*** Official 2017 Royals Offseason Repository

[duncan_idaho]

The reign is over. Time to begin the quest for the next one.

Interesting offseason opens for the Royals. Will they go all in for one last shot with this crew? Will they re-tool for 2018 and beyond? Will Dayton Moore actually decrease payroll this time?

Trades, free agent signings, rumors, plans, proposals... dump 'em all here, for this is... the offseason repository!

Royals Top Prospects, 2017

This is a list that’s going to seem a little bleak initially, as Raul Mondesi got enough ABs to age out of the prospect rankings (just barely – at 135 ABs, he is not rookie eligible). But that said, I like the talent and feel like this is a system that will actually be underrated by the prospect services.

Spoiler!

Format: POS/Name/2017 Projected Final Level

1) 3B/OF Hunter Dozier, MLB. Dozier bounced back from a disastrous 2015 campaign that had many wondering, myself included, if he was wrecked. His strong offensive performance in 2016 saw Dozier recapture the mature approach that many liked coming up, while also starting to tap into his above-average raw power for the first time.

In addition to his success at the plate, Dozier also proved he could at least HANDLE an OF spot, which could put him in the conversation for 2017 playing time at the major leagues. If the Royals DO end up trading Cheslor Cuthbert, Dozier could find a decent amount of MLB playing time sliding between RF and 3B. With Moustakas recovering from knee surgery, he likely will need more regular breaks from the field. And the streaky Paulo Orlando is just not an intriguing short-side platoon partner for Jarrod Dyson.

2) LHP Matt Strahm, MLB. Strahm just barely skates under the rookie eligibility rules for a pitcher, so he can be included here. Royals fans already got a taste of the lefty’s abilities, as he used his above-average fastball and slurve to dominate out of the pen in 2016. For him to translate that dominance to the rotation, Strahm will need to maintain his velocity (92-94) and continue to improve a changeup that flashed average at times.

If the changeup becomes a weapon he can lean on against righties, Strahm could be a very solid mid-rotation starter and fringe ToR/No. 2 type (think Danny Duffy-lite).

3) RHP Josh Staumont, AAA. This one could blow up on me and look really silly by this time next year, but I’m encouraged by what we saw from Staumont late last year. He showed significantly improved control down the stretch for Northwest Arkansas, including some impressive playoff starts, while maintaining the big-time K ability. That trend continued in the Arizona Fall League.

If Staumont’s control holds, the Royals have a guy with a plus fastball, plus-plus curve, and average change (with a slider that could develop into a real weapon as he matures). He’ll start next season at AAA and could be an addition to the MLB bullpen or even the rotation before the season ends.

4) RF Jorge Bonifacio, AAA. Boni, like Dozier, had a bounceback season in 2016 with the bat, and also played 15-20 pounds lighter than the year before, which added some nice defensive utility according to reports I’ve gotten. He now looks like a guy could provide solid/average RF production in the major leagues… Average defense paired with potential to put up a .275/.335/.450 line. While that’s not all-star level, it IS playable. Especially at pre-arbitration dollars. He’ll get another year in Omaha to refine his approach, and likely be in the mix of a 2018 mini-youth movement… unless moved for MLB reinforcements.

5) C Meibrys Viloria, Low-A (Lexington). I haven’t seen him in person, but I like the pedigree. You’ve got a lefthanded hitting catcher with the defensive ability to stick behind the plate. He was a big-bonus guy out of Colombia (nearly $500k). And his offensive performance has been highly impressive early, with a good combination of power, plate discipline, and contact skills.

He’s forever away from the majors, just now clearing rookie ball, but Viloria is the most exciting prospect KC has had at Idaho Falls since someone on this board was gushing about a 16-year-old SS tearing it up.

6) 1B Ryan O’Hearn, AAA. O’Hearn is a guy who has never gotten a lot of hype from scouts, but he continues to be a strong producer. He’s someone who likely will strikeout about 25 percent of the time at the big-league level, but has the ability to be a .500+ SLG guy. That plays. He also has shown good patience at the plate, posting above-average OBPs at every level.

Bold prediction: I won’t be shocked if O’Hearn takes over at 1B for KC in 2018/2019 and provides similar offensive production to Hosmer out of the gate. He’s probably never going to be a consistent plus average (.290+) hitter, but .270 with 25 HR is something within reach for him. He’ll get his first shot at AAA in 2017.

7) RHP AJ Puckett, A+. Puckett is a high floor, low-ceiling guy who performed about as you’d expect in 2016 after being the Royals’ first pick in the 2016 Rule IV Draft. He’s not flashy, but Puckett does profile as a solid potential back-end starter. Good fastball command and an above-average changeup are his calling cards. If Puckett finds a reliable breaking ball to put batters away, this could tick up. Great athlete, very similar to Jake Odorizzi in that regard.

8) RF Khalil Lee, Low-A (Lexington). Lee was a two-way player in HS and many viewed him as a pitcher first as a pro, but the Royals drafted him as an OF and were reward with a strong debut campaign. Lee is not a big guy, but he produced solid power numbers despite that. He’s a dynamic athlete who could contribute with power and speed.

9) C Chase Vallot, High-A (Wilmington). Vallot has an intriguing bat, with plus raw power. Got off to a great start in 16 before being sidelined and then sidetracked by injury. RH bat may be good enough to push him out from behind the plate, where he has good tools but a long way to go.

10) RHP Jake Junis and RHP Alec Mills (AAA). I'm copping out here and including both at No. 10 because they're so similar. Like Puckett, they each project as a serviceable back of rotation starter. Similar stuff and profiles, though Junis has shown a little better strikeout ability and may have a smidge more upside as a result.

Others of note:

SS/CF Marten Gasparini. Production has been bad for this toolsy player, but Gasparini has speed and pop that jump out at you. At only 19, need to be patient with him... this European signee was even less polished when signing at 16 than the typical Latin America prospect.

OF Seuly Matias. Loud, loud tools. Matias profiles as a classic RF... big-time power potential. He's a long ways from the majors but is one of the Royals' biggest bonus babies from LA.

RHP Ashe Russell. 2014 1st rounder saw his velocity disappear last year and was quickly shut down. He's intriguing one way or the other, even if he ends up as another notch in the belt of the TINSTAAPP saying.

2B Corey Toups. O'Hearn's HS teammate has been an above-average producer for an up-the-middle player. His small stature hides a surprising amount of pop. Could turn into a Mark Grudzielanek type of offensive second baseman at his peak - solid average, lots of 2Bs.

RHP Scott Blewett, LHP Foster Griffin, RHP Nolan Watson - all three have underwhelmed as pros but were drafted in the supplemental round. Stuff and projectability for each is a positive. Wouldn't be surprised to see one of them take a Cody Reed-like step forward this season and crack the 50-75 range on prospect lists. They all have the natural ability.

SS/2B Ricky Aracena - Jose Altuve-sized Aracena is a switch hitting middle infielder who can flat out run. Switch hitter with a good approach.

RHP Pedro Fernandez - I'm still a believer in his stuff, even if he is destined for the pen. Was having a nice 2016 start until injuries derailed him right after his promotion to AA.

Sirs not Appearing in this Prospect List:

RHP Kyle Zimmer. Same story, different year. The Royals are hopeful they FINALLY found the cause of Zimmer's achy shoulder. If they really did, and he can stay healthy, the talent/potential is exciting.

OF Bubba Starling. Never trust a guy named Derek.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by Bowser

Luke Hochevar?

Ok. Hoch 1, Gordon and Moose 2, Hoz 3, and they all got to hoist the trophy.


There have been three players we've drafted #4. Nobody will get them all. No chance. (All since 1995)

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Ok. Hoch 1, Gordon and Moose 2, Hoz 3, and they all got to hoist the trophy.


There have been three players we've drafted #4. Nobody will get them all. No chance. (All since 1995)

Jeff Austin
Christian Colon
Kyle Snider
Mike Stodolka




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[KChiefs1]

Maybe Lubanski?


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[KChiefs1]

http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/7417714/v1224775783


http://www.sportsonearth.com/article...b-preview-2017


AL CENTRAL: THE EASIEST LOCK OF 2017

We are 42 days away from the beginning of the 2016 MLB season, which means it's time to start getting serious. Every Wednesday until the beginning of the season, I'll be previewing a division and making predictions. We begin our series with the American League Central.

Last season, the AL Central felt so bunched together that I openly speculated that it was the most likely to reach Sports Illustrated writer Jay Jaffe's Utopian vision of #TeamEntropy, which would involve all five teams still in the hunt, maybe even tied, on the final days of the season. (This is an oversimplification of Jaffe's idea, but you get the drift.) You could've picked the fifth team first and the first team fifth, heading into the year, and had pretty much the same chance of getting it right. The whole division was jumbled up.

One year later, there isn't a division with a clearer delineation from "favorite" and "everyone else" than the AL Central. The Cleveland Indians came within one run -- one measly ninth-inning run, off an Aroldis Chapman who couldn't throw fastballs anymore -- from winning the freaking World Series, and they've upgraded in the offseason. Meanwhile, the rest of the division seems to have taken a step backward. The Indians are the biggest lock on the board for the 2017 postseason. Can anyone else in the division make any noise?

AL Central predicted order of finish

5. Chicago White Sox, 68-94

I've predicted the White Sox to win this division the past two seasons, so don't be the least bit surprised if this is the year they break through and have a crazy championship season.

OK, be very surprised, because the White Sox have now, at last, started to rebuild. Their trades of Chris Sale and Adam Eaton reconstructed the farm system essentially overnight. Chicago now has one of the top 10 farm systems in the game, not to mention the player many consider the top prospect in all of baseball, Yoan Moncada, whom we will see in a White Sox uniform very soon, maybe even the beginning of the year. They're not done dealing, either: Jose Quintana will likely be gone by the Trade Deadline, and Jose Abreu, Todd Frazier and David Robertson might not be far behind him. Everything must go.

This is the way baseball works now, and while White Sox fans will miss Sale and the gang, this was the only real option the White Sox had after years of falling short of their perhaps own misguided expectations. This year will be a slog, but it will be a productive slog. I look forward to mistakenly predicting Chicago to win the division in 2019 and for years afterward.

4. Kansas City Royals, 74-88

Royals fans are, once again, frustrated with all the projections systems picking them to finish far below where they believe the team's talent lies, but the thing about projections based on statistical trends is that while you can run from them for a year or two, you can't hide. Kansas City is in the uncomfortable spot of having much of the key parts of its roster becoming free agents after this year, but not having enough talent in total to maximize that into a One Last Rodeo season. (The Yordano Ventura tragedy broke the hearts of the Royals and left them without one of their few emerging talents left.) There's no team in baseball in more peril if they get off to a slow start: With Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, Mike Moustakas and Alcides Escobar all in their walk year, if Kansas City is five games under in May, the front office's phones will not stop ringing.

The Royals have a few things going for them outside those impending free agents, from the newly extended Danny Duffy to the potential of Jorge Soler to the underrated day-to-day brilliance of Salvador Perez. But the bearish record I have predicted here is because this team is probably going to be 10-plus games out of first by the Trade Deadline with too many teams between them and the AL Wild Card spots. Which will leave them no choice but to start the rebuild by shipping out all those veterans whom they won't be able to re-sign. Which means August and September could be awfully brutal in Kansas City this year. It might be a long, difficult climb back. This little boomlet era appears to be over.

But it was all still totally, totally worth it.

3. Detroit Tigers, 78-84

With the sadness of Tigers owner Mike Ilitch's passing last Friday, one wonders how much longer the Tigers can continue like this. Detroit has always been willing, out of desire to get Illitch that championship he so clearly lusted after, to spend whatever it took, to treat every year like the last year of history. With him gone, it might be time to face reality: The Tigers' apocalypse might be upon us.

To be fair, there have been nods to the idea that the Tigers are not a bottomless pit of money. The trade of Cameron Maybin seemed to hint in a change of direction from general manager Al Avila, but none of the other players rumored to be on the market -- Ian Kinsler! J.D. Martinez! Justin Verlander? Miguel Cabrera? -- ended up going anywhere, and you don't even hear the rumors much anymore. Will Detroit be able to hang around long enough to -- all together now -- give it One More Run? It's tough to see how this team would be any better than the one that missed the playoffs last year. The question is not whether the Tigers are finally gonna break this thing up. The question is whether it's already too late.

At least there is still the eternal incredibleness that is Cabrera. He will be 94 years old, with the rest of the planet in flames and only cockroaches still alive, and he will continue to do this.

2. Minnesota Twins, 81-81

Hey, why not, right? OK, so it's a little strange to predict a winning record for a team that lost 103 games last year: That's a 21-game improvement! Yikes!

But bear with me here. The Twins have some serious breakout potential. I think this is the year all the young players take the step forward we were waiting for them to take last year. Byron Buxton hasn't shown much consistency, but he also seems to do something on the field once every game that takes your breath away. There's all sorts of power here, from Miguel Sano to Max Kepler to Brian Dozier to even Byungho Park, who many projections systems are still high on. And don't sleep on that Jason Castro signing: He not only gives Minnesota some pop from the catching position, he also has elite framing skills, of utmost importance with a staff like the Twins have.

Sure, the Twins' rotation is not particularly scary, to say the least. Jose Berrios is the only pitcher with much upside, though PECOTA is high on Tyler Duffey, oddly. Minnesota has also upgraded its defense, which should help that contact-oriented rotation. Look, the Twins aren't going to blow anybody away this year: I still only have them as a .500 team. But there are some raw materials to work with here, and in a division in which three of the five teams might be dropping all the talent they can at the Trade Deadline, the Twins are one of the two on an upward trajectory.

The Twins might be fun this year. Really.

1. Cleveland Indians, 98-64

The scariest thing -- or the most discouraging thing, if you're a Cleveland fan still playing what-if -- about the Indians coming so close to winning the World Series last year is that they did it without so many of their key pieces. No Michael Brantley. No Carlos Carrasco. Barely any Danny Salazar. The Tribe's strength last year was its rotation, but by the time the playoffs came around, the team was starting Trevor Bauer even after he'd messed up his hand with a drone. It was a makeshift, skeleton crew in the playoffs last year. And the Indians nearly won the darned thing anyway.

So now, look out. Carrasco and Salazar are locked and loaded. The Indians have Andrew Miller for a whole season. Brantley still is having shoulder problems, but they're not as bad as they once were: Anything he can give them is gravy, because they are no longer counting on him. Francisco Lindor looks like he's ready for an AL MVP Award-winning season. And, oh yeah, Cleveland signed Edwin Encarnacion, one of the top power bats in the game.

The Indians have the best lineup in the AL Central, the best rotation in the division and (by far) the best bullpen. There are still defensive questions, but picking Cleveland to win this division is the easiest call on the board. But after last year, winning the division won't be enough. This is a team built to win a World Series. The Tribe looks like as good a bet as anybody.

Next week: The National League West.

***

Email me at leitch@sportsonearth.com; follow me @williamfleitch; or just shout out your window real loud, I'll hear you. Point is, let's talk.


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[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

Spring Training photos:

http://www.royalsreview.com/2017/2/2...ning-photo-day






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Video:

https://youtu.be/6sz1SG8AZHk








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[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Originally Posted by Great Expectations

Pants should sell that message to Boras.

Somehow Boras would find a way to charge Pants for the efforts.

[Dartgod]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

http://m.mlb.com/video/topic/7417714/v1224775783


http://www.sportsonearth.com/article...b-preview-2017


AL CENTRAL: THE EASIEST LOCK OF 2017

Blah, blah. blah, blah, blah...

I can't take this dip shit seriously when he's picking the Twins to finish second in the division.

What a moran...

[ChiTown]

Originally Posted by Dartgod

I can't take this dip shit seriously when he's picking the Twins to finish second in the division.

What a moran...

Cleveland is CLEARLY the class of the Division, but the Twinks finishing 2nd? LMFAO.

Clown

[siberian khatru]

There's a very good discussion at Royals Review of whether Cuthbert is playable at 2B. I remain a hard skeptic, but I admit the analysis in the comments section by Shaun Newkirk -- normally not one to adopt the rosiest scenario -- made me pause. He believes that Cuthbert would have to be a 100-105 wRC+ hitter to make up for his bad defense. Cheslor was 94 wRC+ last year. That's doable.

http://www.royalsreview.com/2017/2/2...-work#comments

[mikeyis4dcats.]

Why the intentional walk rule change sucks
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt...134167424.html

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Ok. Hoch 1, Gordon and Moose 2, Hoz 3, and they all got to hoist the trophy.


There have been three players we've drafted #4. Nobody will get them all. No chance. (All since 1995)

Huh.

Kyle Snyder, Aaron Crow, Colt Griffin, Christian Colon?

Total shot in the dark.

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Kyle Snyder wasn't that high, I don't think. I would say Lubanski, Colon, Austin and maybe Dan Reichert?

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Originally Posted by fahrenheit

Kyle Snyder wasn't that high, I don't think. I would say Lubanski, Colon, Austin and maybe Dan Reichert?

Looking it up... I can only find 3 that fit the profile of what you're saying, PB. I had 2 incorrect... Someone else got the one I didn't get... but I'm lost on the 4th.

[ChiefsCountry]

Hosmer is probably going to get paid monster bucks somewhere. But he has to also remember in Kansas City, it's his team. There is something to be said about being the main man in the clubhouse and the city. He essentially could have the George Brett lifestyle after his playing days here. Hosmer re ups, he is a Royal for life. Cush front office the rest of his life. Pretty much would be in the Brett and White of Royal lore.

[Why Not?]

Originally Posted by Dartgod

I can't take this dip shit seriously when he's picking the Twins to finish second in the division.

What a moran...

Will Leitch is actually a really good sports writer and he has given a lot of love to the Royals the past few years(especially since he's an unabashed Cardinals fan), but picking the Twins to finish 2nd is a total "let me throw some crazy shit at the wall, and if it miraculously hits, I'm a genius" move. I expect better from him