Since we are at the halfway point of the season, it is a good time to take a look at the players having an impact in the minor league system.  Today, we’ll take a look at the prospects and how the lineup has changed since the beginning of the season for the Burlington Bees.  While the team is severely lacking in power, with the exception of Moustakas, there are a few high OBP guys, who would be interesting to follow and track as they work their way through the system (Giavotella, Van Stratten). 

Catcher – Ryan Egisti  .216/.272/.361
A 15th round pick from the 2007 draft out of Bradley University, he has really struggled with the bat.  If anything, he serves as a fine example of the lack of organizational depth at the position. 

First Baseman – Clint Robertson .234/.320/.424
A 25th round pick from the 2007 draft out of Troy, AL, he has a fairly significant split hitting righties much better than lefties (.754 vs. .640).  He does have 9 HR’s on the year, which places him second to Mike Moustakas on the team. 

Second Baseman – Johnny Giavotella .330/.400/.396
A 2nd round pick from the 2008 draft out of the University of New Orleans, he is off to a small sample size driven hot streak.  He has shown a good amount of OBP skill, walks are about even to K’s  (12/14).  On the other hand, he has shown a minimal amount of power with only 7 extra base hits (all doubles).  Overall, he has a .796 OPS, but also has a serious platoon split with a .954 OPS Vs lefties and a .764 OPS vs. righties.  The platoon split is probably small sample size driven seeing as he has only 22 AB’s against lefties, but with his OBP ability, it makes him one of the more interesting prospects to watch on this team. 

Shortstop – Kyle Martin .313/.378/.522
Martin has taken over shortstop when Moustakas moved to third.  He was a 29th round pick from Texas Tech and has hit for decent power 5 HR’s in 140 AB’s.  If there is an area of his game that needs improvement it’s his defense with 8 errors already in 40 games.  Juan Rivera has also received some PT at SS since the Moustakas Move and he’s hitting .215/.268/.277.

Third Baseman – Mike Moustakas .244/.306/.405
After an ice cold start like the rest of his fellow Bees, Moustakas has started to turn his season around and started to show the power that made him the #2 pick in the 2007 draft.  After hitting just .190 in April, he’s managed to hit .262 the rest of the way with 11 of his 12 homers hit during these months.  While many look at his numbers and see a disappointing season, he is a high school pick and they can take longer to develop.   Finally, the big news was the position switch from SS to 3B, which to be honest needed to happen after committing 17 errors at SS.  While it doesn’t help our positional need, it should help the player develop in the long run, especially since he more than has the arm for the position. 

Right Fielder – Jamar Walton .228/.277/.343
Walton was signed by the Royals as a minor league free agent out of the Marlins organization, and has proceeded to do very little in the Bees uniform with only a .620 OPS.  To his credit, he has played solid defense, but I would not be surprised to see him lose PT to Nick Van Stratten in the future. 

Center Fielder – Adrian Ortiz .310/.335/.387
If you want to think of him as the second coming of Joey Gathright, then you probably wouldn’t be far off except that Ortiz has hit 2 HR’s and has 19 XBH’s.  The real highlight of his game is his speed as he’s stolen 27 bases in  41 attempts for a 66% success rate.  His plate discipline also leaves a little to be desired as he has 61 K’s in 393 AB’s, which is a little high for a leadoff hitter.  For a 5th Round pick out of Pepperdine, he is arguably having the best season of anyone on the team. 

Left Fielder – David Lough .267/.328/.424
11th round pick from the 2007 draft out of Mercyhurst College.  Lough is a solid hitter against right-handers with a .807 OPS and a struggling hitter against lefties with a meager .581 OPS.  He has some solid power with 8 HR’s third on the team and has some decent speed (10 steals in 17 attempts).  Overall, he is a solid all around player with no one tool that really stands out. 

Worth Watching – Nick Van Stratten/OF .352/.417/.537
He’s a 10th round pick in 2006 draft out of St. Louis CC Merimac.  He’s another one with a small sample size, but doing a little bit of everything hitting 6 XBH’s with 3 steals in 54 AB’s.  He also managed to have a .907 OPS last year in short season ball at Idaho Falls. 

       As you can see by the numbers the Bees have no exceptional stand out talent on the team, but a lot of solid contributors with balanced skills.  Ortiz and Moustakas clearly are the stars with Giavotella and interesting addition  from this year’s draft.  The Bees currently have a 14-12 record .538 winning percentage good for 4th place in the Midwest league.

Here goes:  the minor league report for the Burlington Bees hitters.  The team is off to a slow start with only 5 hitters batting above the Mendoza line.  The sluggish offense is part of the reason the team is off to 2-5 start; however, there is still lots of time to turn things around and these are small sample sizes after only one week of baseball. 

 

The Burlington Hitters: 

1.)    Mike Moustakas SS - He is off to a slow start to his Burlington Bees career (.185/.295/.185). 

      BP prospect guru, Kevin Goldstein, caught the home opener for the Kane County A’s team and had this to say:  “Seeing Moustakas for the first time is a bit of a surprise. You know just from reading his listed height and weight that he's not the massive slugger one would expect from a player who set California high school single-season and career home-run marks. While he's listed at six-foot even and 195 pounds, he looks downright short, thick, and stocky, and while he was never tested at shortstop during the game, all it takes is a visual to realize he has little chance of staying there, which already the overwhelming consensus among the scouting community. "Does that look like a shortstop to you?" I asked the scout. "That looks like a stocky second baseman to me," he responded. "Hell, that looks like a catcher to me," he concluded. "And he's got a 70 arm, easy, but it would take a lot of guts to try that." Getting away from the negative for a bit, while the game featured three home runs, Moustakas smote the hardest-hit ball of the game, a tomahawk single to right field that didn't have any loft but was past Cougars second baseman Matt Ray before he even had a chance to react. He also struck out twice, including once looking on an outstanding curveball that came back to catch the outer edge of the plate and had one scout joking, "I’m guessing he never saw that pitch in high school." 

Using Moustakas as a catcher, now that is an interesting idea.  I think 2B or the OF is his eventual destination, but that would be creative and bold. 

2.)    Adrian Ortiz CF– is off to a hot start batting .357/.400/.464.  As the Bees leadoff hitter/CF, he is showing the speed and OBP skills that had him picked in the 5th round of the 2007 draft. 

3.)    Jason Taylor 3B – Taken in the 2nd Round of the 2006 Draft, he is another Bee struggling with the bat, hitting a mere .150/.320/.200. 

4.)    Clint Robinson 1B – The team slugger has already hit 3 HR’s in one week of action and is batting a robust .273/.360/.773 with 3BB’s to only 1 K. 

5.)    Alwin Perez 2B - .000/.143/.000

6.)    WilsonTucker RF - .200/.294/.400 with one home run. 

7.)    David Lough LF - .259/.333/.296

8.)    Ryan Eigisti C - .125/.167/.125

 

Overall, this is a team with a somewhat limited offense and outside of Moustakas, Ortiz, and Taylor there is not much in the way of prospects, though Robinson looks intriguing and should be interesting to follow this season.  **NOTE** The players covered are the starters for the team.  I’ll cover the others if someone emerges or goes on a hot streak. 

Here's a thought.  Lopez seems to have fallen out of favor with the Mariners.  What would it take to obtain him?  His MLB track record is not the best:

2004. .232/.263/.367
      
2005. .247/.282/.379
      
2006. .282/.319/.402
      
2007. .252/.284/.355

The OBP is really low, but his defense is above average.  I think 2006, could represent his upside, but considering that the Mariners rushed him along and he's only 25, I think there is potential here.  He could make a nice stop-gap until Moose is ready.  What would we be willing to give up to obtain him?  Would it be worth it?

It's out the list of the top 100 prospects in the MLB.  Mike Moustakas makes the list at #19.  Luke Hochevar really took a dive down to #72.  Amazing, what a difference one year makes.  Here's the link if anyone is interested (it's the complete list):

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=7092

Has anyone else noticed how deep our pitching has become?  I mean, who will make the opening day roster?  

Starters:
Meche, Greinke, Bannister, Hochevar, Tomko, Davies, JDLR, Bale, Hudson

Relievers:  
Braun, Duckworth, Yabuta, Soria, Peralta, Musser, Mahay, Nunez

Long Shots: Tsao, Colon, Lawerence Nomo

If I were mixing and matching this bunch. I would carry the following
Starters: Meche, Greinke, Bannister, Hochevar, Tomko
Relievers: Hudson, Bale, Peralta, Gobble, Nunez, Mahay, Yabuta, Soria

Figuring that Spring Training will sort most of this out, how would you mix and match the pitching staff, if we start tommorow?  

If the season started tommorow, what would are opening day roster look like.  At this point, there are many things that could change in my mind the most likely is the addition of another starting pitcher.  However, if I were manager this would be the roster:

Rotation: Gil Meche, Brian Bannister, Zack Greinke, Luke Hochevar, Kyle Davies

Bullpen: Luke Hudson, John Bale, Joel Peralta
Jimmy Gobble, Leo Nunez, Yashito Yabuta, Joakim Soria

Catchers: John Buck, Matt Tupman

First Base: Ryan Shealy

Second Base: Mark Grudzielanek, Esteban German

Shortstop: Tony Pena Jr., Alberto Callaspo

Third Base: Alex Gordon

Outfielders: Mark Teahen, David DeJesus, Jose Guillen, Ross Gload

DH: Billy Butler

Some of these roster spots are interchangable.  Luke Hudson as long reliever could become Davies (if pushed out of the rotation) or DeLaRosa.  Reserve outfielder is an interesting dilema.  Gator should probably be it, but what do we with Gload if we carry Shealy, or do they battle for 1B in Spring Training and the other is cut?  Anyway if you are GMDM for a day, and have some tough decisions to make, which do you choose?  

For the second part of my look at the trade market and how it applies to our Kansas City Royals, I will focus on pitching.  The Royals are only one of 30 other teams that are looking for both starting and relief pitching.   Our trade bait remains the same:  DDJ, Buckner, Lubanski, Huber, Costa, Peralta, Gobble.  The FA market is a little iffy, Carlos Silva for 5/55 anyone?  Didn't think so.  Also to make matters more complicated, what do the Royals need?  Is it a front line starting pitcher (an ace) or depth in the back of the rotation?  If they move Soria to the rotation, who will close?  Personally, Greinke looks poised for a breakout season and maybe Hochevar can join him at the top of the rotation for the next 4 to 5 years.  This would leave Meche as our #3 starter with Bannister #4 and Davies #5.  However that is the rose colored glasses view, the other perspective is we have a lot of mid-range talent (#2, 3, 4 starters), but no ace.  Which side will win?  Only time will tell, but regardless of what happens, GMDM is going to acquire some pitching this offseason.  In this article, we will look at veteran starters, and up and comers, who could make a difference.  

Veteran Starters
Righties:
1.) Mark Prior - 2007: Injured did not play.  At this point, no word has been made if the Cubs will offer him arbitration, so he could be a FA at this writing.  He presents the most upside in the trade market.  His career has played out much like Chris Carpenter's, ace like potential, but he's only on the mound every other year.  The Cubs have been very patient with him and I expect him to remain with the team, but if he could be had this would be worth pursuing.  

2.) Rich Harden - 2007 Stats: 1-2 2.45 ERA 27 K/11BB in 25.2 IP Signed through 2008 for 4.5 mil with a 7 mil club option for 2009.  Much like Prior in that he's an ace when healthy, but he so seldom is that you forget how good he can be.  I could see the A's parting with him as I think they will be big sellers this winter.  Drawback: Both he and Prior would come at a steep price, would it be worth it?  

3.) Erwin Santana - 2007 stats: 7-14 5.75 ERA 125 K/58BB in 150 IP Under team control for 3 more years, he is the most attractive and attainable option of the three.  His MLB performance has been inconsistent, but his minor league track record is solid and he could be a nice mid-rotation pitcher for years to come.  The Angels also seem to have grown frustrated with the inconsistency.  The Angels seem to need DH, 3B, and a little OF help, perhaps Huber and Lubanski for him?  

Lefties:
1.) Chris Capuano - 2007 stats: 5-12 5.10 ERA 132K/54BB in 150 IP Arb eligible through 2009.  He is coming off of an offseason, and seems to have fallen out of favor with the Brewers.  The Royals seem to have an interest in a lefty who could be consistent and Capuano fits that profile.  The Brewers desperately need relievers and defensive specialists.  

2.) Noah Lowry - 2007 Stats:  14-8 3.98 ERA 87K/87BB in 150 IP.  Signed through 2008 and 2009 for 6.75 mil with a club option for 2010 of 6.25 mil.  He has the most upside and a successful MLB track record.  Drawback:  The Giants are rebuilding and will be asking a lot as he is one of their most valuable trading chips.  
3.) Zach Duke - 2007 stats:  3-8 5.53 ERA 41 K/25BB in 107.1 IP.  He will be under team control until 2011.  The Pirates have no need to part with him and would be selling low to do so, but he might benefit from a change of scenery.  His stellar rookie season has been followed by two mediocre seasons.  Drawback:  Our teams don't match up well due to being in very similar situations.

Up and Coming Talent:
1.) Phillip Humber (Mets)
2.) Kevin Slowey (Twins)
3.) Anthony Reyes (Cardinals)
4.) Hayden Penn (Orioles)
5.) Hong Chih Kuo (Dodgers)

Again, I tried to keep these trade possibilities as realistic as possible, so no Johan Santana to the Royals for Justin Huber, Joe Nelson and a bucket of baseballs.  If only that would work!  Pitching is a much more complicated issue due to our developing young talent and lack of any glaring weakness.  Compound this with the fact that every major league team is looking for it, the decision making process has to be difficult for GMDM and staff.   For the sake of this exercise and to simplify things, Soria will remain in the bullpen.  What starter do we get? Well, it depends if you are a glass half-full or half-empty type of person.  

The Royals will spend the majority of the offseason looking to upgrade a few positions in the field for a power hitter either SS, LF, or both.  The FA options have been discussed heavily over the past couple weeks.   In this article, I will break trade canidates into veterans at SS, veterans at LF, and the category I think the Royals will venture into the undervalued talent, which will be under team control for a greater amount of time.  Of course, trades are a little trickier than FA's seeing as we have to have something another team would actually want.  I figure our most tradeable commodoties are DDJ, Gobble, Gator, Huber, Costa, Buckner, Peralta.    

Veteran Trade Canidates at SS:
1.) Miguel Tejada (Orioles) - Though he is a player on the decline, his production could be a welcome boost to the middle of the lineup.  In 2007, he hit .297/.357/.442 with 18 HR's and 96 RBI's.  Defense is also on the downward slide, could TPJ be his defensive replacement?  Under contract until 2009, but 26 mil seems expensive.  

2.) Orlando Cabrera (Angels) - He would be a one year rent-a-player for 9 mil, but he would provide solid D and a welcome bat, but does he provide more offense than TPJ?  2007 stats: .301/.345/.397 with 8 HR and 86 RBI's.  20 SB's are a nice perk as well.  

3.) Rafael Furcal (Dodgers) - Another one year player with a slightly higher price tag of $13 mil.  He provides a lot of the same skills that Cabrera does albeit with a higher price tag.  2007 stats:  .270/.333/.355 with 6 HR and 47 RBI's.  He also had 25 SB's.  

4.) Bobby Crosby (A's) Signed through 2009 for 8.75 mil.  He's often injured, but who on the A's wasn't this year.  The A's could quite possibly be focusing on a rebuilding year.  Due to his injury history and being a bit of an underperformer also with the A's being sellers could he be had on the cheap?  2007 stats:  .226/.278/.341 with 8 HR and 31 RBI in 349 AB's.  

5.) Bill Hall (Brewers) - He's signed though 2010 for about 20 mil.  While somewhat defensively challenged at both SS and CF, his bat will play anywhere.  He's another one who will need TPJ as a defensive replacement, but he could be capable of hitting 30 HR's.  2007 stats:  .254/.315/.425 14 HR and 63 RBI's albeit in an off year for him, but he's signed to a reasonable deal and might be had reasonably.  

Veteran Trade Canidates in OF:  
1.) Rocco Baldelli (D'Rays) - His contract has one guaranteed year at 2.25 mil and club options for 2009-2011.   Though he is often injured, his value will never be lower and he could still have a JD Drew like career.  Could he be had for a defensive minded SS and a pitcher?  Question is has all his time off hurt his productivity on the field?  2007 stats:  .204/.268/.358 with 5 HR and 12 RBI's in 137 AB's.  

2.) Pat Burrell (Phillies) -  He would be a one year rent-a-player for 14 mil. The Phillies are not happy with him despite his 30 HR's and 96 RBI's, so would they be crazy enough to trade him?  His 2007 line is .256/400/.502.  Drawback:  He'll need a platoon partner due to significant splits and is a little strikeout prone.  

3.) Jason Bay (Pirates) He is under contract through 2009 for 13.25 mil.  He's coming off an off year.  The Pirates will be asking a lot, but he'd make a nice addition if he can bounce back.  2007 stats: .247/.327/.418 with 21 HR and 84 RBI's.  

4.) Luke Scott (Astros)  He is making little more than the minimum and is under team control for the next 4 years. For whatever reason the Astros just don't seem to like this guy, he got off to a slow start, but is capable of hitting 25 to 30 HR's in a year.  Drawback:  The Astros needs are much the same as ours.  2007 stats: .255/.351/.504 18 HR and 64 RBI's in 369 AB's.  Now again, Why don't they like this guy?

5.) Marcus Thames (Tigers) He's making little more than the league minimum and under team control for 3 more years. Though he is a little defensively challenged and a little bit of a late bloomer, he has a lot of power for a corner OF.  He's another one who seems to have fallen out of favor with the Tigers, most likely due to lack of OBP.  Maybe Chris Shelton could be had as well?  2007 stats:  .242/.278/.498 with 18 HR's and 54 RBI's.  

Up and Coming Canidates at SS:
1.) Brett Lillibridge/Yunel Escobar (Braves)
2.) Chin Lin Hu (Dodgers)
3.) Sean Rodriquez (Angels)

Up and Coming Canidates in OF:
1.) Carlos Quentin/Carlos Gonzalez (D'backs)
2.) Matt Murton (Cubs)
3.) Lastings Milledge (Mets)

Overall, it will boil down to the amount of talent that we will have to part with and what exactly the other teams need.  I think we match up well with some teams, particularly any needing bullpen help and CF help.  I also tried to keep the list realistic to people we could realistically obtain; even though, I'd love to see Jimmy Rollins in Royal Blue.  Any thoughts on the trade market?  Are there any rumors in the works that could possibly break?    

The Royals have much hope for the future and much of it rests on the shoulders of our rookies.  Here is what BP had to say of our three that made the top 10:  

2007 IBA AL Rookie of the Year: Dustin Pedroia

The Red Sox dominated the Internet AL Rookie of the Year voting almost as much as they later dominated the World Series. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia started out slowly offensively, but picked things up in May, and played the field well all season, which translated into a first-place by a wide margin. Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, who often showed why the Red Sox crossed an ocean to acquire him but also was somewhat inconsistent, finished second, while another Red Sox import, Hideki Okajima, finished fifth after having much more important impact as the club's top lefty out of the pen than anyone anticipated. Royals hurler Brian Bannister used a new two-seam fastball to become a much more effective pitcher than he had been in the minors, and finished third. With Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie finishing fourth, Yankees phenom Joba Chamberlin placing seventh, and Royals closer Joakim Soria finished eighth, 2007 proved to be a year when the rookie pitchers of the American League clearly outperformed the more hyped class of hitters, a group that included prospects such as Delmon Young and Alex Gordon.

Rnk Name                   1      2      3      4      5   Ballots Points
 1. Dustin Pedroia       838    178     89     21     11    1137   10145
 2. Daisuke Matsuzaka    138    328    275    115     61     917    5457
 3. Brian Bannister       57    150    151    155     87     600    2927
 4. Jeremy Guthrie        66    155    124     86     49     480    2672
 5. Hideki Okajima        16    115    130    119    121     501    2093
 6. Delmon Young          34     96    105     76     61     372    1826
 7. Joba Chamberlain      25     33     50     39     48     195     896
 8. Joakim Soria           9     31     50     55     51     196     773
 9. Reggie Willits         4     36     46     60     59     205     761
10. Alex Gordon            5     17     29     33     35     119     448

Lot's of hope on the horizon.  I think Billy Butler could have cracked the top 10 easily, if he had more AB's.  

My best estimate is that when all FA's are taken off and new players are added it would look something like this:

Pitchers (19)
John Bale, Brian Bannister, Ryan Braun,Billy Buckner, Roman Colon, Kyle Davies, Jorge DeLaRosa
Brandon Duckworth, Jimmy Gobble, Zack Greinke
Luke Hochevar, Luke Hudson, Tyler Lumsden, Gil Meche, Leo Nunez, Joel Peralta, Jarod Plummer,
Carlos Rosa, Joakim Soria

Catchers (3)
John Buck, Paul Phillips, Matt Tupman

Infielders (12)
Wes Bankston, Billy Butler, Esteban German,
Ross Gload, Alex Gordon, Mark Grudzielanek,
Justin Huber, Tony Pena Jr., Angel Sanchez,
Ryan Shealy, Mike Stodolka

Outfielders (6)
Shane Costa, David DeJesus, Joey Gathright,
Chris Lubanski, Mitch Maier, Mark Teahen

Technically, this adds up to 39 players which leaves room for a Rule 5 addition.  There are several places to improve.  Some where we are very unbalanced for example 6 1B types and only 1 backup SS canidate.  We've debated the merits of FA acquisitions and possible trades.  What players need to be protected that aren't on this list?  Any players that could be cut loose as the need arises?  

The Royals need for power extends to many positions on the diamond.  One area in which we could use a major upgrade is SS.  I like what TPJ has done this year, and in many ways he has performed better than expected.  As a winning maybe even contending team, we cannot continue to get by with him as a starter with a line of .257/.275/.335. TPJ is not without his uses and would make a fine reserve.  

Some possibilities for SS include:
1.) Bill Hall - coming from an off year provides above average power and adequate defense.  
2.) Miguel Tejada - a player whose skills are on the decline, but still provides solid d, moderate power.  
3.) Edgar Renteria - would only be available for one year, but could have value if he hits at his current level.  
4.) Erick Aybar - had a down year w/LAA and is now considered a utility infielder, but has some upside.  In fact, Angels, Braves, Dodgers have numerous middle IF prospects.  
5.) Chin Ling Hu - is he really going to hit more than TPJ in the bigs?  Exceptional D though.  

The Royals OF situation may work itself out with some of our in house talent (Huber, Lubanski) and our young sluggers improving (Teahen, Shealy, Gordon and Butler).  SS remains our biggest liability.  Any suggestions of players, we should go after?  Enjoy!    

MLBtraderumors.com had as an interesting series called Needs and Luxuries.  In which, they take a look at each team and their postseason needs.  I thought it was a interesting break down.  The positives are definitely the pitching staff and Butler/Gordon's potential.  Biggest Need another starting pitcher and an impact bat.  Here is the link , enjoy!

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2007/09/needs-and-lux-4.html#comments

Baseball Prospectus recently took a look at the most improved players in each minor league franchise.  Here is what they had to say about the Royals:

"While plenty of starters put up big numbers at High-A Wilmington, righty Daniel Cortes showed the most impressive stuff, as the 20-year-old righty compiled a 3.04 ERA in 24 starts and nearly a strikeout per inning. Already in possession of a low-90s fastball, Cortes' curve showed improvement throughout the year, and in his last eight starts, he posted a 0.77 ERA while allowing just 34 hits and 12 walks in 47 innings.

Honorable Mention: Fellow Blue Rock righty Julio Pimentel has one of the better fastballs in the organization and finished third in the Carolina League with a 2.65 ERA, but scouts still want to see more from his secondary offerings. Like Pimentel, reliever Jarod Plummer was also acquired from the Dodgers and has the same issues, but he projects as a solid big league reliever after compiling 91 strikeouts against just 18 walks in 82 bullpen innings."

Are there any other Royals who have flown under the radar, making significant improvements.  Rowdy Hardy sure seemed to come out of nowhere.  Any ideas on who might be a breakout canidate for next year?  PS - If any one know how to put the grey text box around the source material, please let me know.  

Looking towards next season the need for a power bat is apparent.  What will the Royals do?  Will Billy Butler play 1B/DH/LF?  Will Ryan Shealy step up and hit like a first baseman?  Will Justin Huber or Craig Brazell contribute anything at the MLB level?  Will Mike Sweeney be resigned?  Is it necessary?  If a trade can't get done, who will we promote is it someone I haven't mentioned thus far?  It's worth pondering.  Here are the numbers:

Billy Butler MLB .300/.354/.464
             AAA .291/.412/.542
Ryan Shealy MLB .221/.295/.309
Justin Huber AAA .280/.341/.525
Craig Brazell AAA .305/.336/.606
               AA .349/.408/.587

My thoughts on this whole matter are as follows:  Billy Butler may not have a defensive home and I think Ryan Shealy has been hurt all year and still has something left to prove.  I think the two will rotate between the 1B/DH Slots all year, next year.   Justin Huber in LF is an interesting possibility.  Will he provide the power we are missing, probably not; however, if Butler and Gordon continue to develop as hitters their power will increase, is more power than say Emil Brown could provide necessary?  Huber could make a nice complimentary piece.  Brazell - will get a fleeting Pickering like glance.  His power is too good to ignore, but I wonder what he can do at the MLB level, since he's always been a minor league journeyman.  He might have a Jack Cust type season in him somewhere. Sweeney could be signed at the minimum or a little more and be in the DH mix.  If healthy, he could be a cheap source of power.  Any other solutions from within?  

Brian Bannister has pitched well all year, and he seems like a lock in Royals rotation for years to come.  BP recently interviewed and collected his thoughts on pitching.  Some comments are very interesting, particularly regarding the recent Boston series, where this interview took place.  Enjoy!

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6547

The Royals have a lot of players, who could conceivably pass through waivers and find themselves in the playoff hunt.  Those being: Reggie Sanders, Emil Brown, Odalis Perez, Jason LaRue.  Let's take a look at some of these canidates:
1.) Reggie Sanders - would have qualified, but with his recent injury, his season/career is probably done.
2.) Emil Brown - could fill the same role Reggie would have (4th OF who is a veteran with some pop in his bat).
3.) Jason LaRue - can't see why anyone would want him, but if you're backup catcher comes up lame, could he be the guy they call?
4.) Odalis Perez - he's been streaky all year, but could provide a team with an average fifth starter down the stretch.  

Do we feel the Royals are done trading for the year?  Do we have any trade possibilities for these guys?  Any others that maybe I've overlooked?

The most consistent part of the team not named John Buck, just got a little better.  What part's that?  You guessed it the bullpen.  It looked ugly and dire this spring, but they've turned it around and haven't looked too bad.  Soria will be used in a set-up role for Dotel, until certain he can work back to back days.  They haven't ruled out making a starter out of him either.  All intriguing possibilities.  

On the other end, this either means a send down of Ryan Braun or a DFA for Scott Elarton.  John Bale also pitching well in minor league rehab assignment.  Positive developments.  

http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070605&content_id=2006984&vkey=news_ kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc

Gordon Stats

Poll

What to do with Alex Gordon?

0 votes | Poll has closed

Continue reading this post »

The former Royals all-star is cut from the Atlanta team.  He really struggled with Atlanta, and looked really lost as these numbers would attest 11.63 ERA 0-4 record, 11 BB/13K's, 2.26 WHIP pretty ugly.  Yet on the other hand I can see a few teams willing to take a flier on such a pitcher.  Any Suggestions?  

The year of 2007 is shaping up to be a great year in music (Here's hoping Royals baseball follows suit).  I say this because I'm currently listening to Wilco's new record Sky Blue Sky, which has phenomenal melodies and impeccable guitar playing.  Which got me to thinking, what other great records came out this year?

Already my short list is: Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse, Shins, Bright Eyes, Amy Winehouse, Patty Griffin.

What other music are the people at RR listening too? Any favorites?

Hey ladies,
Here at Royals Review, we have high standards.  The loyal followers that support our team would like to list a few of our favorites.  We are not disinclined to hear what you have to say, who are the hottest guys?  It is a rain delay, so we need something to indulge our sexist macho pig type tendencies.  So guys, who's it going to be?  Humble appologies, lbk.  

Personal fav's for me: Scarlett Jo, Alyssa Milano, Anne Hathaway, Naomi Watts, Jenna Fisher, Kate Beckinsale to name a few.  

With the Royals sinking into the abyss early and quicker than expected, the question remains who will be the first to be traded? Or could we make a deal to shock this team into playing ball.  MLB Trade Rumors took a stab at it this morning.  

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2007/04/royals_trade_ru.html#comments

Basically any veteran on our team would serve as trade bait.  Deals that could go down would seem to involve Sanders, Grudz, Emil, LaRue, Berroa (let's hope).  Obviously GMDM main MO has been adding pitching, but as the season has started our middle infield and offense have been woefully inadequate.  

Any thoughts or rumors that anyone's heard?

Poll

Which veteran will be traded first?

76%

Sanders

20 votes

19%

Brown

5 votes

3%

Berroa

1 votes

0%

LaRue

0 votes

0%

Grudz

0 votes

26 votes | Poll has closed

For those of you interested in fantasy baseball they have a nice blurb about Joakim Soria for saves.  This is becoming increasingly more relevant with the rumors of Dotel being back later than expected.  

http://www.rotoauthority.com/2007/04/joakim_soria_ti.html

Also it's great that Zack Greinke is getting some love here too.  Always good to get Royals recognition.  Anyway, enjoy.

Baseball Prospectus has their annual Hope and Faith article:  How the Royals can win the World Series.  

https://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6027

The World Series might be a bit of a stretch, but they do bring up some positives that should make 2007 interesting.  As for Hope and Faith, this is what Royals fans live for, and maybe that will be justified in 2008 or 2009 with a pennant.  Enjoy the Read.

I noticed some sad news today that Joe Randa has announced his retirement.  The third base position is probably the deepest in the game, so he would have a hard time finding a starting job somewhere.  Even still, he could be a valuable reserve to have at either infield corner.   He was a valuable piece to the Royals in the late 90's/early 2000's.  His career numbers .284/.339/.425.  

Over at http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6392576

they have a nice ranking of the GM's in major league baseball.  The first three were obvious 1.) Shuerholtz 2.)Jockety 3.)Terry Ryan, but Dayton Moore popped up at 19.  Not bad for a guy that just started a few months ago.  I thought it was an interesting article.