*** Official 2018 Royals Repository ***

[duncan_idaho]

The season is upon us, even if spring is not.

2018 MLB Draft Picks
#18
#33 - Compensation (Eric Hosmer)
#34 - Compensation (Lorenzo Cain)
#40 (Competitive Balance Round A)

018 Draft Names to Watch

RHP Kumar Rocker, N Oconnee HS, Georgia.

Spoiler!

Possibly goes top 10 but is a big, physical SP with ace potential. Moore and co. will be all over him if he slips a bit and could offer top 10 money at No. 16

OF Jarred Kelenic, Waukasha West HS, WI

Spoiler!

Kelenic is the top prep bat, toolsy OF. Royals would be ecstatic to have shot at him.

1B Triston Casas, American Heritage HS (FL).

Spoiler!

Tremendous raw power, best in HS bats. Royals typically like HS arms or HS bats with "special" tools. He qualifies.

RHP Carter Stewart, Eau de Gallie HS (Ga).

Spoiler!

Another big, physical specimen with huge upside. More likely to be available mid-first than Rocker.

ANY Any, Any (Any). Any current top projected pick who slides for injury concerns. Includes current top prospect prospect SP Brady Singer, U of Florida.

Current Prospects to Watch:

OF Seuly Matias - Huge tools. Hit 2 HR in Lexington (A) season opener.

1B Nick Pratto - Top pick in 17 has advanced approach and good glove; needs to start tapping into power in first full year in minors. Also at Lexington.

OF Michael Gigliotti - Good defender in CF, good OBP skills, plus baserunner. Next mainstay in CF for KC, IMO. Advanced college bat also starting at Lexington.

OF Khalil Lee - Probably has highest upside in Royals' system. Could hit 30 HR in majors, could steal 30 bases. Plus defensive ability in RF. Nice test at Wilmington this year.

3B Emmanuel Rivera - Really nice approach and good contact skills. Power is still developing. Also getting a good test at Wilmington.

SP Foster Griffin - Made nice strides in 2017. Needs to continue to progress in 2018. Could be a lefty version of Jakob Junis (good breaking ball that he can really manipulate, OK fastball, good command).

1B Samir Duenez - Duenez still is intriguing, hoping for a step forward in his power production this year at Northwest Arkansas, which would turn him into a legit prospect.

Others to keep an eye on:
SP Gerson Garabito (Wilmington), OF Marten Gasparini (Lexington), C MJ Melendez (Lexington), RP Tyler Zuber (lexington), RP Richard Lovelady (Omaha), SP Dan Tillo (Lexington), SS Nicky Lopez (NWA), SP Scott Blewett (NWA), OF Brewer Hicklen (Idaho Falls),

In general, Lexington and Wilmington are the most interesting spots to watch. Nice depth and a lot of interesting pieces at both.

[chuxtrux]

I watched probably every Royals game between 1999-2011, then because of a new job and a crazy work schedule I haven't been able to follow them the last 5-6 years so I can't speak for that time. This is the first year I can actually sit down and watch them again. I have to say this is by far the worst pitching staff I have ever seen.

[OKchiefs]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

Will be interesting to see if his last outing was just a bad day.

@Matt_Winkelman: Looking at it a bit deeper, I get why the Royals moved Herrera now, especially only getting maybe 75 cents on the dollar. Velocity and results have trended down each month

The Royals sure seem to have bad luck trading relievers. Wasn't Davis injured a bit before we traded him?

[MVChiefFan]

Originally Posted by chuxtrux

I watched probably every Royals game between 1999-2011, then because of a new job and a crazy work schedule I haven't been able to follow them the last 5-6 years so I can't speak for that time. This is the first year I can actually sit down and watch them again. I have to say this is by far the worst pitching staff I have ever seen.

So what you’re saying is, you’re the catalyst for them sucking or not? I think I can speak for everyone when I say, STOP WATCHING THE ROYALS!!!

[Prison Bitch]

Quite possible this was DMs first admission Busta Starling is finished as a prospect. It's obv now that Perkins the CF is the best piece. Why trade for him if you like Starling?

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Quite possible this was DMs first admission Busta Starling is finished as a prospect. It's obv now that Perkins the CF is the best piece. Why trade for him if you like Starling?

At the very least, he's out of time, I agree. Just bring him up and put him in CF for the rest of the season, no matter what. If he blows, let him go at the end of the year. Put up or shut up. It's sink or swim time.

[dallaschiefsfan]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Quite possible this was DMs first admission Busta Starling is finished as a prospect. It's obv now that Perkins the CF is the best piece. Why trade for him if you like Starling?

I'm not trying to be snarky here...but you trade for Perkins to have another player with tools in your system, whether Starling is a bust or not. One doesn't have t have anything to do with the other when you're in the Royals position of needing to load your system back up. Everything and everyone is either an asset for a better future ballclub or for trading to make a better ballclub.

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by dallaschiefsfan

I'm not trying to be snarky here...but you trade for Perkins to have another player with tools in your system, whether Starling is a bust or not. One doesn't have t have anything to do with the other when you're in the Royals position of needing to load your system back up. Everything and everyone is either an asset for a better future ballclub or for trading to make a better ballclub.

this is true, of course. I still think Starling is out of time.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

I’m not sure they got an everyday player. Rutherford is a good defender and has plus speed, plus is a switch hitter.

Gutierrez is the biggest upside piece, 3Bwith good contact skills and some raw power.

I like trading with the Nats because they have a great, deep system and develop players well...

But would trade Kieboom for all 3 of those guys. Guessing that either wasn’t on the table or the Royals didn’t want all eggs in one basket.

Also: if that’s the return Herrera fetches, Moustakas will be so disappointing I don’t know it’s even worth making a deal.

A scouts trade all the way and one fans would really struggle to get a read on. I don't think Gutierrez is the biggest piece, though - I'd say Parker is the best combination of ability and floor while Morel looks to be the highest upside play.

The problem is that Morel's pretty much impossible for us to judge. He's in the DSL, which is like two steps below short season ball. He's genuinely 7-8 steps removed from the big leagues at this point - there's no way for any of us to get a read on a guy like that. It's fair to wonder how the Nationals got him a year ago as a UDFA on a pittance of a contract and now suddenly the Royals are trading one of their better assets to get him - where was Moore a year ago? But beyond that, I just don't know how anyone can give a good read on him.

Guiterrez - meh. Organizational piece; a poor man's Cuthbert. I'd be surprised if he ever 'won' a job on a major league team apart from being an injury fill-in.

Parker's defense will get him to the bigs. I really like his approach at the plate and the fact that he's been able to learn to switch hit as a professional without cratering is really impressive; says a lot about his natural hit tool, IMO.

I think in time you could get a reasonable facsimile to Jarrod Dyson. I don't think he has Dyson's raw speed, but he's fast. I like him as a potential defense heavy 2-3 win player in CF. Nobody that's going to be a true impact player but a possible starter.

Morel makes/breaks the trade in all likelihood but if Parker just becomes something of a poor man's Dyson, that's a pretty good return in its own right.

[wazu]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

Anyone think Whit will get a better haul at least on paper then Herrera did? Even if it's 1 player, I feel like he has more value then moose right now

I’d like to think we can’t do worse than the Herrera trade, but this organization seems to be back in the mode of finding new lows.

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by wazu

I’d like to think we can’t do worse than the Herrera trade, but this organization seems to be back in the mode of finding new lows.

So Guttierez looks like a better Cheslor Cuthbert at every tool. Perkins' floor is Orlando; ceiling is Cain. And the young pitcher is very, very young, but a lottery ticket with a power arm.

For a half a season's worth of Herrera, I don't know that you could expect much more.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

I
Best case for Perkins would be something like Dyson ... except without the platoon split. If he could provide that defense and 90 percent of the baserunning with the offensive profile Dyson has against RHP, that’s a star, and I think that’s what they’re banking on.

DAMMIT! Beat me to it.

I'm not as high as the Nats system as you are, I do think it thins out pretty quickly. But I like Perkins. I'm not sure he'd be quite enough to be the 'headliner' in a deal for an established closer, but Herrera's sometimes balky arm and the possibility that he has some intestinal fortitude issue (his weirdness last year hasn't been forgotten by MLB GMs I'd imagine) perhaps put a damper on his value.

When you're getting a rental who's had some flame-outs in the past, there's a chance you get nothing if he has one again. Oftentimes reliability is more important to an organization when they're pursuing a mid-season rental than pure upside is. That may explain the lack of a true 'anchor' piece in this return.

[Discuss Thrower]

Seems like the Herrera trade was as good as it was gonna get. Nobody's gonna cough up premiums for rental players.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by wazu

I’d like to think we can’t do worse than the Herrera trade, but this organization seems to be back in the mode of finding new lows.

Much different situation trading a guy with a ton of control left than a half season.

Merrifield should yield a really strong return. Pretty close to what the Nats yielded for Eaton.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

A scouts trade all the way and one fans would really struggle to get a read on. I don't think Gutierrez is the biggest piece, though - I'd say Parker is the best combination of ability and floor while Morel looks to be the highest upside play.



The problem is that Morel's pretty much impossible for us to judge. He's in the DSL, which is like two steps below short season ball. He's genuinely 7-8 steps removed from the big leagues at this point - there's no way for any of us to get a read on a guy like that. It's fair to wonder how the Nationals got him a year ago as a UDFA on a pittance of a contract and now suddenly the Royals are trading one of their better assets to get him - where was Moore a year ago? But beyond that, I just don't know how anyone can give a good read on him.



Guiterrez - meh. Organizational piece; a poor man's Cuthbert. I'd be surprised if he ever 'won' a job on a major league team apart from being an injury fill-in.



Parker's defense will get him to the bigs. I really like his approach at the plate and the fact that he's been able to learn to switch hit as a professional without cratering is really impressive; says a lot about his natural hit tool, IMO.



I think in time you could get a reasonable facsimile to Jarrod Dyson. I don't think he has Dyson's raw speed, but he's fast. I like him as a potential defense heavy 2-3 win player in CF. Nobody that's going to be a true impact player but a possible starter.



Morel makes/breaks the trade in all likelihood but if Parker just becomes something of a poor man's Dyson, that's a pretty good return in its own right.

All 3 of those pieces have the potential to pay off the trade and then some. Gutierrez’s offensive profile plays a lot better as a 2B or util guy, but he could be a really valuable one.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Much different situation trading a guy with a ton of control left than a half season.

Merrifield should yield a really strong return. Pretty close to what the Nats yielded for Eaton.




All 3 of those pieces have the potential to pay off the trade and then some. Gutierrez’s offensive profile plays a lot better as a 2B or util guy, but he could be a really valuable one.

You're always bright eyed about these trade returns. More than likely they all suck ass.


The Reds got 3 good pieces from us, ESP Cody Reed who was #30 overall in the next BA rankings. All 3 sucked ass for them. Way better pieces than we got here obv.

[suzzer99]

Just out of curiosity - how good could a team filled with players who came up with the Royals be - right now? Let's say the criteria is they were either drafted or spent the majority of their minor leagues with the Royals.

C - Perez
1B - Hos
2B - Whit
SS - Modesi?
3B - Moose
LF - Gordo?
CF - Dyson?
RF - Myers
DH - Bring back Beltran lol?

SP - Greinke
SP - Duffy
SP - ?
SP - ?
SP - ?

RP - Herrera
RP - Holland
RP - ?

Who am I forgetting about?