*** 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.

[Valiant]

Originally Posted by KC Tattoo

So I just got this as a late Christmas perezent


This is freaking awesome. Salvador Perez the greatest catcher in the history of history

Is that. McFarland or buck?

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

My fellow Cardinal fans evidently don't believe in Cuthbert's ceiling. They see a guy that's likely in the mold of a utility player long-term (and oddly, seem to prefer Dozier. I do not).

In Cuthbert I see someone who's ceiling is Anthony Rendon and who's floor is....I dunno....does a poor man's Juan Uribe seem fair? He has the bat control to make him a viable player even if his power doesn't take a step forward. He'll be BABIP reliant at that point but with his GB rates, his BABIP should stay pretty high. And if his GB rates drop, it will probably mean more fly balls which will be a good thing for him as his frame can support more power if he puts the ball in the air more.

I like him but my Cards friends think that someone like Jose Ramirez or Jonathan Villar is a more equitable return or they prefer more risk/reward prospects like Matt Chapman. If I went that route, I'm a fan of Ryan McMahon (gonna watch him this year as I think he takes a big step forward).

That's interesting, because his path is very similar to that of some typical Cards guys who come up and exceed expectations - Matt Carpenter and Allen Craig come to mind.

Cuthbert was a big bonus guy out of Latin America and made some top 100 lists before stalling a little at AA and falling off the prospect map.

I agree that his ability to control the strike zone is a real positive for Cheslor. He does take good ABs, even if his initial walk rate doesn't show it. Pitchers challenged him fairly often, so he put a lot balls in play. If he proves he can do more damage on balls in the zone, that walk rate is going to tick up as pitchers become more careful working to him.

He also hit a little bit of a wall in September which hurt his overall numbers... was a .289/.325/.435 player through the end of August.

I'm optimistic he can be a .280/.320 guy. Question just becomes if he can make the SLG a .450 if he can tick up to a 20-HR pace, that SLG would jump into the .460-.470 range.

I understand preferring Jose Ramirez (who is unlikely to be traded, IMO) or Villar to him (though Villar's approach is pretty awful - he's a better fantasy player than real-life guy), though.

I'd like to see the Royals get Cutty around 350-400 ABs again, with a lot of those coming as a guy who is in the lineup against a lefty starter in place of Moss/Moustakas/Gordon.

Say he gets 250 vs lefties (60-65 games) and 100 against righties (20-25 games)... I would expect a slash something like .305/.343/.455.

That would be a really useful and valuable bench pieces, especially when most of those games are paired with a guy like Moss, who has traditionally raked vs righties.


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[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Your Dozier. Who I feel like is a utility man waiting to happen. An overaged hitter smacking around AA on his third trip through isn't all that impressive, though admittedly he carried some good momentum through to AAA. I just don't see the tools that Cuthbert has.



Been wrong before, though...

That's interesting. I'd gladly make that deal.

I think Dozier's struggles in 14 and 15 at Northwest Arkansas were primarily related to his approach. He made some major changes before last season, and it translated into success. He also was very good in his first go at AAA, with a solid overall line and very nice SLG.

Considering he had never shown the type of pop he did in 2016 before, I can place some credence in the concept of a still-developing player finding the swing change he needed.

If you've followed his minor league history, which i assume you haven't, he's a guy who was drafted with a very mature approach and nice raw power but not a ton of power production.

Before the 14 season, he bulked up a bit and made some major swing changes. It resulted in translating more of his power when he connected but sapping his average and obp skills.

He returned to something closer to his old approach and timing mechanisms last year, and took off. I think it's legit.


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[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Regardless of what Hunter does for the rest of his minor league career, people (myself included) will always have 2014 stuck in the mind when considering his value. It was THAT bad.

All that is forgotten if he gets to the ML level and produces though.

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

Which Dozier (Twins or the Royals)? If you want to swap our Dozier for Luke Weaver. I'm game. Heck I think I would strongly consider Cuthbert for Weaver.

I'd do Dozier but not Cuthbert.



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[siberian khatru]

Dayton Moore said he anticipates one more move before Spring Training. Likely starter or reliever. Mentioned trade as possibility #Royals

— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) February 1, 2017

[CaliforniaChief]

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

Dayton Moore said he anticipates one more move before Spring Training. Likely starter or reliever. Mentioned trade as possibility #Royals

— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) February 1, 2017

Good. Definitely needed.

Still so sad.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by fahrenheit

Regardless of what Hunter does for the rest of his minor league career, people (myself included) will always have 2014 stuck in the mind when considering his value. It was THAT bad.

All that is forgotten if he gets to the ML level and produces though.

Not really, it allowed the Royals to have the money to get Manena.

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

Not really, it allowed the Royals to have the money to get Manena.

[KChiefs1]

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

Dayton Moore said he anticipates one more move before Spring Training. Likely starter or reliever. Mentioned trade as possibility #Royals

— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) February 1, 2017

Trade?

Isn't Hammel still available?



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[big nasty kcnut]

I wish we can get a good pitcher losing ACE sucks.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by tk13

@cdotharrison A guy I work with had a Yordano Ventura bobblehead doll. He put it on ebay for $100 yesterday buy it now. It sold right away..

— Brady Sisk (@theWook33) January 27, 2017

@cdotharrison

So, he sent him a message saying he wasnt going to make him pay for it and refunded his money. His response was below.... pic.twitter.com/S9RDUUCcUs

— Brady Sisk (@theWook33) January 27, 2017

What happened here?

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

What happened here?

Duffy bought it for Ventura's mom.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

Duffy bought it for Ventura's mom.

Dude said he didn't want the money for it so Duffy said he wanted to send him some autographed stuff (by Duffy) on account of it. Respect all around.

[suzzer99]

Originally Posted by fahrenheit

That WildCard game was the first time I ever had all my children fully attentive at the TV screen watching the Royals. All 3 girls and my son... and wife even. They were jumping and cheering like I had never seen them before. It will definitely be a memory I keep for the rest of my years.

Yep - they're hooked for life. A whole generation missed out on that. But my generation got to experience it in the 70s-80s, then got to re-experience it with their kids in 14-15.