Today is the day when teams can begin signing 16 year old Latin players, and it appears that this year there will be more cash flying around than ever before.  Michael Inoa, the top prospect this year, has reportedly been given a bonus of $4.25mm by Oakland, which almost doubles the previous bonus record for a player.

As for the Royals, it sounds like we continue to take steps forward in the international market.  We have been rumored as one of the main suitors for Adis Portillo, the 2nd best Latin pitcher and 3rd overall prospect, who should command a seven figure bonus.  Also, many publications have mentioned us as "new money" players on the Latin scene, along with teams such as Oakland, San Diego, and Cincinnati. 

Personally, I'd love to see us steal one of the top 10-15 players, simply because of the signal that it would send to Latin America and the rest of MLB that we are ready to take the next organizational step forward.

Don't look now, but Mike Moustakas is on fire.

After his horrid April, he has now hit 3 HR in the last 4 games and 4 HR in the last 7.  He is also flashing some wheels as he stole his 3rd base tonight.

This is a perfect example of why fans should not be so trigger-happy about writing a guy off so early in his pro career.  It seems like we do this every year.

                                                                                                       

http://www.kansas.com/sports/wranglers/story/119333.html

Personally I think this is a great idea, as a move out of the Texas League might do wonders for him, a la Jered Weaver.  

Weaver had a very blah tour through the Texas League, but really turned it on once he got to the PCL.  I wouldn't be shocked if Hochevar followed suit.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/highschool/features/264412.html

I can't wait to see this kid take the field, he's a very intriguing prospect.  On one hand, he's not exactly a scout's dream, as he's only 6 feet tall, a bit stocky, and doesn't have a true defensive position.  On the other hand, he had a season and career for the ages, belting 24 HRs this season and finishing with 52 in his career - both California prep records.  

Is this light tower power legit, or was he helped out by weak pitchers and small fields?  I have no reason to doubt him, but it's hard for me to believe a kid his size could have this much power at his age.  Also, could this have been just an amazing hot streak?  He came into this season as more of a top 3-5 rounds guy, rather than a potential #2 overall pick.  

In summation, I'm interested to see how he performs after a few months off.  He has an 80 arm and has displayed 80 power, but will it last?  Can he stick in the middle infield, or will he move to a corner spot?  

Lubanski got the call yesterday after the Texas League All-Star game that he was being promoted to Omaha, KC's Triple A club.  

http://www.kansas.com/sports/wranglers/story/108556.html

It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to PCL pitching and if he can make improvements against LHPs.  He's always crushed righties but he hasn't made that next step against the southpaws.  Also, he's arguably had the best 1st half of his career this season, as he's a notoriously slow starter.  

Best case scenario is that he's KC's starting left fielder at some point in 08, worst case is that he develops into a solid platoon player in 09.  

I led the Royals mock draft through the first three rounds, then handed the reigns off to adschofield for the final two.  Overall, I thought we had a tremendous draft, as we picked up a handful of premium high-ceiling arms to go along with our surprise 1st round pick, the polished catcher Matt Wieters.

1st round: Matt Wieters, C, Georgia Tech

I went back and forth on the decision between Wieters and Rick Porcello, and in the end I decided to play it safe with Wieters.  I have no doubt that Wieters will be at the very least a league average catcher in the show, with the potential to be a perennial All-Star.  Porcello was tempting, but overall I feel this draft class was loaded with high-ceiling prep arms and I thought I could pick up some nice talents later on.

2nd round: Nick Tepesch, RHP, MO HS

I ended up going with the local boy at the 66th pick with Nick Tepesch out of Blue Springs, MO.  He is your power righty with a projectable frame and has shown a great fastball/curve combo.  He has reached the mid 90's, and I believe the velocity will gain a few ticks as he matures.  While I like the pick, Tepesch was roughly my 4th or 5th choice at this spot, and I was really counting on Dan Duffy or Neil Ramirez being available.  

3rd round: Julian Sampson, RHP, Wash HS

Sampson was my #1 target for this spot, and I actually gave consideration to taking him a round earlier for fear that he wouldn't be here.  I absolutely love this guy as a prospect and feel he is underrated.  Long, projectable frame, loose arm action, low 90's gas that should improve in time, and a great feel for his breaking stuff.  I feel his potential is throught the roof.

4th round: Kevin Rhoderick, RHP, Ariz HS

This is when adschofield took over, and I was pleased when I saw this pick.  Rhoderick is another power arm to add to our farm system, but his stock is lower than his stuff warrants due to the bias against short pitchers (Rhoderick is 6 feet tall).  Excellent arm action, low/mid 90's velocity, good feel for his secondary stuff.  Hopefully adschofield can share his thoughts on Rhoderick later on.

5th round: Drake Britton, LHP, Texas HS

Another great pick by adschofield, and Britton filled the southpaw void in our draft.  Britton is another underrated prospect that isn't getting the love he deserves due to BA not placing him in their top 200.  Britton mixes a heavy, low 90's fastball with a nasty curve and was impressive during a showcase run last summer.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, I think we did a tremendous job of achieving our main priority, which was injecting the farm system with elite, high-ceiling talent.  Wieters should fly through the system, while the four HS pitchers will be able to take their time and develop properly to aid in achieving their true potential.  The focus on upside players is a high-risk proposition, but it is what a small-market franchise needs to do in order to find a few diamonds.  

Thoughts?

With just over a week until the draft, it's time to start narrowing down who we like and who we don't like.  I said in the first Royals mod that I want to focus on high-ceiling players to help inject some talent into our system.  This is one of the strongest drafts for preps in some time, and therefore I think it would be wise to lean towards HS athletes early on.

There has been a lot of discussion on who KC should take with their first pick, and I have set up a poll so we can finally put this one to bed and move on.  

After the 1st round, there should be many interesting names to sift through that offer some promise.  We've talked about some high school players, but who are some college players that you are high on?  I have some names in my head, but I am wary about naming them here, so I'd like to hear what everyone else thinks.  

Poll

Who Should KC Take At #2?

52%

Rick Porcello

31 votes

5%

Josh Vitters

3 votes

37%

Matt Wieters

22 votes

0%

Ross Detwiler

0 votes

1%

Mike Moustakas

1 votes

3%

Jarrod Parker

2 votes

59 votes | Poll has closed

John was kind enough to appoint me as Scouting Director for the Royals in this little mock draft, so I guess I will start off by briefly discussing my draft philosophies and how they relate with our Kansas City Royals.

1. First and foremost, this team needs an influx of talent.  You can try and point to different areas, but they just need talent anywhere they can get it.  Outside of Gordon, Butler, and Hochevar, there are a lot of question marks and organizational fodder.
2. Based off of #1, I prefer a BPA approach at all times during the draft.  I don't like to take a short-sighted approach to try and plug current holes on the parent club - that might work for a large-market team, but that is not a prudent approach for a low revenue club such as the Royals.
3. In the famous words of Roy Clark, I prefer to "raise our own kids".  With Dayton Moore in charge, I would like to see the Royals focus on preps with high-upside and depend on our player development department to groom quality MLB players.  It's certainly an approach that takes patience, but I think that patience will pay off if done the right way.  

Let's get some quality discussions going, I think this can potentially be a fantastic draft for the future of this franchise.

Thoughts?  Opinions?  

Per 810 radio in KC.

Ryan Shealy sent to DL.

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According to Rosenthal and ESPN, the Royals are close to terms with Gil Meche on a 4 year, $45 million dollar deal.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2689724&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6247654

If true, the Royals certainly overpaid for him in regards to his probable market value, but it makes a statement that the Moore-led Royals are going to make a legit effort to be competitive MLB team.  

Thoughts on this deal?