*** 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.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by ReynardMuldrake

Well, that went as planned.

They should have started someone else, then figured out where to fit his 2 innings into the game later.

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by alnorth

Next season we will have one of the worst draft picks we've ever had. It'll move up due to QO Free Agents, but right now we'll pick #27.

Better than the alternative.

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by C3HIEF3S

While the A.L. Central champs are playing in Target Field, Trevor Vance & Co. are readying the field for Thursday. pic.twitter.com/Whj9NMq38G

— Mike Swanson (@Swanee54) October 3, 2015

Better than last year's "Postseason" before the WS. I assume the next one will be "ALCS".

[WilliamTheIrish]

Originally Posted by WilliamTheIrish

The Royals ran away with the division. It was over by mid June. The crying over a team that was 30 ^ 500 was ridiculous.

They hit a rough patch. I feel completely confident this team will win the AL. They've had some bad luck in the last few games, made a few boneheaded plays and have seen their (hopefully former) closer show the world his arm needs to be shut down.

We've seen two solid pitching performances from Cueto/Volquez. I think the hitting is going to return just in time. I'm seeing a lot of positive things, that aren't resulting in wins- yet. I just feel this team is on the brink of a real good streak to close the season.

Posted 09/20
I still believe.

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by thurman merman

Does anybody know when they will announce the game time for Thursday? I'm considering making the 3-hour drive for the game, but it depends on when it starts.

Here's the rumor:

@TheFakeNed: My guess is that it hinges on Wild Card game. If NY wins, we play at 7, if Hou wins, we play at 3. https://t.co/LcXYSl6WoY

[KChiefs1]

@BlairKerkhoff: Home field advantage important to the #Royals? They went 3-11 at Texas, Toronto, Houston and NYY

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by alnorth

They should have started someone else, then figured out where to fit his 2 innings into the game later.

Would that have made Buehrle more effective?

In even allowing him to pitch at all in that situation, they weren't bothering to win the game.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

Would that have made Buehrle more effective?

In even allowing him to pitch at all in that situation, they weren't bothering to win the game.

It would have increased the odds that they could have let him finish the 2 innings.

They had to pull him because even though they were down by a lot of runs, it was early enough that they could still try to win. But if they were down big in the 6th or if KC was well on their way to winning making the TOR-TB game irrelevant, then they could have just said "**** it" laid back, and waited for 6 outs.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by alnorth

It would have increased the odds that they could have let him finish the 2 innings.

They had to pull him because even though they were down by a lot of runs, it was early enough that they could still try to win. But if they were down big in the 6th or if KC was well on their way to winning making the TOR-TB game irrelevant, then they could have just said "**** it" laid back, and waited for 6 outs.

They didn't pull him because they were trying to win the game. It was 7-0 by that point. If they wanted to try to win, they could have pulled him much earlier.

In actuality, they pulled him out of mercy. It was embarrassing to watch him try to get outs with the stuff he had and fail. He had nothing left to give.

[KChiefs1]

This is scary.

@goldbergkc: Lorenzo Cain will deal with pain in knee all playoffs. Sitting today gives him 4 days to rest if before game 1 Thursday

[tk13]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

Here's the rumor:

@TheFakeNed: My guess is that it hinges on Wild Card game. If NY wins, we play at 7, if Hou wins, we play at 3. https://t.co/LcXYSl6WoY

I think it's way more likely to affect Friday than Thursday. There's only the two games on Thursday. I'm still not convinced they are going to give Toronto any primetime games because Toronto doesn't even get Fox Sports 1.

However on Friday there's going to be Mets/Dodgers and Cards/(another good team). I wouldn't be surprised if the Royals got stuck with an early turnaround, unless we're playing the Yankees.

[alnorth]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

This is scary.

@goldbergkc: Lorenzo Cain will deal with pain in knee all playoffs. Sitting today gives him 4 days to rest if before game 1 Thursday

well, if I had to pick a body part in pain, we could do worse than a knee. Elbows, or hamstrings, or ligaments would be a lot more troubling.

We know how cagey the Royals are with hiding catastrophic injuries so it could be really bad, but with a bum knee it very well could just be pain that he can play through.

[teedubya]

Cain had a bum leg last postseason... He said it doesn't impact his hitting. Only his running and centerfield. However, you know Lo... he will give it 100%

[Coach]

The Royals are the only last year's AL playoff team to make it in the playoffs this year.

"The Process".

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by tk13

I think it's way more likely to affect Friday than Thursday. There's only the two games on Thursday. I'm still not convinced they are going to give Toronto any primetime games because Toronto doesn't even get Fox Sports 1.

However on Friday there's going to be Mets/Dodgers and Cards/(another good team). I wouldn't be surprised if the Royals got stuck with an early turnaround, unless we're playing the Yankees.

Yeah, in Fox's eyes, Kansas City may be a small TV market, but Toronto is a nothing TV market. I expect both of the Jays games to be in the afternoon regardless of whether the NYY are in the ALDS and am planning both those days with that in mind.