*** Official Royals Repository, Part 4 ***

[duncan_idaho]

In this thread: All things related to the AL Champions.

Duncan's Official Team Record prediction: 90 wins
One month in: Looking strong
All Star Break: Looking strong, probably should adjust up to 93-94 wins.
Duncan's Official Team MVP prediction: Eric Hosmer
One month in: Upstaged by his best friend MIKE MOOTACOS, MAN. Tell us bout your hittin, bro!
All Star Break: Lorenzo Cain starting to run away with this one.

Division Preview
Clearly, overlooking the Twins was a mistake at this point. I still don't believe in that team long-term, but they're starting to get that Magic Season twinkle about them.

Detroit is toast. Garbage rotation beyond Price and Sanchez, Miggy out.

And Cleveland... Cleveland still is dangerous if it ever clicks offensively, because the starting pitching is good enough for them to real off a 15-5 stretch and get right back into the playoff picture.

The Royals will be a division winner IF ...
1) Ventura and Duffy combine for 375+ innings of high-quality work
2) Eric Hosmer delivers on his potential with a FULL season of success rather than bursts
3) The deeper bullpen lessens the critical load on Herrera, Davis and Holland
4) Lorenzo Cain stays healthy
5) Either Alex Rios or Kendrys Morales bounces back to 2013 form

The first of these is clearly not going to happen. The second looked good through the end of May but is now eating Cain's dust (Hosmer has still been improved this year, though, lessening his valley. If he has a really hot second half, he can get right back in it). Item three is definitely the case. Item four should probably be first at this point. And Morales has more than bounced back.

Duncan’s Top 20 for mid-season 2015:

Spoiler!

1. Raul Adalberto Mondesi, SS, BOTH: Tools, tools, tools. RA has tools galore. At his best, he’s an All-Star SS who plays elite D, hits 15-20 HR, swipes 40 bags, and is an ideal 1, 2 or 3 hitter. At his worst, I think he looks a lot like Alcides Escobar. Plate discipline is his biggest challenge at this point, but evaluators are confident that will come with time. Clear No. 1
2. Kyle Zimmer, RHP: He’s pitching again and staying healthy, which is nice. He’s pitcing out of the bullpen to build back his arm strength, which is less nice. But still has that high upside, just a lower floor now. Ideally, the team will use him as a bullpen weapon in September (because he has earned it) and then give him a chance to transition back to starting for 2016.
3. Miguel Almonte, RHP: Still love the body, FB/CH combo. Results aren’t eye popping, but he’s still low enough and early enough in the development to prize those things over performance. Still a solid No. 3 starter upside, and just a year and some change away from potentially being ready to contribute at the MLB level.
4. Jorge Bonifacio, RF, RH: Emilio’s little brother got off to a horrible start in 2015 but has heated up as the season went on. He also is translating BP power to game power for the first time, with 15 HR just past the mid-way point of his season. Despite his disappointing 2014, he has a chance to build his way back into legit prospect status – and still is only 22. Next challenge for him should be Omaha, but that may wait for the start of the 2014 season.
5. Scott Blewett, RHP: Blewett has a nice two –pitch mix already and is off to a strong start. With his size (6-6) and a good fastball/curveball combo, Blewett could eventually turn into a good No. 3 starter, with a MLB-average changeup.
6. Nolan Watson, RHP: The Royals’ 2015 sandwich pick is a polished prep arm who is adding velocity and explosiveness to a good, polished base. Likely to move quickly.
7. Ashe Russell, RHP: The 2015 top pick probably needs more work than Watson, but the upside is really nice. Again, advanced two-pitch mix that will depend on him adding a changeup. Could be a very good NO. 2 if it all adds up.

Spoiler!

8. Bubba Starling, CF, RH: Starling has been up and down this year but put himself back on the map by greatly improving his K rate while also improving across the slash line as a hitter. His defense and baserunning are MLB ready; if Starling can work himself into a league average hitter, he can be a solid MLB regular who plays great D in CF while hitting 15 HR and swiping 20 bags.
9. Balbino Fuenmayor, 1B/DH, RH: The Balbino came out of basically nowhere in 2015 to earn a Futures Game spot. Big power and an improved two-strike approach have turned the late bloomer into a legit prospect. He’s blocked at the MLB level currently by Eric Hosmer and Kendrys Morales, but Fuenmayor’s combination of power hitting and good average/strike zone control makes him intriguing.
10. Cheslor Cuthbert, 3B, RH: Cheslor probably is not going to be the star KC was hoping for when signing him out of Nicaragua, but he does look like he can be a solid reserve for an MLB club. Good defense at 3B paired with a solid plate approach and some gap power plays fine off the bench. He becomes a lot more interesting if they think he can stick as a 2B, which they have experimented with.
11. Chase Vallot, C/DH/1B: I really like Vallot’s power and plate discipline combo. His bat will probably force him from behind the plate, but he’s held his own despite being extremely young for every level he has faced.
12. Alfredo Escalera-Maldonado, OF, RH: Escalera-Maldonado earned a promotion to Wilmington at age 20, which is pretty advanced movement for that age. He’s an athletic outfielder who has shown some plate discipline at an early age, which is encouraging. Doesn’t sound like he can stick in CF long term for KC, but his bat has become one to watch.
13. Pedro Fernandez, RHP: I haven’t seen much of him, but like the reports I’ve heard on his fastball and general makeup. Could become the next Almonte/Mondesi, though he’s more likely to land in the pen than either of them.
14. Elier Hernandez, OF, RH: Elier Hernanez teamed with Escalera-Maldonado in breaking out at Low-A and earning a promotion to Wilmington. It’s still early for this guy – he is just 20 years old – but he doesn’t take walks and hasn’t developed the prodigious power many thought he had the potential for. Still worth watching.
15. Hunter Dozier, 3B, RH: Dozier is reworking his swing mid-season, which generally will cause production to do what his has done: Nose dive. The changes he made entering the season (seemingly geared towards increasing his power production) were a disaster, and now he’s trying to get back to what he used to be. Still looks great and checks most of the scouting boxes, but the performance hasn’t matched, and it almost knocked him out of the list.
16. Christian Binford, RHP: After a breakthrough 2014, Binford struggled mightily at AAA and suffered a demotion. His upside remains similar – a back-end starter who can eat innings – but Binford’s lack of velocity and reliance on command have caught up to him so far.
17. Marten Gasparini, OF, SH: Gasparini is intriguing because of his speed and athleticism. He’s a LOOOOONG ways from the majors and young for his level, but reports on his bat speed, swing, and speed remain positive enough to keep him on the bubble.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by BWillie

You guys still think Guthrie is better than Chris Young?

I'm not saying don't take him out of the rotation, we need cheap innings....

Not only are Guts' IP terrible, they're far from "cheap". We paid $9M for a replacement level starter and you guys are throwing celebration parties for him getting to pitch more than anybody else.


Truly bizarre.

[Dartgod]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Not only are Guts' IP terrible, they're far from "cheap". We paid $9M for a replacement level starter and you guys are throwing celebration parties for him getting to pitch more than anybody else.


Truly bizarre.

You are truly reeruned. First off, no one is "throwing celebration parties". Secondly, there has to be a reason why he's started more games than anyone except Volquez. Hmmm, wonder what reason that could be?

Most of us realize what Guthrie is and accept him in that role, because we have no one better to fill that role at this time. Guthrie has value to this team.

The rest of you would rather throw a hissy fit every time he pitches.

[alnorth]

ESPN has picked up our game August 16 at the Angels for Sunday Night Baseball. Game time has been moved to the evening.

edit: oh, thats in KC, not at LA

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Not only are Guts' IP terrible, they're far from "cheap". We paid $9M for a replacement level starter and you guys are throwing celebration parties for him getting to pitch more than anybody else.


Truly bizarre.

Pointing out the value a player who has flaws is able to provide despite those flaws is not throwing a celebration party. It's being subjective.

I would love for KC to have Corey Kluber take all of Guthrie's starts. Or David Price. But just because Jeremy Guthrie isn't those guys doesn't mean he has not provided value for the team over the life of his deal.

[Al Bundy]

Originally Posted by Dartgod

You are truly reeruned. First off, no one is "throwing celebration parties". Secondly, there has to be a reason why he's started more games than anyone except Volquez. Hmmm, wonder what reason that could be?

Most of us realize what Guthrie is and accept him in that role, because we have no one better to fill that role at this time. Guthrie has value to this team.

The rest of you would rather throw a hissy fit every time he pitches.

He is just going to have these kind of days where, really he should have given up 15 runs. When he falls off a shelf he goes all the way down.

[Dartgod]

Originally Posted by Al Bundy

He is just going to have these kind of days where, really he should have given up 15 runs. When he falls off a shelf he goes all the way down.

Now that I think about it, it may be time to give Medlen a shot in the rotation. Not sure how far he can be stretched out. Probably doesn't matter though. I assume Guthrie stays where he is at.

[DeepSouth]

I think it's time to give Medlen a start.

[siberian khatru]

Originally Posted by alnorth

ESPN has picked up our game August 16 at the Angels for Sunday Night Baseball. Game time has been moved to the evening.

edit: oh, thats in KC, not at LA

Is that a Cueto start?

[Great Expectations]

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

Is that a Cueto start?

We need to know if we are skipping a start on Monday or not before we can project who is starting when.

[Bufkin]

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

Is that a Cueto start?

It's kind of impossible to tell at this point. Me and my friends were trying to time out one of his August home starts, and it's such a crapshoot at this point.

Also, I'll always celebrate Jeremy Guthrie. He's easily one of my favorite Royals of all time. I mean how many starting pitchers tweet out to local residents if anybody is down for a game of catch? I've attended his local church ward multiple time in Platte City, and he's an awesome guy.

He was told by Steve Phillips after Stanford that if he went on his 2 year Church mission, he would never sniff the big leagues. A few million dollars later (and a game 7 World Series start), and he's still living the dream. Good for you JGuts. I'll always be a fan.

[Lex Luthor]

Originally Posted by BWillie

You guys still think Guthrie is better than Chris Young?

I'm not saying don't take him out of the rotation, we need cheap innings....but just keep him in mind come playoff time. Hopefully Duffy and Ventura progress and we don't even have to worry about it.

No.

I was one of the guys saying that Young's arm is dead and Guthrie needs to stay in the rotation. After watching today's debacle (and seeing how Young pitched last night), it's obvious who needs to go to the pen.

Hopefully Ned agrees.

[WhawhaWhat]

#Tigers called teams today & told them they're "rebooting." Will listen on David Price, Cespedes etc. More to come at http://t.co/gtnhE81RUu

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) July 29, 2015

[alnorth]

You can't even begin to guess more than 10 days out. Something as simple as a rain delay could screw up your plans. Even a minor injury that is not serious but they decide to skip a start could change the whole thing.

[Al Bundy]

Originally Posted by Dartgod

Now that I think about it, it may be time to give Medlen a shot in the rotation. Not sure how far he can be stretched out. Probably doesn't matter though. I assume Guthrie stays where he is at.

I would to, I would also like to see him stretched out a bit here in the next week or so.

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by Dartgod

Now that I think about it, it may be time to give Medlen a shot in the rotation. Not sure how far he can be stretched out. Probably doesn't matter though. I assume Guthrie stays where he is at.

How's that work??

1. Cueto
2. Volquez
3. Duffy
4. Ventura
5. Medlen