***Official 2022 Royals Season Repository Thread***

[ChiefsCountry]

For all things Royals in 2022. #3 minor league system according to Baseball America. The Bobby Witt era should begin this year. Will Salvy still be the homerun king? How does the glut of infield players work out? Will the young pitchers take the next step?

Free Agents/Trades Acquisitions
Zack Greinke, P
Amir Garrett, P
Taylor Clarke, P

Top 10 Prospects from Baseball America
1. Bobby Witt, SS
2. Asa Lacy, P
3. MJ Melendez, C
4. Nick Pratto, 1B
5. Jackson Kowar, P
6. Kyle Isabel, OF
7. Frank Mozzicato, P
8. Ben Kudrna, P
9. Jonathan Bowlan, P
10. Vinnie Pasquantino, 1B

Duncan's Top Royals Prospects

Spoiler!

1. Bobby Witt, Jr., SS. MLB.
This status lasts about another 4 weeks, but let’s take a moment to appreciate having the top guy in the minor league prospects lists for at least a little while longer. Witt has prodigious ability and the question is really just IF he can meet it. They have not had a prospect like this in my lifetime, and really probably ever. Combine insane raw physical skills (right there with Adalberto Mondesi and Willie Wilson in the ranks right behind Bo Jackson) with unbelievable work ethic, a humble-but-confident nature, and already having shown he can struggle and overcome to achieve big success, and you have the tools for a show-stopping centerpiece. Oh, and throw in the former-player’s kid aspect on it on top of things, and there is every reason to believe he’s going to succeed and succeed big.
2. M.J. Melendez, C, AAA Omaha.
I was early on putting him in this slot last year, and I don’t regret it. The power, the ability to be a good defender behind the dish as well as having the athletic ability to play 3B or LF, too, and you have a really valuable overall piece and FANTASTIC understudy for Salvador Perez.
3. Asa Lacy, LHP. AA Northwest Arkansas
Whoa, let’s get crazy again. Lacy has outstanding stuff. Top of the system. He got hurt and lost his command during COVID times, but appears to be back on track so far this spring. If his command sticks, this is a guy who can move quickly. And his ceiling is really second to nobody in the minor league pitching ranks.
4. Vinnie Pasquantino, 1B. AA Northwest Arkansas
Vinnie starts the season back at AA due to the guy who follows him on the list here. He just hits, folks. I love his combination of contact, loud contact, plate discipline, and lack of strikeouts. The Billy Butler comparisons are annoying (in that I will NEVER refer to this man as Italian Breakfast except in the instance that just occurred), but the Billy Butler comparisons are also fairly apt… if you made Butler a lefthanded hitter, AND improved his body/athleticism from a 20 to a 40, AND if you added that little extra touch of power we all wished Butler could consistently find.
5. Nick Pratto, 1B, AAA Omaha.
Hey, let’s stay at 1B. Pratto has flashy power and I love his batting eye AND his hand-eye coordination. The hair he’s been rocking this spring is also pretty sweet. I slot him just behind Pasquantino simply because I think his bat profile is more volatile. The glove and arm are sweet/plus for 1B, though.
6. Jonathan Bowlan, RHP, AAA Omaha
Bowlan is coming back from Tommy John surgery, and this ranking is assuming that recovering is successful. If it his, you’re talking about a big, consistent SP who throws hard enough and has enough of a repertoire to really make things happen. If the recovery goes well, he may be shuttling to the majors in July to reinforce the rotation.
7. Nick Loftin, CF, AA Omaha.
Loftin is a guy who has really grown on me. I saw him as a quasi super-utility guy when the Royals drafted him, The full-time shift to CF (which means they think he has the speed and the overall defensive ability to handle CF in Kansas City) adds a lot of value here. The ultimate positive offensive upside is similar to peak Whit Merrifield, maybe with a touch more early power.
8. Michael Massey, 2B, AA Northwest Arkansas.
Massey was an absolute revelation last year, hitting for power and average and keeping his K rate down while playing a really strong 2B. He has a very sweet, short lefthanded stroke. This is another aggressive rating, but Massey has proven himself through a tough minor league assignment already, and the arrow is pointed up.
9. Ben Kudrna, RHP, Rookie Ball
Kudrna is a big, physical specimen with a lot of upside and potential. The fastball and slider are already nearly MLB-level in terms of velocity and movement (command needs work). Kudrna is a guy who, with luck, and health, and good development, could ascend to the top of a rotation.
10. Frank Mozzicato, LHP, Rookie Ball.
Mozzicato has a curveball that suggests he has a feel for spin. If you want to dream, you hope that the next 2-3 years turn the 175 he weighed when drafted into a rock-solid 220/225 and carries with it an increase in fastball velocity from 90-91, sitting 87-88, to 96-97, sitting 93-94. You pair his ability to spin the ball (which also suggests he should be able to easily master a sweeper slider) with that type of fastball velo and a changeup he already has a feel for, and it’s an exciting profile.

He has a little more to go in terms of growing into that projectability than Kudrna, which is why he slots right behind him.
11. Alec Marsh, RHP, AA Northwest Arkansas
Marsh missed a lot of 2021 to injury, but the hard-throwing righthander is another guy who could move quickly once the minor league season starts. He’s undeniably got the stuff of a quality major-league pitcher. The question is if he can master enough command to cash it in. This guy is a great example of TINSTAAPP.
12. Angel Zerpa, LHP, AAA Omaha
Zerpa might quickly outperform this slot. His stuff ticked up in 21 and he ended the season making a start in the majors. He’s nice depth to have, and honestly, I’m a big fan of just throwing numbers at pitching. Zerpa definitely helps create the depth you need to generate a top-notch and reliable home-grown rotation.
13. Maikel Garcia, SS, AA Northwest Arkansas
Garcia is a really intriguing hitter, a righthanded hitter who has a nice combination of contact skills and control of the strike zone (this cousin of Alcides Escobar is less savvy with the glove and more savvy at the plate). The Royals protected him for a reason (he’s on the 40-man).
14. Carter Jensen, C, A ??
Jensen is a local product whose bat will probably push him off C (as well as the Royals depth at that spot throughout the organization). This is a future 1B profile, and a nice one. He makes a lot of loud contact and shows an ability to lift the ball. Should be fun to watch this year.
15. Ben Hernandez, RHP, A+ Quad Rivers
Hernandez missed a good part of 2021 but still has that butterfly changeup and a classic pitcher’s profile. He’ll need to find a reliable swing-and-miss secondary to make it in the bigs, but if not, the fastball velocity and changeup should make him a quality high-leverage reliver.
16. Dylan Coleman, RHP, AAA Omaha
Speaking of relievers, Coleman is a hard-throwing righthander who probably spends most of 22 in the Royals’ pen. ½ of the compensation for the Rosenthal trade a few years back, Coleman has a big fastball and nasty breaking ball.
17. Will Klein, RHP, AA Northwest Arkansas
Speaking of relivers, everything I just said about Coleman? Yeah, you can say it about Klein, too. Klein regularly toyed with hitters at high A last year, striking out 121 hitters in just 70 1/3 innings pitched. For those counting at home, that’s a 15.5 K/9 rate. Yep. That’ll play.
18. Anthony Veneziano, LHP, AA Northwest Arkansas
Here’s another big, power arm. Veneziano hasn’t been relegated to bullpen only yet, though. His fastball bumped into the high 90s last year on a starter’s workload. He’s still looking for a changeup, but if he doesn’t find it, you’re looking at a really promising future bullpen fireballer.
19. Erick Pena, OF, A ?
Pena did… not have a strong 2021 full season debut. His struggles look a lot like those of Pratto and Melendez in 2019. Pena has the same type of raw toolkit to work from as those two, with great hands and natural power. He needs to fix a hitch in his swing and calm it down, but so did Melendez. Of this second ten grouping, Pena has the highest upside and could jump right into the top 5 of the org ranks.
20. Darryl Collins, OF, A+
Collins is an international signing out of Europe. I like the hitting package here – good eye and contact skills. He needs to make more loud contact, but if he can, really a nice guy.

Overall takeaways:
This is a system with a lot of depth. We could go another 10-12 deep and still be talking about guys with a good shot to make the majors. The changes to the organization’s approach are bearing fruit, as even less-heralded draftees are stepping forward.

The combination of upside (Witt, Melendez, Lacy), depth, and guys you can dream on is fun. It may not produce quite as much as the 2011 group did, but it does offer a more sustainable system, less reliant on a few big-ticket guys.

[poolboy]

Waters and Olivares go yard
Heasley has 5 scoreless innings

[ChiefsCountry]

Waters with a nice homer.

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

I think Kowar is just a bust. That’s OK. Sometimes it happens.

The fact Lynch and Bubic can be sent down to Omaha and not just succeed but dominate tells me there’s more talent there than is being utilized. Better MLB coaching could still turn them around.

I do think they are guilty of not recognizing when someone is better off as a reliever. Plenty of failed starters are fine 1 inning pitchers, instead they try to hold on to the Barlows and Staumonts for 5 years when most relievers are never good that long.

You get your 2 to 3 years and move them, unless you are a shit team then you trade at peak value.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Mecca

I do think they are guilty of not recognizing when someone is better off as a reliever. Plenty of failed starters are fine 1 inning pitchers, instead they try to hold on to the Barlows and Staumonts for 5 years when most relievers are never good that long.

You get your 2 to 3 years and move them, unless you are a shit team then you trade at peak value.

Kowar has issues with his fastball shape and ability to induce whiffs (it's not good) which neutralizes moist of his excellent bugs bunny changeup. Apparently he always has issues with that, and the Royals either didn't pick up on that before drafting him in or thought they could fix it.

Honestly, not using data to recognize "bad fastball" guys before they draft would be a BIG piece in the puzzle of "why have the Royals failed with so many high draft picks on pitchers?"

If they're not identifying guys with low spin-rate fastballs (bad fastballs) and are still focusing on projectable frame guys they can develop, it would explain why those guys seem to struggle so much to add an effective breaking ball or off-speed pitch (as spin rate is influential to both of those).

[myselff77]

Originally Posted by Sure-Oz

Anyone else surprised there wasn't just an announcement of GMDM doing something else and leaving instead of being fired? Seems like the owner definitely is pissed about losing but I'm surprised they didn't ease him out on the announcement.

I said this before, but don't you think that was exactly the case last year? Dayton was relieved of being a GM last year and Picollo was promoted. That was the soft landing for Moore as Picollo could do the GM things and Dayton had a soft landing to work on the baseball academy or whatever he wanted while still holding a prestigious title in the organization given everything he contributed. The only problem was GMDM could not quit meddling in the player side of things and prevented Picollo from doing his job.

That brings us to this year where, since Moore could not let Picollo do his job, he had to go in abrupt fashion.

[Prison Bitch]

If that was true then Picolo sounds like a gigantic pussy

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Kowar has issues with his fastball shape and ability to induce whiffs (it's not good) which neutralizes moist of his excellent bugs bunny changeup. Apparently he always has issues with that, and the Royals either didn't pick up on that before drafting him in or thought they could fix it.

Honestly, not using data to recognize "bad fastball" guys before they draft would be a BIG piece in the puzzle of "why have the Royals failed with so many high draft picks on pitchers?"

If they're not identifying guys with low spin-rate fastballs (bad fastballs) and are still focusing on projectable frame guys they can develop, it would explain why those guys seem to struggle so much to add an effective breaking ball or off-speed pitch (as spin rate is influential to both of those).

They really should consider trying to steal someone from the Mariners or Indians organizations. The Indians have a looooooong track record of elite pitcher development. And obviously Sherman has ties.

The reason I cite the Mariners is that I'm not sure I've ever seen a better example of developing a pitcher than they've done with George Kirby. Man I love that guy. he came out of college with good command but this is a kid who went from having good command in the minors (15 walks in 67 innings) to a single season later having damn near historic command in the majors (15 walks in 118 innings). I mean who the **** does that?

Even more incredibly, he did this while adding 3-4 mph to his fastball. He slid into the back half of the 1st because he was a 92-93 mph command and control artist with a pretty basic arsenal.

Now the kid throws EIGHT pitches, commands all of them and will throw any of them at any time. The fastball velocity sits around 95-96 and he can run it up to 99. Oh, and in a month (in-season; mid-summer) he completely changed the shape of his slider from a hard one with late break to a nice sweeper to complement his sinker. And then when he had to take velocity off THAT to change its shape (took it from an 89 mph slider to 84) he immediately set to work on that and now it's back up to 86 mph.

Fellas - the kid got drafted in '19 and barely pitched then missed 2020 to the COVID freeze. He's effectively spent ONE season in the minor leagues and seemingly overnight he developed every single part of his arsenal to go from being a probable nice 4th starter someday to being on track for a legitimate ace caliber career. It's crazy. And then you look at Logan Gilbert and he had a similar, but less spectacular development history of his own.

I mean you absolutely have to give significant credit to the Mariners organization for that, no? His development has been truly spectacular.

[myselff77]

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

Maybe Dayton's thin-skinned, defensive reaction -- days after the story came out, after he'd had time to digest it and consider his response (with the coaching of Sam Mellinger) -- told Sherman not to wait until after the season.

That speculation is still alive.

If we are going to throw out wild speculation with Mellinger's name attached to it, I propose the following: Mellinger went to Dayton Moore for the 934th time with the proposal to put Bo Jackson in the Royals Hall of Fame. Dayton Moore shot the idea down yet again at which point Mellinger went to Sherman to seek Moore's firing.

This speculation will prove itself true when in 2024 Bo Jackson is rightfully inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame.

[poolboy]

JJ's 2-0

[DJ's left nut]

Well since I posted that, George Kirby has given up 3 earned runs without recording an out in the 3rd inning against the Athletics.

Sorry George - pretty much ****ed ya there buddy.

[tk13]

Originally Posted by siberian khatru

Handled poorly? My God, how much more rope did Dayton need?

Can he not be praised for winning two pennants and a WS (in a short time frame) while ALSO being held accountable for failing to field a competitive team post-2017?

This Jeff Flanagan stuff (and I like him, BTW) about how hard it is for a small market team to win a WS? Well, jeebus, apparently it's A LOT EASIER than winning 81+ games in the regular season over a 16-year period.

There's no reason why it has to be a feast/famine, either/or prospect ("You can be like Tampa and Oakland and have no WS, or you can be the Royals with one WS and a whole bunch of shit the rest of the time."). Sure, WS are hard to come by. But who says the trade-off for one has to be multiple 100-loss seasons?

Yeah I was surprised. It wasn't even Jon Heyman who I know has been complaining about it, it was their morning show, Mark DeRosa and a couple other people I don't know, there was the host, then one was a writer I think and the last person I believe was a former player. They had a long segment about all this and I was shocked at how down they were about it, it's about as negative as you'll see them be about an MLB team on MLB's own network. The one former player literally said Dayton Moore is going to be the second biggest FA this offseason after Aaron Judge. The three analysts and the host basically all acted like this was a shockingly horrible mistake. I know part of it is because Dayton treats people well but it's like they've missed the last 3-4 years. Especially weird because I know they pay attention because DeRosa specifically singled out Brady Singer the other day as an MLB player who's really made a leap this year.

[myselff77]

Originally Posted by Prison Bitch

If that was true then Picolo sounds like a gigantic pussy

Not really. When the guy still reported directly to Moore, at the end of the day he was handcuffed. At least now we will find out what he is capable of.

[BWillie]

Day 1 of Ryan OHearn still on my favorite team, the cansus citie royawls

[cosmo20002]

Originally Posted by tk13

Man they were flat out killing the Royals on MLB Network this morning. Writers, former players, etc. all saying this was handled poorly especially for someone who is as respected as Dayton. That was interesting.

In what way was it "handled poorly?"

[poolboy]

We should take a sniff at Brandon Drury..free agent...can play anywhere only 30
AB 473
R 79
H 123
HR 27
RBI 83
SB 2
AVG 260
OBP 315
OPS 814