*** Official 2017 Royals Repository ***

[Chiefspants]

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!

I want to kick off this thing by thanking everyone who nominated me to construct this thread. As someone who started lurking this board at 14, it is a legitimate honor for me to write the Royals' Repository for the entire 2017 season. For those of you not interested in reading the 2011 prelude I wrote leading up to this season, feel free to scroll down to the "2017" section of this thread. I likely will spoiler the 2011 section as the season gets going.

Without further ado (thanks, PB) let's do this thing.

2011



I remember this time in my life well. I just graduated high school, was working full time at Applebee’s, and had my first serious girlfriend. The time between the closure of my high school life and the onset of my time at KU seemed to last for years. It was the first time I experienced a summer that felt close to the one Bryan Adams described in the “Dad Rock” classic, “Summer of 69’.” In spite of how monumental that time in my life was personally, something that shines just as bright was that this was the first time in my life that a legitimate hope permeated through the Royals' fanbase.

For years I followed the team through Alnorth’s posts on Chiefsplanet, Rob and Rany’s conversations, and GeorgeBlowfish’s reflections on his website, and things felt generally grim. Any hope was restricted to those grainy, 120p videos of Hos, Moose and Myers taking AB’s in A-ball. The conversations in Al’s Gamethreads on the Royals (with updated box scores!) would often turn to how the young pups were doing in the minors once Kyle Davies, Sean O’ Sullivan, or Jeff Francis were blasted for 7 runs. Even then, hope felt often thin. Hosmer and Moose, deemed our future stars, struggled in A ball, culminating in Hosmer requiring Lasik surgery. The troubles were not limited to our hitters, out of our trio of “sure thing” left handed prospects (Mike Montgomery, Chris Dwyer and Danny Duffy), Monty and Dwyer flamed out, and Danny temporarily quit baseball altogether.

However, by the end of 2011, the doubt and cynicism that had gripped the Royals’ kingdom since the death of Ewing Kauffman was starting to be replaced by something else - promise. Salvy, Hosmer, Moose, Cain, Esky, Duffy, Holland and Herrera all made their major league debuts with the Royals, and that neglects the rebirth of Alex Gordon, who more than made due on his (derided) promise to dominate after being forced to give up his position for a younger and more exciting prospect (Moose).

The hype was real, even on a national level, leading SI writer Tim Koewn to make this prediction in 2011

“At various points, Moustakas, Hosmer, Montgomery, Lamb and Duffy [...] stirred long-dormant images of Brett, Frank White, Bret Saberhagen, Willie Wilson and Dan Quisenberry. "We'd sit around and project what might happen in a few years," Hosmer says. "Everything we talked about had to do with bringing a championship back to Kansas City. This group can't wait to get it going." [...] If they build a statue to symbolize the 2015 World Champion Royals, the model will be Hosmer, the third pick of the 2008 draft."

Another Royals' legend also made a major debut on the last day of 2011, as seen by a post here:

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Look forward to following the Royals on this board, and I agree with the sentiment in the 2011 thread that CP is the best board for Royals talk (though the Scout board is OK, too).

I started following the team during Tony Pena’s “Believe” run in 2003. I was born in 1992. By the time I was a fan, the figures of Brett, White and Sabes felt like romanticized gunslingers of the American West. I never followed the Royals with the hope they'd win it all, rather, the voices of Denny and Ryan were just consistent staples of my Summer, and occasionally they'd even win a game. October baseball may as well been a different sport entirely, because the thought of the Royals participating in the event was as ridiculous as imagining the Wranglers doing it. But in 2011, that possibility began to feel real, and the knowledge that we’d have this core for six years.. I mean, 2017 felt like forever away.

2017:

Somehow, forever is already here. I write this now from Colorado Springs. I graduated from KU, I moved out with a new (and who may be my forever) girlfriend, and moved on from Applebee’s to become a Teacher (I'm composing this from my presently empty classroom). This season the Royals kingdom on Chiefsplanet comes together to see our core make one last ride.

The 2017 season undoubtably begins in shadow of Yordano Ventura’s tragic death in the offseason. David Glass again bucked expectation and fan vitriol to go all in on his budget, and the core, despite the heartstring tugging trades of Davis and Dyson, remains primed for another push to the promised land. Will the Royals make another deep run into October? Or will they conduct the largest deadline sell off in Major League history?

Even with the expectations, predictions and hype spanning back from 2011 - the journey this team embarked on since 2013 was sweeter than anything any of us could have imagined. Even if this team goes on a 2004 styled losing binge this year, all is not lost. As this will push the Royals to conduct a sell off for minor league talent that will reignite the incredible optimism that permeated through this place in 2011. At the end of the day, this team actually did it, they somehow found a way to defy all of the odds that the MLB set against them to take the crown.

2017's Burning Questions

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

After this year, we stand to lose cornerstones of the Royals resurgence and other critical pieces to our success. Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, Alcides Escobar, and potentially reliable pieces such as Ian Kennedy and Jason Vargas stand to move to "greener" (I.E. BIG MONEY) pastures.

The question looming over the Royals and opposing front offices is where will the Royals be sitting this summer? I think the most important question is what is the threshold in GMDM’s mind is between being buyers or sellers at the deadline.

If we're 5 back at the deadline and the team is in a similar position to the 2016 team, I think this would be the worst possible directions for GMDM would be settle for our old friend "Jack Schitt". Yes, the Royals would be able to get sandwich 1st round draft picks for their departing players who received 50m dollar contracts in the offseason. However, we only have two players who are locks to do this.

1. Hos
2. Moose.

Sure, Lorenzo Cain and I suppose Ian Kennedy could too, but if Cain gets hurt again (at 32) and Ian reverts to a “decent” season, it’s a considerable stretch that either gets a 50m dollar deal.

I know, first round picks are great - and Moore could still rebuild from getting those picks alone, but I’ve lost faith in Moore’s ability to draft reliably. Let’s look at his first round picks since 2009.

2015 Ashe Russell
2015 Nolan Watson
2014 Brandon Finnegan
2013 Hunter Dozier
2013 Sean Manaea (Sandwich)
2012 Kyle Zimmer
2011 Derek (Bubba) Starling
2010 Christian Colon
2009 Aaron Crow

Ouch. I know Finnegan, Manaea and Odorizzi were pitchers that developed in the Royals system, however, if Finny and Odo “make it” as starters, much of that will come from pitches they learned in other organizations. Since 2006, Moore has arguably only developed two starters in the Royals system (Duffy and Ventura, yes, Ventura counts, any pitcher who dominates in the 2014 World Series and 2015 ALCS counts). But the fact is, Moore has relied on the currency of drafting pitchers to give him the pieces needed for a contending team. This strategy in no way will be able to rebuild a new team. Factor in the new restrictions to signing Latin American players that the Royals utilized to rise to prominence, and the odds are stacked against Moore conducting another successful rebuild.

I think the wisest strategy would be GMDM doing a mass sell off of his assets at the deadline. The Royals will need some luck in their favor, such as the 2011 core performing at their beast mode 2015 levels, the reliever fervor we saw at last year’s deadline for Herrera or a bidding war for Hos, Moose or Cain’s services. Esky and even a productive Vargas (at his rate), could net a marginal return or a couple lotto tickets as well. Getting a Greinke like return for trading our pieces could allow us to build around the pieces of Duffy, Karns, Herrera (if he stays) Soler, Cuthbert, Dozier, Boni and Mondesi to potentially make some noise in 2019-2020, I don’t know if that turnaround is possible if we rely on the draft.

If we are contenders, we don’t have the pieces to make a Cueto/Zobrist like haul this time around, and with Moore opening a new "window" to 2020 with the acquisitions of Soler and Karns, I doubt he would want to. If we are in contending or close to it (1-2 GB), look for us to add supplemental pieces ala Jason Fraser and Willingham. I would think these pieces would arrive in the rotation or the bullpen

In this scenario, I wouldn’t be surprised if we landed a starter in the vein of Alex Cobb, Junior Guerra, or Chris Tillman. I also wouldn’t be surprised if we pulled the trigger on a midsummer return of Luke Hochevar to give our bullpen a boost down the stretch.

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

Can Gordo at least set the table at a 265/325/425 clip and can Moose deliver damage around a 265/335/500 clip for an entire year? If they produce at the top of the lineup around this level, it would set the tone for our offense and would exponentially increase this team’s chances to contend.

If the 2017 team is going to compete, than it is critical that our offense is at least comparable to the beast mode 2015 team. It’s obviously not going to be the contact team we’re accustomed to with the acquisitions of Moss and Soler, but with only a decent starting rotation and the departure of our borgpen, this team has to produce runs.

Two big cogs in that equation are Moose and Gordo.

3. Can Ned Yost manage a bullpen?

Whether or not Ned can manage a merely solid bullpen is a big question looming over our contention if our offense comes around.
I do not believe the Royals pen is as much of a disaster as its seemed at the beginning of the 2017 season. In 2014, experts said the Royals one weakness was its “soft” bullpen that would give it trouble through the 2014 year - and the experts of CP agreed. We constantly bemoaned the “useless’ Davis and “gascan” Herrera. Funny that the main criticism of that team ended up being one of the most dominant bullpens in Major League history.

I don’t think this team will have one of the best bullpens ever. I think it will be “solid”. As hated as he is, the Royals need Soria to bounce back in a major way. So far, he's hitting a career high 95mph on the gun, whether he's Roidkeiming it or is risking for a third trip to Dr. Andrews to bounce back remains to be seen, but him returning to his 2015 production (like many other Royals) would be huge. Thanks to his history during the Royals dark times. I do hope that he does manage a winning season on this roster. While I expect the bullpen to be "good", it won't be Yost-proof. For this team to be successful, Yost is going to have to do things such as matching up lefties and righties, leaving pitchers in for multiple innings, and being more aggressive with his pitchers... Strategies he's been resistant to his whole career.

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

2014 X factors - Wade Davis, Kelvin Herrera, "Ace" Ventura and Brandon Finnegan.
2015 X factors - Chris Young, Ryan Madson, Kendrys "Silver Slugger" Morales

Even if this roster competes at a solid level, I don’t think our rotation and bullpen is dominant enough to compete in September. Since we lack the farm to net a Cueto and Zo for a championship that no one will remember, we likely will need a couple of unexpected pieces to emerge through the season.

This surprisingly isn’t too much to ask. The Royals fell backasswards into one of the greatest relievers of all time in 2014, and asked a Rookie to replace Ervin Santana’s 2014 production, and Ace Ventura did just that. He could have easily pulled a 2017 Strahm or understandably put up 2016 numbers, but the man championed that year. The 2017 Royals need similar good fortune to compete.

Can either Staumont or Strahm emerge as an underscouted, hard throwing starter in the vein of Steven Matz for the 2015 Mets?

Can either Staumont or Zimmer emerge as an underscouted, hard throwing and dominant piece to a September bullpen, ala Brandon Finnegan?

Can Karns have a 2014 Yordano-esque breakthrough in the rotation?

Is there any way Mondesi defy the odds and breakthrough for his sophomore campaign? A huge year from Mondesi would improve our outlook in a hurry.

Can Cuthbert's bat force his way into the lineup on a regular basis?

Can someone, anyone in our system emerge in a similar fashion?

If the Royals are going to turn it around and compete, they need some pieces to emerge to seriously make a run this October.
5. Can Jorge Soler and Brandon Moss be productive contributors in Kauffman’s dimensions?

We may still have our core pieces, but team contact is long gone. These two players were brought on for one thing, power. These uncharacteristic GMDM acquisitions give further credence to the juiced ball theory and were done with hope the Royals can compete the the power hitting seen around the league. In order for this offense to threaten opposing teams, it would be great if Moss can at least produce at his 2016 levels and our new acquisition from the Greinke Tree (shoutout to C3HIEF3S for the term) became the Wil Myers hyped prospect he was supposed to be.

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

This organization is desperate for Mondesi to became the generational player they’ve scouted him as since he was too young for a driver’s license. It’s easy to see what they see in him, his athleticism is like watching poetry in motion and if he puts it together on offense he's going to be a KC star in the vein of Gordo and Perez. His roasting of the ball in Spring Training and his home run this season have shown unexpected and surprising power. Though 2B for the Royals has been a perpetual black hole since the departure of Frank White (the 3 month affair with Zo notwithstanding), hitting at Tony Pena Jr. numbers is simply unacceptable, even at the bottom of the lineup. Is it too much to ask for Mondesi to at least produce 240/290/330 numbers to be a contributor to the offense?

[suzzer99]

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

I have no interaction with al other than in this thread, really.

I miss him in Royals threads.

What is this dislike of him based on?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It's DC forum slurping over to the Royals thread.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Chiefspants

The state of this discussion has been pretty sad at times.

We have a GM who has led a small market team to unparalleled success out of any small market team since the turn of the century.
...
I challenge anyone to name a GM who has taken a team with the Royals payroll to the heights that Moore has taken the Royals.

Protip: u can't.

Now to be fair, the Royals can't really play the 'little sisters of the poor' card over the last 3-4 years or so.

Starting in about 2014 - when the Royals actually got good - Glass made a serious commitment to the squad and the Royals payroll has been roughly lead-average. Hell, this year their payroll is higher than STLs, IIRC.

So your 'challenge' here is a little on the vauge side. I mean ultimately Andrew Friedman didn't win a title, but his payroll constraints were far more onerous than the Royals were. And there have been teams that have one championships because they had cost-controlled players in the early parts of their career. Luhnow and the Astros are in that kind of window.

Which is why the Royals won. Moore has had to make one truly 'payroll oriented' move in the last several years and that's trading Zack Greinke. And even that wasn't truly payroll oriented as much as it was wanting to move an asset before he lost him (nobody expected Greinke to stay in KC as a California kid anyway, money be damned).

NOW he's going to feel a payroll pinch, for sure. And NOW is when you'll see just how good he is. But hell, the Royals were sporting higher payrolls than 'big market' teams like the Orioles, and White Sox at points over the last few years. Payroll hasn't been a problem for them during this window of 'unparalleled success'. When they've needed a piece, they've gotten it.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

It's DC forum slurping over to the Royals thread.

And it's another reason why Prison Bitch is at times an intolerable pest to this forum.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

The Chiefs operate from a level playing field and equal revenue sharing. There is no farm system. Talent acquisition is all through the draft or trade or free agency, which operates with a hard cap.

So no, they don't get the same leash. Because they don't face any of the same challenges the Royals do. The deck is stacked against the Royals by the financial inequality in baseball.

Thank you for the explanation.

That said, I'd think that if the Chiefs had missed on as many top 10 picks as the Chiefs, the GM would have been fired long ago.

Especially considering Clark's itchy trigger finger.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Anyway, since I'm talking about Jay Bruce and Lance Lynn, figured I'd try to shape it.

Martinez commanded the no 4, 15 prospects from a similar system, plus a popup guy in the Dominican Summer League (lowest MiLb level). For the Royals, an exact copy of that return would be something like Scott Brewer (preseason #4), Miguel Almonte (#15) and Ricky Aracena.

I think KC can get Bruce for less - let's say Scott Blewett and C Meibrys Viloria, who is probably extraneous at this point.

Now, on to Lance Lynn and Jaime Garcia. This is harder, because we haven't had any pitching rentals moved at this point. For Lynn, I'd think it would have a bigger price tag than Bruce.

That talk probably starts with someone like Chase Vallot or Nicky Lopez. And not sure if it's enough, unless the Cardinals scouts see Lopez as a regular. Vallot is more intriguing, as a potential C with plus power and OBP skills (but big swing and moss, and questions about his D).

The Royals do have some young, controllable guys with elite back-end reliever stuff in Lovelady, Almonte, and possibly Staumont.

It's easier to see a fit for Garcia, who would command less. I think that's still a deal worth making, especially if you can pair it with a deal for Pat Neshek. Guessing at a return, I would think each is worth a prospect that projects as a solid reserve at MLB level and a lotto ticket guy.

Garcia also has an injury history and some 'mentally fragile' rumblings in his background that will keep him below the $50 million threshold, IMO. So the Braves are less likely to start at a set 'need a top 75 prospect' in return for a rental with him than the Cardinals would be. My worry with him would be pairing him with Vargas gives you a couple of 'crafty lefty' types. Though Garcia, when he's on, is a throw-back worm-burner wheras Vargas is very much a fly-ball pitcher. So they may be different enough to work together in the rotation.

Vallot doesn't have a home in STL's system. There's obviously the Yadi problem but beyond that, the Cardinals have probably the best overall catching prospect in baseball right now in Carson Kelly. He's not amazing at anything, but he won the minor league gold glove at C in his first full season at the position and has only gotten better since. His hit tool has come far enough that you could probably play him part-time at 3b (his HS position) and not hate what you get for your trouble.

You're not kidding about the state of your farm, man. It's in tatters. It's hard to find many guys to really like down there. For just about every player there's a huge 'BUT' in the scouting report. You look at Khalil Lee and you see a nice power/speed combo then you realize his hit tool is shit (120 Ks in 305 ABs in A ball?!?!?) and he's been caught stealing 15 times to his 16 successful attempts. Josh Staumont still has electric velocity and no goddamn idea where the ball is going.

Nicky Lopez may be the best bet to make the majors in the system and as noted, I just see a utility player there.

I can kinda see the frustration with Moore when I look at that farm. It's really taken a beating in the last few years.

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Now to be fair, the Royals can't really play the 'little sisters of the poor' card over the last 3-4 years or so.

Starting in about 2014 - when the Royals actually got good - Glass made a serious commitment to the squad and the Royals payroll has been roughly lead-average. Hell, this year their payroll is higher than STLs, IIRC.

While it's true David Glass opened up his wallet to bring the Royals a title, the Royals overall payroll rank in the MLB was still the second lowest of any team to win a World Series since the strike, and the 2015 Royals are only one of two teams ever to win a World Series while being on the bottom half of MLB payrolls.

That success speaks to the prudent and efficient spending the Royals FO practiced to get the most out of their investments, and speaks to how rare the Royals accomplishment in 2015 truly was.

It is true that Moore hasn't been as efficient with his spending since 2015. The signings of Chris Young, Alex Gordon, and Brandon Moss have hurt, but Moore players like Mike Minor, Scott Alexander, Jorge Bonifacio, Matt Strahm, Whit Merrifield and Cheslor Cuthbert have kept the Royals competitive over the last two summers. Moore hasn't been perfect and has made errors in judgment, but his success should afford him patience over the "FIRE GMDM" I've been starting to see on Facebook.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Thank you for the explanation.



That said, I'd think that if the Chiefs had missed on as many top 10 picks as the Chiefs, the GM would have been fired long ago.



Especially considering Clark's itchy trigger finger.

You just can't compare the NFL draft and how it works to the MLB draft and how it works.

With the NFL draft, your difficulty in identifying talent is so much lower. It is much more based on physical ability and ability to stay healthy. You also have the built in, free college farm system, and ALL the premium talent is moving in through that avenue. And players you're getting in that process are basically finished products who just need a little nudging.

With MLB, you've got the split between high school and college picks to make. The premium talent is usually high school level talent. You've got to project how those Hs guys will mature, while also dealing with the transition from metal bats to wood bats, the mental grind, and, when evaluating pitchers, trying to put a finger on how their body will react to doing the most unnatural thing in sports 10,000+ times or more a year. Oh, and they have to develop their overall skills to the pro game, too.

I'd say drafting MLB talent would compare to the NFL IF every NFL pick was a QB, and you were drafting 1/2 to 2/3 of them out of HS, and the football was different in the pros in size and weight.

And even with all that, Dayton Moore's track record with first round picks isn't THAT bad compared to his peers. It's above average.

2017 - Pratto (too early to tell anything)
2016 - None (forfeited to sign Kennedy)
2015 - Trezelle Jenkins-level disaster
2014 - Finnegan (huge success), Griffin (looks like something between a mid- and back-rotation starter, which is solid for a sandwich pick), Chase Vallot (long way to go, but potential)
2013 - Dozier (lost year to injury but looks like at least an MLB regular), Manaea (cashed in for a WS title)
2012 - Zimmer (disappointment, might still be an elite reliever, but it's all injury related. Similar to a prize WR or RB blowing out a knee and never coming back right)
2011 - Starling (trending to bust status, might still be an acceptable regular if hitting gains of 2017 hold up)
2010 - Colon is a bust
2009 - Aaron Crow (not what they hoped to get, but got a few good relief years and cashed him in for another solid reliever. Not a bust pick, actually)
2008 - Hosmer (huge hit), Mike Montgomery (huge hit, key trade piece)
2007 - Moustakas (huge hit)

Of those picks, six were top 10 picks.

Two were huge successes (and were also the highest two picks, inside the top 3). One was a huge bust. One is a disappointment due to injury. Two are still TBD, with a good chance of getting at least quality MLB regular out of one of them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Garcia also has an injury history and some 'mentally fragile' rumblings in his background that will keep him below the $50 million threshold, IMO. So the Braves are less likely to start at a set 'need a top 75 prospect' in return for a rental with him than the Cardinals would be. My worry with him would be pairing him with Vargas gives you a couple of 'crafty lefty' types. Though Garcia, when he's on, is a throw-back worm-burner wheras Vargas is very much a fly-ball pitcher. So they may be different enough to work together in the rotation.



Vallot doesn't have a home in STL's system. There's obviously the Yadi problem but beyond that, the Cardinals have probably the best overall catching prospect in baseball right now in Carson Kelly. He's not amazing at anything, but he won the minor league gold glove at C in his first full season at the position and has only gotten better since. His hit tool has come far enough that you could probably play him part-time at 3b (his HS position) and not hate what you get for your trouble.



You're not kidding about the state of your farm, man. It's in tatters. It's hard to find many guys to really like down there. For just about every player there's a huge 'BUT' in the scouting report. You look at Khalil Lee and you see a nice power/speed combo then you realize his hit tool is shit (120 Ks in 305 ABs in A ball?!?!?) and he's been caught stealing 15 times to his 16 successful attempts. Josh Staumont still has electric velocity and no goddamn idea where the ball is going.



Nicky Lopez may be the best bet to make the majors in the system and as noted, I just see a utility player there.



I can kinda see the frustration with Moore when I look at that farm. It's really taken a beating in the last few years.

Big part of that beating has come through trades, though missing in the comp balanace lottery 3 years in a row, sacrificing a pick to sign Kennedy, and drafting lower all contribute as well.

I profiled around 40 prospects last week, believe CP linked it in the OP if you want to look at it. Lopez probably has the highest floor. Don't think he's an impact starter, but his D is good enough and his OBP and contact skills are good enough to carve out a MLB regular role.

There are some intriguing guys at the lower levels, and there are some post-hype guys here and there, and a few guys who look like excellent back-end relievers. But yeah, it's not what it was been.


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[Sure-Oz]

@jonmorosi: #Indians were only other team seriously involved in J.D. Martinez pursuit this week, source said. Certainly influenced #Tigers return. @MLB

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Chiefspants

While it's true David Glass opened up his wallet to bring the Royals a title, the Royals overall payroll rank in the MLB was still the second lowest of any team to win a World Series since the strike, and the 2015 Royals are only one of the two teams to win a World Series while being on the bottom half of MLB payrolls.

That success speaks to the prudent and efficient spending the Royals FO practiced to get the most out of their investments, and speaks to how rare the Royals accomplishment in 2015 truly was.

It is true that Moore hasn't been as efficient with his spending since 2015. The signings of Chris Young, Alex Gordon, and Brandon Moss have hurt, but Moore players like Mike Minor, Scott Alexander, Jorge Bonifacio, Matt Strahm, Whit Merrifield and Cheslor Cuthbert have kept the Royals competitive over the last two summers. Moore hasn't been perfect and has made errors in judgment, but his success should afford him patience over the "FIRE GMDM" I've been starting to see on Facebook.

And that's a feather in Moore's cap, to be sure. But it's also one that I think we'll see change in the coming years because Moore rode the 'tank wave' before it was cool.

The Cubs did it when Theo showed up. The Astros did it. The Chisox did it. Philly and Atlanta are trying it to varying degrees of success. They are all doing it on purpose to stock up draft picks and roll out a 'superfarm' that turns them from a 100 loss team to a 100 win team in the span of about 3 years. And in doing that, they're able to roll out a squad with 60-70% cost controlled players. They're trying to avoid the squishy middle - if you can't be good, just be really bad and accumulate bonus pool/prospects.

The Royals did the same thing, they just did it on accident. The sucked so hard for so long that they built 'The Greatest Farm System in History'...remember? And it was on those cost controlled players that they build a champion.

It's nitpicky, but there's truth there. Moore didn't have to sit through the 10 years of shit to build that farm. He came in on the back side of it with the farm already starting to recover. He made some nice picks as well but with draft position made possible by the steaming pile his predecessors gave him. That's not really THAT amazing, if you think about it. And I think we'll see more and more teams doing that going forward.

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

It's nitpicky, but there's truth there. Moore didn't have to sit through the 10 years of shit to build that farm. He came in on the back side of it with the farm already starting to recover. He made some nice picks as well but with draft position made possible by the steaming pile his predecessors gave him. That's not really THAT amazing, if you think about it. And I think we'll see more and more teams doing that going forward.

Solid analysis, while I agree with most of it, I would argue that the farm system was an abject mess when Moore came to KC. Our Latin American scouting was all but barren, the Royals had no overarching plan for their entire system, and the team was fresh off David Glass' infamous "$1,000 bonus" draft, where they Royals drafted solely "grit" and "hard working" players out of college and offered every single one the exact same contract.

Now, the Royals being terrible did give Moore high draft picks coming in (Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Zack Greinke and Hoch) and some to allow him to start carrying out his systemwide vision (Hos, Moose, Monty, etc). But the Royals system as a whole was among the worst in baseball, forcing Moore to essentially rebuild it from the ground up.

[Halfcan]

2015 - Trezelle Jenkins-level disaster

What are the Odds that 2 different Franchises in the same City- choose a guy named Trezelle Jenkins with a high draft pick....and they both end up being a colossal bust?

A million to 1 maybe? That would be a great trivia question.

[WhawhaWhat]

Originally Posted by Halfcan

2015 - Trezelle Jenkins-level disaster

What are the Odds that 2 different Franchises in the same City- choose a guy named Trezelle Jenkins with a high draft pick....and they both end up being a colossal bust?

A million to 1 maybe? That would be a great trivia question.

[duncan_idaho]

It's also worth pointing out that Moore's "best farm system ever!" group wasn't built solely on the backs of Top 5 picks like Hosmer and Moustakas.

It featured guys drafted in later rounds who blossomed, or guys given big bonuses out of a later round pick to convince them to sign (Wil Myers, John Lamb, Dwyer) as well as pulling depth in from signings in Latin America (many of those lower dollar signs like Perez or Ventura).


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