*** Official 2014 AL Champion Royals Off-season Repository ***

[Anyong Bluth]

So, I didn't see a thread started, and all the others are pretty maxed out to the point where a fresh thread would be needed soon either way.

Time to share the run up to ST & and another memorable year in the making!

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

I need to update my top 15. Might get that done/posted this weekend.

I think BA has some dubious choices in its list.

They like Mondesi as much as you do. I'm going down to NWA this summer with a few buddies, hope to see him play. (Actually I hope he's already in Omaha by that point).

I still believe Zimmer is our top prospect whenever he gets healthy. He was just cruising in Arizona and throwing 96mph. Dayton said on a recent interview the plan was to break camp with him competing for the 5th rotation spot, so the brass had no doubts about him either. His shoulder is really hurting our flexibility this winter. Now we HAVE to get a starting pitcher.

[KChiefs1]

AFL Championship is today:

PHOENIX -- You'll always remember where you first saw them. The Arizona Fall League has served as an incubation field for some of the best young players in the Major Leagues, and the next generation of prospects will have a chance to introduce themselves to a national audience in today's title game.

The Peoria Javelinas face the Salt River Rafters at Scottsdale Stadium live on MLB Network and MLB.com at 2 p.m. CT.

Peoria shortstop Raul Adalberto Mondesi, son and namesake of former big league All-Star Raul Mondesi, will headline the players on the field today. Mondesi is ranked as the Royals' top prospect and as the No. 38 prospect in baseball according to MLBPipeline.com. And he'll hardly be alone. Mondesi is one of five Top 100 Prospects on the two teams and one of 25 players who are ranked among their teams' Top 20 prospects.

The pitching matchup is an interesting one, as the Royals' No. 5 prospect Miguel Almonte is slated to start for Peoria, while New Jersey native Anthony DeSclafani, the Marlins' No. 3 prospect, gets the ball for Salt River.


Almonte is ranked No. 87 on MLBPipeline.com's Top 100 Prospects list.

Both pitchers have staked their claim as ones to watch in the next few years. Almonte, 21, was nearly two years younger than the average arm in the Class A Carolina League this season, where he pitched to a 6-8 record and a 4.49 ERA. DeSclafani, meanwhile, was acquired by the Marlins prior to the 2013 campaign in the monster trade that sent Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and company to Toronto.

The right-hander made it to the Majors this season, and he went 2-2 with a 6.27 ERA for Miami. DeSclafani, 24 years old, also pitched in Double-A and in Triple-A this season.

Playing behind Almonte for Peoria today will be Mondesi and two other well-regarded Royals prospects -- center fielder Bubba Starling and third baseman Hunter Dozier, the club's first-round picks in 2011 and 2013, respectively. Dozier is the Royals' No. 4 prospect and No. 86 overall, while Starling is ranked No. 13 for K.C.

Catcher Peter O'Brien, the D-backs' No. 7 prospect, will catch DeSclafani in the championship game. O'Brien was drafted by the Yankees and reached Double-A before being traded to Arizona for utilityman Martin Prado. He finished third in the Fall League in homers (five) and fourth in OPS (.904).

Salt River also boasts the runner-up for the league's batting title. Outfielder Eddie Rosario, the Twins' No. 10 prospect and former fourth-round draftee, finished the AFL season hitting .330/.345/.410 in 24 games. He trailed only Jesse Winker, the Reds' top hitting prospect, who won the title with a .338 average.

Salt River and Peoria both have star-studded rosters and finished first and second in the Fall League in both ERA and WHIP, neutralizing a hitter-friendly league that averaged 9.65 runs per game.

Two of baseball's top-ranked pitching prospects will watch from the Salt River dugout today.

Arizona's Archie Bradley (No. 9 on MLBPipeline.com's Top 100 list) and Houston's Mark Appel (No. 41) pitched for the Rafters on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

The Javelinas have prospects from the Braves, Indians, Royals, Cardinals and Rays this year, and they've won the Arizona Fall League championship on five previous occasions.

Salt River, meanwhile, has only won once and lost to Peoria in the 2012 title game. This year, the Rafters consist of prospects from the D-backs, Rockies, Astros, Marlins and Twins.

The two highest-ranked prospects in the Fall League this year -- Minnesota's Byron Buxton and Cleveland's Francisco Lindor -- would also be facing off in the title game, but Buxton was sidelined by a finger injury, and Lindor recently left to play for Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Games.

And that's only the tip of the Arizona Fall League's depth of talent. The league's midseason Fall Stars Game contained an impressive 14 members of the MLBPipeline.com's Top 100 prospects.

Several of these players have already earned headlines as top draftees and as potential standouts for their respective organizations, and today's game gives them a stage to state their cases.

Peoria's top prospects
Right-hander Miguel Almonte (Royals' No. 5)
Right-hander Dylan Baker (Indians' No. 15)
Third baseman Hunter Dozier (Royals' No. 4)
Right-hander Tyrell Jenkins (Cardinals' No. 14)
Shortstop Raul Mondesi (Royals' No. 1)
Right-hander Aaron Northcraft (Braves' No. 14)
Catcher Justin O'Conner (Rays' No. 14)
Left-hander Sam Selman (Royals' No. 14)
Outfielder Bubba Starling (Royals' No. 13)
Right-hander Sam Tuivailala (Cardinals' No. 13)
Second baseman Breyvic Valera (Cardinals' No. 20)
First baseman Jacob Wilson (Cardinals' No. 19)
Catcher Tony Wolters (Indians' No. 18)
Outfielder Kyle Wren (Brewers' No. 12)

Salt River's top prospects
Right-hander Mark Appel (Astros' No. 2)
Right-hander Archie Bradley (D-backs' No. 1)
Right-hander Anthony DeSclafani (Marlins' No. 3)
Third baseman Brandon Drury (D-backs' No. 6)
Outfielder Max Kepler (Twins' No. 19)
Catcher Peter O'Brien (D-backs' No. 7)
Outfielder Eddie Rosario (Twins' No. 10)
Third baseman Rio Ruiz (Astros' No. 9)
Right-hander Jimmie Sherfy (D-backs' No. 17)
Shortstop Trevor Story (Rockies' No. 11)
Right-hander Vincent Velasquez (Astros' No. 8)
Teddy Cahill and Spencer Fordin are reporters for MLB.com. Follow Teddy on Twitter at @tedcahill. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

[Kidd Lex]

Maybe edit that to a spoiler tag?

[Prison Bitch]

Playing behind Almonte for Peoria today will be Mondesi and two other well-regarded Royals prospects -- center fielder Bubba Starling


"Well regarded" is a bit funny given Bubba is 8-57 (.140) in Arizona with 24k and 1bb.

[ChiTown]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Playing behind Almonte for Peoria today will be Mondesi and two other well-regarded Royals prospects -- center fielder Bubba Starling


"Well regarded" is a bit funny given Bubba is 8-57 (.140) in Arizona with 24k and 1bb.

22 and struggling in A Ball. If he doesn't take a leap this year, he's done

[CaliforniaChief]

I'm pulling for Bubba, obviously...but it doesn't look good.

[Lex Luthor]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaChief

I'm pulling for Bubba, obviously...but it doesn't look good.

I think there's a better chance Bubba Starling will play for the Chiefs than for the Royals.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by tk13

Jon Heyman is talking on MLB Network like Stanton and the Marlins have pretty much agreed on a contract around 13 years, $325 million... just working on the details, like an opt out clause, before it's finalized. Wow.

When the Giancarlo Stanton contract runs out (assuming it's 10 years) the Mets will still have to pay Bobby Bonilla for 9 more years.

[alnorth]

The rumor is that the opt-out clause might be after the 2019 season, which will be weird. Usually opt-outs are near the end of the contract but in this case we'd essentially have a 5-year contract followed by an 8-year player option.

[lewdog]

I've seen so busy through October and November that I didn't get to one single Fall League game this year. It's a shame because it's great watching young guys like that.

[penbrook]

Originally Posted by alnorth

The rumor is that the opt-out clause might be after the 2019 season, which will be weird. Usually opt-outs are near the end of the contract but in this case we'd essentially have a 5-year contract followed by an 8-year player option.

Yea Heyman said Stanton wanted to see improvements on the team and if that doesn't happen within 5 years he can opt out and go wherever he wants.

[Chiefspants]

Apparently Aaron Crow ruffled some feathers (mostly 610) with these comments today.

"From my standpoint, hearing Kelvin [Herrera], Wade [Davis] and Greg [Holland] get all the attention they got, if you're competitive at all, you're going to get a little jealous of that.

I was a big part of the bullpen for most of the year. During the playoffs, you get days off so those guys could pitch every day. But during the regular season, those guys need days off and you need other guys to come in and get the job done. And I was the guy that was called on more often than not. And some of the guys that made the postseason roster weren't in the big leagues hardly at all this season, they really didn't help us get to the point where we were, so it kind of bothered me a little bit.

But I pitched poorly at the end of the year, so there's nobody to blame but myself. Going into next year, I definitely want to get better and be a part of that roster next year."

[Silock]

Don't see what the problem is. He acknowledged he sucked and wants to get better.

[Prison Bitch]

Not really Shilock. He said he was "bothered" that he didn't get any time in October. He's a whiny little bitch who has been atrocious for 2 full years now and if he wasn't DM's first rounder, he'd be long gone already.

[Three7s]

Hey Crow, if you're so "bothered" by it, learn how to throw a fastball in the upper 90s. If you don't, you're done.