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Old 04-05-2017, 10:55 AM  
Chiefspants Chiefspants is offline
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*** Official 2017 Royals Repository ***

Chiefsplanet’s (Proposed) 2017 Season Title: One Last Ride

Midish-Season Update (Royals 51-47, 2nd Wild Card, 1.5 GB of ALC):

We're halfway through 2017, and fittingly to the Chiefsplanet's 2017 Season Title, the Royals are all-in on what will likely be one final run with the current core. While many are worried the Royals will take a 2004 style tumble after this year, the farm system is hardly the barren wasteland it was during the Baird years. To see what's in the pipeline and what we have to look forward to, check out this exceptional list and analysis that Duncan put together of our system.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...htmlview#gid=0

While I had the honor of starting this thread this year, Duncan will always have a VIP pass to this OP, and can add more content at any time.

2017's Burning Questions Revisited:

1. What is the threshold between being “buyers” and “sellers” at the deadline?

We're buyers, baby.

In April, I argued that it would be a wise strategy for us to sell if we were 5 GB or worse, but that Dayton would likely add supplemental pieces for us to load up for another run if we were 1-2 GB. On July 24th, the Royals found themselves in sole possession of the 2nd wild card spot and 1.5 games back of the division. In April I said the Royals might pull the trigger on someone like Alex Cobb and resign Luke Hochevar, but since the Rays are also buyers and Luke's shoulder hasn't rebounded, this prediction hasn't come to fruition. Luckily, Dayton Moore again proved much more adept and creative than me by adding Trevor Cahill (good call, Duncan), Brandon Maurer and Ryan Buchter in a single trade. Giving us a solid starter to compete in 2017, and two relievers whom we will control through 2019 and 2021, respectively, keeping Moore's new vision through 2019-2020 intact. Moore has hinted that the Royals will continue to pursue the right deals if they're there, so the fun may not be over just yet. While we may not have the bullets to pull in a "star" like Cueto or Zo, Moore's adeptness may yet again net us what we need for another run in October.

2. Can Gordo and Moose bounce back to 2015 levels?

In April I asked if Gordo could at least set the table at a 265/325/425 clip and if Moose could deliver damage around a 265/335/500 clip for an entire year. This season Mr. Moustakas has been the prospect that was promised, delivering at a 277/307/568 clip as of this update. Gordo, on the other hand, has put up an unbelievably abysmal line thus far. But, if there is a silver lining, it's that Gordo has performed at a 246/311/432 line since June 1st, and if he can continue to perform near that mark, he will be more than a valuable asset at the bottom of the lineup while he continues to provide the best LF defense in the league.

3. Can Ned Yost manage a bullpen?

In April, I felt that despite the poor start, Royals bullpen would ultimately be "solid" this year, but the question was whether "solid" was good enough for Ned. I argued that the Royals needed Soria to bounce back and that Ned would need to start being strategic in his L/L and R/R matchups. While Ned has still made at times baffling and frustrating decisions with his starters (such as allowing Travis Wood to try to "get the win" and still insisting on sending Hammel out for the 6th, he's mostly done a good job).

MASH: Minor/Moylan - Alexander - Soria - Herrera (Credit to C3HIEF3S for the origins of the phrase) have cemented into reliable pieces, and now that Herrera is showing signs of stabilizing, our dumping of Wood, our call up Flynn, and the acquisition of Buchter and Maurer, the Royals have the potential to enter October with one of the best and deepest bullpens in the postseason.

4. Will the Royals find a boost from an unexpected X-Factor to lift them to contention?

Cool-Whit, Boni, Mike ****ing Minor, and Alexander have come up huge thus far. Cool Whit is, incredibly, is second on the team in WAR and has more than replaced Zo's presence on the team. They, like the X-Factors on the 2014-2015 teams, have been critical cogs as we've raced back to contention, while Cool-Whit and Boni also have provided a rosier outlook for this team's future. It's worth noting that Salvador Perez and Jason Vargas has been beasts on offense and the mound (along with Sal providing his customary defensive excellence), but I am still a bit wary of Salvy's annual Yost assisted offensive drought as the team moves into August, along with Vargy regressing to his averages.

5. Can Jorge Soler and Brandon Moss be productive contributors in Kauffman’s dimensions?

Ouch, no, but the Royals shift to power-hitting in the juiced ball era looks like one that will pay off. Thankfully, Moss is showing signs of entering his seasonal hot streak where he becomes corn-fed Jesus for a month, and we'll need him hot to keep up with Cleveland down the stretch. While Jorge has been painful to watch in the majors, his scorching performance in AAA should give one a bright hope for the future. While some may disagree, I offer Moose, Hos, Gordo, and Duffy's struggles as exhibit A for why it is far too early to give up on Soler's potential.

Bonus Question - Is Raul Mondesi truly ready to be an everyday player?

Ha! Not even close. However, like Soler, his progress in AAA is incredibly encouraging. With ceilings like Lindor and floors being Esky being thrown out there, it's hard not to be excited about his future.

The Picture Forward

There are many reasons to be excited, and not only for 2017. The Royals emergence of Cool Whit, Bonifacio, and Scott Alexander, and the fact that we have pieces like Salvador Perez, Danny Duffy, Kelvin Herrera, Jorge Soler, Ryan Buchter, Brandon Maurer Cheslor Cuthbert, and Raul Mondesi until at least 2019 should leave one feeling pretty optimistic. Re-up Moose or Hos (and heck, re-sign Dyson while we're at it), and suddenly this team looks very much like one that could compete for the indefinite future.

The Royals are all in again, buckle in and enjoy the ride.

April OP:

Spoiler!

Last edited by Chiefspants; 08-02-2017 at 01:53 PM..
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Old 07-26-2017, 03:05 PM   #4681
BWillie BWillie is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO View Post
who would you think we whips have to trade to greet that elite ss?

Escobar has hit better lately. You bitched about mondesi non - stop when he was here.

are you a troll?
I did bitch about Mondesi non-stop because he was playing in the majors too early. I've always loved the kid, I was just not happy the organization rushed him when he clearly wasn't ready. I've said he wouldn't be ready until most likely 2018 when we threw him in the mix in the World Series in 2015 for some unknown reason and you all called me an idiot. Turns out, yeah, he wasn't ready afterall. Clearly. He hadn't ever had a large sample size in the minors showing he can hit until this year. He might finally be actually ready this September.

Here is how we rank in terms of WAR (which you know, includes defense) by position
Perez, 3rd at Catcher
Hosmer, 9th at 1B. 2.4 WAR.
Whit, 2nd at 2B. 3.1 WAR.
Moose, 19th at 3B. 1.4 WAR.
Gordon, 27th at LF. 0.6 WAR.
Cain, 6th at CF. 2.7 WAR
Bonifacio, 27th at RF. 0.5 WAR
Escobar, 56th at SS. -0.6 WAR.

Notice anything?

Last year, he was the 35th best SS by WAR. It was probably even worse than that actually, since he has the luxury of getting sooo many at bats to have the potential to push his WAR/value higher than those part time short stops getting 300 abs a year. He had an OPS that was 143rd out of 146 of everyday players.

His production has been a problem. If you believe otherwise, you are in denial.

Last edited by BWillie; 07-26-2017 at 03:18 PM..
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Old 07-26-2017, 03:19 PM   #4682
penbrook penbrook is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BWillie View Post
I did bitch about Mondesi non-stop because he was playing in the majors too early. I've always loved the kid, I was just not happy the organization rushed him when he clearly wasn't ready. I've said he wouldn't be ready until most likely 2018 when we threw him in the mix in the World Series in 2015 for some unknown reason and you all called me an idiot. Turns out, yeah, he wasn't ready afterall. Clearly. He hadn't ever had a large sample size in the minors showing he can hit until this year. He might finally be actually ready this September.

Here is how we rank in terms of WAR (which you know, includes defense) by position
Perez, 3rd at Catcher
Hosmer, 9th at 1B. 2.4 WAR.
Whit, 2nd at 2B. 3.1 WAR.
Moose, 19th at 3B. 1.4 WAR.
Gordon, 27th at LF. 0.6 WAR.
Cain, 6th at CF. 2.7 WAR
Bonifacio, 27th at RF. 0.5 WAR
Escobar, 56th at SS. -0.6 WAR.

Notice anything?

Last year, he was the 35th best SS by WAR. It was probably even worse than that actually, since he has the luxury of getting sooo many at bats to have the potential to push his WAR/value higher than those part time short stops getting 300 abs a year. He had an OPS that was 143rd out of 146 of everyday players.

His production has been a problem. If you believe otherwise, you are in denial.
Wait how is Salvy 3rd? The only person I could see potentially being above him is Posey. Who would be #2?
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Old 07-26-2017, 03:21 PM   #4683
penbrook penbrook is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BWillie View Post
I did bitch about Mondesi non-stop because he was playing in the majors too early. I've always loved the kid, I was just not happy the organization rushed him when he clearly wasn't ready. I've said he wouldn't be ready until most likely 2018 when we threw him in the mix in the World Series in 2015 for some unknown reason and you all called me an idiot. Turns out, yeah, he wasn't ready afterall. Clearly. He hadn't ever had a large sample size in the minors showing he can hit until this year. He might finally be actually ready this September.

Here is how we rank in terms of WAR (which you know, includes defense) by position
Perez, 3rd at Catcher
Hosmer, 9th at 1B. 2.4 WAR.
Whit, 2nd at 2B. 3.1 WAR.
Moose, 19th at 3B. 1.4 WAR.
Gordon, 27th at LF. 0.6 WAR.
Cain, 6th at CF. 2.7 WAR
Bonifacio, 27th at RF. 0.5 WAR
Escobar, 56th at SS. -0.6 WAR.

Notice anything?

Last year, he was the 35th best SS by WAR. It was probably even worse than that actually, since he has the luxury of getting sooo many at bats to have the potential to push his WAR/value higher than those part time short stops getting 300 abs a year. He had an OPS that was 143rd out of 146 of everyday players.

His production has been a problem. If you believe otherwise, you are in denial.
Also Cain is not #6. He's not even top 10. When you have the second least RBIs in your starting lineup and are batting #3 that's a problem. His average is reaching near .250. His defense is decreasing
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Old 07-26-2017, 03:34 PM   #4684
BWillie BWillie is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by penbrook View Post
Also Cain is not #6. He's not even top 10. When you have the second least RBIs in your starting lineup and are batting #3 that's a problem. His average is reaching near .250. His defense is decreasing
He's 6th because he's an elite defensive CF and steals bases. He is very effective at SBs as well, believe he is like 17/17 100% on attempts this year. Also, I think he has the highest BB rate on our team this year.
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Old 07-26-2017, 03:40 PM   #4685
tk13 tk13 is offline
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This franchise has always valued defense above and beyond what the fans do. Escobar and Gordon aren't going anywhere because they still provide elite defense at their positions. Maybe if they find a legit all around star player, but there's no way they'd have the pieces to make that trade anyway.

Not like most teams have superstar hitters at the 8 and 9 spots anyway. That's why you should've enjoyed that 2015 team, it's rare to have that kind of bullpen, and it's rare to have a lineup that can kill you 1-9 like that. Escobar and Gordon have at least been productive the last two months and the offense has been better.
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Old 07-26-2017, 03:51 PM   #4686
Molitoth Molitoth is offline
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Can't forget what Esky has brought in the Post season.
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Old 07-26-2017, 03:52 PM   #4687
C3HIEF3S C3HIEF3S is offline
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Nabbing Escobar would go over well with quite literally zero people in the clubhouse. The team isn't getting rid of Escobar this year. As he is playing right now, he is a serviceable player on this team.
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Old 07-26-2017, 04:10 PM   #4688
Sure-Oz Sure-Oz is offline
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@ChrisCotillo: Re: Royals/Liriano, I've also heard them linked to Jays starter Marco Estrada in recent days.
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Old 07-26-2017, 04:12 PM   #4689
penbrook penbrook is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sure-Oz View Post
@ChrisCotillo: Re: Royals/Liriano, I've also heard them linked to Jays starter Marco Estrada in recent days.
Estrada is a less shittoer version of Liriano but still sucks
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Old 07-26-2017, 04:35 PM   #4690
duncan_idaho duncan_idaho is offline
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Liriano is someone who has been fixed by a pitching coach in the past. If the Royals are interested, it's possible Eiland has seen an adjustment he thinks would fix Liriano's control issues this year.

I have a lot of trust in Eiland.

I wouldn't be as excited about Estrada because the underlying quality of "stuff" isn't as good as Liriano's.


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Old 07-26-2017, 04:56 PM   #4691
penbrook penbrook is offline
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Per Jeffrey Flanagan

AL scout told me regarding Royals trade: "Maurer was the key piece. Better as a setup guy. Better handing baton off than taking the baton."
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Old 07-26-2017, 04:57 PM   #4692
penbrook penbrook is offline
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Brian Flynn has been optioned to make room for Trevor Cahill.
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Old 07-26-2017, 04:58 PM   #4693
penbrook penbrook is offline
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Per Dave Holtzman

How about this: @WhitMerrifield is 1 of 7 players in MLB HISTORY with 175+ hits, 80+ runs, 40+ doubles & 20+ steals in 1st 162 career games.
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Old 07-26-2017, 06:19 PM   #4694
Simplicity Simplicity is offline
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Haven't been on this site it awhile, how is everyone? And how about these Royals? Seeing Moss continue to improve in the DH spot is fun but puts us in a weird spot if we were thinking about upgrading the DH before trade deadline. Whit is playing nice. And I am enjoying Moose and his newly found power.
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Old 07-26-2017, 06:23 PM   #4695
lewdog lewdog is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Simplicity View Post
Haven't been on this site it awhile, how is everyone? And how about these Royals? Seeing Moss continue to improve in the DH spot is fun but puts us in a weird spot if we were thinking about upgrading the DH before trade deadline. Whit is playing nice. And I am enjoying Moose and his newly found power.
Where have you been young lad?!

Please don't ****ing tell me you're too busy to be watching the Royals.

Stay a while.
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