A comment in one of the other threads challenged me to give some thought as to whether Hosmer was really as disappointing as he seemed to be last year.  Certainly, he did nothing close to "rake," which, based on the hype, we expected him to do.  However, maybe due to unfounded optimism, but I wanted to think that Hosmer's season was not the bust it seemed to be.  Admittedly, he was horrible in Wilmington, but I don't think that was entirely his fault.  First, the decision to bring him up to Wilmington was incredibly misguided (I'd like to think it was all part of Dayton's Lost Summer, but probably not)--he simply was not ready.  Couple that the fact that he only played less than 30 games with both the untreated astigmatism and, later, an apparent hand injury of some kind, and I think Wilmington was an aberration.  Thus, I think we should only look at his time in Burlington to get a real sense of what he did last year

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I just got back from a vacation out east where, on Saturday night, I took in a Blue Rocks game on the road against the Potomac Nationals in the "Battle of Bryce Harper's Potential Future Teams."  It was also a battle for 1st place in the Northern Division due to a Wilmington team-record 12-game winning streak.  My presence turned out to be as unlucky as trying to win a 13th in a row, as the Rocks barely even showed up for the 9-0 pasting.  As no one truly cares about the results of these games, here's a really-really-layman's opinion of what I saw amongst the individuals on the crown jewel of the current farm system:

Hitting:  Both Johnny G. and Clint Robinson (the only player who looked good in all of his at bats) crushed doubles into the left field gap against a pretty-good-but-not-overpowering LH in 2008 10th round draft pick in Tom Milone.  This was the extent of the positive observations of the offense).  Apparently Milone's recently learned a cut fastball that spent most of the game just touching the left side of the plate and basically confounding everyone.  Moustakas took a walk, but really never looked good in any of his at-bats--what contact he made was minimal, and I he struck out twice.  Hosmer did get a hold of one to the opposite field which looked like it would carry for a long double, but the oppressively still air of Pfitzer Stadium (like apparently the entire Carolina League) seemed to push it back down for a line out (Robinson and Johnny were helped by a wind straight out to center earlier in the game which I could only visually verify with a flag--you could feel nothing in the stands).

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I made my first trip to Springdale to see the NW Arkansas Naturals Friday night.  Here's some observations:

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The Royals spend the first half of the second day of the draft loading up on college arms that will likely need places to pitch, so, in an unusual move, prior to the draft, they have already set the Idaho Falls pitching staff.  In a series of stories, the I.F. official site announced that the Royals had told them what pitchers would be on the Chukars staff (at least to start the season), but decided to wait until after the draft to decide what position players to send there.

A note of warning:  this is not pretty.  I'm not certain any of these guys actually appear on any prospect list.  And words like "Rule 5" and "Ross Gload" are relevant to this list.  Instead of a "lots of college guys" or "lots of international guys," philosophies the last two seasons have somewhat reflected in assembling the high rookie-ball squads, this year's Chukar staff appears to be built on a philosophy of, "Idaho Falls pitchers are going to get pounded in the ultra-hitters league, so let's not send anyone there we actually care about."  Not a lot of detail here (I don't even know who's RH and who's LH, but I don't think it matters), but, just so you know who they are:

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I'd hoped to have had more than one update during the season, but the last month and a half have been crazy.  By the time I checked back up on the B-Royals, there season had come to an ignominious end, as the team simply cancelled the final game of the season due to poor weather.  Thus, the B-Royals finish 24-41, the worst record in the Appalachian League.  Unlike the pitchers, who had some guys show promise (Kelvin Herrera, Sam Runion, Mike Lehmann, John Flanagan), “offensive” is a good description for the offense’s output, last in the league in nearly every category with a horrific line of .238/.300/.327/.627. 

First, the guys who stuck it out the whole season:

C  Miguel Moctezuma:  “The Revenge,” this year’s 19th round pick from Central Oklahoma, hopefully had a good season behind the plate, for his skills at the plate redefined “Vortex of Suck.”  Among regulars (31 games), his .158/.211/.218/.429 was easily the worst line on the team.   His 31 Ks to 6 BBs did not help matters.  Truly awful season in the lineup.

C Yenssi Reyes:  Had 3rd catcher written all over him at the start of the season, seemed to live down to that billing.  Appeared in only 16 games, hit.190/.261/.238/.499.  Only Moctezuma’s horribleness made him look better.

1B Diego Cruz:  Started the season as the starting 1B, wound up splitting time with David Wood when he got sent down from Wilmington.  .267/.288/.333/.621 with a staggering 3 walks in 38 games. 

3B Fernando Cruz:  The highest-ceiling guy on the team (2007 6th rounder and still just 18 years old) had an unimpressive .237/ 260/.283/.543 with a little doubles power (no 3B or HR) and no plate discipline (43 Ks to the “Cruz” required 3 walks).  Young and still possessing tools, but not yet showing any production, more short season ball may be in his future next year.

2B Angel Franco:  The go-to guy in Burlington, NC, Franco appeared in a team-high 62 of the teams 65 games.  Not bad for an allegedly all-glove middle infielder (he led the team with 11 errors—not too bad for the number of games played), he hit .257/.314/.321/.635 and led the team in walks (19) and stolen bases (14, CS 7—that percentage was also a team high for anyone with more than 2 attempts).  I’d expect to see the 2006 Dominican free agent in Idaho Falls or Burlington, IA next year.

3B Jason Morales: 2008 24th rounder from UNC-Pembroke, Morales really underwhelmed in his role as backup infielder and DH.  In 35 games, Morales hit a woeful .187/.279/.260/.539.  He did have 13 walks, though.

RF Allen Caldwell:  Showing that Mendoza Line who’s the boss, the 2008 12th round draft pick hit .201/.268/.327/.595 with 17 walks and 44 Ks in 54 games.

LF Julio Aparicio:  Played 57 games as one of the primary outfielders for Burlington.  He hit a pretty pedestrian .252/.307/.326/.632, but apparently still has some tools and upside.

Next, the guys who didn’t make it for opening day, but made it to Carolina just the same:

SS Yeldrys Molina:  Molina finished his second year in Burlington (minus about two weeks to start the year in Idaho Falls) owning the team’s second best OPS in just 27 games, hitting .280/ .398/.439/.837.  He had 16 walks to just 28 Ks to boot.  Even though he was repeating a level, his numbers were just about the same for his 11 games for the Chukars.  I can’t see a reason the Venezuelan doesn’t get to play a full season next year.

1B/LF David Wood:  After purging the demons of his .156/.179/.188/.367 start in Wilmington, Wood, who was the ASL Player of the Year last year, went a respectable .289/.352/.409/.761 in Burlington for his first advanced rookie league season.

C Josh Vittek:  A 2008 undrafted free agent, Vittek essentially was what David Wood was last year, an undrafted guy playing out of his mind.  Replacing Salvador Perez, who was injured most of the year, as the other catcher, Vittek wound up going .297/.345/ .510/.855 with a team leading 8 HRs and 34 RsBI.

RF Warren McFadden:  McFadden, another undrafted free agent, was an uninspiring .212/.305/.310/.614 (I have no idea how .305 + .310 = .614, but that’s what the official site says).  Not a bad eye, he walked 13 times to just 24 Ks and was a perfect 2 for 2 in stolen bases.

Finally, the guys who have moved elsewhere on the food chain since starting the season in Burlington:

C  Salvador Perez:  An ankle injury limited him to just 13 games in Burlington, in which he posted a very nice .325/.404/.375/.779.  He’s now finishing out the season in Idaho Falls.

IF Jorge Gutierrez:  Another undrafted free agent, Guiterrez played in 38 games with a line of .233/.299/.250/.549.  Apparently, thanks to the fact that Jason Smith had to rear his head in KC again, there is a shortage of underwhelming middle infielders in Omaha, as Gutierrez made is O-Royals debut tonight, making one unsuccessful at bat.

CF Hilton Richardson:  As already documented elsewhere around here, Richardson rejoined the ASL Royals to start college classes.  He pretty much went the distance in Burlington, playing in 54 games and hitting .229/.293/.327/.620.  Last year, he had 66 Ks, this year, 61—I guess that’s progress.  Essentially, a second disappointing season—here’s hoping the tools start to come around next year.

OF Carlo Testa:  Played 7 games for Burlington before getting reassigned to Idaho Falls.  His Burlington time was nothing special, but he’s been solid in the Pioneer League, going .305/.408/.468/.876.

SS Lifete Jose:  After 11 nondescript games with Burlington to start the year, Lifete went back to Arizona for a second season, where he went .261/.343/.380/.723, an improvement across the board from 2007.  Supposedly plays very good defense, he’ll hopefully actually maintain a move up the organization next year.

There was also some guy named Matt Olson who entered the Phillies organization in 2005 and played 4 unremarkable games in Burlington this year.

Well, better luck next year, B-Royals!

With 15 games under their belts, the Pride of Some Small Part of North Carolina, the Burlington Royals, in what we can only hope is a small-sample-size-influenced anomaly, have quickly established themselves as the without-a-doubt worst offensive squad in the Appalachian League (I’d say it’s all of minor league baseball, but I’m simply not willing to do that much work to look it up).  The team is last in the league in BA (.204), OBP (.275), SLG (.265), which amounts to an anemic .540 OPS, hits (99), runs(55), triples (2), HR (2), and total bases (129)—two teams in the league already have at least twice as many TB as the Royals.  They’re slightly better in doubles (20) and walks (43), placing eighth out of ten teams.  They’re also not making up for it on the basepaths, stealing only 8 of 17 (the only two teams with worse percentages have only tried to steal 10 and 14—oh, and those are the best two offensive teams in the league, so they don’t really need to create “havoc on the basepaths” to “get in the pitcher’s head”).  The only bright spot is that they are holding their own in Ks, striking out a third-best in the league 129.  A turnaround may be around the corner—Lil’ Burlington owns a 1-game winning streak, raising their season record to 2-13.

Here’s some of the individual “highlights”:

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If this year’s roster is any indication, the Royals intend on using Burlington for their international player short-season destination.  Of all the position players, only 6 of 13 hail from the U.S.A (and, interestingly, most of them have Latin names).  This team also looks like it will be younger than its Pioneer League counterpart.  Here are the guys pursuing Appalachian League glory and a spot in the other Burlington next year:

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Over at the "Season Defined" thread, it has been said by some that one series does not define a season.  I fully agree--two series will define the season.  Based on the undeniable statistical evidence of W-L record (how's that for SABR-saavy?), one can see the disturbing trend that, since the anomaly of 2003, the second week of the season has been the one to send this team into its cellar-dwelling tailspin:

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And not-so-bad news about Mike Barnett.  It looks like Buck's early 2007, I'm-a-huge-stud leg kick is back!

From the official site:

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Last year Buck banged 18 home runs but just three came after the All-Star break. His final average slid to .222. This spring, hitting coach Mike Barnett has him back beginning his swing with a distinctive knee-cock. It's basically a timing device because ideally, just as the pitcher releases the ball, Buck's front foot is back on the ground.

"It gives him an aggressive, relaxed start, believe it or not," Barnett said.

"Early on, you couldn't get a fastball by this guy. Then the league started spinning more breaking balls and he was out to prove that he was going to hit that and therefore, his pitch selection suffered."

Now Barnett believes Buck has adjusted to the breaking-ball attack, learning to lay off them unless they're up and across the plate.

---

While it does appear that there was a league adjustment to Buck's new approach last year and that some tweaking was necessary, it was clear that the leg kick, for whatever reason, made him a more comfortable, and thus better, hitter.  To see that Barnett recognizes that gives me some faith in keeping him on, and again convinces me that the handling of John Buck is Exhibit A in reasons why I'm glad BB is elsewhere this spring.

It's official from the Star:

"The Royals officially opened their off-season shopping season Wednesday by signing Japanese reliever Yasuhiko Yabuta to a two-year contract with a club option for a third year.

"Financial terms were not released, but the deal's guaranteed value is believed to be $5-6 million. The deal comes four days before the start of baseball's annual winter meetings in Nashville, Tenn.

"Yasuhiko has been one of the best relievers in Japan the last several years," general manager Dayton Moore said. "He will be an important veteran arm that will help add stability to the back end of our bullpen."

More here:  http://www.kansascity.com/sports/royals/story/380891.html

It's good to see the Nippon Ham Royals starting to take shape.  Now, what can Yabuto-san say to friend and former high-school teammate Kuroda to sway him to KC?

From the Master of All That is Kaegelesque:

"Nelson opts out: Right-handed pitcher Joe Nelson decided to become a free agent instead of accepting the Royals' outright assignment to Triple-A Omaha.

Nelson was dropped from the 40-man roster earlier this week. He missed last season because of shoulder surgery and illness. In 2006, his only season with the Royals, Nelson had nine saves, a 1-1 record and a 4.43 ERA in 43 relief appearances."

I don't know that the 2006 Royals had the best reliever in baseball, but I find it hard to argue that they had one of the grittiest.  Sorry we missed you in 2007, Joe--best of luck in the future.

Either he's not going to be available for 2008, or his asking price just went way down.  From the AP:

"SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Barry Bonds was indicted Thursday on perjury and obstruction of justice charges, culminating a four-year federal investigation into whether he lied under oath to a grand jury looking into steroid use by elite athletes.

The indictment came three months after the 43-year-old Bonds passed Hank Aaron to become baseball's career home run leader. Bonds parted ways with the San Francisco Giants after the season.

While Bonds was chasing Aaron, a grand jury was working behind closed doors to put the finishing touches on the long-rumored indictment."

Per mlbtrade rumors (citing a JapanBall.com story):

"Meanwhile lefty closer Hitoki Iwase, coveted by many MLB teams, has decided to stay in Japan.  The Rockies, Royals, and Cubs had their eye on him."

Iwase had gotten two different offers from Chunichi to stay in Japan, which seemed to be exactly what he wanted:

"'I've wanted to continue my playing career in the place where I grew up,' Iwase told reporters in Nagoya. 'I made up my mind soon after I first spoke with the front office.'

"Last Thursday, Chunichi offered Iwase the options of a one-year contract for 430 million yen, up 40 million yen from this year, and a four-year contract that pays 420 million yen in the first year."

Looks like new bullpen guys are going to be from the Western Hemisphere at the very least.

They posted their predictions as to the eventual homes of their Top 50 Free Agents list today.  As I scrolled through, expecting not to see the Royals listed as the expected home of any of them, the Boys in Blue popped up at Number 29 with this guess:

"29. Kenshin Kawakami - Royals.  How about an under-the-radar Japanese pitcher for the Royals?  New manager Trey Hillman is perfect for this."

I doubt this is more scientific than "Hey, Hillman managed in Japan, so they could get a Japanese guy!"  Their take on Kawakami:

Kenshin Kawakami - Japan's highest paid starter for the champion Chunichi Dragons (he made around $3MM) mixes a fastball, cutter, and curveball.  His fastball runs around 87 and his curve is very slow. He's known as a big game pitcher and always challenges hitters. He was 12-8 with a 3.55 ERA in 2007, but the K/BB ratio was an appealing 6.3 in 167 2/3 IP.  He's a HR prone strikeout pitcher.  Kawakami has been healthy for the past four seasons.

Saw another scouting report suggesting that his fastball is actually 88-94 MPH and his cutter is similar to Mariano Rivera's.  Speculation is that he could be had for $8-10 mil/year, but he is already 32.  Would 3 years/$30 mil. be 1) enough and 2) worth it?

Kenshin Kawakami?  $30 million dollars.  Using our new manager's most honorable status in the Land of the Rising Sun to get into the Japanese Free Agent market?  Priceless.

I saw these on Yahoo! (Must! Use! Exclamation! Point!) and figured that, hey, someone might want to say something about these.

1.  Trey Hillman ready for new challenges in Kansas City
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-hillman-royals&prov=ap&type=lgns

Highlights:
"There isn't a lot of slug where I'm going unless that's addressed in the offseason," Hillman said Friday. "Hopefully, the players I'll have next year will be open to various ways of scoring runs. "I like to run, use the bunt, the hit-and-run."

First, I just had to post this quote so that everyone can have their weekly anxiety attack about Hillman's presumptive small-ball ways (sorry, I'm just kinda mean that way).  Second, as far as I know, doesn't EVERYONE other than Hillman use the word "power" instead of "slug"?  It's just odd.

"I got to meet some of the players and was elated by the excitement those players and the front office expressed," said Hillman. "We've got some good players, a core group to build around, pitchers like (Zack) Greinke, (Gil) Meche and (Brian) Bannister."

Can you make anything out of him mentioning Greinke first before the ace and the team rookie of the year?  Does this show a scouting over stats kind of approach, as, while just looking at overall stats wouldn't merit first mention, just seeing Greinke at his best does make one dream of long-time ace status?  Also, I found it interesting that he mentioned "young talent" and only mentioned pitching.

2. Rusch to get back
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ti-rusch110207&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

A feel-good story about Rusch's comeback from a blood clot in his lung.  At first I thought that the story was identified with the Royals because Rusch is a former Royal, but, upon an actual reading, I saw that the Royals were one of 10 teams to have scouts in attendance at a recent throwing session.  It's probably nothing more than checking out every possible option, but, with his past KC connection and certain affordability, is he a realistic candidate for anything from a spring training invite to an actual Major League contract?  Any thoughts?

Last offseason's first free agent acquisition, former Brave and probably all-around good guy Kenny Ray, is no longer a Royal of any kind.  From the Star:

"The Royals also released veteran reliever Kenny Ray from Omaha after promoting right-hander Greg Atencio from Wichita.

Ray, 32, was claimed last October on waivers from Atlanta, but he landed at Omaha after failing to win a big-league job in spring training. Ray was 3-4 with a 4.15 ERA and four saves in 35 games.

Atencio, 26, was 4-7 with a 5.29 ERA at Wichita in 32 games. He had a rough Class AAA initiation Saturday, when he allowed three runs and four hits in four innings in Omaha's 11-4 loss to Albuquerque."

Once upon a time, everybody had Ray penciled into their projected bullpens because, being a former Brave, it was assumed he would be a Moore guy and would get some kind of preference out of that.  But, alas, Ray never appeared in Kansas City and now gets replaced in Omaha by somebody who appears to only possess more "upside" by being six years younger and who, frankly, I've never heard of, despite the fact that he's been in the Royals organization since 2002.  After starting his career with the Royals Spokane affiliate of the Northwest League (that's been awhile) and posting career highlights of playing parts of THREE seasons with the Burlington Bees and posting a sub-4.00 ERA in 12 games in High Desert in 2006, Atencio climbs the ladder to Omaha sporting a lifetime 27-37 record, a 5.39 ERA, a 1.46 WHIP, and a 396/203 K/BB ratio.

Ah, Kenny, we hardly knew ye, but we can rest well knowing the future is in the hands of pitchers like Greg Atencio.

No, I don't know anything about Moose, but good news about #2 and #3.

From the Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times:

"ASHEVILLE -- Temperatures were expected to reach a high of 111 degrees today in Surprise, Arizona.

Pitching in sweltering desert heat sounds enticing to former Reynolds ace Sam Runion.

Both Runion and the Kansas City Royals said they are making strong headway toward a deal that would put the 6-foot-4 right-hander's signature on his first pro baseball contract. Once Runion does that, he'll report to Surprise and the Arizona League Royals, a rookie league team that opens its season Friday.

"We're pretty close, and I'm hoping we can get something done this week," Runion said Monday night. "It's hard to wait, and I don't like sitting around a whole lot. I'm ready to go, anxious to get out of here and get my career started at the next level.""

Also from the same story:

"Ladnier said Kansas City signed its only third-round pick (California high school pitcher Danny Duffy) on Monday."

I saw a story from a Calfornia paper from draft day saying that Duffy will also be in Surprise for the start.

The only hiccup (not counting Moustakas--that deal will get done soon enough--or 5th rounder Adrian Ortiz, a pick I didn't care for and I'm just not all that concerned about him at the moment) appears to be Zach Kenyon, 9th rounder out of Davenport, IA.  He's got a scholarship to Iowa, and their coach (per "Hawk Central" web site) said, "It's up in the air. I feel we have a good chance of keeping him here, but he's asking for a lot of money and if the Royals come up with it there's always that chance he might sign."

It seems that the Royals are doing what it takes to get these guys signed and started. According to the Manassas Journal Messenger, 12th rounder Sean McCauley was quoted as saying expected to decline an offer and that he wanted $300,000 to skip school at Western Carolina go pro.  According to the official site, he signed last Thursday. Add that to good results for a number of draft picks yesterday in Idaho Falls (13th Rounder Ryan Eigsti 2-4, BB, 2 RBI, 10th rounder Greg Holland struck out 3 in two innings, no ER, got the win) and Burlington (30th Rounder Brett Amyx Grand Slam, 29th rounder Kyle Martin 3-5, 16th rounder Patrick Norris 2-5, 2 R, 2SB)  and the fact that they've already signed more than half their picks, and I think the first draft of the GMDM era looks pretty darn good so far.