Countdown 15 days to deadline

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

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

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

Rumor #2 Yankees Covet Soria

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

Moose promoted and Jordan Parraz not going anywhere

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


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

Hos, Moose and Time to Sell

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

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

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

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

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

John Lamb and Mike Moustakas

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

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

Baseball America rankings

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

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

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

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

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

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

NEXT: Video of Omaha Royals Friday 7/9

Anonymous Scouts view

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

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

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

Lamb is too much for Wilmington

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