*** Official 2018 Royals Offseason Repository ***

[duncan_idaho]

It's the end of the world as we know it... and we feel... fine?

2018 is a season of transition for the Royals, or at least it is at this point. Dayton Moore is back. Will he swing full into THE PROCESS 2.0? Or will he try to load up again and make some reload magic happen?

Pending Free Agents:
1B | Eric Hosmer | San Diego Padres, 8 years, $144 million ($5 million signing bonus; $20 million/year in Yrs 1-5; $13 million/year in Yrs 6-8 wth player opt out)

Spoiler!

(DI's Guess: Texas Rangers, 6, $118 million)

3B | Mike Moustaskas | Kansas City Royas, 1, $6.5 million

Spoiler!

(DI's Guess: Los Angeles Angels, 5, $98 million)

CF | Lorenzo Cain | Milwaukee Brewers, 5 years, $80 million

Spoiler!

(DI's Guess: San Francisco Giants, 4, $68 million)

RP | Mike Minor | Texas Rangers, 3, $28 million

Spoiler!

(DI's Guess: Los Angeles Angels, 3, $35 million+ $12 million team option

SP | Jason Vargas | New York Mets, 2, $16 million

Spoiler!

(DI's Guess: Baltimore Orioles, 2, $29 million)

SS | Alcides Escobar | Kansas City Royals, 1, $2.5 million

Spoiler!

(DI's Guess: San Diego Padres, 1, $6.5 million)

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

Comp picks explanation:

Spoiler!

In case I, picks would be #32, 33, and 34, if Alex Cobb of Rays signs for $50 million guaranteed.

Kansas City will likely have 5 of the top 40-45 picks in the draft, and the bonus pool money should rival that of the teams drafting 1-3 in the 2017 draft. This should give KC tremendous flexibility in acquiring talent that otherwise might slip or not be "signable."

2018 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.

[Sure-Oz]

This would be the worst

@jonmorosi: #STLCards, Scott Boras have numerous reasons to be in touch: Boras clients Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Greg Holland all possible fits for St. Louis roster. And we know from Stanton pursuit that Cardinals have capacity to add payroll where warranted. @MLB

[Lex Luthor]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

This would be the worst

@jonmorosi: #STLCards, Scott Boras have numerous reasons to be in touch: Boras clients Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Greg Holland all possible fits for St. Louis roster. And we know from Stanton pursuit that Cardinals have capacity to add payroll where warranted. @MLB

Completely agree. That would totally suck.

[Sure-Oz]

So Hosmer has a 7 year offer from the Pads according to

@BNightengale: MLB's cold-hearted economics chill the hot stove, puts the freeze on elite players https://usat.ly/2Cupj8x via @USATODAY

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

So Hosmer has a 7 year offer from the Pads according to

@BNightengale: MLB's cold-hearted economics chill the hot stove, puts the freeze on elite players https://usat.ly/2Cupj8x via @USATODAY

It's Nightengale, so he doesn't.

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

So Hosmer has a 7 year offer from the Pads according to

@BNightengale: MLB's cold-hearted economics chill the hot stove, puts the freeze on elite players https://usat.ly/2Cupj8x via @USATODAY

[Great Expectations]

Worst possible landing spot

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

It's Nightengale, so he doesn't.

Exactly.

Nightengale is the CoMo of sportswriters. If he says something, just presume the opposite.

[BlackHelicopters]

Horrid news.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

This would be the worst

@jonmorosi: #STLCards, Scott Boras have numerous reasons to be in touch: Boras clients Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Greg Holland all possible fits for St. Louis roster. And we know from Stanton pursuit that Cardinals have capacity to add payroll where warranted. @MLB

Originally Posted by Lex Luthor

Completely agree. That would totally suck.

Don't want any of them. Maybe Moustakas because he's a lefty with some sock and a solid K rate, but he's a 1b as soon as 2019 so I'm pretty lukewarm on him as well. I think you can get similar offensive production (with a different profile) from Logan Morrison.

Holland will be throwing 91 mph in a year while winging that crossfire slider 66% of the time in a desperate attempt to stave off age while fully and finally grinding his arm into hamburger. Hosmer...well I've said my piece on Hosmer - guy just isn't that good. If I wanted a RH hitting groundball machine, I'd just give Jose Martinez more at-bats. Honestly, I think Martinez will be a better hitter than Hosmer going forward. I just don't see how a guy can succeed while that many batted balls into the ground.

Boras can keep on looking for his mystery team, as far as I'm concerned. I have no inclination to pay any of those guys for what they did in someone else's uniform. There's very little to suggest that they're going to be cornerstone players going forward.

[DeepSouth]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Don't want any of them. Maybe Moustakas because he's a lefty with some sock and a solid K rate, but he's a 1b as soon as 2019 so I'm pretty lukewarm on him as well. I think you can get similar offensive production (with a different profile) from Logan Morrison.

Holland will be throwing 91 mph in a year while winging that crossfire slider 66% of the time in a desperate attempt to stave off age while fully and finally grinding his arm into hamburger. Hosmer...well I've said my piece on Hosmer - guy just isn't that good. If I wanted a RH hitting groundball machine, I'd just give Jose Martinez more at-bats. Honestly, I think Martinez will be a better hitter than Hosmer going forward. I just don't see how a guy can succeed while that many batted balls into the ground.

Boras can keep on looking for his mystery team, as far as I'm concerned. I have no inclination to pay any of those guys for what they did in someone else's uniform. There's very little to suggest that they're going to be cornerstone players going forward.

Hosmer bats left handed.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Don't want any of them. Maybe Moustakas because he's a lefty with some sock and a solid K rate, but he's a 1b as soon as 2019 so I'm pretty lukewarm on him as well. I think you can get similar offensive production (with a different profile) from Logan Morrison.



Holland will be throwing 91 mph in a year while winging that crossfire slider 66% of the time in a desperate attempt to stave off age while fully and finally grinding his arm into hamburger. Hosmer...well I've said my piece on Hosmer - guy just isn't that good. If I wanted a RH hitting groundball machine, I'd just give Jose Martinez more at-bats. Honestly, I think Martinez will be a better hitter than Hosmer going forward. I just don't see how a guy can succeed while that many batted balls into the ground.



Boras can keep on looking for his mystery team, as far as I'm concerned. I have no inclination to pay any of those guys for what they did in someone else's uniform. There's very little to suggest that they're going to be cornerstone players going forward.

I'll take a bet on Martinez vs Hosmer. It's weird to me that you're so high on Jose Martinez. 275 ABs is a small sample size, and his HR/SLG spike is likely driven by the ball.

Also don't see Moustakas regressing that quickly on defense. He was an above-average defender prior to 2017, and fielding metrics are incredibly unreliable on one-year samples, especially range factor.

Unless his knee is permanently trashed, I think he has several quality years left at 3B because his arm and hands and instincts are all excellent.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

I'll take a bet on Martinez vs Hosmer. It's weird to me that you're so high on Jose Martinez. 275 ABs is a small sample size, and his HR/SLG spike is likely driven by the ball.

Also don't see Moustakas regressing that quickly on defense. He was an above-average defender prior to 2017, and fielding metrics are incredibly unreliable on one-year samples, especially range factor.

Unless his knee is permanently trashed, I think he has several quality years left at 3B because his arm and hands and instincts are all excellent.

Moustakas just looked really big to me every time I saw him. I guess the story is that the knee kept him from working out so he put weight on, but I'd just be surprised if the guy hit 38 homers and then felt compelled to slim back down.

I could be wrong and I may be pulling the chute too early on him. Prior to '17 I thought he was an above average defender over there. But if that was the beginning of a trend, he's gonna just be a fat guy in a year or two.

As for Martinez - the guy just barreled a TON of balls. His exit velocity was in the top 5-10 or so in the NL, IIRC. He stayed on balls well and simply had a good line-drive stroke. What I found interesting about him was that he finally tapped into the power that his size said he should have without sacrificing the high contact and solid plate skills he had throughout his minor league career.

You take his swing profile from the minors and add 120 points of ISO to it and you pretty much have exactly what Martinez gave you last year. Prior to last season he was all about those damn grounders but last year he worked with Martin Prado in FL and changed his stroke a bit to pretty outstanding results.

Yeah, I expect regression, but I think he'll continue to take quality ABs. And he'll continue to absolutely murder left-handed pitchers, IMO. In a perfect world, he's in a platoon with Logan Morrison and you end up getting 40+ HRs and a .900+ OPS out of your 1b for less than $13 million/season.

But that would require a front-office with some foresight and a manager who isn't a moron. As it stands, he'll just be a part-time player and pinch hitter. I think he's being wasted.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Don't want any of them. Maybe Moustakas because he's a lefty with some sock and a solid K rate, but he's a 1b as soon as 2019 so I'm pretty lukewarm on him as well. I think you can get similar offensive production (with a different profile) from Logan Morrison.

Holland will be throwing 91 mph in a year while winging that crossfire slider 66% of the time in a desperate attempt to stave off age while fully and finally grinding his arm into hamburger. Hosmer...well I've said my piece on Hosmer - guy just isn't that good. If I wanted a RH hitting groundball machine, I'd just give Jose Martinez more at-bats. Honestly, I think Martinez will be a better hitter than Hosmer going forward. I just don't see how a guy can succeed while that many batted balls into the ground.

Boras can keep on looking for his mystery team, as far as I'm concerned. I have no inclination to pay any of those guys for what they did in someone else's uniform. There's very little to suggest that they're going to be cornerstone players going forward.

Man, I don't follow any of that, esp the Moose stuff. He's not moving to 1B after this year, jeez.

[sedated]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Moustakas just looked really big to me every time I saw him. I guess the story is that the knee kept him from working out so he put weight on, but I'd just be surprised if the guy hit 38 homers and then felt compelled to slim back down.

Actually I think the opposite is widely considered the case - despite a year where his only job was to work out and get into shape, he didn't do so. Might have had something to do with why his knee seemed to regress as the year went on.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Moustakas just looked really big to me every time I saw him. I guess the story is that the knee kept him from working out so he put weight on, but I'd just be surprised if the guy hit 38 homers and then felt compelled to slim back down.

I could be wrong and I may be pulling the chute too early on him. Prior to '17 I thought he was an above average defender over there. But if that was the beginning of a trend, he's gonna just be a fat guy in a year or two.

As for Martinez - the guy just barreled a TON of balls. His exit velocity was in the top 5-10 or so in the NL, IIRC. He stayed on balls well and simply had a good line-drive stroke. What I found interesting about him was that he finally tapped into the power that his size said he should have without sacrificing the high contact and solid plate skills he had throughout his minor league career.

You take his swing profile from the minors and add 120 points of ISO to it and you pretty much have exactly what Martinez gave you last year. Prior to last season he was all about those damn grounders but last year he worked with Martin Prado in FL and changed his stroke a bit to pretty outstanding results.

Yeah, I expect regression, but I think he'll continue to take quality ABs. And he'll continue to absolutely murder left-handed pitchers, IMO. In a perfect world, he's in a platoon with Logan Morrison and you end up getting 40+ HRs and a .900+ OPS out of your 1b for less than $13 million/season.

But that would require a front-office with some foresight and a manager who isn't a moron. As it stands, he'll just be a part-time player and pinch hitter. I think he's being wasted.

Moustakas has never been a guy who was going to model jeans. I didn't see a noticeable difference from his pre-injury 2016 size to last year. Maybe 5-10 pounds, but it isn't like he's Pablo Sandoval.

Was it you or Hamas that was beating me up on Scott Alexander in the other thread?