*** 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.

[TEX]

Originally Posted by Al Bundy

Bad drafting my friend.

Is it b/c they were picking last for a couple of seasons? Or, has this been going on for awhile? Seems like they were in decent shape to be good for a while - Took them soooo long to get to the top, and now they're not even competitive. That's what SUCKS.

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by Why Not?

I certainly don't disagree with the previous few posts, and there is certainly no acceptable reason for an MLB team to be on pace to win 47 games or whatever it is, but there are a few other factors as well.

A. Although it shouldn't be close to this bad, we knew they were in for a fall once some of the big guys left via free agency. The chances of having pipeline replacements right at the exact time was very slim(not having them anywhere near at all is a problem).

B. Ventura's death and the curious case of WTF happened to Danny Duffy?

C. I fear we may have seen the best of Salvador Perez come and gone. That guy was rode like a rented mule for years and it looks like that took a toll on him(this year could be an outlier)

Having some holes is fine, not finding a worthwhile draft pick starting in the Christian Colon year is really unacceptable.

We're really talking about 7 years of not finding a good major league player in the draft when some of those picks were top 10, this narrative they are spinning of trading their prospects...those guys never amounted to much by the way except Manea I guess. Or the narrative of "we drafted lower so this is what happens" actually no, no it's not. The Yankees rebuilt their farm system without ever picking top 10.

This is why I will take everything Moore does in the draft with a grain of salt, he hasn't found shit in 7 years nor have they really ever been able to develop pitchers. This team had something like 10 arms that were well thought of at 1 time and none of them developed into anything.

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by TEX

Is it b/c they were picking last for a couple of seasons? Or, has this been going on for awhile? Seems like they were in decent shape to be good for a while - Took them soooo long to get to the top, and now they're not even competitive. That's what SUCKS.

They had 2 years of picking late...explain the other 5 years.

[KC Hawks]

Orioles are starting to piss me off.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by Why Not?

I certainly don't disagree with the previous few posts, and there is certainly no acceptable reason for an MLB team to be on pace to win 47 games or whatever it is, but there are a few other factors as well.

A. Although it shouldn't be close to this bad, we knew they were in for a fall once some of the big guys left via free agency. The chances of having pipeline replacements right at the exact time was very slim(not having them anywhere near at all is a problem).

B. Ventura's death and the curious case of WTF happened to Danny Duffy?

C. I fear we may have seen the best of Salvador Perez come and gone. That guy was rode like a rented mule for years and it looks like that took a toll on him(this year could be an outlier)

Everyone here wanted to tear up his deal and extend him. Hoodie (remember that reerun?) was the loudest and was tossing out huge numbers like it was a monopoly game.


Well? We don't run a small market like a charity. Gotta be more ruthless. We overspent being too nice to "our guys"

[DJJasonp]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Everyone here wanted to tear up his deal and extend him. Hoodie (remember that reerun?) was the loudest and was tossing out huge numbers like it was a monopoly game.


Well? We don't run a small market like a charity. Gotta be more ruthless. We overspent being too nice to "our guys"

Totally agree.

Call it the Kobe-effect.

Patriots, while not the same small-market analogy, are extremely smart in this area.

It's a business - pure and simple.

[tk13]

Originally Posted by DJJasonp

Totally agree.

Call it the Kobe-effect.

Patriots, while not the same small-market analogy, are extremely smart in this area.

It's a business - pure and simple.

This is not the NBA or NFL where one player can affect the team's success so greatly. Being ruthless works great when you have an all time talent at your most important positions.

They had to give Perez a pay raise. Dude had a 5 year, $7 million contract and had just won World Series MVP. Other players around the league will notice things like that. Plus I think Dayton has tried to fight the idea that this organization is cheap every step of the way. Of course now we've spent probably 400-450 million in salary the last 3 years and have nothing to show for it.

[KChiefs1]

2019 Baseball America Mock Draft

2019 MLB Mock Draft V 0.1:
Bobby Witt Jr. Projected First Overall

By Carlos Collazo

The 2018 draft saw five college players selected with the first five picks, but a year from now there could easily be an up the middle prep player gone within the first five picks, like most draft classes this decade.

We’re still digesting the 2018 class, so it’s much too early to project the 2019 group—but here at Baseball America we love looking ahead. At this point in time, the top of next year’s class looks to be much heavier on position players at both the high school and college levels.

The favorite to go No. 1, at least here in Durham, N.C., is Heritage High (Colleyville, Texas) shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who is committed to Oklahoma. Witt will draw comparisons to Southern California shortstop Brice Turang—simply for the fact that they are/were seen as top-of-the-class prospects early in the draft cycle—but they are very different players.

Where Turang is a polished, lefthanded hitting shortstop with a slight frame but one of the best pure hit tools in the 2018 class, Witt is a righthanded hitting shortstop who grades out with better tools across the board outside of pure hitting ability. He’s an elite runner who posts 80-grade home-to-first times, projects to have plus raw power, has plus arm strength and all of the glove skill needed to stick at shortstop at the next level. How much he hits over the course of the summer and spring will determine how high he goes, but he’s tooled up at a premium defensive position.






Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Heritage HS, Colleyville, Texas.

Witt’s father of the same name was a righthanded pitcher in the majors for 16 years, so he’s grown up around the game which gives him another edge—as if his physical tools weren’t enough of a head start.

Adley Rutschman, C, Oregon State

Rutschman came to Oregon State as a kicker/catcher and played both sports as freshman, specializing in kickoffs on the gridiron and standing out for his defense on the diamond. He gave up football this year, however, and broke out at the plate to earn All-American honors. Listed at 6-foot-2, 216 pounds, Rutschman is a big, physical, switch-hitting catcher who provides plus defense and arm strength, an enticing package.

Hunter Barco, LHP, The Bolles School, Jacksonville

Prep lefties are always a coveted demographic and Barco could be an elite talent out of The Bolles School—the same school of Hall of Famer Chipper Jones. The Virginia commit was one of the most impressive pitchers at the World Wood Bat Association World Championship last fall in Jupiter as an underclassman. He has a fastball in the low 90s, a sharp, late-breaking slider with bite and feel for a low 80s split-changeup as well.

Shea Langeliers, C, Baylor

Langeliers in 2017 was a first-team Freshman All-American and followed that up with a strong summer in the Cape Cod League, where he stood out as the best catcher despite his youth. The righthanded hitter has above-average power and arm strength and has improved behind the plate in the last year.

Braden Shewmake, SS, Texas A&M

Shewmake has been one of Texas A&M’s top hitters the last two years and will this summer play for USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team for the second year in a row. Listed at 6-foot-4, 190 pounds, Shewmake is long and lean and has above-average hittability. He’s still a work in progress at shortstop, but his hit tool, above-average speed and ability to play in the infield will make him highly sought after.


Riley Greene, OF, Hagerty HS, Oviedo, Fla.

An all-around outfielder committed to Florida, Greene has a smooth swing from the left side with hittability and power. He’s a plus runner in the outfield and can easily handle covering ground in center field.

Josh Jung, 3B, Texas Tech

Jung immediately stepped into Texas Tech’s lineup as a freshman and has done nothing but hit for the last two years. Listed at 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, the righthanded hitter provides an impressive all-around skill set with the ability to hit for both average and power while also providing solid defense at the hot corner.

Rece Hinds, 3B, Niceville (Fla.) HS.

Hinds will join Witt as a two-time member of the Under Armour All-America Game later this summer. He possesses some of the most raw power of any prep player in the 2019 class and also has easy plus arm strength that will fit nicely at the hot corner. Hinds is committed to Louisiana State.

C.J. Abrams, SS, Blessed Trinity HS, Roswell, Ga.

A twitchy, lefthanded hitting shortstop, Abrams follows up a strong 2018 Georgia class as the top prospect in the state. He’s got a simple swing and is a plus runner with intriguing defensive potential.

Logan Davidson, SS, Clemson

Seth Beer got all the attention at Clemson the last few couple years, but Davidson is the Tigers’ best prospect. A switch-hitter, Davidson has above-average power and a good chance to stay at shortstop.

[Discuss Thrower]

I'll take one Adley Rutschman pls

[ILChief]

Whatever happened to Bubba Starling?

[Why Not?]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Everyone here wanted to tear up his deal and extend him. Hoodie (remember that reerun?) was the loudest and was tossing out huge numbers like it was a monopoly game.


Well? We don't run a small market like a charity. Gotta be more ruthless. We overspent being too nice to "our guys"

Oh yeah. I definitely remember that.

[duncan_idaho]

Re: how the Royals got this bad, this fast...

The big edges the 13-15 Royals had were their defense, bullpen, and balance.

Even the past two years, the bullpen was still very good but not elite, and the defense remained stellar.

But this is no longer an elite defensive team. They are not an elite bullpen and in fact are bad.

And an offense that was average lost its two best hitters. Throw in regression from most of the SP spots, and it gets ugly in a hurry.

Re: the draft, they are paying for not doing well in the 2011 and 12 drafts, trading their successes out of the 13 and 14 drafts, and not supplementing with great talent out of Latin America.

They haven’t done well enough. Especially in the early part of this decade... but I still see a correction based on some of the struggles.

Saying they haven’t drafted a quality major league player starting with the Colon draft is wrong, though.

Whit Merrifield was in the 2010 draft. Scott Alexander was a good pick (who they threw away to shed salary on Soria, still miffed about that). Jason Adam was in it and has wandered back to Kc. He was a big deal overslot signing at the time who still might be a useful bullpen guy.

In 2011, Starling is a painful miss (though you still can’t argue much with the pick at the time). Jakob Junis was in that draft and, despite his recent wobbles, is still someone I think can be a solid 3/4 type. Other than that, you’re left with a big pile of nothing, plus Terrence Gore (useful during the playoff runs), Patrick Leonard (who was part of the Shields/Davis trade), and Brian Brickhouse (who, like Adam, is trying to resurrect his career now that he’s back with KC).

2012 is a big pile of shit. They got unlucky with Zimmer falling apart, but the rest of that draft is a disaster. Matt Strahm was in it, though, and is a quality major leaguer.

2013 was a successful draft. Dozier may still be a solid major league regular, and Manaea and Cody Reed were key parts of a World Series championship. There’s not much else left of it, other than Kevin McCarthy.

2014 has a huge success in Brandon Finnegan, who provides instant value - they may not make the playoffs or win the wild wildcard game without him - and also was the key piece of the Cueto deal. The rest of the draft has been disappointing - Scott Blewett, and Foster Griffin have done what most of the projectable Hs arms the Royals have taken did... not develop into very much. Chase Vallot has enormous swing and miss problems that will prevent him from being a good major league player despite prodigious raw power and great walk rates.

Beyond that, you’re getting into territory where it’s hard to expect much from HS players yet. But let’s go there anyway.

2015 has the Russell and Watson double-down disaster. A disaster so bad I think it forced an organizational draft approach. Staumont was also in this one. Solid 3B prospect Emmanuel Rivera was a later round pick. They also got Skoglund in this one.

2016, they didn’t have a first round pick. AJ Puckett was an athletic college arm with some upside and a nice departure from the HS approach. Since trades. Khalil Lee is a legit prospect with all star potential. Nicky Lopez and Richard Lovelady look like future above-average contributors. Considering this draft has no first round picks, it’s actually shows some real progress.

2017... Pratto and Melendez both have enormous potential and could be future stars (especially Melendez). Dan Tillo shows promise as a left handed starter, and Michael Gigliotti is another potential above-average starter (currently sitting out after an AcL year) from that group. Gigs is someone I think could really jump up next - he was the top hitter in the Cape Cod league in 2016 and fell after a disappointing junior season at his college, but he posted an .875 OpS with good steals totals in his debut pro season. He also is good enough defensively to stick in CF or be a plus LF. Tyler Zuber looks like a potential future bullpen standout, and toolsy college outfielder Brewer Hicklen is hitting for average and power so far as a pro.

2018, they obviously went heavy on college pitching. I think they got a lot of value and have a good combo of floor and upside. I wish they’d been able to get Milan Walla signed as a toolsy hitting prospect, but they got a lot of value.

Regardless, when you review what the Royals have done since the disastrous 2015 draft, there’s a clear shift in philosophy and they’re finding more success, especially with non premium picks.

Had the 2011-2015 drafts had players like Nicky Lopez or Khalil Lee or Melendez or some of these college pitchers sprinkled in, they’d be in a lot better shape in the present day.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

I'll take one Adley Rutschman pls

Witt is still my top guy. I’m looking for premium talent, and he has more of it that anyone at this point.

Rutschman and the Baylor catcher are interesting, though. Having a plus hitter at those spots is nice.

Knowing the way the draft tends to go when the Orioles and Royals are both bad, they’ll be a game worse, take Witt, and the Royals will he left with a far inferior choice

2010 - Machado to Colon
2011 - Dylan Bundy to Bubba Starling
2012 - Kevin Gausman to Kyle Zimmer

[Sure-Oz]

@jonmorosi: #Phillies interested in #Royals INF/OF Whit Merrifield via trade, sources say. #Brewers also interested in Merrifield, according to @Ken_Rosenthal. @MLBNetwork @MLB

[Sure-Oz]

Thoughts?

@h8rproof82: The Royals made a under the radar international signing bringing aboard Kaito Yuki who is 16 years old and from the same hometown as Yu Darvish. Royals are scanning the globe for talent. No stone left unturned.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/.../#.W0EzExZOmaM