SB Nation User Blog: 306008

Yuniel Escobar/Mark Teahan?

306008 — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:04:31 -0000

Yuniel Escobar/Mark Teahan?

bq. from what i understand, the Royals covet Escobar, but it would take more than Teahan as the primary guy in a package in return, I’d imagine.

4th Round Pick Dwyer Playing in the Cape

306008 — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:23:33 -0000

4th Round Pick Dwyer Playing in the Cape

So far I only found one box score on him. Pitched against Falmouth on June 24th getting a win in a 2-0 ball game.

Dwyer's line went W, 5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 9 K, 0 R, 1 HBP.

David Lough Moves up to Springdale

306008 — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:02:47 -0000

David Lough Moves up to Springdale

David Lough goes 2-4 in his Double A debut. Does anyone know anymore about this? Up for good? Up for injury filling?

Prospect Retro

306008 — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:17:38 -0000

Prospect Retro

From Sickels. Brian Bannister Prospect Retro. From SB Nation site Minor League Ball.

Top 10 Rounds Signing Bonus

306008 — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:54:01 -0000

The Royals have signed picks 6-10 for a total of $550,000. That just over $100K per player. We still have 1, 3, 4, and 5 to go. I don't anticipate Coleman getting to much as he is a college senior. But the other 3, we'll have to offer much more too. I think we can do it. Crow will get $4 mil. Wil Myers around $2 mil. And Dwyer probably around $1-1.5 mil.

That puts us around $8 million for rounds 1-10. Not to bad. A little less than last year but we didn't have a supplemental pick or a second rounder. After spending nearly $11 mil last year, that leaves us about $3 million in the international market. This is all assumption based on last year's benchmarks.

Good stuff in the Minors Tonight

306008 — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:26:21 -0000

Good stuff in the Minors Tonight

The link will take you to the MILB home Royals affiliates page. But, some highlights.

Bianchi had 3 more hits in a loss.

Cory Aldrich was 3-4 with HR number 9.

Carolina League All-Star game. Going on right now. Lough hitting 3 hole and is 1-2.

Midwest League All Star Game. Van Stratten 0-3. Francis 2-3 with 2 2Bs. Casey pitched .2 and gave up a hit and a K. Bowden went.2 and gave up a run.

John Lamb made his debut going 5.0 with a ND. 4 Hits, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 ER. Baumann made his debut going 2.1 perfect with 2 Ks. ND. Lost the game 2-1 in 10.

Chukars up 8-1 in the 6th. Plenty of offense.

No one is talking about the huge work load from Meche last start. And then the blowup today.......

306008 — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:40:39 -0000

No one is talking about the huge work load from Meche last start. And then the blowup today.... does it play a part?

Our Double-A All-Stars

306008 — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:39:09 -0000

Our Double-A All-Stars

Here's a link to our all-stars from Double-A Northwest Arkansas. Go Naturals.

Just Wanted Some Input

306008 — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:57:46 -0000

Just Wanted Some Input

I had a Cards fan tell me that Zack Grienke is over hyped. To which I replied, "If he was in your system, I wouldn't hear the end of it."

Now I want to know what you guys would think if ZG was in your system. Would you be excited? Herald him as the second coming of Bob Gibson? Would he be a better prospect than Colby Rasmus? Where does he fit in?

I value the opinion's of educated Cards fans like yourselves, not the mind-boggling fools that give Cards fans a bad name here in the Royals viewing area.

Picollo on with Petro

306008 — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:44:48 -0000

Picollo on with Petro

Picollo on with Petro.

Asked about the Hendricks brothers negotiations. Picollo says they have not negotiated with them before.

Asked about Crow signing before the 17th. Picollo said this may take some time. We'd love to get Aaron out right away. Whether or not that happens will be dictated in the next few weeks.

Timetable for Crow to get to the bigs? Picollo says he's advanced, aggressive, knowledgeable, and has 3 very good pitches. Talked about Luke's path. Time will tell if he's on the same track. Has to prove that he can get high level minor league guys out before moving to the bigs.

Crow profiles as a 1 or 2. Very confident with the ability to get to a 2 at the least.

Money issue. We'll deal with it as we get through it. Petro asked about how negotiations start? It is a factor what players say. This is what it'll take to get me. Tougher to judge high school players because their expectations are so high.

Wil Myers. Petro says reports are $2 million not to go to South Carolina and sign. Asked if college baseball has gotten that much better or have the agents began using it more as a tool? Picollo said it's both. Kids want to get to the next level. Facilities are very nice now at colleges. College is usually the first step in the process to get to the pros. That's why parents look their first. Then they start evaluating what it takes to sign them away to go pro.

Picollo said the Royals were prepared to draft players whose talent is better than the round. They believe that Wil wants to play pro baseball but understand that he'll be ok at college. Were very excited to get him. Valued him as a first round talent.

Petro talked about not having to give mega-money to first rounders because we finished decent last year. That saves for the rest of the draft. Picollo agrees that is accurate. The more talent we can acquire through the draft helps our organization overall. They expect these guys to get to the bigs but even if they don't, they improve the organization. Implied that more scouts are/will be watching the Royals minor league players.

Do you feel confident you will get Wil Myers signed? Picollo says we are confident we will get him signed. Getting a feel for where the family wants to go. Feel that Wil really wants to play pro baseball. Gut feel after talking with scouts and family. Feel that he is a real baseball player.

Physical attributes lead you to believe that he can catch. Big physical kid. Great athlete. Bat attracted the Royals to him. As of right now, we drafted him as a catcher and we'll pursue that to see where it takes us. Agent is Jeff Barry.

Petro asked if they had drafted any Boras clients. No Boras clients. Not by design. Just coincidence. His players didn't match up where we selected and with who was available. We won't shy away from an agent. We want the best available. That's what we scout for. This is what they believe in.

Chris Dwyer. Draft eligible freshman. Petro says he probably needs a little time in the minors to refine his tools. Picollo says they scouted Dwyer last year. Talked about drafting him last year but didn't. Had a chance but the dollar figure Dwyer gave didn't match up with where the Royals wanted to go last year. This year, solid year at Clemson, not a great year as a freshman. Dwyer cleaned up his delivery. Very good arm action. Above average fastball. Curve. Change. These two off speed pitches separate him from other left handers. Great makeup. Good competitor. Talked about how he was a HS QB. Has work to do to get better. But Dwyer feels he's making adjustments. Not a fast mover through the minors but an advanced college pitcher. Minors will take care of the rest of the refining.

Petro talked about Dwyers ERA being high but talked about the overall stuff. This is why scouts and development guys earn money. Picollo said you hit the nail on the head. Absolutely the guy the staff can't wait to get their hands on. Watched tape Sunday night. One of the pitching coaches asked why he was available in the fourth round. Piece of clay that needs molding but can be top end of a rotation.

Rounds 5-8. Petro sees "regular" money going to these picks. Said if you can get two of these guys to the bigs as relievers you had a heck of a run. If one gets into the rotation it's a sensational draft. Am I wrong? Picollo. Exactly right. The strength of the draft was college pitching. Lots of relievers. From Royals board anyway. We knew we'd get at least two of the 8 guys we targeted here and ended up getting 4.

Last two years we had a lot of HS pitchers drafted and tehy are all starters getting to the Low A/High A level. If you can take college guys who have experience and put them behind the young guys, they'll protect and advance the younger guys. Thinks they'll be 4 for 4 (hopefully) in getting these guys to the MLB.

Did you watch the LSU Arkansas game? Picollo was at the airport but saw the first three innings. Watched our guys real close.

Which draft was better: 2009 draft of 2010 draft? Picollo says 09 because that's what he knows right now.

Bigger upside: Crow or Hochaver? Aaron Crow after some thought.

In favor of a world draft? Picollo says no. I like the system the way it is. Personally wish they didn't have to draft people. Just sign the kids you scout. It would be more pure than the system we have now.

In favor of slotting picks dollar amounts? Picollo said yes and no. I see both sides. The system now let's you get more talent. If I had to say yes or no, I'd say yes.