*** Official 2018 Royals Repository ***

[duncan_idaho]

The season is upon us, even if spring is not.

2018 MLB Draft Picks
#18
#33 - Compensation (Eric Hosmer)
#34 - Compensation (Lorenzo Cain)
#40 (Competitive Balance Round A)

018 Draft Names to Watch

RHP Kumar Rocker, N Oconnee HS, Georgia.

Spoiler!

Possibly goes top 10 but is a big, physical SP with ace potential. Moore and co. will be all over him if he slips a bit and could offer top 10 money at No. 16

OF Jarred Kelenic, Waukasha West HS, WI

Spoiler!

Kelenic is the top prep bat, toolsy OF. Royals would be ecstatic to have shot at him.

1B Triston Casas, American Heritage HS (FL).

Spoiler!

Tremendous raw power, best in HS bats. Royals typically like HS arms or HS bats with "special" tools. He qualifies.

RHP Carter Stewart, Eau de Gallie HS (Ga).

Spoiler!

Another big, physical specimen with huge upside. More likely to be available mid-first than Rocker.

ANY Any, Any (Any). Any current top projected pick who slides for injury concerns. Includes current top prospect prospect SP Brady Singer, U of Florida.

Current Prospects to Watch:

OF Seuly Matias - Huge tools. Hit 2 HR in Lexington (A) season opener.

1B Nick Pratto - Top pick in 17 has advanced approach and good glove; needs to start tapping into power in first full year in minors. Also at Lexington.

OF Michael Gigliotti - Good defender in CF, good OBP skills, plus baserunner. Next mainstay in CF for KC, IMO. Advanced college bat also starting at Lexington.

OF Khalil Lee - Probably has highest upside in Royals' system. Could hit 30 HR in majors, could steal 30 bases. Plus defensive ability in RF. Nice test at Wilmington this year.

3B Emmanuel Rivera - Really nice approach and good contact skills. Power is still developing. Also getting a good test at Wilmington.

SP Foster Griffin - Made nice strides in 2017. Needs to continue to progress in 2018. Could be a lefty version of Jakob Junis (good breaking ball that he can really manipulate, OK fastball, good command).

1B Samir Duenez - Duenez still is intriguing, hoping for a step forward in his power production this year at Northwest Arkansas, which would turn him into a legit prospect.

Others to keep an eye on:
SP Gerson Garabito (Wilmington), OF Marten Gasparini (Lexington), C MJ Melendez (Lexington), RP Tyler Zuber (lexington), RP Richard Lovelady (Omaha), SP Dan Tillo (Lexington), SS Nicky Lopez (NWA), SP Scott Blewett (NWA), OF Brewer Hicklen (Idaho Falls),

In general, Lexington and Wilmington are the most interesting spots to watch. Nice depth and a lot of interesting pieces at both.

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Um...we won with crazy athletes in 13-15

Yeah, sometimes crazy athletes turn into Lorenzo Cain.

And sometimes they turn into Bubba Starling.

[dlphg9]

Originally Posted by KChiefs1

Give me a baseball player over an athlete 100% of the time.

Lolwut?

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by Chiefspants

Yeah, sometimes crazy athletes turn into Lorenzo Cain.

And sometimes they turn into Bubba Starling.

That's certainly a risk. With our park it's mitigated a bit. moneyball says you can't win playing the Yankees or Red Sox rules. Plus DM has a hard on for athletes and tools

[tk13]

Not to mention Dyson and Gore. If Dyson doesn't steal 3B in the wild card game, who knows what happens with this team. They lose the wild card game, who knows if they have that same drive to get back to the World Series. We never see Moose break out either.

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by Great Expectations

Frank White say hello.

That’s s great argument but he is one of the few.

I see that some don’t understand my comment. Of course most ball players are athletes but if the choice is an athlete with little skill in baseball...I’ll pass.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

Um...we won with crazy athletes in 13-15

Es-co-bar hype video lulz

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Chiefspants

Yeah, sometimes crazy athletes turn into Lorenzo Cain.



And sometimes they turn into Bubba Starling.

You know what’s dumb?

At age 19, Starling had way more baseball skills than Cain. And he was a superior/is a superior athlete.

But along the way, Cain developed the ability to recognize pitches and developed a strong hit tool. Starling never has.

[Al Bundy]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

You know what’s dumb?

At age 19, Starling had way more baseball skills than Cain. And he was a superior/is a superior athlete.

But along the way, Cain developed the ability to recognize pitches and developed a strong hit tool. Starling never has.

Do you think this is the last year for Starling?

[Mecca]

Let's ask a question about that, have the Royals developed any guys that were drafted on being athletes into guys with good hit tools? Or are the guys they have that can actually hit guys that were drafted with that ability?

Cain was largely developed by another organization so this is just an honest question if the Royals have just honestly struggled to develop anyone into a better hitter than they were when they were drafted.

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by Mecca

Let's ask a question about that, have the Royals developed any guys that were drafted on being athletes into guys with good hit tools? Or are the guys they have that can actually hit guys that were drafted with that ability?

Cain was largely developed by another organization so this is just an honest question if the Royals have just honestly struggled to develop anyone into a better hitter than they were when they were drafted.

To KC’s credit, he did find his power while he was here. Whether that would have happened anyway is up for debate - but Brewers analysts were legitimately surprised when Cain started roasting the ball the moment he re-joined the Brewers organization. He was a slap/bloop hitter who largely relied on his speed to reach base when he joined KC.

Now, Cain could very well have the largest increase in walks ever from season to season this year - which could serve as an indictment of KC’s lack of respect for plate discipline (not exactly a secret, but still).

With that said, when Cain found his power from 2014-2015, he transformed from a defensive maestro who relied primarily on his speed at the plate to a legitimate MVP candidate. Credit to Hootie for saying he had that type of power potential all the way back in 2013.

[Infidel Goat]

Originally Posted by Mecca

Let's ask a question about that, have the Royals developed any guys that were drafted on being athletes into guys with good hit tools? Or are the guys they have that can actually hit guys that were drafted with that ability?

Cain was largely developed by another organization so this is just an honest question if the Royals have just honestly struggled to develop anyone into a better hitter than they were when they were drafted.

How about this guy?

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by Infidel Goat

How about this guy?

I meant under Moore.
Posted via Mobile Device

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Mecca

Let's ask a question about that, have the Royals developed any guys that were drafted on being athletes into guys with good hit tools? Or are the guys they have that can actually hit guys that were drafted with that ability?

Cain was largely developed by another organization so this is just an honest question if the Royals have just honestly struggled to develop anyone into a better hitter than they were when they were drafted.

Any player who progresses through the minors to the majors and can hit enough to stay at the big league level is having his hit tool developed. Moustakas and Hosmer both had struggles in the minors and had to work through some issues with approach. Moustakas obviously carried some of those problems to the majors.

Merrifield and Bonifacio stand out as major development successes, as does Jarrod Dyson, Alex Gordon’s reworking of his hitting approach pre-2011. Cain also was someone who improved as a hitter with time in KC’s system.

I’m of the opinion that the hit tool is the hardest thing to fix with a hitting prospect.

That’s why it is nice to see them shift some of the draft focus away from crazy toolsy HS player and into guys who have tools but also have shown hitting skills. Less busy risk (though less upside than Bubba Starling).

Had Bubba been able to figure the hit tool out, his D and Power would have made him a star.

[BeMyValentine]

What about Salvy?

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Who, at age 19 in the SAL and NY Penn Leagues, hit .258/.306/.532 with 22 HR.

Great comparison. He also struck out 35 percent of the time.

Matias needs to work on his K rates, but there’s plenty to be excited about, and the raw power is undeniably a weapon.

If Matias ever hits .312 in the majors, I'll jump off a cliff.