SB Nation User Blog: nwroyal

Royals Review Prospect Pulse: July

nwroyal — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:08:52 -0000

Minor League season is in full swing with the Royals having 7 affiliates (plus their Dominican team) up and running. The short season guys have just a few innings/at bats under their belts so beware sample size. We have a special emphasis on our international players this month. We've invested more resources down there the past couple of years and are starting to see the talent show up in our low minors. I hope to write up a little something about the international signing day--which is today (July 2). Our top two hitters: Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas are scuffling. I still believe in them but they need to start heating up to justify top prospect status. On the flip side many of our pitchers are doing well. For pitchers, I've changed up the stats to K/9--BB/9--FIP and the hitters remain the same. We are still in the midst of moving and have been house shopping--so I haven't had time to incorporate other stats--but I have expanded the list to 50 names. It is very nice to see that even down at the bottom, there is still some very interesting talent.

Rank	Name	Last Month	Age	Level	Month Stats	YTD	Comment
1	Eric Hosmer-1B	1	19	Low-A	211/278/310	250/353/373	Hurt some in June, I'm hoping that what hurt his numbers after a very encouraging May.
2	Mike Moustakas-3B	2	20	High-A	238/278/357	261/299/420	He seems to be heating up but you never like to see OBP % start with a 2.
3	Aaron Crow-RHP	NA	22	NA	NA	NA	Hopefully he'll sign soon, get some innings and perhaps also pitch in the AFL.
4	Dan Duffy-LHP	3	20	High-A	6.7/2.9/3.59	7.8/2.5/3.41	Still cruising along
5	Mike Montgomery-LHP	5	20	Low-A	7.7/1.7/2.38	8.0/3.4/2.89	He's becoming one of my favorite prospects--cruising along in the MWL.
6	Jeff Bianchi--SS	8	22	AA	250/306/364 500/545/700	307/364/437(A) 500/545/700(AA)	About as hot as you can get. Defense is getting good reviews--becoming a very legit prospect.
7	Kila Kaaihue-1B	4	25	AAA	259/360/459	269/402/502	A bad month for him but that still results in 820 OPS
8	Tim Melville-RHP	6	19	Low-A	5.5/4.3/4.88	6.1/3.7/4.80	Scuffling a little bit--too many walks, not enough Ks
9	Dan Cortes-RHP	7	22	AA	5.1/5.7/4.70	6.0/5.7/4.51	Continues to walk more than he K's. Scouts say stuff is still there.
10	David Lough-CF	13	23	AA	278/297/528	323/373/477	Another fast riser. Should be interesting to see how he does in AA.
11	Dan Gutierrez-RHP	9	22	NA	NA	NA	The saga continues...
12	J. Giavotella-2B	10	22	High-A	253/364/349	236/361/350	I keep saying this-he's about to bust out.
13	Jordan Parraz-RF	23	24	AA	407/473/704	358/451/553	Forcing us to take him seriously--continues to get on base and now adding power.
14	Will Myers-C?	NA	19	NA	NA	NA	He has signed but it won't be announced until August 17th
15	Kelvin Herrera-RHP	11	19	DL	NA	1.7/0.0/3.50	I was wrong about him returning in June. Don't know what the issue is--I'm worried.
16	Carlos Rosa-RHP	12	24	AAA	7.2/5.6/5.07	9.6/5.0/4.85	Inconsistent year but still think he could be useful next year on the big club.
17	Disco Hayes--RHP	21	26	AAA	3.3/0.0/3.72	4.0/1.4/3.19AA 3.3/0.0/3.72AAA	Not as dominant at AAA but still very good.
18	John Lamb-LHP	19	18	SS	4.0/1.0/2.91	4.0/1.0/2.91	2008 draftee finally pitching in pro ball--pretty good in 2 outings so far.
19	Chris Nicoll--RHP	14	25	AA	5.8/6.6/5.12	7.5/3.4/3.35	Rough month--hopefully just a bump in the road.
20	Blake Wood--RHP	15	23	AA	5.2/2.8/3.07	5.8/2.9/4.32	On DL but seemed to be getting a little better.
21	Tyler Sample--RHP	17	20	AZ	11.3/4.5/3.07	11.3/4.5/3.07	Let's see if he can harness that stuff.
22	Carlos Fortuna--RHP	NR	19	SS	7.2/4.5/4.67	7.2/4.5/4.67	Very good arm, watch out for him.
23	Greg Holland--RHP	20	23	AA	6.8/3.8/3.17	8.6/3.2/2.80	We have some of the deepest minor league bullpens I've ever seen.
24	Salvador Perez--C	24	19	SS	440/517/560	189/230/236 (Low-A) 440/517/560 (SS)	Overmatched in MWL, but feelign at home in Pioneer League--a hiters' league.
25	Yowil Espinal	NR	18	SS	371/436/629	371/436/629	An International signing two years ago, starting to show his talent--keep an eye on him.
26	Sean McCauley--C	28	20	Low-A	385/467/385	237/305/331	I think he's been hurt this past month--not many at bats.
27	Jose Bonilla--C	26	20	Low-A	268/288/423	250/293/372	Continuing to struggle in Iowa
28	Chris Dwyer	NA	21	NA	NA	NA	Our 4th round pick, I'm guessing we sign him at the deadline.
29	Henry Barrera--RHP	17	23	Low-A	12.3/12.3/4.89	12.3/12.3/4.89	Fighting injury and ineffectiveness
30	Nick Francis--OF	22	23	Low-A	231/253/359	288/34/489	...coming back to earth
31	Chris Lubanski--OF	24	25	AAA	N/A	308/388/462	Still out with a hammy.
32	Paulo Orlando--CF	29	23	High-A	321/328/393	240/275/352	Superficially, a better month.
33	Blaine Hardy--RHP	31	22	Low-A	7.9/1.6/2.12	8.5/1.6/2.57	Continuing to do well, wonder if we will see him at Wilmington soon?
34	Joe Dickerson--OF	18	22	AZ	250/400/250	230/338/317AA	Hurt, tough season
35	Barry Bowden--RHP	35	24	Low-A	8.8/6.6/3.77	10.0/4.2/3.47	Lost some control this past month.
36	Keaton Hayenga--RHP	NR	21	SS	6.0/0.0/2.14	6.0/0.0/2.14	2007 draftee is back from shoulder surgery. We gave him $300,000 knowing he wouldn't pitch for 2 years--has good stuff.
37	Derrick Saito--LHP	NR	21	Low-A	9.0/2.3/3.35	10.5/2.2/3.53	2008 draftee coudl be lefty specialist.
38	Brian McFall--1B	27	25	AA	167/308/314	252/338/431	It very close to time to take him off this list.
39	Jason Taylor--3B	NR	21	Low-A	333/391/667	333/391/667	He's baaack.Started at SS and is now assigned to Burlington, IA.
40	Mike Lehman--RHP	32	20	Low-A	5.4/4.2/4.30	5.0/4.0/4.50	Non-descript month.
41	Malcolm Culver--3B	NR	19	SS	267/450/800	267/450/800	2008 draftee is very good athlete--interesting to see how his bat does.
42	Nick Van Stratten--OF	37	24	Low-A	310/408/491	325/404/445	Good numbers but old for league.
43	Mario Lisson--SS	NR	25	AAA	264/295/505	252/276/463	Had a good month and could see some time with the big club.
44	Hilton Richardson--CF	NR	20	SS	409/458/455	409/458/455	2007 draftee is premium athlete in CF, if he can hit, he could be special.
45	Brian Paukovits--RHP	NR	22	SS	11.0/6.0/3.60	11.0/6.0/3.60	2006 draftee is a big righthander who has been hurt but still has some upside.
46	Everett Teaford--LHP	NR		AA	4.2/2.8/4.42	6.8/1.7/3.94(A) 4.2/2.8/4.42(AA)	Has been flying under the radar--AA has been a little difficult for him so far.
47	Brandon Sisk--LHP	NR	23	High-A	14.3/0.8/0.59	10.8/1.9/2.17	With those numbers, he cannot be ignored.
48	Robinson Yambati--RHP	NR	18	AZ	9.0/9.0/11.57	5.9/3.3/3.57(DSL) 9.0/9.0/11.57(AZ)	Young Dominican making transition to ball stateside.
49	Luis Del Rosario--OF	NR	19	SS	389/421/611	389/421/611	Another guy from DR, started strong last year and tailed off.
50	Jerico Blanco	NR	17	DSL	227/344/400	227/344/400	One of our big international signings from 2008--he's shown some good tools but is miles from the majors.

Player of the Month:

I've already done Jeff Bianchi who probably deserve this but I'll go with Jordan Parraz. Picked up from the Astros--who messed with his stance--Parraz had some alive in AA. He's been an on base machine and has started hitting for more power recently. He's not young at 24, but not old by any means. He won't be a star but in an organization starved for outfield talent he is a very welcome addition.

2009 Royals Draft Review

nwroyal — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:22:03 -0000

The Royals wrap up yet another draft today. I was pleased with the way it turned out but it was way different that what I was expecting. The Royals did not take a HS pitcher in the top 10 rounds--I would have wagered a large sum of money that the Royals would have taken at least a couple. But I think it shows that the best draft strategy is flexibility in what a particular draft offers you and in what other teams are or aren't taking.

1st Round (12th Overall)

I wanted Grant Green but I'm okay with Crow--and perhaps starting to get a little excited. I'm sure you've read about his 3 plus pitches, he's a Royals fan, from Mizzou, etc. I look for him to sign soon--its in everyone's best interest--like by the end of the month and then go to Wilmington and perhaps a stop in the Arizona Fall League. It will be interesting to see if the Royals re-work any of his delivery and/or take away his slider as he progresses through the minors

3rd Round

Again, you know we were rumored to be on Myers for our 1st pick, that he was looked at as a mid to late 1st Round pick and slid to the 3rd because of his bonus demands. The Royals have said they will start him at C but have considered other positions for him. His bat is good enough that he is still a very good prospect at another position.

4th Round

And so we make a little history in the 4th Round taking the 1st draft eligible freshman from a 4 year university in the 44 year history of the draft. Chris Dwyer from Clemson has a good fastball, a very good curve and decent to good change. He had a 5.30 ERA but his numbers look a little better than that: 75K/29BB in 73IP and 66 hits. He was considered a late 1st Round talent. He has a lot of leverage as he can go back to school and get drafted a couple more times if he wants to. But if you remember one of my preview columns--this 4th round pick is the one that started day 2 so the Royals, I'm sure, talked to Dwyers' people and know what his asking price is and they plan to meet it. Let's just hope Jason Esposito doesn't give him a call.

5th Round

The Royals took a Senior from LSU in the 5th Round--Louis Coleman. He had a very good year at LSU going 11-2 with a 2.84 ERA and 111K/19BB in 98 IP. BA ranked him 188th in this year's draft. He is a Tommy John survivor who throws a sinking fb and good slider. there is some concern about his delivery. He has done relief and starting--so it will be interesting to see what role he pitches in for us.

6th Round

We grabbed New Mexico RHP Cole White in Round 6. Cole was ranked the 157th best draft prospect by BA. He had a 2.33 ERA in 39IP with 45K/28BB. He's a reliever

7th Round

We took Missouri State LHP Buddy Bauman. His numbers: 11-1 3.23 ERA 101-32 K-BB ratio in 86 IP. Buddy was ranked as the 179th best draft prospect by Baseball America.

8th Round

We took RHP Gardner Odenback from UCONN in Round 8. He makes excellent popcorn.

9th Round

We took C Ben Theriot from Texas State in Round 9. He hit 341/384/518. I don't know much else...

10th Round

We finally took another HS player in Round 10-Geoff Baldwin from Grand Junction, CO. We shall see if we are able to buy him out of his scholarship to Nebraska. He's a big guy who has added some muscle this year and is a supposed to be a pretty good defensive 1B.

11th Round

We took SS Ryan Wood a SR from East Carolina in Round 11. The good news is that he hit 379/486/629-and East Carolina is a good baseball school. But he's a SR and there are some big questions as to whether he can stay at SS. But for the 11^th round, I like this pick.

12th Round

In the 12th Round, we drafted Nic Wooley from William Woods U.. He went 8-1 with a 3.31 ERA in 70 IP with 89K/27BB.

13th Round

Lane Adams is an HS outfielder from Oklahoma. He is a basketball recruit to Missiouri State--what I gather is that he is athletic and would probably take above slot money to sign.

Overview:

This draft breaks down to our top 3 picks: Crow, Myers and Dwyer who all have good upside and were good values who will cost above slot. Then you have Coleman, White and Baumann who decent college draft prospects. And then there is everyone else--a lot of college players and a few signability guys-just in case something falls through with one of the top picks. I think we'll sign our top 6 players. We will need to keep an eye on the International Market as I look for the Royals to sign a lot of players. They may not sign any of the top 10 players but they will have multiple 6 figure bonuses thrown out. I'm pleased with the way our draft went, even with missing a 2nd rounder and getting nothing for Grudz.

I'm going to be moving to Colorado in a few days, so my life is pretty busy. I'll probably be pretty scarce for a little bit. But I plan on getting the July Prospect Pulse up.

2009 Draft day 2 Open Thread

nwroyal — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 15:37:39 -0000

I'm going to be out most of the day but here is an open thread to discuss all the future All-Stars the Royals will take today. One name we might take in Round 4 is Jacob Stewart--CF from CO--I've mentioned him earlier but the Royals have had last night and this morning to see if someone like him is signable.

Here is Baseball America's best availible for day 2.

Royals Draft-Day 1 Recap

nwroyal — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:28:28 -0000

With as much up and down as this day has featured, you'd think we had a lot more than 2 picks. But the Royals made those 2 picks count.

The Royals took Aaron Crow at #12 overall. He was ranked #7 by both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus. I've never been a huge Aaron Crow guy--so I'm a little lukewarm on this pick. I had him ranked #8--so I don't think he's a dud--I just had Green ranked a little higher. But a lot of fans really like it. He's got a very good fastball--with good velocity and excellent movement. His slider is supposed to be his best pitch--but hasn't been quite as good in his limited time in the Independent League. He made up for that showing a vastly improved changeup. The changeup is good to hear about because without that he might be destined for the bullpen. There have been some concerns about Crow's mechanics--the "inverted W" delivery that may or may not have lead to some pitchers getting injured. Crow grew up in Kansas and was/is a big Royals fan.

There were rumors all day that the Royals were going to take Will Myers at #12 and, thankfully, we didn't. There were better players on the board. We did take him at #91--which is a much better place for him. Myers was ranked #31 by BA and #34 by BP. He has been rising up draft boards in recent weeks. He had a workout for the Royals recently and made a very favorable impression. He's a great athlete--with a very good bat, good power, good speed, and a good arm. He's new to catching and opinions are split as to whether he will stay behind the plate but I read that at least one scout thought he could move to CF if C didn't work out.

I'm going to speculate a little bit. Crow is projected top 10--many times Top 5 until the past couple of days when teams are getting scared off by his bonus demands and he drops to us. Will Myers was considered a mid-late 1st round pick but teams backed off in the past couple of days because he was said to want "Top 10" money. Both of those situations sound a little like Tim Melville to me. Teams backed off Melville because they percieved that he wanted a ton of money. In reality, he signed for a healthy bonus with the Royals because there was a good relationship there and we were one of, if not the only, team he wanted to sign with. I wonder if Crow and Myers started throwing out big bonus amounts to scare off other teams because the Royals had worked things out with them and they had a comfort level with the Royals. Crow will probably get $3.5-4 million and Myers close to $2. Just a theory but I think the Royals may be on to a good way to wrap up some talent. I think Crow will sign relatively quickly and go to either Burlington or WIlmington. I think Myers will agree to a contract that will not be announced until closer to the deadline (like Melville and other way above slot later picks) to avoid the full ire of raging Bud.

We shall see what tomorrow holds: if the Royals have any other big signability picks. I think we'll grab some more "up the middle" players and our normal bevy of young pitchers.

2009 Draft overflow thread--Crow and Myers

nwroyal — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 23:13:39 -0000

Aaron Crow is our top pick. hopefully he signs quickly and gets some innings.

MILB scouting report

Brewerfan profile

Topeka Capitol Journal interview with Kevin Goldstein about Crow:

"He's not going to get past 7 or 8"--Goldstein

UPDATE:

3rd Round Pick--Will Myers HS C

This is the guy we worried that we were going to take at #12. I didn't like him at #12 but at #91--that's great. He'll cost us but an excellent pick

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2009/reports.jsp?content=myers

2009 Draft Open Thread : Royals Select Aaron Crow with First Pick

nwroyal — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:23:21 -0000

The pick is:

Aaron Crow!

Last minute Royals draft notes

nwroyal — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:24:40 -0000

Alright kids, the presents are wrapped, the stockings are stuffed but we have to wait until later today to start unwrapping. Unfortunately, the draft is no longer early in the day-I miss a 10am Pacific start time. And then after we open our first present, we will have to watch as a lot of other kids open lots of presents (some get multiple presents) before we open our next one.

Everything I've read in the past day has us linked to two players: USC SS Grant Green and HS C Will Myers-and then Keith Law twitters (the first time I've ever typed that word--I wish it was the last) that we are leaning "towards a college arm". So who knows what that means...perhaps posturing. Pitching is the strength of this draft so there might be value there. But there is no way picking 12^th that you can target "college pitching"-12^th is far enough down that you have to be prepared to pick form at least 5-7 players. You can't pigeon-hole yourself when you don't know what will be available

You know about Green-a player who had a "down" junior season after being considered a top 3 player coming into the year. I just read yesterday that some think he's been playing with a hand injury that has sapped some power. If so, his numbers could bounce back once he gets healthy. If we take him, he will hold out and we will have to pay him an above slot bonus.

Will Myers is one of the other guys we've been linked to. We apparently brought him in for a pre-draft workout and he was quite impressive. He is a very good athlete with speed, power and a quick bat. He is relatively new to catching and some aren't sure if he will stick (although he is supposedly taking to the tools of ignorance rather quickly). Myers would probably sign quickly but would take a long time to get here.

If the college arm we are looking at is Mike Leake, I'm good with that. There aren't many other college arms that would be available to us that I'm interested in. If we take Rex Brothers, Mike Minor, James Paxton or Drew Storen, I'll be pretty disappointed.

My Mock:

National-Stephen Strasburg
Mariners-Dustin Ackley
Padres-Donovan Tate
Pirates-Tyler Matzek
Orioles-Alex White
Giants-Aaron Crow
Braves-Zack Wheeler
Cincinnati-Mike Leake
Detroit-Jacob Turner
Washington-Chad Jenkins
Colorado-Mike Minor
KC-Grant Green

The pick for us to watch is Detroit at #9-they could take Turner, Green or even Matt Purke. If they take Green, Turner could fall to us, but I'm not sure if we are willing to pay the $ that he wants.

We may have to choose between Green , Leake and/or Myers-of course the choice is not quite that straight forward. I would rather have Green-but with the bonus we would have to pay him the equation looks more like is Green> Myers/Leake + whoever else we would sign with the extra $2 million it would take to sign Green. The Royals have said the will take the best player available-I think if Green is there, we take him. Of course, Green may be gone when we pick and it will all be moot.

A possible later round pick:

There was also some rumblings that we were really high on Jacob Stewart--a HS CF from California who has a scholarship to Stanford. It always takes a lot of money to buy out guys with that kind of opportunity--he could be this year's Jason Esposito (only with a happier ending for us).

...and the International Market

This draft will have to be evaluated in tandem with our international signings at the beginning of July. The Royals see the international market as having better talent available. I'm hopeful the Royals will be willing to spend as much signing young talent as they did last year--those kind of investments will eventually pay off--especially in a market where many other teams are having to cut back.

It should be a fun day, I'll be checking in throughout the day--with probably more meaningless rumblings--but I have to do something to pass the time.

Draft Notes

nwroyal — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:08:16 -0000

(sorry, I promised this article yesterday but a power outage changed my plans)

4 days-it's like counting down to Christmas. We are starting to get a trickle of information about the Royals draft (still no KC Star article on the draft-Hey Mellinger-where is our draft article?!-don't make us wait until Tuesday morning!). So here are a few somewhat random thoughts and rumblings that I've put together regarding our draft.

Up the middle

We've heard from a couple of places that the Royals would like an up the middle player-C, SS, CF-preferably from college. One problem: this years draft is very, very thin on position players. Last year, 12 of the first 14 picks were position players. This year there may only be 3 or 4 taken in the first 14 picks. There is a deep group of catchers available and the Royals have reportedly looked at Boston College C Tony Sanchez, and HS catchers Will Myers and Max Stassi. But most of those guys appear to be reaches at #12. CF-Donovan Tate might be available-but his Boras asking price is supposed to be pretty high and his bat is questionable. Southern Cal SS Grant Green is sliding and could be available, but is also a Boras Client. One other player HS SS Jiovanni Miller is supposed to have a great glove with a decent to good bat.

International signings

I've seen Royals front office folks quoted a couple of times talking about how having a lower draft slot will allow them to be more active on the International market. Just a few months ago the Royals were budgeting for the 12^th overall pick, a sandwich pick (for Grudz) and a 2^nd round pick. The last two aren't happening which will save the team close to $2 million. Look for that money to be reinvested, either in the July 2^nd International Signing Day or some later round signability picks. The Royals already spent $600,000 this winter/spring signing a 17 year old Korean catcher, Shin Jin-Ho.

Players

Most of the players we are linked to have been the ones we've discussed some before:

We have been recently linked to Grant Green who will take an above slot deal to sign and it won't be before August 14^th. I like Green, but I'd like him a lot more if we could get him 200 abs in the Midwest League this year. (UPDATE: Kevin Goldstein over at BP is saying that Green is moving back up draft boards--or he never actually moved that far down)

We could still take a HS pitcher. I think Matzek, Turner, and Wheeler will be gone by the time we pick. That would leave Shelby Miller and Matt Purke. Miller throws the fastball/curveball combo that we seem to favor and I've heard differing stuff on his changeup.

Greg Schaum seems to think (or wants to think) Sun Devil RHP Mike Leake is a strong possibility-and I would be fine with that-his 15 strikeout performance last week got a lot of folks attention. Leake would probably be a realtively easy sign but college pitchers are about the least important players to get signed soon after the draft since their arms probably need some rest after a grueling college season.

Jonathan Mayo has us taking Missou RHP Kyle Gibson-who has dropped b/c his velocity was down in his last start. I would be shocked if we did that for two reasons-first the Royals favor pitchers with a good curve and Gibson's calling card is his great slider, also the health concerns raise all kinds of red flags.

Round 4

The first night of the draft is only the first 3 rounds-so we will have two picks #12 and #90ish. Our 4^th round selection--our first picks of day 2--could be interesting. Last year, our 4^th round was Tim Melville (who we signed for $1.25 million), and the 1^st selection of day 2 was Jason Esposito (who we offered $1.5 million). If the Royals want to take a big signability choice it might be with that 4th round pick--when we have had a chance to check with a player over that night and confirm what they are willing to sign for--as long as they aren't committed to Vandy. A name to look for might be Luke Bailey who was considered the top prep Catcher but had to have TJ surgery--the Royals could take him and give him $1+ million.

Rankings:

Instead of ranking the top players in the draft, I'll rank the players we've been linked to or should be linked to. This draft is getting less predictible by the day so there may be somebody availible that we never expected to be there--which would be the case if Green is on the board at 12:

1. Grant Green--SS

2. Mike Leake--RHP

3. Shelby Miller--RHP

4. Donovan Tate--CF

5. Matt Purke--LHP

6.Tanner Scheppers--RHP

7. Will Myers--C

8. Max Stassi--C

9.Jiovanni Mier--SS

10. Tony Sanchez--C

11. Kyle Gibson--RHP

12. Chad James--RHP

Poll:

let us know your thoughts in the poll. I'm sure JJ Picoolo will dutifully consider the results of the poll.

Poll

Who should the Royals take with their 1st round pick?

Grant Green--USC SS

111 votes

Mike Leake--AZ ST RHP

21 votes

Shelby Miller--HS RHP

7 votes

Donovan Tate--HS CF

10 votes

Max Stassi--HS CF

3 votes

Kyle Gibson--Missour RHP

19 votes

Matt Purke--HS LHP

12 votes

Other (let us know in the comments)

5 votes

188 votes | Poll has closed

Royals Review Prospect Pulse: June

nwroyal — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:12:09 -0000

Things get a lot more interesting this month in the prospect pulse. One of our top prospects bounce back from a difficult first month and a couple of our top pitching prospects make their full season debut. Later this month, our short season affiliates will start playing. The best part of minor league season is when all 7 affiliates are up and running and draftees from next week will start getting assigned. Speaking of the draft, I hope to have a draft news and notes article up tomorrow as we are only 6 days away from the big event. Meanwhile, enjoy the rankings, rip them apart, tell me why I'm right or wrong.

For hitters, we've got the traditional triple slash numbers and for pitchers you see: ERA/K/BB

Rank	Name	last month	age	level	month stats	YTD	Comment
1	Eric Hosmer-1B	1	19	A	299/413/483	267/383/400	Starting to click, power will be the next thing to come.
2	Mike Moustakas-3B	2	20	A+	266/296/404	269/306/445	Slumping of late, but not too worried--yet...
3	Dan Duffy-LHP	3	20	A+	2.10/33/10	2.95/53/15	crusin' along-getting more GB but less K vs. his 08 numbers
4	Kila Kaaihue--1B	5	25	AAA	299/434/557	275/431/525	guess last year wasn't a fluke, was it?
5	M. Montgomery--LHP	7	19	A	3.27/12/10	3.27/12/10	some control issues but gets lots of ground balls
6	Tim Melville--RHP	11	19	A	3.86/11/4	3.86/11/4	looking good in his debut
7	Dan Cortes--RHP	4	22	AA	2.81/21/23	4.01/36/32	his ERA last month was good but more walks than strikeouts--I'm starting to worry
8	Jeff Bianchi--SS	8	23	A+	305/342/400	313/373/443	numbers came down a bit but still hitting pretty well.
9	Dan Gutierrez--RHP	6	22	SUS	N/A	N/A	The whole dust up with the Royals was good for no one--here's hoping he's back to pitching soon
10	J. Giavotella--2B	12	21	A+	220/351/297	223/354/350	Been unlucky some, numbers should even out
11	Kelvim Herrera-RHP	13	14	A(DL)	0.00/1/0	0.00/1/0	Was hurt but will be back with Burlington any day
12	Carlos Rosa--RHP	9	24	AAA	10.43/20/11	7.36/31/14	Disappointing season so far
13	David Lough--CF	15	23	A+	342/393/430	340/402/447	This guy continues to hit--he's starting to become very interesting. DDJ 2.0?
14	Chris Nicoll--RHP	14	25	AA	3.44/16/5	2.27/29/8	Not much left to prove at AA
15	Blake Wood--RHP	10	23	AA	5.59/17/9	6.31/31/15	Very frustrating prospect
16	Tyler Sample--RHP	17	19	EXT	N/A	N/A	Should make his 2009 debut this month
17	Henry Barrera--RHP	19	23	AA	N/A	N/A	Assigned to full season club this week
18	Joe Dickerson--OF	16	22	AA	242/342/333	230/338/317	Prospect status: dropping
19	John Lamb--LHP	20	18	EXT	N/A	N/A	Very excited to see how this kid does
20	Greg Holland--RHP	23	23	AA	1.50/15/7	2.59/25/10	NW Ark bullpen better the KC Royals bullpen?
21	Disco Hayes--RHP	25	26	AA	0.00/9/4	0.53/14/6	0.00 ERA in 21 (!) relief innings this month--let's all pitch in and buy this guy a ticket to ~~Omaha,~~ KC!
22	Nick Francis--OF	33	23	A	307/365/511	310/377/544	really like to see what this kids can do at A+
23	Jordan Parraz--OF	27	24	AA	333/463/529	336/445/470	Tyler Lumsden has an ERA of almost 5 for Houston's AAA team
24	Salvador Perez--C	24	19	A	210/258/274	175/213/223	Tough to believe: May numbers were actually an improvement
25	Chris Lubanski--OF	22	24	AAA	308/357/385	308/388/462	Been hurt, can't recall what the injury was
26	Jose Bonilla--C	26	20	A	250/316/333	241/298/339	coming to life a little
27	Brian McFall--1B	30	25	AA	287/356/440	277/346/470	not sure why, but I like this guy
28	Sean McCauley--C	36	20	A	286/357/408	219/284/324	Hit pretty well in May--hopefully keeps it up--supposed to be pretty good on D.
29	Paulo Orlando--CF	31	23	A+	222/276/309	207/258/351	Paulo Orlando/Adrian Ortiz have never been seen in the same place at the same time
30	Adrian Ortiz--CF	22	28	A+	277/302/277	261/277/294	even TPJ is laughing at your ISP
31	Blaine Hardy--LHP	35	22	A	3.09/17/8	3.00/42/8	couldn't sustain April's 25/0 K/BB ratio--but still had a good month
32	Mike Lehman	NR	20	A	2.70/8/6	2.70/8/6	2008 20th pick from HS
33	Jose Duarte--CF	32	24	AAA	182/250/218	182/250/218 651 OPS @AA	becoming minor league filler at this point
34	Clint Robinson--1B	34	24	A+	250/316/420	297/350/491	...and back to earth he comes.
35	Barry Bowden--RHP	NR	24	A	1.84/19/6	2.11/26/7	2008 undrafted FA--but has pitched well so far
36	James Thompson-RHP	NR	21	A	0.59/14/8	2.92/29/16	38th round pick last year--that's all I know.
37	Nick Van Stratten-OF	NR	24	A	362/425/511	336/403/479	Good numbers but is an old man in the Midwest League
38	Sam Runion--RHP	39	21	A	5.83/13/7	7.26/20/14	Put together a few good starts before getting bombed last time out
39	Brent Fisher--LHP	38	21	A+	3.86/4/3	6.19/11/8	hurt
40	Luis Cota--RHP	37	23	A	DL	4.26/15/5	hurt

Player of the Month:

Kila Kaaihue. He's still getting on base well over 40% of the time, his power is not quite where it was last year but that is nitpicky. He'd doing a good Nick Johnson impersonation--with less of a glove but also withou the injuries. Is Kila the Rich Gannon of the Royals? I hope not. I supported the Mike Jacobs trade and he's been about what I expected. The next few weeks are a perfect time to flip him to a contender who needs a LH bat. Kaaihue is cheaper and better. But we've heard how Jacobs is an emotional leader and I'm sure you wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat like I do having just dreamt that DM flipped Kaaihue for a poor hitting SS.

I almost went with Hosmer, but I think I'll have other opportunities to pick him.

2008 Royals Draft Review

nwroyal — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:25:24 -0000

2008 Royals Draft Review

The Royals had yet another top 3 pick in 2008. The choice for top prospect in the draft was not quite so clear as it had been in 2007. Pedro Alvarez was put forth by many as the top prospect but he had some contact issues in college that I was concerned about. While there may not have been an elite top prospect, the 2008 class was extremely deep in talent-a very good year to have an extra pick (Which we did: Thanks David Riske!).

1^st Round (3rd Overall)

There were several options for us at #3. Catcher Buster Posey and SS Gordon Beckham were college guy who had phenomenal years. Brian Matusz was a very polished college lefty with good stuff. But the guy I was watching (as were many other Royals fans) was Justin Smoak-switch hitting 1B from U. of South Carolina. He was highly regarded coming out of HS but wanted to go to college. He had a great career there culminating with a junior season line of 383/505/757. He had more than twice as many walks as strikeouts and was also known to be a good defensive 1B. For reasons I still don' t understand, Smoak slid all the way to 12^th where Texas wisely took him and he's hitting 324/443/500 at AA and could be their starting 1B this time next year.

We did take a HS 1B-Eric Hosmer. Hosmer was a big left-handed masher. He had a great arm-which led to some speculation that he could be a right-fielder. Dave Rawnsley-former Baseball America writer and currently with PG Crosschecker-wrote an article where he thought that Hosmer was one of the best HS hitters in the past 20 years. The Royals apparently agreed, took him 3^rd overall and signed him for a team record $6 million bonus at some point near the August 15^th deadline. The exact timing of his signing came into question as he got caught up in the Pedro Alvarez saga-over the commissioner granting an extension to Pittsburgh and possibly to us to get the deal signed. Hosmer got 20 at bats in Idaho Falls before the Royals pulled him due to the legal limbo his contract was in. Everything eventually got settled and he started this season at Burlington where started slowly. He has hit better as the season has warmed up. He's been getting on base with a .362 OBP but is slugging only .341. I'm not too concerned, I think Hosmer will be an excellent hitter. Anytime you take a 1B in the top few picks, you have to expect that they are going to hit at an elite level. While I was disappointed we didn't take Smoak, I'm still a big Hosmer fan. I think he will end up being the best pure bat we've had in a long, long time.

Here's how I would rank Hosmer against the 9 guys taken after him:

Justin Smoak-Rangers #12 overall
Buster Posey-Giants #5
Brian Matusz-Orioles #4
Eric Hosmer-Royals #3
Gordon Beckham-White Sox #8
Aaron Crow-Nats #9 (Did not sign)
Yonder Alonso-Red #7
Jason Castro-Houston #10
Jemile Weeks-A's #13
Kyle Skipworth-Marlins #6

These are tough rankings-I could see any of those top 5 being arranged in almost any configuration in a couple of years.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/H/Eric-Hosmer.shtml

1^st Round Supplemental

With their supplemental 1^st round pick the Royals took HS lefty Mike Montgomery. Montgomery shot up draft charts as the draft approached. He is a talented competitor--he was kicked off his basketball team for too many technical fouls. Focusing solely on baseball, he started showing his pitching ability. He throws a good fastball with sinking motion and a good changeup. He had a great debut in Arizona posting a 1.69 ERA in 43ip with 34Ks and 12 walks. Baseball America had him as the #1 prospect in the Arizona League. The Royals have been working with him to find a good grip for an breaking ball. He was in extended ST and has now started 2 games for Burlington-one good start and one bad one. He could still add velocity as he fills out and is one of our best pitching prospects.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/M/Mike-Montgomery-1.shtml

Other players taken in the Supplemntal Round: Brett DeVall, Connor Gillespie

2^nd Round

In some ways, Johnny Giavotella is the type of player you would expect the Dayton Moore/ Trey Hillman Royals to take: known for his leadership and getting the most out of his talent. At the same time, he doesn't fit the Royals draft pick profile-a college player who walk more than he strikes out and plays passable defense. Giavotella stands only 5 foot 8 inches but he gets on base and has decent pop. He went to Burlington after getting drafted and hit 299/355/421. So far this year at Wilmington he hitting 211/337/345. Those numbers don't tell the story as he's been very unlucky. He has increased his walk rate and added a little power from Burlington to Wilmington. I could see him being a player whose game/stats resembles Alberto Callaspo with more strikeouts and more power and a little more speed.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/G/Johnny-Giavotella.shtml

Other players taken in Round 2: Robbie Ross, James Darnell, Tyler Chatwood

3^rd Round

The Royals returned to picking HS pitchers in the 3^rd round. Tyler Sample was a 6 foot 7 inch, 245 lb. right-hander from Colorado. He already has had Tommy John surgery as a sophomore in HS. He was rising up draft boards last spring showing a mid-90s fastball and a knuckle-curve with a developing changeup. I can't remember where I read this-so it could be total BS but I heard that the Royals were planning to take Tim Melville in Round 3 but were surprised to see Sample available, took him and hoped that Melville would be there in Round 4. Sample went to Arizona and was, well, not very good. His stuff was there but he couldn't control it. The result was 27ip, 9.00ERA, 39Ks and 29BB. On the bright side--he didn't give up a homerun and his GB % was 57%. Sample will probably be in Idaho Falls or even the Arizona League as the Royals try to harness his stuff and refine his delivery.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/S/Tyler-Sample.shtml

Other players taken in Round 3: Ross Seaton, David Adams, Kyle Russell

4^th Round

Tim Melville went into last season as the #1 ranked Prep baseball player by Baseball America. He had a somewhat disappointing Senior season. He got hit in the face by a hockey puck and missed some time and his grandmother passed away. He was also a North Carolina baseball recruit (Tarheel recruits are notoriously tough signs). He slid a bit on draft boards and was generally considered a first rounder but not a top 5 pick. The story was that leading up to the draft, the Melville family sent a letter to all the clubs saying Melville was planning to go to college unless he got a huge deal, so don't bother drafting him. At some point, Derik Ladnier developed a relationship with the family and Melville decided that there was one club he would sign with: the Kansas City Royals. The Royals drafted him in the 4^th round and had a deal in place which they didn't announced until August 15^th to soften the ire of the commissioner. He signed for $1.25 million-way above slot but not a bankbuster deal. Melville had a low-mid 90s fastball, a good curveball and so-so changeup. The Royals were reportedly impressed with him in instructional league in the Fall. Like Montgomery, he has had a good start at Burlington followed by a not so good one.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/M/Tim-Melville.shtml

Other players taken in Round 4: Brandon Crawford, Pete Hissey

5^th Round

I'll say this for the Royals: they aren't afraid to roll the dice on a recovering injured pitcher: Keaton Hayenga having shoulder surgery, Tyler Sample having Tommy John surgery and John Lamb. Lamb was shaping up to be a left-hander to watch at the beginning of 2008 but broke his elbow in a car accident that cost him playing his Senior year. The Royals still popped him in the 5^th round-and most of us said "John Who?". He also started pitching in instructional league in the fall and was, reportedly, showing excellent stuff. He repoitoire? If you've been reading the 2007/08 draft reviews, you can probably guess: good fastball, very good changeup, and a curveball. He'll go somewhere for short-season ball and I'm excited to see how he does.

Other players drafted in Round 5: Adrian Nieto, Justin Bristow (former Royal draftee), Ryan Westmoreland

6^th Round

The Royals took a young CF (actually he was an infielder but the Royals wanted to try him out in CF) from the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy in Round 6. Alex Llanos. He is young and fast but his bat was considered a plus tool. He struggled as 17 year old in the Arizona League hitting 182/240/232. He shares some superficial similarities to Fernando Cruz, drafted in 2007-both young, toolsy players from Puerto Rico. I wouldn't be surprised to see Llanos back in the Arizona League.

http://thebaseballcube.com/players/L/Alex-Llanos-1.shtml

7^th Round

Last year, the first day of the draft ended after Round 6. Teams go home for the night, take a look at their board. The Royals have the 3^rd pick on Day #2. They like Jason Esposito-an infielder from Connecticut. Esposito is a Vanderbilt recruit. Vanderbilt recruits are tougher signs than North Carolina recruits (see Melville, Tim). The coach at Vanderbilt apparently has a recruiter with a financial background and channels his inner Scott Boras to prepare a pamphlet/folder showing why signing with VU is better financially than going pro. Having David Price go #1 in 2007 and Pedro Alvarez go #2 in 2008 also helps. The Royals ask Esposito how much it would cost to sign him: $1.5 million. The Royals draft him on the morning of the 2^nd day and offer him $1.5 million and he, apparently indicates that he will sign. A week later he announces that he will not sign and will attend Vanderbilt, saying that his brother talked him out of signing. Some fans were/are pretty mad at Esposito who cost the Royals a wasted draft pick by changing his mind. I don't spite the kid-I wish he would have known what he wanted going into the draft. The Royals must have really liked this kid to offer him that much. So far, Esposito has hit 287/356/412 in his freshman season-not bad numbers playing in the SEC. He could become a 1^st round pick in the 2011 draft, in which case he may have made a wise choice. We'll have to wait and see.

Other picks of note:

9^th Round

JD Alfaro is a good defensive SS from JUCO. He hit pretty well at Idaho Falls with an 804 OPS but has struggled so far at Burlington with a 424 OPS.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/A/J.D.-Alfaro.shtml

13^th Round

The Royals took lefty John Flanagan from SW Illinois in round 13. He has an average fastball and a pretty good change. He pitched well in Burlington, NC last year with a 2.56ERA 45IP 43K 14 BB. He hasn't pitched so far this year and I'm not sure why.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/F/John-Flanagan.shtml

16^th Round
In the 16^th Round, the Royals took their first college pitcher, LHP Derrick Saito from Cal Poly. He was a reliever who struggled in his JR year but the Royals gave him a six-figure above slot bonus. He's not very tall for a pitcher at 5'9". He had decent numbers at Idaho Falls-4.36ERA, 37K/19BB in 33IP. This year at Burlington he's got a 3.52 ERA in 31IP with 30K/7W. He has improved his control which is a great sign and he could be a quick mover through the system.

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/S/Derrick-Saito.shtml

50^th Round

With their last pick in the draft, the Royals took Travis Jones-a HS catcher with big power. Earlier last year, in a HS showcase event, he bested Eric Hosmer in a HR contest. Jones signed for another six figure bonus-- I'm guessing the Royals used some of that Esposito money to sign him. He got in about 15 at bats in Arizona this year so I'm anxious to see what he does in short-season ball this year.

Recap:

The Royals set a record for how much they spent on draft bonuses in 2008-not a team record but a record for the entire history of the draft-spending over $10 million on bonuses. And, from what I can tell, they were willing to add Jason Esposito on top of all that. Hosmer, Montgomery, Giavotella, Sample, and Melville are all good prospects-some with the potential to be great--and there are still some other guys who could emerge. The Royals were willing to pay over slot bonuses in several rounds taking player with bigger upsides-of course some of those will fail but if even one of them becomes a productive player-for an investment of a couple hundred thousand dollars-that's a great deal. Baseball America ranked the Royals as having one of the best drafts and I can't disagree. I'll give the Royals an A at this point-knowing there is plenty of time for this draft to go either w