- This is the tough one, I've watched Alex for a long time and he's got all the skill in his body to get it done but I don't think he has what it take confidencewise to as he put it "dominate". I think he'll put up numbers similar to what he did as a rookie .725 OPS range with average defense.

CF Melky Cabrerra- I think GMDM is hoping to have Melky get out of the gates fast start so they can flip him similarly to what they did with Scott Podsednik when Lorenzo Cain is ready to go. We'll see how it plays out but I think he'll play below average defense in CF while hitting in the .740 OPS range.

RF Jeff Franceour- Every Non-Royal fan rejoiced at the signing of Frenchy the day it happened and they will be treated to exactly what most expect of him a subpar performance. .700 OPS Range with 15 HRs and better defense than he has played the last couple years due to being leaner.

Lorenzo Cain- Cain will take over for Melky after the trading deadline and provide a similar OPS to Melky but with plus defense.
Mitch Maier .700 OPS Range
Jarrod Dyson .680 OPS range

Rookies to play: Lorenzo Cain, David Lough(Sept)
WAR Leaders
Escobar 4
Butler 3.5-4
Aviles 3
Kila 2-2.5

Pitching
SP MVP: Luke Hochevar 4.00 ERA Range
BP MVP outside Joakim Soria:
Royals ROY: Mike Montgomery

I picked the record I did because I believe this season will go similarly to the 2008season with the Royals struggling at first but by midseason finding a good rythem with a dominant bullpen leading to a solid 2nd half of the season.

1. Luke Hochevar 4.00 ERA Range I think Luke will step up with improved defense behind him putting together is best season to date. Hoch will be the best starter over the course of the season. WAR 4 range in 185 innings

2. Jeff Francis - I think KC could get a nice stretch out of Francis to start the season while he puts up a similar season to Bruce Chen as last year earning him a ticket out of town at the trade deadline for a team looking for postseason experience. 4.50 ERA Range in about 100-125 innings 1 WAR

3. Kyle Davies - More of the same from Davies, no reason to expect anything different than what he's done over the last couple of seasons. 5.25 ERA around 2 WAR in 180 innings

4. Bruce Chen - Back to life back to reality for Bruce 5.50 ERA Range demoted prior to the All Star Break

5. Vin Mazzaro - 4.75 ERA Range for Vin not what we wanted in return for DDJ. 150-175 innings and

Mike Montgomery- A lefty that hits 97 with a good curve and change up will get into the rotation by the All Star break taking over for Chen. He'll struggle at first as most rookies do but by the end of the season will look like a figurehead at the top of the rotation for a long time. 4.25 ERA Range approx.

Bullpen
Aaron Crow - Struggles at first but settles into the 3rd or 4th best BP guy. By midseason he takes over as the long man and swingman and start to compete for a rotation spot in '12

Nate Adcock - I don't like his chances once the lights kick on. He hasn't missed many bats and reminds me of O'Sullivan.

Sean O'Sullivan - More of the same out of O'Sullivan

Jeremy Jeffress - Fb just a bit too straight to succeed for me.

Tim Collins- the funky lefty will workout just fine for the Royals quickly becoming the regular vs lefties and working into a 7th inning role while taking over as the 8th inning guy for Tejeda when he is traded.

Robinson Tejeda - Hard to see Tejeda not matching what he has done each of his last two seasons. McClure has been able to right the ship everytime he has any falters. I do think this is the season the Royals trade him at the deadline though perhaps a Tejeda and one of the OF in a package.

Joakim Soria - He'll keep doing what he does 35+ saves in too few of innings.

Look it's easy to look at this roster and say the Royals will hover around 65 wins or so and I could just as easily make that case as what I predicted. The Royals are an organization currently that has a positive outlook on themselves and they've eliminated the players who have a negative picture of the past organization which to me is huge. Can I quantify that it a number of wins? No I can't but I do think it matters, I've seen too many people in my life with talent in a number of fields that just didn't reach their potential because of their attitude.

Aaron Crow and thinning the roster

2011-03-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

Last season Aaron Crow showed up to spring training with big time expectations by Royals fans. He did everything in his power to meet those expectations during the spring even causing some to think he should be given a job in the bullpen. Last season that would've been too much to ask for Aaron in my opinion as a guy who sat out over a year of baseball but now I think it's time to give him a shot.

Crow's change up didn't do much progressing last season and while I don't have anything against the minor league staff I would like to see how Crow's change developed after working with Bob McClure for a full season. Aaron definitely has the two pitch combo to succeed out of the bullpen. His fastball according to pitchf/x versus Oakland this spring was 94-96 with plenty of movement (4-6 degrees) while his slider was 86-89 with 6 to 8 degrees in movement. That's plenty of velocity and enough movement that if Crow throws strikes he'll succeed in the pen and give the Royals a swing and miss power who can also create groundballs, something they don't have in their other bullpen talents.

The biggest part of this scenario is working with McClure who I think is a above average pitching coach and has done wonders with the pitchers he's had in the pen so far. McClure on multiple occassions (Tejeda, Greinke and Farnsworth) has taken failed or struggling starters and turned them into effective relievers who have at least entered the conversation as possible rotation guys while also helping one become a Cy Young winner. I'm quite confident a year with Bob in the pen would do as much for Crow's career as a starter as anything he would learn this year in AA or AAA.

Couple other notes the Royals released Aaron Hartsock, Scott Kelley, Justin Figueroa and Tom Zebroski this weekend after trading Gaby Hernandez and Alex Caldera earlier. The Royals also picked up John Whittleman from the Rangers.

Whittleman isn't much of a prospect as a 25 year old heading to High A after not posting much of a line last season in AA but I assume he is a great guy and will help fill roster at High A Wilmington.

Cut day is coming soon I think we are gonna see some interesting decisions by the Royals as they decided to send Lorenzo Cain down today.

Mike Sweeney Retires a Royal awaits his Royal HOF spot

2011-03-25T21:57:00.000-07:00

Good stuff on part of the organization today as Mike Sweeney signed a one day contract and retired as a Royal the way he should. Sweeney was a constant role model and seemed to be a class act on the field and off it despite plenty of criticism by fans and media alike.

Sweeney according to Baseball reference finishes 7th All Time in Royal history in Career WAR PA
1. George Brett 85.0 11624
2. Amos Otis 42.3 7969
3. Willie Wilson 35.7 7302
4. Frank White 26.9 8467
5. Hal McRae 26.1 7361
6. Carlos Beltran 24.6 3512
7. Mike Sweeney 22.2 527

5th in Offensive WAR PA
1. George Brett 79.5 11624
2. Amos Otis 45.8 7969
3. Hal McRae 26.4 7361
4. Willie Wilson 25.8 7302
5. Mike Sweeney 23.3 5278

2nd in OPS to Danny Tartabull, 2nd in Adjusted OPS+ to George Brett and 2nd again to Brett in Home Runs. Simply put Mike Sweeney in a few years will find his jersey hanging in the Royals Hall of Fame as a 1st ballot Royal Hall of Famer. A fitting career end to a Hall of Fame type of person.

Revisiting Playboy 2005

2011-03-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know I have a small company in Council Bluffs/Omaha and in my offices I share a bathroom with the landlord who has an office in the building. While I've been using the bathroom for months one day I looked above the cabinet for some untold reason and discovered a couple Playboy magazines peaking over the edge.

Being a man I looked around (duh no one else is in the bathroom) and was compelled to grab the Playboy magazines to discover what great articles are to be seen on the inside of the pages and to my surprise what should I find but a preview of the 2005 baseball season. While many Royal fans remember the 2004 and 2005 seasons as probably the two worst seasons in Royal history both recordwise but also because of the promise 2003 brought I thought it would be fun to revisit what a non-sport publication thought at the time.

Last Season 58-104 Last place, 34 games out. The Royals used a franchise-record 58 players, one shy of the major league mark set by Cleveland and San Diego in 2002.

Off-season focus: They splurged on free agents a year ago and went from a contender in 2003 to having the worst record in franchise histroy. So they regrouped and committed to building from within the farm system.

Who was this farm system rebuild with? Buck and Teahen? I've always thought the idea that Baird looked to rebuild with the farm system was a total joke. The guy didn't draft well, buy international talent or even use all the minor league levels to develop players. Whoever bought into Baird's idea of development wasn't watching closely.

In-season prognosis: The Royals have the potential to suprise-not by winning the division but by making everyone else uncomfortable. They have young talent and are excited about the potential of third baseman Mark Teahen, who came from Oakland. How much they improve will depend on how well Runelvys Hernandez rebounds from elbow surgery and whether righty Denny Bautista can deliver.

Of course the Royals didn't make anyone uncomfortable that season by setting a new low mark going 56-106.

Welcome to town: Outfielder Terrence Long was excess baggage in San Diego, but the Royals see him as a much needed left-handed bat who will respond to a return to regular duty.

Terrence Long was just another name in the group of failed veteran pickups by Baird. Guys he would attempt to grab onto just before they left baseball. Baird's OF picks of Gonzalez, Long and Sanders over inhouse players like Diaz and Ibanez were just a couple reasons this franchise reached incredible lows in '04 and '05.

This preview was written by Tracy Rigolsby while Christina Kahrl wrote some bits and pieces as well, it's always fun to look back and review what people thought at the time no matter how painful that season was. There was also the nice Mike Sweeney little interview with one of the following quotes "I was there when we lost 100 games. I was there when we came up just short of winning the division. It would be sweeter to win in Kansas City, having gone through the tought times." Rigolsby took it pretty easy on the Royals as I believe most thought they were going to end up where they did but he shined as much hope as he possibly could.

While the baseball intro doesn't quite live up to the James Spader interview(I'm a Boston Legal fan), Hunter S. Thompson last words or Suburban Bombshells Naked comparison of Desperate Housewives it was definitely fun to discover in my office but unfortunately I won't be reviewing the October 2008 issue that is also above the cabinet.

NEXT UP: Royals Season Predictions

Jason Adam making waves

2011-03-24T08:26:00.000-07:00

Jason Adam the local Royals 4th Rounder last year is making more waves in spring training after an impressive instruct debut. Jason Parks of Baseball Prospectus was very impressed by what he saw earlier this week by Adam saying his fastball was sitting 94-96 while touching 97/98. His curve was 80 mph with command, control with depth and a long break. According to Jason he has good arm speed on his change up while having good late fade on the pitch. Parks also said his polish was comparable to a AAA player which for a guy who hasn't played a pro game yet is extremely impressive.

Nick Scott also tweeted tonight that he was 94-96 today.

Parks future projection of Adam's stuff.
FB 70
Curve 60 at least
Change up 50

I highly encourage you to checkout Jason Parks stuff at BP and his own site texasfarmreview.com

I've had some small amount of interaction with Adam after he was drafted and he truly is a great kid.

Other great stuff on the Royals prospects in Surprise including Cuthbert on the BP Podcast

I'm planning a trip to Kane County April 18-20 hopefully I'll be able to get video of Adam and Cuthbert.

Reshuffling the Top 35 prior to the season

2011-03-23T04:35:00.000-07:00

When coming up with my Royals rankings prior I had put a few players further down the list based on not seeing them play or their lack of time in the minors. Having seen the likes of Calixte, Eibner, Arteaga and Michael Antonio now in person along with other Royals I had already watched play I'm now more comfortable to re-rank them all.

For those of you that don't already know I do rank players based on their likely opportunity to play. That's why you'll see Johnny Giavotella much lower on my rankings than you'll see other places. I like most other people like Gio's bat but his defense limitations combined with being sandwiched by Getz, Aviles and Colon limit his opportunity within the organization so he falls into that same range in the rankings as Lough, Bianchi and Robinson who face similar problems.

I'm going to leave the Top 14 unchanged as there is little seperating the players to reshuffle them. I'm definitely getting closer to ranking Hosmer ahead of Myers just because he looks like a Hall of Famer currently but I'll hold off to see how each looks at their new levels.

Name- (Prev Rk) Likely Destination
1. Wil Myers - NW Arkansas
2. Eric Hosmer - Omaha
3. Mike Montgomery - Omaha
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
10. Jake Odorizzi - Wilmington
11. Aaron Crow - Omaha
12. Louis Coleman - Omaha or Kansas City
13. Tim Collins - Omaha or Kansas City
14. Jeremy Jeffress - Kansas City

15. Brett Eibner (17) Kane County
16. Robinson Yambati
17. Yordano Ventura Kane County after May

The first change occurs at #15 where I rank Brett Eibner ahead of Yambati and Ventura. Eibner has a fast bat with pop and is a solid athlete. I think he'll zip through Kane County and find himself in Wilmington very quickly.

18. Salvador Perez NW Arkansas
19. Jason Adam Kane County
20. David Lough Omaha
21. Johnny Giavotella Omaha - Gio looked outstanding with the bat in AZ
22. Clint Robinson (24) Omaha
23. Jeff Bianchi (25) NW Arkansas
24. Tim Melville (22) Wilmington

Moving up to #22 from his previous spot at 24 is Clint Robinson. Robinson just like Hosmer looks like a beast and can turn on everything he sees in the zone. I don't know about his future with the Royals with Butler, Kila and Hosmer ahead of him but he could provide some trade value. After Robinson at 22 I'm reshuffling some guys based on positional value.

25. Orlando Calixte (UR) Kane County

Calixte makes a jump into my rankings after previously being unranked. I loved Calixte's arm strength and movement at SS and he should add even more strength to a wiry strong body if he is only 19. Calixte should be a solid gap to gap hitter with decent speed, I haven't seen enough to know about his plate discipline but he appears to be a same type of player as Escobar. Calixte could make an enormous jump next season with the amount of prospects that could graduate and if he can transfer his tools into on the field production.

26. Jarrod Dyson Omaha
27. Derrick Robinson NW Arkansas
28. Michael Antonio (UR) Kane County
29. Everett Teaford (28) Omaha
30. Will Smith (29) NW Arkansas

Another new entry to the list is Michael Antonio who impressed me with his strength and pop with the bat in Arizona. Antonio has thickened up a bit and could be destined to a switch to a corner OF position as one of his teammates Cheslor Cuthbert is a better 3b defender and prospect but he should have the arm and athleticism to handle that position switch if necessary.

31. Patrick Keating (23) NW Arkansas
32. Tyler Sample (30) Wilmington
33. Jorge Bonafacio (34) Idaho Falls
34. Crawford Simmons (35) Burlington
35. Kelvin Herrera (31) Wilmington

These players were reshuffled based off of value and upside. Bonafacio has the highest upside of the group but is also the furthest away. Sample, Herrera are facing important seasons in their career as one needs to prove he can stay healthy while the other needs to get much much better at throwing strikes. Keating fell just due to his role as a bullpen guy something that could happen to Herrera if he ends up in the pen which from the sounds of it could be likely.

Projecting the Royals Top 15 2012
1. Wil Myers
2. Eric Hosmer
3. John Lamb
4. Chris Dwyer
5. Christian Colon
6. Cheslor Cuthbert
7. Archie Bradley, Daniel Norris, Bubba Starling or whoever is taken w 1st rd pick
8. Jake Odorizzi
9. Brett Eibner
10. Jason Adam
11. Salvador Perez
12. Yordano Ventura
13. Robinson Yambatti
14. Tim Melville
15. Orlando Calixte

UP NEXT Joe Holtmeyer UNO Maverick Draft Prospect, Damek Tomscha Iowa Western Draft Prospect

Pics of Spring Training

2011-03-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

Michael Antonio in the cage

Myers waiting his turn

Moustakas steppin into the cage

Mike Moustakas

Orlando Calixte

Orlando Calixte

Mertins, Giavotella and Hosmer

Hosmer, Mertins and Bianchi playing catch

Cheslor Cuthbert

Cheslor Cuthbert

Orlando Calixte in the dugout

Orlando Calixte and Angel Franco

How the Omaha Roster is shaping up

2011-03-22T15:44:00.000-07:00

Royals optioned Manny Pina, Greg Holland and Blake Wood while assigning Mike Montgomery to AAA Omaha. Montgomery wasn't a guy I projected in the Omaha rotation but it appears the Royals believe he is ready to go which adds intrigue to a stout Omaha rotation and potential roster.

Here is what is headed to Omaha currently next to what I predicted early this year.

Projection vs What I thought previously
Mike Montgomery - Didn't have him on the breakdown
Danny Duffy - 50/50
Everett Teaford - Very Likely

Relief
Blake Wood - KC
Greg Holland - KC
Blaine Hardy - Very Likely
Brandon Sisk - Very Likely
Jesse Chavez - Very Likely

C Manny Pina - Lock
1b Eric Hosmer - 50/50
1b/DH Clint Robinson - Lock
2b Johnny Giavotella - Lock
3b Mike Moustakas - Lock
LF David Lough - Very Likely

We've yet to see how the Outfield, Middle Infield and the rest of the rotation and bullpen will breakdown but it appears Omaha will have the most talented roster it has had in a long time.

Pics and Video of Spring Training

2011-03-21T21:51:00.001-07:00

While I was at spring training I was mostly jotting notes down but I did take some time to take a few pics and videos. Here are a few of the video's I'll post more pics and video tomorrow.

Christian Colon in the cage

Wil Myers in the cage

Orlando Calixte in the cage

Lane Adams in the cage

Michael Antonio in the cage

Royals under the gun at all levels

2011-03-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

We've heard all the accolades and we've heard how impressive the talent pool is in the Royals organization. Even for a loaded pool of talent there are some players with tools and ability that have yet to translate those skills onto the field and for those players it is a make or break type season or they will find themselves buried behind the depth.

ML/AAA - Blake Wood - The Royals have taken their time with Wood after drafting him in the '06 draft (3rd round) letting him make 68 starts at the minor league levels despite mixed results at the upper levels. The move last season to the bullpen seemed to be beneficial to Wood at least at the AAA level although it was a small sample size but he struggled at the major league level. Wood now appears to be falling down the depth chart behind Jeffress, Collins and Coleman and with more arms coming if he doesn't find success at the ML level quickly he'll likely become nothing more than a AAA arm or trade throw in piece.

AA - Henry Barrera - The Royals placed this hard throwing righty on the 40 man roster last season prior to the Rule 5 draft so they obviously thought very highly of him at the time. He remains on the 40 man roster today and was given an audition this spring but another arm injury has set him back. He's already lost one season due to injuries and this setback has once again slowed his progress. He has the pitches to be an effective bullpen arm and has showed solid results in his last two heathy seasons ('08/'10) but if he can't make the move thru Arkansas and into KC by late this season then he'll likely face a similar scenario as Blake Wood.

High A - Kelvin Herrera - One of my all-time prospect crushes Herrera has the tools to develop into a starter and has flashed solid results but like Barrera has been bitten by the injury bug. Herrera has a mid 90s fastball and what has been described as precocious command of both the change and curveball. Both pitches flashed as future average to plus pitches for the 19 year old at A ball but injuries have sidelined him the last two seasons and now he is a 21 year old at High A swallowed up by talented arms all around him. I had hoped he would be the young right hand gun to go alongside Monty, Lamb etc but now he appears destined to a bullpen role where hopefully his small frame (5'10 170 lbs) will be able to handle the torque put on his arm.

Low A - Hilton Richardson - Looks like Tarzan plays like Jane describes Richardson the best to me. When you first arrive at the minor league complex or single A facility the first thing you see is this beast of an athlete that looks as if he should be playing as a shooting guard or wide receiver somewhere else, then you see him run in center and you are even more intrigued, then he steps to the plate and cuts all his athletic ability off with a single slap swing. Richardson appears on the surface to be strong but his swing is limiting any power that he might have in his body. As a result last season his numbers were awful at A ball .204/.272/.316 and unless he changes his approach I doubt success will happen. I saw him in Arizona last week and no change had occurred in his stance or hitting approch.

Video from last April of Richardson
Another plate appearance from April Hilton Richardson

All of these guys have some impressive tools whether it is the three pitchers mid 90s fastballs or Richardson's speed but with a system very deep and from the sounds of it about to get deeper they need to translate those tools now or get swallowed up by the talent around them.

NEXT UP: Video and pics from Spring Training

Yost makes a decision on pitching roster

2011-03-20T07:53:00.000-07:00

Royals_Report Bob Dutton tweeted this today
Sean O'Sullivan will break with club as long reliever.
Comparing this to my pitching roster prediction in January lays out about as I expected. I thought the Royals would use Chen as a long man until a 5th starter was needed so they could carry just one lefty in the BP. Yost announced Mazzaro will stay in Omaha until mid April when a 5th starter is needed. If I was to remake my predictions currently I would definitely put Jeffress ahead of Blake Wood who I thought was a lock. I also would slide Nate Adcock ahead of Texeira while putting Coleman and Holland in a virtual tie for that next spot.

Pitchers(12)
SP Luke Hochevar #1
SP Jeff Francis #2
SP Vin Mazzaro Omaha/#5
SP Kyle Davies #3
SP Bruce Chen #4
RP Joakim Soria (LOCK)
RP Robinson Tejeda (LOCK)
RP Blake Wood
RP Sean O'Sullivan Long man Announced
RP Kanekoa Texeira
RP Greg Holland
RP Tim Collins

More Heyman Greinke Rumors

2011-03-10T18:25:00.001-08:00

Heyman tweeted todayFor greinke #royals asked #rangers for pitchers hunter, holland and kirkman, grt kid ss profar, cf beltre. Smart to say no

How does this haul compare to what they got from the Brewers?
Lorenzo Cain > Engel Beltre - Beltre has an interesting toolset that if he ever capitalized on it could be a solid player but he has one big negative as reported by

Jason Parks at Texas Farm Review - Well below-average approach at the plate; overly aggressive; plays too fast;

I doubt Beltre will ever be able to adjust his approach at the plate something Cain has had no problems with at every level. Beltre might have the higher upside but reaching the ceiling is very doubtful.

Alcides Escobar = Jurickson Profar - This is a matter of what you prefer, Escobar is further along in development while Profar in the long run might have the better overall tools. Profar is very young but he could become a second Elvis Andrus, a player who zips thru the minors due to his advanced feel of the game. Escobar has more speed and while both have good hit tools Profar might have the better approach and possibly more power in the longrun. Profar if all things go right could be the better player but Escobar offsets that some by already being in the majors and showing above average defensive ability.

Derek Holland, Michael Kirkman and Tommy Hunter > Jeremy Jeffress and Jake Odorizzi - I still think Holland could be a solid 2/3 in the bigs after last season increasing production in basically every category. To me the Rangers are in a better position than some analyst think with CJ Wilson, Derek Holland, Colby Lewis, Neftali Feliz and Tommy Hunter in their rotation. I believe the first four listed are solid 2/3 with Feliz having the eventual ceiling of a one. As I'm sure you noticed I listed Hunter as a 5 and that is what he is but it's a 5 in the bigs which is worth exactly what the Royals already have plenty of. I would rate Odorizzi as slightly ahead of Kirkman but it's close and the combination of Holland with him takes the Rangers ahead with Jeffress being a bullpen only option.

Overall this offer from the Rangers was probably equal to if not slightly better but I like the Brewers offer more because the combination of players are closer to the bigs. It's nice to dream about our prospects or any prospect but if you can cut down on your development curve then you are ahead of the game.

Danny Duffy and the tale of two fastballs

2011-03-09T09:51:00.000-08:00

This spring has been a test to young Duffy's control so far as he has walked 6 in just 5 innings of work. Yesterday was more of the same for Danny after as he surrendered a 3 run homer to Drew Stubbs after walking the previous two hitters. In a boxscore it would look like a pitcher struggling with control but after looking at the pitches before and after the home run you can see it was a tale of two fastballs.

Prior to Drew Stubbs HR 19 Fastballs = 12 Balls 7 Strikes
Hitters Johnny Gomes, Ramon Hernandez, Chris Valaika, Ryan Hanigan
After the Drew Stubbs HR 15 Fastballs = 3 Balls 12 Strikes
Hitters Edgar Renteria, Joey Votto, Scott Rolen and Jay Bruce

For a guy that runs an average fastball up there around 93 miles per hour while peaking yesterday at 95.1 I would like to see him attack the zone the way he did following the HR. It's likely that he was nibbling more because prior to the home run he was facing all righties while post home run he faced a couple lefties but still it's the difference in facing Jay Bruce, Scott Rolen and Joey Votto and attacking the zone with them as opposed to nibbling against Chris Valaika and Ryan Hannigan.

I hope he learned from that appearance and will trust his stuff more in the future.

Found out Orlando Calixte is already in Arizona according to Baseball America, I'll try to get some video of the young 19 year old who will likely play this season for one of the three Royals rookie clubs.

Royals make a couple moves

2011-03-07T17:00:00.000-08:00

Bob Dutton tweeted that the Royals assigned Noel Arguelles to Wilmington while reassigning Brandon Sisk to minor league camp. While I like Sisk he is a symbol of how this team is becoming more talented. When GMDM first arrived in 2007 a guy like Brandon Sisk would have almost certainly made it to the end of big league camp challenging Jimmy Gobble or even last year Dusty Hughes but with the depth of the talented arms in the bullpen he'll spend the season in Omaha. Tim Collins, Danny Duffy and perhaps Bruce Chen(if he loses out in the rotation) look to be the leaders in the clubhouse for those lefty spots. I like Sisk but I see him as more of a LOOGY type and with the depth of Lefty arms in the system some of which will almost certainly land in the pen if for only short periods of time it's going to become very difficult for him to make it with the Royals. Hopefully for his sake he'll get an opportunity for another team at some point and earn the Royals something in return.

As for Noel Arguelles it appears he will be starting the season in Wilmington where he'll join Jake Odorizzi, Tim Melville, Justin Marks (acquired in the DDJ trade) and probably either Eric Cantrell or perhaps Tyler Sample.

Draft talk
George Springer is off to a very slow start to the college season. He was projected as a Top 5 pick by most everyone but the way it looks currently he is going to have to get on a real hot streak to realize those dreams. Current line .172/.306/.345 1 HR

Next Up: Spring Training Mar 13-18

Two amazing talents in Lincoln

2011-03-05T16:15:00.001-08:00

Friday I went and dealt with 40 degree and windy weather to watch #2 MLB Draft prospect Gerrit Cole and UCLA pitch against Nebraska during the start of their weekend series. Cole made Nebraska look very overmatched as only Kale Kiser and 3b and #88 College Draft prospect Cody Asche were able to get solid swings on Cole all day. I was clocking him on my scout watch(unreliable) in the mid to upper 90s well into the 8th inning. From my vantage point (1st baseline) I couldn't get a good idea of how his breaking stuff was performing but from the looks of the Husker hitters it was definitely doing its job. All together Cole was quite dominate even if facing a subpar lineup finishing off 9 innings at 101 pitches with 70 strikes 8 K's 2 hits (none thru the first 6 innings) and two intentional walks.

Kale Kiser and Cody Asche looked solid at the plate showing solid balance and quick bats. Kiser jumped on a 1st inning pitch of Coles lining out to the right fielder but he did well to compete against the first rounder. Kiser offers just average speed and no projection however. I'll say more on Asche later in the year when I've seen even more of him.

Khiry Cooper the Huskers CF looks the part and covers a decent amount of ground in CF but was severly overmatched against Cole. His bat needs alot of work to become any type of prospect especially as a right handed hitting CF without much bat speed. His best prospects might be as a WR. Husker reliever Casey Hauptman looked strong going 5 innings yielding just 3 hits and 1 run against 5 strikeouts but I was not clocking him.

Jon Keller, the Huskers pitcher according to my clock was in the low 90s and like Cole was making the UCLA offense look poor from innings 3-6 after a shaky start in the first two innings when he was leaving everything up in the zone. Keller only allowed one hit walked four and struckout 8 in his 6 innings although a better hitting team could have probably done much more in the first two innings when he was missing up in the zone. UCLA has an even less impressive offense than Nebraska from what I saw. Maybe it was the cold weather but these SoCal kids weren't putting many swings on Keller and the only hard hit ball off their bats all day was a Dean Espy lineout to the wall that RF Josh Scheffert misplayed into a spectacular wall crashing catch.

UCLA CF Beau Amaral showed solid speed down the 1st baseline but as a whole UCLA's offense looks rather poor and if this is their everyday appearance even in warm weather I don't anticipate a return trip to the CWS despite outstanding pitching. Eventually you have to be able to push some runs across the plate.

I did not attend Saturdays game featuring 1st Round prospect Trevor Bauer because I had tickets for me and my sons and it was too cold for them to be dragged out to the ballpark. It was more of the same as tweeted by Keith "doublestixx" saying his fastball and curve were very impressive. Bauer went 10 innings striking out 17 while allowing 1 R via a Kalkowski HR. Again UCLA's offense couldn't produce much and the Huskers won 2-1 in 12 innings.

Spring Quote of the Day

2011-03-02T06:09:00.000-08:00

Greinke's desperation not to endure yet another losing season in Kansas City was such that he is said to have tried to convince Cashman that he wanted to come to New York. And that he could actually thrive in New York.
However, people who were briefed on that meeting said Cashman ultimately decided that Greinke's first thought about New York was probably correct -- that it wasn't the best spot for him. Greinke told people the day he accepted his Cy Young Award in New York City that he didn't think he could ever live in New York, and kept telling friends the same. But as the days dwindled this winter, he made his surprise plea to Cashman to make him a Yankee.
Jon Heyman-SI

That's really too bad because I believe the best possible package the Royals could've gotten would have been from the Yanks. Banuelos, Betances look like stud starters down the line and we've already discussed Monetoro's big bat. Gary Sanchez, Austin Romine look to be solid ML starters down the line with Sanchez having All Star type talent. Obviously the Royals couldn't get all those guys but I believe whatever package the Yanks could've put together would have been slightly better than what the Royals got from the Brewers.

I'm not a fan of Greinke's remarks this summer from not being interested in the 2nd half of the season to acting like the bad guy he comes off more and more like a diva. All Royals fans want is a guy who goes out and puts max effort every time out and for the most part doesn't rock the boat. No realistic fan was upset about Zack wanting out, nobody likes to lose but he hurt his trade value by not pitching to his full capability. In the end I hope the Brewers do well and he does well with them.

Mike Montgomery was throwing 93-95 while touching 96 yesterday according to pitchf/x which is pretty impressive early in the spring. He threw 23 pitches, 21 of which were fastballs that had a break of 2.9-4 degrees in movement as opposed to Jeremy Jeffress who was getting 1-2 degrees of movement while hitting 98 mph. Montgomery has the best fastball in the organization according to McClure and he flashed that a bit yesterday in that one inning. He'll probably begin working that secondary stuff next time out.

The Royals will air on MLB Network tonight at 8pm CST facing the Dodgers. John Lamb one of the top 2 lefties in the system is scheduled to appear.

Spring Training Quote of the Day

2011-02-28T17:00:00.000-08:00

“It was the first time. The next time will be better, for sure.”

-- Royals lefty Danny Duffy, who could have been speaking for several pitchers.

This is the idea to take away from spring training with so many young players in camp. The lefties Danny Duffy, Chris Dwyer, Everett Teaford and Blaine Hardy took a bit of beating today which is going to happen during the spring. Fortunately the lefty bats of Moustakas and Hosmer did their own damage. Take all these results with a grain of salt and pay attention more to the pitchf/x than the results.

The good
Danny Duffy was throwing 92-94 according to pitchf/x
Mike Moustakas hit a HR off a lefty and drew a walk
No defensive errors in two games

Next
Mike Montgomery throws tomorrow along with Aaron Crow and Luke Hochevar. If there is a young pitcher that could force his way into the rotation by midseason it will likely be either Crow or Montgomery.

Super 2 arbitration with the Royals

2011-02-25T05:40:00.001-08:00

Comments made by Dayton Moore make it seem like the Royals aren't afraid of Super 2 arbitration on any of their prospects. He's clued in that Moustakas will be going to AAA to get more at bats Hosmer will be joining him and could push that issue on the Royals sooner than later. While Moustakas is only 12 days away from saving that sixth season of free agency for KC he is also only a couple months from saving this season entirely so while it is the smart move to make him play in Omaha until June to save that Super 2 money, there is another scenario that the Royals may want to consider for any prospect they deem is valuable and ready. That is to sign them to an extension sooner rather than later, ala Evan Longoria.

Andrew Friedman and Evan Longoria set this precedent a few years ago and it has paid major dividends for the Rays. Longoria on April 18, 2008 signed a 6 year $17.5M extension with club options of 7.5, 11 and 11.5M in years 2014-16 just six days after his major league debut. Considering Longoria had only played in six major league games there was plenty of risk taken on by the Rays but weighing that risk against what they are going to pay him for his prime years shows you it was a risk well worth taking. Not only are they saving money in his arbitration years(13M over 3 years) they are saving huge during his free agency years. Then enter the likelihood that Evan wouldn't have signed with the Rays at all if he would've made it to free agency due to the bidding going over what they could afford and you can really see why this was a intelligent decision.

Every player is different and some are more eager for security than others but I bet most players would have a hard time turning down this type of deal only 6 days into their career. Not only does it assure them of plenty of money regardless of success, it also undoubtedly offers them more chances than a normal player if they should struggle because of the weight of the money.

For a small market club like the Rays or Royals a deal like this isn't going to cripple them if it fails but it pays huge when successful. There is also a middle ground where the player doesn't reach Longoria heights and makes it worth close to what his value is so it isn't just a hit or miss. Moustakas plays a more valuable defensive position than Hos so he can offset this risk by playing average defense making the move a little less risky.

Should the Royals make this type of offer to Moustakas, Hosmer or any position prospect that is high profile and ready? Would they be interested? Both Hos and Moose are represented by Scott Boras who in most cases wants his players to go to free agency and would probably be pretty persuasive in not signing a longterm deal if either player would enjoy early success so this type of offer could be the only way KC can ink them longterm. Scott's past Royal players haven't been eager to sign extensions prior to becoming free agents. Off the top of my head Robinson Cano appears to be the only client of his I can remember signing early and of course he plays for the richest and most successful team in the league.

Whether you like this idea or not this could be the only way KC can lock up two key pieces for more than a six year stay in Kansas City.

Pic via Around the Horn in KC blog

A Ball Players

2011-02-24T21:56:00.001-08:00

Please do not fill this out without seeing the players playing in games. This isn't a questionnaire of how you grade the player from what you've heard. Fills this out everytime you see them and hopefully we will be able to put something interesting together.

Brett Eibner
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGFnVk85UzRIMjBHS29KVlBvb1JycVE6MA

Brian Fletcher
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dF9pY2szYU9xX0JiS0txTGZEUllTX0E6MA

Kevin David
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGJRcHRFWFZ2MDZMYmM5SUFfZnUzOHc6MA

Tim Ferguson
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGRiejJhR1ZkcUJ2WFJ3cDZWdWZ0UXc6MA

Michael Antonio
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFZMZVRselAwVVJZb3dJZlE3NDRHWHc6MA

Cheslor Cuthbert
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFpTdEVLek9XN2lzbHFWUTlzaHRuc0E6MA

Ryan Jenkins
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHpEUWxkbDZqT3VTQ3FrNElSTWlEUGc6MA

Travis Jones
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFRNbXN3QXJDeWt4TmNhTTlaNUFpcWc6MA

Yowill Espinal
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHlPcGl4ZVlPQXQ4OUlyajU5RURCQXc6MA

Angel Franco
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDd1dDBJRHMwTFpQX254c3M2dlBRR1E6MA

Jacob Kuebler
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHcxNV93VUw5Z1dKOUhla3ZZUGJwbUE6MA

Alex McClure
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEpmekpaRGljZ2JJVkVGWW5oajVPbFE6MA

Murray Watts
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDFRcTl4QkIwVnJIbFZqbzRoOEFyYWc6MA

Geulin Beltre
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHpJbjhTTC16eVN1N3oyUW13OE51NWc6MA

Alex Llanos
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFRvNElJd3ZtRWNwcTVwM0RwSDViM3c6MA

Deivy Batista
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHZqU09vM0ZiN2ZrTU5OeG1Uak9faGc6MA

Fernando Cruz
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGJydzI2cHIxLU5YTUM5NjdVdkt1SFE6MA

Gerald Hall
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDM0TUxDbzg5WVNneHloLTByZW5Oc2c6MA

Whit Merrifield
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEJHME9PMnpEX0l0WDRucHVYaGswWnc6MA

Carlo Testa
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDg4bnAxZkR5dVRROTNNbkFZLWtCYlE6MA

Michael Liberto
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dG5oM201Z2JVWkItNnhTSkM4UWYza2c6MA

Justin Trapp
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGtfN0VhQ1ZNTDdEckFSNWxxQXBxNkE6MA

Fernando Garcia
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEtZbXZ4cWhHcERJcGRvNW9iQXpTOUE6MA

Orlando Calixte
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHRpYU9SNC1NX1czdlRpVkFXM1oxRFE6MA

Ryan Stovall
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEVyUWEzNkhwR3NvckJmdFpESkxpcEE6MA

Nick Francis
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEh3a08wd3hZbEpzR1lNang5b2tlYWc6MA

Rey Navarro
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFZWUGhxclVkbTIxTjlKbHhfeEh5Umc6MA

Jose Bonilla
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDZOZ1hrSGpjcUE0VV9BMUpzQVNNdlE6MA

Lane Adams
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHFTT3ozaXJtdDB1WkpFYVM2LVlOVmc6MA

Adam Frost
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEo5MWNjblJFNEhhekRadUtEaGdrb3c6MA

Joey Lewis
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGNBUEJ6dEJFcUhyTTVLeF9DbXg5NlE6MA

John Whittleman
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dF82NTcxS0dvMi1JWktvU0ZPVzZqbXc6MA

Juan Graterol
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEhlZ0UyX1pZLUVNT1FCUWNkUzF4b1E6MA

Introducing the Royals Minor League Fan Scouting Report Cards

2011-02-24T20:58:00.000-08:00

As the season progresses I'll let everyone know how it goes. And we'll see how we do at the end of the year as anonymous scouts. It should be fun and all I ask is that no one fills it out without seeing the players play in games. This isn't a questionnaire of how you grade the player from what you've heard.

AAA

Hyperlink and address to the link so you can copy and paste it if you would like to post that link somewhere so you can find it easier.

Mike Moustakas
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dG1YbDhyc0x5MzhYWXFSN0psbkhBb2c6MA

Eric Hosmer
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dENScTNtS3c5QnlqMVplNlJteHRWRFE6MA

Lorenzo Cain
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dElIcHpMMFVVZC1ydldsQjU5MW1ReUE6MA

David Lough
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHNyNDVkTGtjUEN1SFA1Vk5nV29QdUE6MA

Johnny Giavotella
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFV0ZGczVHkwT2wxQUNMbXlOVWdDZ1E6MA

Jarrod Dyson
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHhUZ3RlUEt2RDh0YW5tVmgwNlRtcWc6MA

Clint Robinson
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dE9SblI0a3lyV0dVMjVRUGNqU3V3ZVE6MA

Paulo Orlando
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHRZODdFMGpEUktuSVBqampvUVhWVFE6MA

Irving Falu
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHZ6TVRQZ0Z4anhHa1ZLY3N4Qmp5bWc6MA

Tim Smith
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHFIZ3ZvWmJaYzJSZ3BSUV9ma04wOGc6MA

Jeff Bianchi
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dE5pYW1ZSE1zelVIVmN0MHZjcFZDQUE6MA

Manny Pina
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFhNckdMa3BqOHIyR0lxdm1BaDl6alE6MA

Derrick Robinson
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGo4OFBSY3VhWkxyOHZua3RHQUFYeGc6MA

Lance Zawadzki
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHcweXlBUjZpSDJvdm5HelQwTGdMN3c6MA

Joaquin Arias
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHdKenRDR1BQeklQemlfUTVnTmVYaGc6MA

Kurt Mertins
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dC1PODF2UTVnNlBaQjcwRUZzMzl3U0E6MA

AA

Wil Myers
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHZuMmNwQ2NYY0pOb01UV25SQW9JeHc6MA

Salvador Perez
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEkyRHdvZ25OWDFtS3BTakE0bGdVYmc6MA

Christian Colon
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHlWZVI2eVFQdktsbmEzQTRGWjZQSWc6MA

Jamie Romak
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGNBNUc0dWM5WGRYRzZpMXVQTWIxd3c6MA

Anthony Seratelli
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDhtN1o2STFRWnJhUnNjOVhqTXBPMlE6MA

Rey Navarro
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFZWUGhxclVkbTIxTjlKbHhfeEh5Umc6MA

Nick Francis
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEh3a08wd3hZbEpzR1lNang5b2tlYWc6MA

Adrian Ortiz
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dC1Ndks4Z2pjOG1YU1BYYXpPTDhUb2c6MA

Nick Van Stratten
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEZnbmQzS01KWU03cVBUbFQyNkxLZUE6MA

José Bonilla
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDZOZ1hrSGpjcUE0VV9BMUpzQVNNdlE6MA

Ben Theriot
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dGdERV9jcHJ3V1RQaVFMNThvX25XSWc6MA

Tom Tango introduced fan scouting to us a few years ago and I wanted to offer that same type of thing to fans of the Royals, in particular to the fans watching the prospects. This tool is simple, easy and hopefully can give us a small glimpse of what people who watch a player looks like currently. Obviously the majority of us aren't or won't be scouts but the majority of us attend and watch games regularly so it could be an interesting tool to see how these players compare in our eyes as compared to what the scouts say to BA, BP or Keith Law.

This is a position player tool only as it is much easier for fans to scout position players as opposed to what type of pitches a pitcher throws.

The card is simple, easy, contains eight questions and allows you to post any other notes you may like. The first four questions pertain to the players defense while the last four are geared at his offensive ability.

1. How would you rate the players defensive movement?
2. How would you rate his 1st step quickness on defense?
3. How would you rate his arm strength?
4. How would you rate his glove ability?
5. How would you rate his ability to make solid contact with the bat?
6. How would you rate his power?
7. How would you rate his speed down the 1st baseline?
8. How would you rate his approach at the plate?

I wanted to do it on the scouting 2-8 scale but google docs wouldn't allow me to change the scale starting at 2 so I used 1-8. As examples I show you that Benji Molina's speed would score a 1 while Barry Bonds plate approach would rate as an 8. I was thinking Bonds in his 01-04 years if you want to be picky. I've never seen a hitter so focused on knowing exactly what he was doing at the plate and never seemingly wavering.

This isn't a projection tool so it probably will have more error at the lower levels but we'll see how it grades out. Maybe an unknown at a lower level will grade out better with us and turn into something down the road ala a Mike Aviles.

I'll keep the link to this post at the top right hand of my blog all year long so it will be easily accessed as well as hopefully getting some of the other Royal blogs to add it. I hope to add all players at the A ball level on up prior to the start of minor league spring training games on March 18th.

Royals sign another Dominican pitcher

2011-02-23T06:53:00.001-08:00

IGORRRRRR could be the chant at the K in 7 to 8 years with the news from dplprospects.com that the Royals inked another Dominican prospect. Igor Feliz is a 17 year old prospect who already throws 91-93 while touching 95. Dpl also says Feliz has a good feel for his offspeed stuff but no word on his size or frame just yet. The 225k the Royals gave Feliz is essentially the same as adding a extra 5-10 rounder.

From Dick Kaegel interview with Rene Francisco “He’s been up to 95 [mph] and worked at 90 to 93 in his last outing with a good breaking ball,” Francisco said from the Dominican. “He was an outfielder and he’s just been pitching for a year and a half. We’re lucky to get him.”

Prospect Additions 2011
Darwin Castillo 300k
Igor Feliz 225k

Baseball America announced their Top 100 today.
9 Royals were on the list
#8 Eric Hosmer
#9 Mike Moustakas
#10 Wil Myers
#18 John Lamb
#19 Mike Montgomery
#51 Christian Colon
#68 Danny Duffy
#69 Jake Odorizzi
#83 Chris Dwyer

Whats coming:
I've already told you what is on the horizon as far as prospects I'll be seeing in March but I also am in the middle of creating a fun tool for Royals fans attending minor league games this year. Hopefully I'll get that finished sometime this weekend prior to he start of minor league camp opening.

Spring Quote of the Day

2011-02-18T17:57:00.000-08:00

I think the Royals are treading water until Salvador Perez is ready. You want to know who is making a bigger camp impression than anyone, it's Perez... Bob Dutton KC Star Chat

Perez definitely seems to be heading in a positive direction with his bat as he had probably his best season considering the tough environment Wilmington is for right handed hitters.
.290/.322/.411 7 HR 21 2b 18/38 BB/SO in 396 PA
It's a very positive sign that he has never had higher than a 12.6% K rate at any level which means he shouldn't have much trouble making contact at the upper levels. Hopefully he can do more damage as he gains strength(still just 20) even though he needs to be more patient at the plate where he carried only a 4.5% walk rate last season.

While Salvador's bat will be the final factor in deciding whether he's a everyday starter in the bigs his defense has pretty much already assured him as at least a backup career. We've seen countless numbers of lighthitting catchers who can play a couple days a week just based on their decent defense, supposed good game-calling ability and great makeup, all things Sal is off the charts at.

Perez might be one of the youngest Royals (3rd behind Myers and Lamb) at AA or higher but he is probably the closest thing to a lock that there is just due to his position and defensive ability.

Quote of the day

2011-02-17T09:14:00.000-08:00

"It's obviously very prudent for him to start in Triple A." Dayton Moore talking about Eric Hosmer

For those of us living in the Omaha area is a great thing. Some have said Hos might restart the year in AA but this signal by Moore could lead to a tremendous lineup to watch everyday.

1. David Lough LF
2. Johnny Giavotella 2b
3. Eric Hosmer 1b
4. Mike Moustakas 3b
5. Clint Robinson DH
6. Paulo Orlando RF
7. Manny Pina C
8. Irving Falu or Joaquin Arias SS
9. Jarrod Dyson CF

Would love Jirschele to hit Lough in that leadoff spot so he can try to expand on his patient approach from the second half(.403 OBP) last season. Also it should push David into trying to steal more bases which he should be able to do with his above average speed.

Constructing a Royals bullpen

2011-02-16T17:17:00.000-08:00

Next to Billy Butler's swing the best thing to watch this season should be the young arms coming out of the bullpen.

Bob McClure said this to Bob Dutton the other day.

“There’s nothing herky-jerky with Jeffress,” McClure said. “It’s smooth. It’s hard, too. It is firm. We’re telling him not to go overboard, and he’s faster than anyone else by far. You’ll see it.

“Keating has surprised the heck out of me. His control is good. He throws hard, and his control is good. You know who else has thrown well? Coleman. But it’s so early, and there are a lot of good arms out here.”

While I expected Coleman to challenge for a roster spot early this season I didn't see Jeffress or Keating with that same opportunity early on. Having McClure on your side is a great start for all three of these guys.

The Royals essentially have four possible spots open in the bullpen after you consider Soria, Tejeda and Wood locked in so lets breakdown the possible positions and where each arm in camp settles in.

The Lefty (2 possible)
Everett Teaford, Blaine Hardy, Brandon Sisk, Danny Duffy or Tim Collins - In January I predicted Tim Collins to win this job. While I'm not changing my prediction it wouldn't shock me if the Royals challenged Danny Duffy with a bullpen spot in the bigs. From some of the reports on Duffy's hiatus last season Danny was questioning his role in life as well as his life within baseball. He doesn't act like a young player from what I've read and could be up for the challenge of big league hitters. If the Royals decide they want two which Dutton has hinted at then I definitely give Duffy and Collins the edge with Blaine Hardy as the possible LOOGY darkhorse

The Long Man (1)
Sean O'Sullivan, Kevin Pucetas, Nate Adcock, Kanekoa Texeira - This isn't really much of a competition as O'Sullivan probably has the most talent and already has a major league track record even if it is bad. Texeira is not really a classic long man but could come in to play if the Royals decide to go with more veterans than youngsters.

The Power Arm (2 possible)
Henry Barrera, Jesse Chavez, Aaron Crow, Greg Holland, Louis Coleman, Patrick Keating and Jeremy Jeffress - If you like hard throwing you'll love this group. Coleman is the lightest thrower of the group but probably has the best combination of talent and current ability. In January I leaned heavily to Holland making it out of this group and while I think it makes the most sense for him to make it he might not have the control that McClure and Yost desire.

My Picks as of Jan. 24
O'Sullivan
Texeira
Holland
Collins

I still like my January picks for now but wouldn't be shocked if Tex or Holland got switched out in favor of Jeffress.

Baseball Intellect

What's coming !

2011-02-12T09:56:00.000-08:00

Baseball gets closer and closer everyday so I thought I would take this time to let you in on what is coming in March.

March 4,5,6 UCLA @ Nebraska
Prospects
Gerrit Cole #2 overall draft prospect
Trevor Bauer #12 college draft prospect (BA)
Cody Asche #88 college draft prospect (BA)

Trevor Bauer via SBNation

Cole won't be available to the Royals while Bauer would need to have a transcendent season to move into that position.

March 13-18 Spring Training
I'll be trying to get as much video as possible on the Royals minor league prospects.
Already have my Brewers-Royals tickets March 13th !

March 19-20, 26-27, 29 University of Nebraska-Omaha
Joe Holtmeyer #2 Division II prospect(BA)

Joe Holtmeyer - 6'3 230 lbs rhp w low 90s FB, power curve. Gonna be my main target college prospect this season as I'll try to see him as much as possible. He enjoyed some success in the Cape Cod league during the summer going up in more advanced competition. 39.2 IP 37/13 K/BB 26 H 3.18 ERA This is a guy the Royals should have their eyes on as a 5-10 Rd guy who could move quickly.

MIAA.com

March 27, 29 DH Iowa Western CC
IWCC is the defending JUCO national champs (1st Northern Region ever) and usually have quite a few division I or draftee types.

Damek Tomscha Freshman 3b was a 2010 Phillies 50th rd draft pick.

April 2 Royals-Angels and Royals Future Game

Can't wait for all that baseball and watchign potential prospects. Should be a blast if my wife doesn't leave me for never being home !

Kane County Pitchers

2011-02-10T07:49:00.000-08:00

Nick Scott was tossing out some great tweets today from the GMDM business meeting. I'll let him comment on the majority of what he heard but I thought I'd like to tie one of the messages to what I talked about before.

"Arguelles will probably start in Kane County this year."

That's interesting stuff to me because it adds to an already interesting staff of young starters.

The Repeaters
Kelvin Herrera-3rd try to see if he can stay healthy.
Matt Mitchell-2nd year after TJ surgery.
Keaton Hayenga- Brutal '10 season 47 BB v. 43 Ks and 11.1 H/9

The New guys
Crawford Simmons- My pick as a "Breakout Performer in 2011"
Willian Avinazar- 8.4 K/9 1.083 WHIP in Appy League last year.
Leonel Santiago- 7.3 K/9 1.111 WHIP in Appy League in 2010.
The 3 arms from last seasons Burlington(NC) Royals playoff team. None of which has huge upside according to scouts but performed at decent levels.

Dynamos
Noel Arguelles-Cuban signee w/big arm and physical body. ML Contract
Jason Adam- A 6'4 200+ lbs who was reported to be touching mid 90s during instructs.
Robinson Yambati- BP #11 Ranked Royals prospect
Yordano Ventura- Reports said he was touching 98-99 mph in AZL last year.

That's an impressive list of arms which will help make Kane County one of the fun teams to pay attention to all year long.

Off the Radar !

2011-02-07T12:12:00.000-08:00

Trying to locate a off the radar prospect in the most hyped system in baseball is akin to locating a pantyline in the HBO show Big Love, it's a difficult task to say the least but I think I located a player that could surprise in 2011.

Al.com

Son of a major league player (Scott Fletcher)Brian Fletcher was projected as a Top 10 Round college outfielder but fell to the Royals in the 18th round last year. Fletcher's career so far is very similar to another 2010 Royal draftee, Brett Eibner. Like Eibner, Fletcher is a power hitting outfielder who elected to go to a SEC school as opposed to signing with the Houston Astros after being drafted in 2007(39th rd), also like Eibner he has the tendancy to strikeout quite a bit despite a very quick bat. Fletcher isn't the athlete that Eibner is so he'll best project as a left fielder defensively but he has a very quick bat and some nice power (HR per 12.91 AB @ Auburn). If he can monitor his aggressiveness and use that bat speed more effectively he could jump on the radar of some. Expect him to start in Burlington or Wilmington where he'll need to adjust to a different type hitting environment than what he's used to.

2010 Burlington Rookie League 5-16 2 HR 1/5 Bb/K
2010 Auburn .357/.430/.694 22 HR 17 2b 23/67 BB/K
2009 Auburn .301/.420/.628 17 Hr 9 2b 32/76 Bb/K
2009 Cape Cod .291/.320/.436 2 HR 11 2b 2/36 BB/K
2008 Auburn .324/.408/.611 10 HR 17 2b 21/53 BB/K

2007 Baseball America Draft scouting report
Brian Fletcher has the bat speed and strength to develop into a prospect as well. He's improved his approach this season, using the whole field more often, though his swing has holes. When he squares the ball up, it jumps off his barrel. He's well-below-average defensively in the infield, and has had trouble making accurate throws this spring.

2010 Baseball America Draft scouting report
The son of ex-big league infielder Scott, Fletcher is a different player than his dad. Scott was a bat-control middle infielder, while Brian is a slugging left fielder known for his power. Fletcher should join Chad Bettis, Derek Dietrich and Brett Eibner as unsigned members of the Astros' 2007 draft class who go in single-digit rounds in 2010. Fletcher has a pro mentality, shaking off failure well, which comes in handy because he has 192 strikeouts in 612 at-bats at Auburn (31 percent). Fletcher's more athletic than Kevin Patterson, so he's capable of being an average left fielder as a pro. While he lacks Patterson's pure strength and size, he has electric bat speed and can catch up to good fastballs. He's just too aggressive early in counts and gets himself into pitcher's counts too often.

JJ and the 10 Royal dwarfs

2011-02-06T00:23:00.000-08:00

Since GMDM was hired in 2006 he said that the Royals success would hinge on drafting and developing players, thus the day of following Royals prospects was reintroduced for the first time since the days of Dee Brown.

For folks like myself who love to follow these Royals and minor league games there is one day every year that is bigger than Christmas, of course it's the newest release of Baseball America's Prospect Handbook, the most in depth coverage of minor league players by organization in the business. And while I've read past BA Handbook's, since the '08 draft the Handbook's arrival has become a bigger and bigger deal every year since I actually use it while I try to learn about players at minor league games and try to interact with scouts.

Since that 2008 draft class BA has had one consistent writer cover their system and has had 10 prospects that have appeared in the books the past three seasons. I thought it would be interesting to interpret what JJ Cooper thought each year and see if much had changed in their game along the way.

2009-11
Mike Moustakas #1, 4, 3
Eric Hosmer #2, 5, 1
Mike Montgomery #4, 1, 5
Tim Melville #5, 6, 14
Danny Duffy #6, 8, 7
Johnny Giavotella #11, 16, 18
Kelvin Herrera #12, 18, 30
David Lough #15, 10, 25
Derrick Robinson #16, 22, 26
Salvador Perez #19, 20, 17

Mike Moustakas
'09
Power 70
Makes consistent contact and should hit for average.
Can turn on any fastball but can get pull conscious
Needs to recognize breaking balls better
Lacks athleticism and will have to work on first step quickness.
Above average arm
'10
Two above average tools Raw Power and Arm strength
Too pull happy
Footwork raw and thick body
Good hand eye coordination and quick wrist
Struggled to adjust to offspeed stuff early in the count.
'11
Plus Plus power
Excellent bat speed that allows him to drive balls to any field
Uncanny contact ability
Below average runner
Better approach
Defense
Above average arm
Average first step quickness
Average hands
Mechanics lacked consistency

The Constant- Plus plus power, excellent bat speed, plus arm,doesn't walk, great contact ability, below avg runner
Improvements- First step, improved approach
What GMDM said- GMDM mentioned that they've discussed with Moose and other prospects that they need to be patient at the plate. This is big because Moose is not going to be a big strikeout guy as JJ pointed out he has an uncanny ability to make contact. If he is in positive count situations his ridiculous power will dominate. His power will touch parts of the K that haven't been seen by many Royals and his hard hit balls will allow him to carry a solid average which will help Royals fans forget he is only walking 6% of the time.
My opinion-I like to compare his game to two Brewers he'll either be Casey McGehee, as I just can't see a real low failure rate with an outside shot of becoming a Ryan Braun type peak.

Eric Hosmer
'09 Handbook-
Big time Raw power and bat speed
Ability to go the opposite way.
Soft hands with good athleticism
Enough athleticism to play OF
Very good arm
Needs a better gameplan at the plate
'10
Offense- Outstanding raw power, struggled w/pitch recognition(possibly due to eyes), below average speed
Defense- Plus Arm, average defender, less athletic than advertised w/heavy feet.
'11
Offense-Uses the opposite field, Bat speed to turn on pitches and drive them out the opposite way. Lasik improved his eyesight which led to better results, Below average runner
Defense- Plus arm, showed increased agility and good range w/ability to occasionally play OF.

The Constant- Plus Arm, uses the opposite field, outstanding raw power
The Improvement- His eyes and agility and range
Look ahead- As pointed out by others Hosmer's breakout 2010 was similar to what Billy Butler did for his minor leaguer career (Hos .977 OPS v. Butler's career .978 OPS). Hos initially could be very similar to Billy when he arrives at the K but should have more projection longterm as he adds more strength to that big frame.

Mike Montgomery
'09
Fastball 90-92 touches 95 with plenty of life on the fastball.
Changeup-80 mph changeup already rates average and could become an outpitch.
Curve-Palm curve puts little stress on arm. Can spin a breaking ball
Makeup- Extremely competitive
'10
FB sits 90-92 while touching 94-95.
Curve- Switched to traditional downward curve grades as slightly above avg when he stays on top of it.
Changeup- shows flashes of being a plus pitch.
Mechanics- Solid, able to repeat delivery, excellent arm spped
'11
FB sits 91-93 and can run it up to 95-96.
CB Benched the palmball, Throws above avg curve 74-76 He is still learning to locate it however.
Change- Plus pitch w/late fade and excellent arm spped
His mechanics are solid.

The Constant- FB Velocity, solid mechanics, competitive
Improvements- Changeup and Curve have both improved flashing plus
My opinion- An arm problem kept Montgomery from possibly taking the top minor league pitching honors last season. His drive and stuff could push the Royals to a callup this season and will take over the void left by Zack in a couple seasons.

Tim Melville '09
FB 91-95
Curve Plus Curve
Changeup- Adequate
Other- Plenty of athleticism and repeats his free and easy delivery so he has no trouble throwing strikes. Needs consistency w/ curve and changeup.
'10
FB sits 92-93 touches 95.
CB True 12-6 downer, plus pitch when he can command it.
Changeup Lacks conviction w/this pitch
Other- Has to work on keeping delivery in sync and tends to lose tempo. Inconsistent mechanics, adequate athleticism and clean arm action w/durable build.
'11
FB-91-93 mph Fb that touches 96 with good downhill plane.
CB-12-6 curveball can be a plus pitch
Changeup- Improving can stay up in zone when he loses proper mechanics
Other-Inconsistent tempo and slow down delivery = problems w/control. Tends to nibble on the corners too much and curve loses tightness when mechanics are off.

The Constant- Most things seem consistent.
The Change- With no fault of JJ's Melville went from his draft year being a solid no problem mechanics guy to the last two seasons being a struggling control/mechanics guys.
Other- Melville is less athletic than some of the other Royals pitchers and almost more robotic but still is young and has a nice ceiling. He'll be one of the guys I definitely try to get alot of video of at Spring training.

Danny Duffy
'09
FB sits 88-92 and touches 94.
Curve plus pitch at times
his changeup rates as slightly above average.
Rarely has the feel for both secondary pitches on the same day. August shutdown w/shoulder discomfort
'10 Fastball
88-92 on a good downward plane.
His curve is slow and big breaking which is a good complement to his fastball allowing it to play up.
Changeup got better but he still hasn't fully embraced it.
Other-Motion has improved but still throws across his body. Good at messing w/hitters timing which lets his stuff play up.
'11
FB was as good as ever touching 95-97 regularly. Paces himself early in gms 90-92 then gets to the mid 90s later.
Changeup is his best secondary pitch although his feel for it wavers it is slightly above average at times.
CB- Slow w/plenty of depth
Other- Probably switch to his slider-Crossfire delivery, gotten better at staying online w/plate. Sidelined in April w/elbow soreness
Elbow injury sidelined him in April

The Constant- Crossfire motion
Improvements- Fastball has popped up anywhere from 5-7 Mph from 2009 BA book. Changeup has improved
Watch out- Twice in three years he's had arm problems.
Other- I've heard for sometime Duffy's best secondary pitch could be the slider the Royals made him bench in the low minors. It concerns me though with his mechanics that a slider might put too much pressure on his arm leading to more arm injuries even if it's the best secondary pitch for his arm motion.

Johnny Giavotella
'09
Offense
Compact swing that allows him to turn on a fastballs and wait on offspeed stuff
Advanced pitch recognition w/good eye
Vulnerable to pitches on outerhalf
Defense
Overall 45
Improved hands on double play exchange
Lacks range to his right
'10
Good knowledge of strikezone
Short stroke adequate power
Defense
Played like a below-average defender
Range to his right was poor
Slower first step and shoddy footwork
Above average arm
Other-Took bad at bats into the field
'11
Offense
Gap to gap power
Good awareness of strikezone
Defense
Improved agility
Range still leaves something to be desired especially on balls up the middle
His arm is good and improved at turning the Double play

The Constant- Quick short swing, gap power, below avg defense, poor range up the middle
Improvements- agility improving

Kelvin Herrera
'09
FB- 91-92 touches 95
Curve- slurvy w/command for his age
Changeup- Solid w/ command for his age
'10
Injured due to overcompensating for a change in his landing.
'11
Injured elbow problems caused by his landing
Returned at instructs
FB Low 90s touching 95
Curve- Average/slurvy
Changeup Potential plus pitch

The Constant- Everything is the same due to injuries
My Opinion- Kelvin has an electric arm and has been one of my off the top prospect faves for sometime now but a move to the bullpen is probably needed unless his landing has been changed and is completely comfortable to him. His injury probs should temper some enthusiasm on Yordano Ventura who is jumping toward the Top 10 of most Royals prospects charts at 5'10 with a high 90s fastball.

David Lough
2009
Raw Power
Plus speed
Avg in CF
Below Avg Arm
2010
Above avg speed
Lack of weakness
Arm tick below avg
2011
Quick stroke=double power
Solid on base ability
Above average speed
So so reads on balls
Avg CF
Below avg arm

The Constant- Avg tools, below avg arm, above avg speed, lack of weaknesses
The New- Solid on base ability
My Opinion- JJ mentioned in the '11 book that Lough is probably a 4th OF. I think this is misplaying his skillset, David's 2nd half on base ability if developed could lead him to a DDJ type career in my opinion. I've always been a huge Lough fan and believe in his skillset very much and a lack of corner outfielders at the upper levels will give him a opportunity this year if he can take advantage of it.

Derrick Robinson
'09
3.8-3.9 sec speed from leftside
Left-handed swing looks unnatural
Improved pitch recognition
Doesn't read pitchers moves well
Defense
Speed to run balls down
Arm a tick below average
'10
Offense
Movement of feet allows him to get bat thru left stance faster
Posted sub 4.0 times to first after switch in stance
Defense
Speed allows him to play above avg CF
Arm Fring-average
'11
Offense
70-75 speed on a 20-80 scale.
Gets thrown out stealing too often for his speed
Very little power
Defense
Poor jumps at times
Plus defender in CF
Arm Below average

The Constant- Plus defense in CF, 70 speed, doesn't get good read on pitchers, little power
Improvement(s)- Left handed swing
Not looking good- Arm strength, Jumps on hit balls,

Salvador Perez-
'09
Offense- Bat spweed improving but swing path is long due to long arms
Defense
Sets a good target, soft hands, decent job at blocking balls
Arm is 55 on the scale plays up due to quick exchanges
'10
Offense- Gap to gap power
Lacks athleticism and projection
Defense
Tick above average arm
Receives ball well, handles pitchers like a veteran
'11
Gap to gap power
Consistent contact
25 grade speed
Defense
Slightly above average arm
Good job framing pitches
Handles velocity and calls a good game

The Constant- Defense Receives ball, handles pitchers, above average arm, gap to gap power
Improvement(s)- Improved contact
On the downswing- Speed

Royals ink a Dominican All Star

2011-02-01T19:30:00.001-08:00

According to DPL Baseball the Royals signed Darwin Castillo from the Dominican All Star game for 300k pending a physical. Castillo is huge at 6'5 212 lbs and throws his fastball in the 88-92 range currently. No reports of his age.

Darwin Castillo Youtube Video

Change to the blog

2011-01-29T07:08:00.000-08:00

I took the time to add a new feature to the blog. The GMDM trade tree !

In the right hand column you will find GMDMs trade transactions, listing all the trades GMDM has made thus far as a member of the Royals. Included in each trade is the who each player was traded for and if they got traded again and who that turned into. Example Ruben Gotay for Jeff Keppinger turned for Russ Haltwinger. That trade as you can see resulted in a negative 2.o WAR meaning GMDM went backwards in that particular trade.

I used Fangraphs WAR and Baseball Refrence WAR to make calculate the WAR totals, primarily using Fangraphs but in a couple instances I used Baseball Reference for split season totals.

A couple notes - If a player is resigned by their current club then I consider the trade "still in progress" because I believe that team got a head start with him because he was their property. Ex. Jorge De La Rosa. Also if a player is released or moves on to another team I consider the trade complete. I also consider the trade complete if the player is traded from the Royals and is not considered the primary piece in that trade. Ex. Yuniesky Betancourt.

Surprising to me GMDM comes out on top with all these trades combined by a modest amount. I will keep a running total as long as the players are with the traded teams.

6 Future Royals land on MLB Top 50

2011-01-25T19:26:00.000-08:00

Good signs of the future as 6 Royal minor leaguers ended up on the Top 50 list.

Players and possible starting point and draft pick
#7 overall Mike Moustakas Omaha Storm Chasers 2007 #2 overall pick
#8 Eric Hosmer Omaha Storm Chasers 2008 #3 Overall pick
#14 Mike Montgomery NW Arkansas Naturals 2008 Supplemental pick
#16 Wil Myers NW Arkansas Naturals 2009 3rd Round pick
#34 John Lamb NW Arkansas Naturals 2008 5th Round pick
#37 Jake Odorizzi Wilmington Blue Rocks Aquired in the Zack Greinke trade

This is a sign of how far GMDM has taken the minor league system in a short time. Guys like Danny Duffy, Chris Dwyer, Christian Colon and Aaron Crow were probably not far behind and could also be heard of not too far down the road.

Predicting the 25 Man Roster

2011-01-24T11:36:00.000-08:00

It's getting closer with approximately 21 days until pitchers and catchers report and around 47 days until I make it down to Phoenix/Surprise myself. I thought I'd make and early prediction on how the 25 man roster will breakdown.

Pitchers(12)
SP Luke Hochevar (LOCK)-Could have breakout yr with better infield defense
SP Jeff Francis (LOCK)-Love his control
SP Vin Mazzaro (LOCK)
SP Kyle Davies (LOCK)
SP Bruce Chen (LOCK)
RP Joakim Soria (LOCK)-Best closer not named Mariano
RP Robinson Tejeda (LOCK)- Outstanding after April in '10
RP Blake Wood (LOCK)- Starting getting K's in Aug/Sep
RP Sean O'Sullivan
RP Kanekoa Texeira-
RP Greg Holland- Victim of .400+ BABIP last yr, 11.1 K/9 in '10
RP Tim Collins- 9.3 K/9 @ AAA was the low of his career

I think Sean O'Sullivan or Kanekoa Texeira will fall victim to Louis Coleman by midseason. Once Coleman is added there is a possibility that this could be the best Royals bullpen has looked since 2008 when they had Ron Mahay, Ramon Ramirez and Leo Nunez getting the ball to Soria. That group was only together for one season where this group (Wood, Holland, Collins and Coleman) could be leading to Soria saves for a few seasons.

Infield (8)
C Brayan Pena (LOCK)- Gets his shot to show he can be a #1
C Lucas May
1b Billy Butler (LOCK)- 36 HR 96 doubles last 2 yrs
Dh Kila Ka'aihue (LOCK)- .878 OPS in Sept is what we were lookin for
2b Mike Aviles (LOCK)- From Apr-Aug 14 XB hits Sept 13 XB hits
SS Alcides Escobar (LOCK)-2010 .264 BABIP
3b Wilson Betemit
UT Chris Getz-His light hitting days are numbered w/Gio in Omaha

Mike Aviles health adds to the versatility of this group. His ability to play a passable 2b,SS and 3b allows KC to carry three 1b/DH (Kila, Butler, Betemit). Moustakas shoud be up by June or July leaving the loser of the Kila/Betemit competition as the probable odd man out.

Outfield (5)
RF Jeff Franceour (LOCK)
LF Alex Gordon
CF Lorenzo Cain
4OF Melky Cabrerra
OF Gregor Blanco

This is definitely the hardest group to determine. While Frenchy and Gordon are locks I don't think any of that can be said about the rest of the group. I give Melky and Blanco a headstart over Maier just based on where they come from organizationally. Should that be the case? No, definitely not, I think Mitch Maier is every bit as good if not better than both. But I think the point of the new roster is to purge the organization of the past and he unfortunately is apart of the past.

Myers moves to OF

2011-01-23T07:08:00.001-08:00

Myers is all natural, no batting gloves. Picture Scout.com

It became official Saturday as the Royals announced that Wil Myers will move to the OF in the spring.

Myers IMO will have little problem making adjustments with the bat at any level as he has extremely quick hands and strong wrist. He played OF in High School and has the arm to perform in RF with his natural athleticism. As I predicted earlier this month he will challenge Hosmer for player of year at the minor league level and if Hosmer is asked to start the season at AA then the two will make a sick 3-4 combo.

I'll try to get as much video as I can of him playing in the outfield when I'm at spring training from Mar 13-18.

Videos I previously uploaded
Burlington 1st AB
Myers 2nd AB

Good work Dayton !

2011-01-22T13:05:00.001-08:00

The Royals announced that they signed Billy Butler through his three arbitration years and one year of free agency today. Dick Kaegel reports it is a 4 year 30 million dollar deal for Billy thru 2014. I'm all for this move as Billy's career definitely seems to be headed in a positive direction with improvements in weighted on base average and defense at first base. This contract will expire when Billy is 28 leaving the Royals in control of the majority of his peak years and putting them in a possible playoff position by 2013/2014.

2014 is the key to this deal with the Royals possibly getting Moustakas up sometime in 2011 along with a few arms (Collins, Coleman, Duffy, Teaford). After the '11 group the Royals could add Hosmer, Montgomery and Lamb in 2012. The extra year with Butler allows a little time for the bats to develop for a run at the playoffs in 2013 and 2014.

Best Case Scenario 2013/2014
1b Hosmer
2b Giavotella/Colon
SS Escobar
3b Moustakas
DH Butler
LF Lough
CF Eibner
RF Myers
C Perez

Overall the deal is a solid win for the Royals, Dayton Moore and the fans that like watching Billy Butler.

UPDATE It is being reported that the Royals have a club option for 2015. Now this is a GREAT Deal not just a good one. GREAT JOB DAYTON !

Yost picks us up off the floor

2011-01-21T16:07:00.000-08:00

Digital Digest was on Thursday and we bloggers were foaming at the mouth for a shot at the champion (Dayton Moore). We had practiced, strategized and even solicited outside help. This was going to be the main event of all events. The pay per view was bought, paid for and then before it started it was over. Dayton had bobbed, weaved and worked us over like a pro in his prime facing a not ready for prime time opponent. We were of no match, he turned 5 questions into an art of ducking, jabbing and scoring like he was Floyd Merriweather Junior and we were the white slow pasty contenders fresh from the basement. His parting shot was a revelation that Zack had three interested parties two of which were on his no trade clause. What? Wait, who was the third? Alas but our time was up the final extension of his chin only to leave us whiffing.

What now? How can we show our faces in front of the blogger gym/basement again?

Oh ya the old Rocky coach who just gave the old guard a tongue lashing the day before. He'll embrace and open up with the new guys and gal on the block. He'll help mold us and reveal some interesting stuff along the way.

By looking at Ned's body language he looks quite intimidated by our presence.

Question #1 (Michael Engel Kings of Kaufman): I've read an article where you said the Royals have the prospects down the line to win a world series but you also related it to the Brewers who had Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun. What do you see different?

Ned Yost (condensed answer)- Just looked at mlb.com today and we've got Hos, Moose at #1 on the corners, Myers #2 behind the plate and Giavotella #10 at second base. We've got pitching right handed and left handed coming and relievers that I believe are going to be real good pitchers. The Royals have more depth top to bottom than Milwaukee and is more comparable to the situation in Atlanta.

My interpretation- He seems very excited about the depth of the system not being tied to just one or two young players. He knows most the players in the system and knows that the depth is there for a decent run and his job isn't tied to just one or two guys.

Question (Brian McGannon Royals Kingdom): Did you ever notice a negative effect from Zack?

Condensed NY - No. Zack is different and he was uncomfortable to communicate unless it was necessary. He's quiet reserved except when he's on that mound.

Question: Do you want Soria to pitch more + the sabermetric community believe the closer role is overinflated, would you consider bringing Soria in the game in a more high leverage situation?

NY - I know a lot of people say that and there is a lot of times the 6th inning is a black hole to me. If you can get through the 6th you are generally setup for the 8th, 7th. A lot of people say that but I don't see a lot of managers doing it. One day it could become a trend but you won't catch me doing it. But it does make sense there is merit to the thought. I want a guy that when I get to the 8th inning he's gonna close that out.

My interpretation - Plain and simple it might be the better thing to do but I am not gonna step out on that limb by myself. He tries to turn the game into an eight inning game and feels more comfortable going with the status quo until someone else throws their self on the sword.

Question (Nick Scott Royals Authority): Is setting the lineup the most overrated thing you do?

NY - Yes, yes it is. It's really overrated, I've read studies where sabermetric community states you can pull your lineup out of a hat and you're not gonna get much more production. You still go with a traditional lineup however you get your speed guy 1, your situational hitter 2, your best hitter three, your most power four your best RBI guy five and then your last hitters you line them up to that point. It's a little overrated

My interpretation- I'm just impressed that he's read some studies in regards to this. Yes I would like him to read some of the other stuff that states your two hitter is more important than your three but in the end he's right the impact of the order is minimal, unless you have Kendall batting second of course.

Question (Brian McGannon) Last year you batted Willie Bloomquist one game. Was that a message to tell young guys that if you work hard enough in your career you can earn this sort of thing?

NY : Nah I just felt Willie was gonna have a good day.

My interpretation- As he said earlier the lineup isn't an exact science and sometimes you just go with your gut. Simple, easy and real.

Question (Matt/Boots 58@Royals Review) What do you see as the makeup of the outfield?

NY: Going into this if we traded Zack we would definitely get some outfielders back. Looking at the makeup of our outfield everyone coming back were all left handed hitters. But we didn't know what we were going to get back in the Greinke trade, then it appeared a deal wasn't going to happen so we committed to Jeff and Melky. And one of the reasons they came here was the opportunity to play everyday. And we have Alex working hard everyday.

Quesion (Matt/Boots58@Royals Review) Do you plan on playing Alex everyday?

NY: Ya but kind of but Lorenzo Cain is in that mix, Blanco is in that mix and Dyson is in that mix. We'll have to see how things shake out. Melky is a switch hitter so you don't have a platoon advantage there, Jeff kills lefthanders and he's gonna do good against righties.

Question (Minda Haas mindahaas.net): Since playing time has been promised to outfielders, what happens if someone outperforms the others.

NY: Then we'll just sit down and read about it. I don't know we'll see what happens. In order to bounce back you've got to be given an opportunity and it can't be a week it can't be two days or three days. You have to give guys legitimate opportunities with patience and courage to give guys opportunities to be the players you hope they can be.

My interpretation: Right or wrong I think the Royals have made commitments to Franceour and are willing to give him the starting job everyday. Yost tossed in that bit about good against righties because he doesn't want to let on about a possibility of platooning him. I really get the idea that he's going to let the rest just shake out from there and he's open to any of the other two spots.

Question (Nick Scott): Have you ever seen the Hal McRae video where he goes crazy, do you ever sympathize and want to do that your self?

NY : Ya I've seen it but no I've been through this before. I know where we are doing, I know where we are going, I know what it's gonna take to get there, how were are gonna get there and that keeps me going. Doing it right.

My interpretation: Yost came off as supremely confident with this answer. I really get the impression that he is all in with this. Maybe it's cause he has to be but it really sounds like he believes. I never heard that commitment from Trey or the last few managers and perhaps its because I never sat in a room with them or believed myself the way I do but this time it sounded true and real.

For some of you perhaps these weren't great answers on Ned's part but to me it was refreshing that he didn't give coach speak. He gave us true from the gut type answers and at least for me that's all I was asking out of this opportunity.

Links to the other winners blog articles about the experience:Nick Scott The Internet Meets Dayton Moore Broken Bat Singles Podcast #41
Matt Boots 58 Royals Digital Digest 2011; It All Happens Here
Michael Engel Let's Get Digital
Minda Haas Jeff Franceour on leadership, FanFest odds and ends, FanFest musings: the Dayton Moore interview
Kirk Harris A Yeti goes to Fan Fest
Brian McGannon Billy Butler doesn't know any good places to eat in Idaho Falls, plus Dayton Moore
If I left anyone out please email me and I'll get it posted.

A look behind the curtain

2011-01-21T06:59:00.000-08:00

Thursday the Digital Digest winners took a behind the scenes look at Fanfest. While later this evening or tomorrow I'll break down each soundbite I first wanted to thank the staff of the Royals for this opportunity. Mike Swanson and Dave Holtzman were top notch in explaining the process of finally coming around to the social media format and reshaping their thoughts on that field. Whether you think that bloggers should be involved in this type of format or not the fact that Swanson in particular has changed his ideas is the first step and from there we (bloggers/social media) have to prove that we can provide something worthy of the opportunity. It's a refreshing step from what some of us view as a old timer organization.

What to do with 12 million dollars

2011-01-19T10:57:00.000-08:00

Shocking news hit Royaldom Tuesday when Gil Meche decided to retire from baseball and turn down his final year of 12+ million from the Royals. While many (myself included) have talked about whether that is commendable, heroic or foolish the one thing that is perfectly clear to all of us, he didn't have to do it. Whatever your opinion of Meche's career and his situation he's giving the Royals even more flexibility than what they already had by not chewing up the money in the bullpen.

Dutton released an interesting tweet in regards to the money saved:
To all who have asked, no, the #Royals aren't likely to use the Meche payroll savings to pursue remaining free agents. But budgets for the draft and international scouting could get a boost.

The average fan would be disappointed by that news and tell you KC just got 12M tossed at them and they need to go spend the money via free agency. Perhaps that would be true if Meche had released this news at the start of the offseason and maybe KC could've got something worthwhile for that money. At this point currently though with less than 30 days until pitchers and catchers report the talent pool via free agency is extremely depleted and that would essentially be burning the money up for perhaps one or two wins. So let us look at Dutton's scenario

Since GMDM has taken over he's done an extremely solid job of spending appropriate money on the amateur draft while sprinkling in some solid international signings. The two budgets(amateur and major league) from the outside appear to be tied together as Dutton mentioned. One can see the highest draft budget under GMDM's watch coincided with the lowest major league budget in 2008. While that draft pool seemingly was the deepest from '07-10 it also goes to show how spending that money correctly could reshape an organization. Just in that '08 draft KC took Eric Hosmer, Mike Montgomery, Johnny Giavotella, John Lamb and Blaine Hardy all of which are close to knocking on the door to the major league roster within a year or so.

KC will enter this season with approximately 40 million committed to the major league team, the lowest since 2005 and by far the lowest of GMDM's tenure. What KC has an opportunity to do if they want is dominate the international draft and buyout lots of amateur draft picks. If Matt Purke drops to them at 5 and wants 10 million then KC can do it, if Bubba Starling is holding the Nebraska scholarship and 5 milion over their heads again no problem. Perhaps GMDM wants to spend 20M total for amateurs this season, Glass considering the budgets of the past has no real reason to say no. He'll still be saving money over what he has the past few seasons.

In my opinion continually loading up on the amateur ranks is the only way to go with this extra Meche money.

Photo: Arkansas Online www.nwaonline.com

Next Up: Royals FanFest Thursday

Royals sign Jeff Francis

2011-01-14T18:42:00.000-08:00

GMDM made a solid signing today inking Jeff Francis to a one year 2M+ incentives deal. Francis a lefty from the Rockies organization is trying to rebuild his career after shoulder problems kept him out in 2009 and part of 2010.

A few positives come with this deal.
The Royals didn't overpay.

Francis has some upside to him as opposed to a Kevin Millwood who would be nothing more than a Jason Kendall on the mound.

If Francis proves to be healthy and back to his old form the Royals should be able to turn him at the deadline for a nice prospect or two.

This should hold back the front office from starting Duffy or Teaford on the major league 25 man to begin the season. Teaford was hit hard in his one AAA start and as Edgar Osuna proved last season the Pacific Coast League can prove to be quite challenging as compared to AA. If Duffy, Teaford or other lefty prove to be ready for the majors early they perhaps can learn a thing or two from Francis while he is in KC.

The Royals continue to not spend big in a non-contend season. GMDM has seemingly learned from past mistakes and continues to sign contracts that will not limit the payroll of the future.

All in all a nice limited downside type of deal.

The Royals also inked Luke Hochevar and Alex Gordon to one year deals for 1.76 and 1.4M(100K incentive) respectively. Hoch was given no raise while Gordon received a modest 300K raise. The Royals continue to win by avoiding arbitration with their players. Billy Butler, Kyle Davies and Robinson Tejeda remain the only unsigned arbitration eligible Royals left.

Next up: Why I'm bullish on GMDM.

Fanfest and Digital Digest

2011-01-13T15:51:00.000-08:00

Well with quite a bit of surprise to me my blog was chosen as one of the participants in the Digital Digest portion of Royals FanFest. I look forward to this opportunity to meet Dayton Moore, Ned Yost and some of the players in the organization. I am looking to record the goings on and post as much audio and video as possible. My focus will be on the minor leaguers as usual and hopefully I can get some interviews with a few.

Royals passing on a Soria deal is a mistake

2011-01-09T06:22:00.000-08:00

The Royals according to Bill Madden are refusing to deal Joakim Soria to the Yankees for a package of Jesus Montero and Eduardo Nunez. In my opinion that is just crazy to refuse all offers for a closer who is going to have so little effect on the Royals over the next couple years.

Jesus Montero and his bat are rated as the best overall bat in the minors. His power rates up or above that of Moustakas's while his hit tool and patience rates even or better than that of Myers and Hosmer. Yes his defense is suspect at catcher but he is still only 21 years old and could possibly improve and if it doesn't you still have options to move him to DH or OF if he proves the bat is real.

Soria career high is 2.4 WAR according to Fangraphs while a good hitting no glove catcher/DH by the name of Jorge Posada was worth 2.4 WAR in 120 games last season. Posada is definitely on the back half of his career and those numbers were the second worst of his career in a full season. Soria while great is still a reliever which by definition is a high risk position by definition. The Royals are possibly passing on a 4 or more WAR catcher who they would control for 2 more years for significantly less money for a few extra saves.

Eduardo Nunez isn't exciting as he is pretty much a duplicate to Alcides Escobar but I'm sure the Royals could substitute him for a starting RHP if they so desired. Nunez still would offer a decent security blanket if Escobar can't increase his plate discipline or settle down his concentration lapses in the field. A trade for Nunez would turn the organization once barren with SS talent into a talent rich position with the additions of Escobar and the international kids. Adding another asset offers them the flexibility to turn a SS prospect which is always worth something in the majors.

The Royals should be interested in acquiring assets like the Rays as opposed to saving a couple wins here or there. One of the reasons analyst believe the Royals are going to succeed in the future is because of the depth of the system. KC isn't going to bring up 1 or 2 guys like in the past they have 20-25 really talented players and yes some will fail but some will also become average and a couple should become superstars. That being said they shouldn't stop adding assets and allowing themselves flexibility. Picking up Montero allows them the ability to trade others. The 2 or 3 extra wins Soria will save them this season could also cost them two or more draft slots like it did this season.

Depth in the bullpen could be one reason Dayton Moore wants to pass on this deal but the Royals should have a solid pen for a number of years. Robinson Tejeda has put up back to back solid seasons. Blake Wood is learning to throw out of the pen and pitchers are on the way. Louis Coleman, Patrick Keating, Tim Collins, Kevin Chapman, Jeremy Jeffress, Henry Barrera are just some of the plethera of bullpen arms on the way to KC. Some will fail but a starter or two could also add to that bullpen depth. This is not a reason to pass on this trade.

The kid can't defend but he sure can hit. Who am I talking about? Billy Butler of course, why do I talk of Billy Butler? Well my favorite Royal is due a hefty raise and while the Royals have tons and tons of financial flexibility the next couple years Butler as a DH is not a cornerstone type. Montero is ready now and if he proves he can hit on Butler's level the next couple years then the Royals have a tradeable asset in Billy if Hosmer also proves to be major league ready. Montero could slide into that DH spot while the Royals could trade a hopefully better hitting Butler for another asset or two or four.

This move more than the Greinke trade could be a huge game changer. As the Greinke rumors came out the Royals due to Greinke's no trade clause and Dayton's apparent need of middle of the field talent limited the top end of any deal they could have received. This deal however even with the limited number of players involved can have a ripple effect on the organization that even a great closer like Soria can't duplicate for KC.

Minor League Predictions and Goals for the Blog

2011-01-06T20:16:00.000-08:00

The baseball season is slowly coming around as we are just 52 days until the Royals first spring training game. 2011 is going to be a interesting year at the major league level to say the least but the real excitement for the Royals in 2011 is going to happen at the minor league level. With the influx of talent I thought I would take this time to make my 2011 minor league predictions.

The Call Ups - Minor leaguers that will be called up this season.
Mike Moustakas after June
Tim Collins Makes the ML roster
Louis Coleman
Lorenzo Cain
Jeremy Jeffress
Danny Duffy
David Lough
Mike Montgomery September Call up
Eric Hosmer September Call up
Chris Dwyer September Call up

Positional Breakout Performer
Brett Eibner CF - Possibly the best athlete in the system since Beltran, Eibner has big time power and decent patience. I look for him to impress at the high A level and earn a bump up to AA to join Colon and Myers at NW Arkansas.

Starting Pitcher Breakout (outside the top 4)
Crawford Simmons - Simmons is a crafty lefty who should be able to handle Low A hitters with his great control and pitchability.

Minor League Playoff contenders
NW Arkansas
Omaha

14 for 77 Minor League Player of the Year
Wil Myers and Eric Hosmer- The two studs will share the award after repeating what they did in 2010. I expect Myers will crush AA pitching in Coors Arvest field while Hosmer will push his way to a September call up.

14 for 77 MILB Pitcher of the Year
Chris Dwyer - Dwyer's low to mid 90s fastball combined with his organization best curve will help him pick up where it left off in the Texas League last season prior to his injury. Dwyer great season will be rewarded with a September call up after joining the crew in Omaha for a playoff run.

While there are sure to be some bumps in the road for some Royal minor leaguers there is actually room to improve from last seasons stellar performance. Names like Cuthbert, Yambati and Ventura could see action for the first time in full season ball while Ordonzzi, Jeffress and Marks will be added to the depth of an already strong system. My new goal of this blog is to get as much video as possible of the Royal minor leaguers in their pursuit of a major league dream. Kane County, NW Arkansas and Omaha will all be on the agenda again in 2011 hopefully multiple trips will allow me to bring the few readers I have a better idea of the prospects that are in the system.

NEXT UP Major League Predictions

Wow Look at these rotations !

2010-12-21T14:47:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-21T11:41:00.001-08:00

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.

2010-12-19T22:50:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-27T20:25:00.000-08:00

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

2010-10-10T20:56:00.001-07:00

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

2010-09-02T07:41:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-01T10:32:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-16T19:37:00.001-07:00

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

2010-08-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-02T09:21:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-31T13:46:00.001-07:00

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

2010-07-30T08:23:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-28T08:41:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-26T18:14:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-25T16:34:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-24T09:21:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-23T09:08:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-20T20:27:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-18T21:27:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-17T10:02:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-14T07:30:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-11T19:00:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-10T10:30:00.001-07:00

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

2010-07-09T09:28:00.001-07:00

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

2010-07-06T20:03:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-04T21:18:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-04T07:26:00.001-07:00

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

2010-07-02T22:38:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-01T20:23:00.001-07:00

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

2010-06-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-09T14:55:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-06T17:45:00.000-07:00

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 !

2010-06-02T18:33:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-31T13:45:00.000-07:00

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.

14 for 77

Making a Move

Kane County

14 for 77 Minor League Recap 4/14/11

14 for 77 Minor League Recap 4/13/11

14 for 77 Minor League Recap 4/12/11

The Daily Tap is moving to Pine Tar Press

Royals Minor League Daily Tap Mon April 11

Royals Minor League Daily Tap Sun April 10

Futures Game Pics

Royals Minor League Daily Tap

Royals Minor League Daily Tap featuring the 14for77 Matchup of the Week

Introducing the Minor League Daily Tap

Jason Parks reacts to Yordano Ventura

Futures Game Video

Grading the Minor League Rosters

The Royals look into the future and past to start the season

Season Predictions White Sox win it all

Putting the finishing touch on the Royals Winter

Royals Nation unhappy with the final roster moves.

2011 Kansas City Royals Prediction

Aaron Crow and thinning the roster

Mike Sweeney Retires a Royal awaits his Royal HOF spot

Revisiting Playboy 2005

Jason Adam making waves

Reshuffling the Top 35 prior to the season

Pics of Spring Training

How the Omaha Roster is shaping up

More Videos

Pics and Video of Spring Training

Royals under the gun at all levels

Yost makes a decision on pitching roster

More Heyman Greinke Rumors

Danny Duffy and the tale of two fastballs

Royals make a couple moves

Two amazing talents in Lincoln

Spring Quote of the Day

Spring Training Quote of the Day

Super 2 arbitration with the Royals

A Ball Players

Introducing the Royals Minor League Fan Scouting Report Cards

Royals sign another Dominican pitcher

Spring Quote of the Day

Quote of the day

Constructing a Royals bullpen

What's coming !

Kane County Pitchers

Off the Radar !

JJ and the 10 Royal dwarfs

Royals ink a Dominican All Star

Change to the blog

6 Future Royals land on MLB Top 50

Predicting the 25 Man Roster

Myers moves to OF

Good work Dayton !

Yost picks us up off the floor

A look behind the curtain

What to do with 12 million dollars

Royals sign Jeff Francis

Fanfest and Digital Digest

Royals passing on a Soria deal is a mistake

Minor League Predictions and Goals for the Blog

Wow Look at these rotations !

Breaking down the potential Omaha Storm Chasers roster

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

Omaha Rename

Fall and Winter Ball

14 for 77 Royal Minor League Player of the Year

Arizona Fall League Rosters announced

Royals Announce signing of Eibner and Adam

Lower Minors getting pub

Revising The Top 20

Deadline Swap

Countdown Deadline

I was wrong thank god Pods traded

Hello GMDM 3 days left and the future is getting closer

ORoyals video and Soria rumor pops up again 5 days left

6 Days left and the new hellish rumor

A week to go and the Greinke rumors are starting

Alex Up, Kila waits, DDJ Out 8 Days left