Cold Shot (Part 2); Draft Recap

I’d like to start off by apologizing for the lack of posts lately. Ol’ DP has been going through a stressful couple of weeks with long hours at the office and other pressing matters keeping my attention from the blog. The Bullpen Boys deserve better than that and I hope you know that my commitment to the boys in blue has not wavered. A little losing will not keep me from my ultimate perversion - it hasn't done anything up to this point in my life. I’ve dealt with the issues that needed to be dealt with and I’m ready to get back on track. I’ve been doing a little leg work on my first minor league review. I’ll break down each team and tell you who is worth a damn and who is a just a roster filler (this will be depressing for some teams and uplifting for others). This will come soon. For now though, I’d like to complete my cold shot of reality for the outfielders and also do a little draft recap for you.

Cold Shot of Reality (Part 2):

OK, let’s get the depressing part out of the way right now.

David DeJesus:
Optimist: David has been the Royals best overall hitter during the past 4 seasons. He has been a decent lead off guy for us (career OBP of .354) and he hit well for us last year in the 3 hole. He plays a serviceable outfield and has good range for a LF. He is a fan favorite and is relatively cheap.
Pessimist: It is time for David to go. Though he’s been better than most we’ve trotted out there recently – he just can’t be depended on to deliver year in year out. Check out his OPS over the last 5 years: .804, .810, .722, .818, .704. Three very solid years in there, but after his career year in 08, he is having a big time fall off. He is not a good corner outfielder with his limited pop and can't play CF anymore. I also hate that stupid smiling face he does after striking out with guys on base. I’m sure its just some weird habit reaction he has, but it is extremely annoying (Tell me you’ve noticed this).
Realist: Ever since he was moved off of CF for defensive issues, he became very expendable. His numbers will increase before the end of the year and he’ll probably get back to that .760-.780 OPS range. However, you can’t put up DeJesus type number in the AL at corner OF position. Not if you want to win the division. His contract jumps to 4.7M next year (which isn’t that bad), but I would LOVE to move him before next year. Problem being…who do you replace him with?

Jose Guillen:
Optimist: Take it how you want to, but Jose is probably the most respected bat in our lineup. In his 4 healthy seasons prior to coming to KC, he averaged an OPS of .851. His first year with the Royals was .738 so you’d think he would be due for an increase this year if he can stay healthy. He provides a little pop in the lineup and also is a lively personality to help spark the young players. Though his range has diminished he still has a strong arm in RF.
Pessimist: We are paying him $12M a year to limp around in the outfield and hit below average at the plate. This was a big swing and a miss by Dayton Moore. This guy has no business being on our roster next year for $12M. He snaps at players and coaches and doesn’t hit well enough to brush those things to the side.
Realist: I tried to rationalize this guy for a year and half, but it is very tough to continue. I’m sure he’ll have a hot streak soon that will get me excited again, but the bottom line is that we can’t win our division with $12M devoted to a guy with this skill set. We need to save the $12M deals for guys like Greinke and Meche and Gordon if he breaks out and we need to keep him or throw $14M at a Holliday type player. You can’t throw big money at guys like Guillen. I know Dayton did it to provide at least some credibility to our lineup before last year – but 3 yr/36M was not the way to do it.

Covelli “Coco” Crisp:
Optimist: This guy reminds Royals fans what it is like to have a solid defensive CF. After being spoiled by Goodwin, Damon, and Beltran roaming Kauffman Stadium for years, we took a few years off with DeJesus at the helm. Crisp has been very solid in CF defensively for the Royals this year. He also has brought on some plate discipline that is sorely needed for our team. Injuries have now nagged him and threaten his season, but he has shown glimpses of being a capable leadoff hitter who can steal bases and play a solid CF.
Pessimist: This guy’s candy arm cancels out his great range and glove in the outfield. Runners are guaranteed first to third on him every time. His walks were nice to start the year, but that trended down as the season wore on. The injuries are becoming a problem for Crisp and he has had others in the past. He will also cost $8M next year if we exercise the club option to keep him around. That is just too much money.
Realist: Crisp was fun when things were good, but his season has taken a drastic turn with this injury. I don’t think there is any way you can bring him back for $8M. If he comes back and has a great 2nd half, some people will want to do it, but I think it’s too pricey. The trade was worth the gamble (as Crisp had a torrid finish to 2008 with the Red Sox), but it really stings with Ramon Ramirez pitching lights out in Boston’s bullpen (for $400K a year mind you) with our bullpen struggles this year. Overall, these are tough results for Dayton Moore.

Mitch Maier:
Optimist: This guy has shown flashes of being a competent 4th OF for the Royals. He plays adequate CF and is a good late inning defensive replacement for Jose Guillen in RF when Crisp is healthy. He can handle the bat and normally battles in his at bats. In his minor league career he had reverse splits (.892 OPS vs. LHP/ .777 vs. RHP) so that helps in late innings. He is dirt cheap for a few more years as well.Pessimist: He doesn’t wow anyone at the plate and tends to get poor reads on balls hit to the outfield. He doesn’t project as a full time starter in the Major Leagues. He has failed to get bunts down in late game spots a couple times this year.
Realist: He is worth keeping around purely as a bench guy. He costs $400K a year and isn’t a complete waste at the plate (see: Pena Jr., Tony). He has worked hard and improved at every level in his major league career. He has a small upside to even grow into an above average 4th OF over time. We have much bigger issues than this guy.

Bottom Line: I don’t want any of the three starters back for next year. The problem is that we have ZERO prospects in the minors who can play OF next year and the free agent list isn’t very deep either. Next year could be another ugly one. However, there is no effing reason why any of these 3 guys should be on our team in 2011.

Final Cold Dose of Reality: There are only two guys on our current roster who I feel comfortable with starting in 2011: Butler and Gordon. That means we would need to get 7 other starters before 2011 – should be an interesting task for Dayton. I will talk about this in upcoming posts, but we need to trade some of our pitching depth for bats. We have NO OTHER choice.



Draft Recap:

Well, former Missouri Tiger pitcher Aaron Crow fell to the Royals at #12. Some had the 6’3” RHP slotted top 5, but he fell for signability reasons. Crow turned down $3.5M from the Nationals last year as the #9 pick and he doesn’t have as much leverage this year because he won’t want to sit out two straight years. He will definitely sign with the Royals, but for how much will depend on the Royals playing hardball or just getting this done to get him to the minors soon. I bet he signs for around $3M and after a short stint this year with A ball, he will start 2010 in AA. He will turn 23 in November – kinda like a Hochevar type guy who should be in the Majors by 2012 and an outside shot at 2011. I like the pick because he is a very polished college arm with a plus fastball (projects at 92-93mph) and a very good out pitch (slider is his best pitch). Scouts say he greatly improved his changeup in the Independent leagues this year while he sat out, but he will need to refine that pitch a little further to make it to the next level. Some think he may project to a bullpen arm with his quirky delivery, but we drafted him at #12 with the thought that he can be a part of our rotation. With the recent injuries to Soria, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if this guy lives up to some projections as a high upside bullpen guy. If he can be a good pitcher in any capacity for us then it was a good pick, but we’d sure like him to be a starter for us if possible.

In the 3rd round we took C Wil Myers with the 91st pick. Myers is a C/OF prospect who measures 6’3” 185 lbs. Some think he can catch, some think he projects more of a corner OF. Either way, he is very athletic and has an advanced HS bat with a lot of RAW abilities – arguably one of the top 3 HS position players in the draft this year. If you remember from the Draft Preview, Myers was strongly being considered by the Royals for the #12 pick. I spoke against this because I didn’t think he was worthy of #12, but to get him at #91 is AWESOME. Our scouts had to be thrilled. Again, he fell due to signability reasons as his dad (who I’m sure is pretty big d-bag) told any team who called that he would demand $1.5M or go to South Carolina next year. Fine, pay the kid $1.5M and get him signed. Remember we lost our 2nd round pick due to the Juan Cruz signing, so that money that we “saved” can now go toward Wil Myers. Last year we took Eric Hosmer #3 and paid him $6M. If you pay Crow $3M and Myers $1.5M then your first two picks are still 25% cheaper than your first pick from last year – seems like a Wal-Mart bargain. Do work, Glass.

I really like our 4th round pick (#122), Chris Dwyer, a freshman out of Clemson. Projected at #55 by Baseball America, Dwyer is interesting as he is the first ever four-year college freshman ever to be draft eligible. The reason being that he went to an extended high school prep school and he is currently 21 years old. This means there is a decent chance he might want to stay at Clemson and improve his draft stock for next year. However, if the Royals throw $1.5M at this kid, I bet he signs (this is what we did with Wentzville, MO HS RHP Tim Mehlville last year as he spurned UNC). Dwyer is a 6’2” LHP who can touch 95mph with his fastball and has a plus curve. That is all I need to hear to justify this pick and the money I mentioned earlier. He will certainly need to develop a changeup to be an impact player. But he already has two very big pieces to the puzzle. I like the gamble pick, now pay the man, and get him in our system.

Our 5th round pick was Louis Coleman, a RHP out of LSU. You may have seen Mr. Coleman on ESPN last week during the College World Series and can see him start Monday June 22, 2009 at 6pm vs. Texas in game one of the Championship series. He is 6’4” 190 lbs and has a real interesting delivery. He has a very pronounced motion that comes across his body. He gives RH hitters fits trying to pick up his pitches. He also has excellent command with a K:BB of 124:19 in 114 innings this year. He has gone back and forth from the bullpen and rotation in his 4 year college career. However, he started this year and was a key part to LSU’s current deep run. Coleman may project as a reliever, but with his delivery, he could be a great ROOGY (Righty One Out GuY) to cause problems for RHB’s late in ball games. He should sign quickly after his season ends and could move fast through the system like Crow.

Other notable picks:
10th round : Geoffrey Baldwin, HS 1B out of Colorado. Turned down a full-ride to Nebraska and has already signed for $100K bonus. I like getting some of these signability HS guys in the later rounds
15th & 17th round Scott Lyons, SS Arkansas & Ben Tschepikow, 2B Arkansas – we drafted the middle infield of the Razorbacks. They both signed today after their season ended this weekend. Should be interesting to see if they get to play together in the minors as I’m sure that will help their progression and comfort level
40th and 43rd round: Michael Morin, RHP from SM South & Jeff Soptic, RHP out of SM East HS. Interesting local draft picks – we’ll see if they sign and snub college.
50th round: Anthony Scirrotto, SS, Penn State This guy played Safety for Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions. Interesting.


Sorry again for the layoff – it feels good to be back.



Exit Question: Aren’t you glad I went the entire post without mentioning the monstrosity that took place at the K this past weekend? I know I am.

Draft Day

I’m going to take a quick break from the depressing reality of our offensive roster breakdown to talk about the MLB Draft to be held this Tuesday, June 8th. I know I owe you the Outfielders and Pitchers for the dose of reality and that will come, but let’s look towards the future for a quick moment, because as Royals fans that is what we do. We lose and we wait and we hope. Someone call the marketing department, I think we can use this!

First off, the draft class this year is not as deep as the years past. I guess that is an ok thing for a year when are out of the top 10 (1st time since 2004 – Billy Butler 14th). We pick 12th this year and in years past that could have gotten you Kirk Gibson, Nomar Garciaparra, Jay Bruce, Brett Myers, or Jared Weaver. Of course there also many, many misses in there as well. The MLB Draft is nothing like the other sports. In baseball if 5 of top 10 picks even MAKE IT to the majors – it was a good class. In comparison, 10 of the top 10 picks in the NFL Draft are starting in the 1st game of their rookie season. NBA will take some project picks from time to time (Darko Milicic) but for the most part, top 10 picks are high impact immediate players. Baseball is a different story. Almost half of You all know the Royals draft history. Many have said that our drafting performance from 1992-2001 was the worst decade of drafting in the HISTORY OF SPORTS (I’m not kidding about this). Here’s why:

1992 - #17 Jim Pittsley: Started 21 games for the Royals with a 5.50 ERA; out of majors at 25
1993 - #5 Jeff Granger: Pitched 25 Innings in his career; out of majors at 25
1994 - #16 Matt Smith: Never made it to the majors
1995 - #19 Juan LeBron: Never made it to the majors
1996 - #14 Dee Brown: Career .233/.280/.333
1997 - #7 Dan Reichert: 21-25 5.53 ERA; 50 career starts
1998 - #4 Jeff Austin: 37 IP for Royals; 5.48 ERA
1998 - #30 Matt Burch: Never made it to the majors
1999 - #7 Kyle Snyder: 18 starts for Royals; 6.40 ERA
1999 - #25 Mike MacDougal: Had flashes, but very scary closer
2000 - #4 Mike Stodolka: Pitcher moved to 1B; never made it to majors
2001 - #9 Colt Griffin: Never made it to the majors

Well that is utterly pathetic. The best of the bunch was Mike MacDougal. You want to know why we’ve been a joke for so long, just look at the list above. Our draft department has a worse track record than Drew Peterson.

Now, lets see what has happened since this run:

2002 - #6 Zack Greinke: Cy Young Candidate for 2009
2003 - #5 Chris Lubanski: In AAA, 4th OF at best for future
2004 - #14 Billy Butler: Best hitter on our current roster
2005 - #2 Alex Gordon: OPS+ of 110 in 2nd year; very high ceiling
2006 - #1 Luke Hochevar: Too early to tell; not #1 ability
2007 - #2 Mike Moustakas: HR leader in A Ball; very high ceiling
2008 - #3 Eric Hosmer: Off to decent start; way to early to call

That makes 4 guys who are starters on our team right now. The last 2 really need to become big league hitters if the Royals are going to be a factor over the next few years, but they won’t even get here until 2011 at the earliest. How crazy is it that we’ve picked 2, 1, 2, 3 over the last four years. Wow. However, you actually have to give Baird a little credit for drafting Greinke, Butler, and Gordon.

So what are we going to do this year. Well, there are some good college arms in this draft, a few high school bats (Dayton LOVES these), and a college position player out there. This will be J.J. Piccolo's first draft where he calls the shots. Moore fired Derick Ladnier after last years draft and I'm anxious to see how J.J. does in his draft debut. Here are 5 candidates I think have a good chance to be drafted tomorrow night:

Grant Green - SS, USC 6’3 180
Green had a very good Sophomore year at USC (.390/.438/.644) a consensus pre-season top 5 pick. However, his junior year numbers dipped a bit and so he is supposed to slide a bit tomorrow. This is good news for Royals fans. His “drop-off” season is this: .374/.435/.569. They say the right hander plays above average defense and can hit for a little pop (15-20 HR’s). With his plus arm, plus speed, and high batting average he is a real 5 tool prospect. The junior year drop off is similar to Matt Weiters from two years ago. After his sophomore year, he was supposed to be the consensus #1 pick, but a drop off junior year saw him fall to Baltimore at #10. Well, he killed the ball all of last year in the minors and was called up to big league last week. Baltimore now has a catcher for their future thanks to a slight regression in his junior year of college.

Mike Leake: SP, ASU 6’0” 185
Leake is an undersized right-handed starting pitcher. He has pretty strong numbers and throws 4 pitches. He has a plus fastball and plus changeup while mixing in an average curve and slider. Scouts love his poise and presence and say that he could pitch in the majors very soon. They compare him to Tim Hudson. I kinda like this guy’s makeup and love that he has 4 pitches he works with.

Wil Myers: C, High School NC 6’3” 185
Myers is said to be a right hander with very good raw power - and a rare level to find in a high school catcher. You see this kid is a catcher and probably get excited because this is the single worst position of depth in our entire system. However, the book on this kid (and virtually every HS catcher not named Mauer) is that his bat will diminish as he struggles to learn how to handle a major league pitching staff. It is a valid point. Catching evolves greatly from the high school level to the majors, so he probably projects at another position.

Bobby Borchering: 3B, High School FL 6’4” 200
Bobby B is the infamous “best high school bat in the draft” which should probably get Dayton Moore excited. He took the “best high school bat in the draft” the last two years - will he make it three in a row? This kid is a switch hitter with a very high ceiling. The problem in my book is that he plays 3B and may be a 1B at some point. Sound familiar? It should, because that is what Billy Butler, Alex Gordon, and Mike Moustakas all were! A big switch hitter sounds enticing, but I don’t want to have another 4 year high school bat that is destined to one of our corner infield spots.

Kyle Gibson: SP, Mizzou 6’6” 208
Gibby has three pitches to go along with his big frame. He throws a plus fastball in the low 90’s, a plus change, and an average slider. His size also has scouts drooling as he can add some more weight to his frame. Scouts also rave about his leadership and mound presence. The problem: Gibson was only throwing 84-87 mph in his College World Series start last week. He claimed he was just tired from a long season, but some worried about elbow issues. Sure enough it was announced on Saturday that he has a stress fracture in his right forearm. Not good. This will definitely lead to him slipping, some think the Royals might jump on him at 12 as he would be top 10 if healthy. The injury seems to risky to me, even as a Tiger fan. Get healthy and good luck to you Gibby, but we can’t roll the dice on you bud.

Bottom line, this is a big pick for us. When we signed Juan Cruz we lost our 2nd round pick to the D-Backs (who have 7 picks in first 2 rounds!). Because our next pick won't be until #91, we really need to get an impact player at #12 and in all honesty - I think its gotta be a college player. We went high school bat the last two years, and our minor leagues are starting to fill out in our low A and high A leagues. Though above that, we really don’t have many prospects at all. I’d like to get a college player that could go to high A this summer and start in AA next year with an outside chance to play ball in KC in 2011. If our scouts decide that a high school bat has much more MLB potential than a college one, then so be it - but I'd hate to not take a chance on a solid college bat. I think there is a decent chance we take one of the 5 players I broke down above, but it could be a rando too. There are a few nice LHP from the high school level that could entice our scouts, but they project to be taken top 10. We'll see who falls to #12, but I know who I want the most tomorrow. I want Grant Green. I think this guy could be our starting SS in 2011 (which is not far away) and even 2012 would be sweet. I think he has the tools and sounds like a pretty impressive ballplayer. I like the film I’ve seen. If Green is gone, I’d go with Leake as he seems like a nice middle of the rotation guy who would be a nice fit at #12. Whatever we go with tomorrow, we won’t be able to evaluate it for a couple years, but I’m excited for this pick.

Exit Question: Who do you want?

Cold Shot of Reality (Part 1)

Well this last weekend was pretty sobering. I’ve fallen very hard from my April high. May was a complete buzz kill (even bigger than every scene with Jason Street in Friday Night Lights). Here is the problem with the Royals. We struggle with the following: getting on base, hitting with guys on base, hitting for power, base running, relief pitching, defense, and of course in game management. But I tell you what boys, other than that - we’re on the right track!

I think its time for everyone (myself included) to take a step back and realize what we really have on this team. We’re going to play a game and go through a few players. I’ll be the optimist, the pessimist, and then the realist.

Miguel Olivo:
Optimist - This guy has been one of the best catchers at gunning down base runners over the last couple years. He can hit lefties (.834 career OPS) and shows occasional pop.
Pessimist - He is arguably the worst hitting catchers over the last couple of years. He gets on base 26% of the time. He’s had more balls fly past him than Jenna Jameson.
Realist - Yeah, he hits lefties well (but that is only about 30% of his at bats). So the other 70% of his at bats=suck. His passed balls are really becoming a concern. I like his determination and his fire, but not his ability. He should certainly never be a “starter” in the major leagues. Yes, I like that Greinke feels comfortable with him and honestly - that is the only reason to keep this guy on our roster.

John Buck:
Optimist - He has shown flashes of increased plate discipline. He has been one of the few guys hitting with guys on base (4th in the majors at 26% of runners driven in vs. 12% Miguel Olivo).
Pessimist - He is arguably the worst catcher at gunning down base runner over the last couple years (22 of 24 reached safely this year). He really isn’t that great of a hitter - he’s never had an OPS+ above 90.
Realist - This guy could maybe be a backup, but I really don’t think he should even be on a major league roster. However you mix it up - you certainly cant have both Olivo and Buck on the same team if you want to win a division.

Mike Jacobs:
Optimist - This guy crushes the ball. He could hit 40 HR’s over a full season. He is the power bat we’ve been needing for years. He hits the ball further than any other Royal on our roster.
Pessimist - This guy strikes out more than CABG did with Sion chicks in high school. He can’t hit anything above his waist. Look at his lefty splits (.228/.279/.281). So that means 30% of the time, he gets out 80% of the time (a little Brian Fantana math for you). That is criminal. Oh yeah, he has the worst glove at 1B I’ve ever seen in my life.
Realist - Jacobs would be fine if he was a platoon DH. He can’t be a full time 1B and he can’t even be a full time DH with those gawd awful splits. His numbers would be better if we used him correctly. He is a piece to keep around, but at what cost? He'll make over $4M next year. You would hope he is a guy we can replace in the near future with someone who doesn’t have such pronounced splits and hopefully more plate discipline (Kila Ka'aihue). I like this guy, but if you take a step back - he’s kind of like a Russell Branyan type player. There is a reason Florida flipped him for an injury prone 155 pound reliever.

Billy Butler:
Optimist - Billy has hammered the ball at every level of his career and is starting to show signs of life at the major league level. His glove is definitely improving and he is only 22! He can be a .315/.390/.490 hitter.
Pessimist - He is slow and has yet to hit up to his potential at this point. He profiles as a DH at age 23 - that is not good.
Realist - I like Billy Butler a lot. I think he is best hitter on our team right now and definitely one to keep around. He is actually the guy I’m most confident in on this team that he will be a productive above average ML player. Still a little sluggish at 1B (gotten lucky on a few scoring decisions) but has shown he can be competent over there.

Alberto Callaspo:
Optimist - One of the best players in baseball at putting wood on the ball. He can spray the ball all over the field and hit from both sides of the plate. He typically gives productive outs as well. He is a good fit for the two hole and can be used for the hit and run.
Pessimist - His glove is atrocious. He is fat and out of shape. (The other day Steve Stone called him a speedy middle infielder. So just because a guy plays 2nd and is Spanish he is fast right? Anyone who has watched him play knows he may be the slowest 2B in the game. Must be a baseball guy thing that Stone knows that we don‘t)
Realist - We’ll see how the whole season plays out as Alberto has fallen back to earth a bit. I like this guy and think he is a valuable piece. I’d rather have him be a productive 8 or 9 hitter and have a little more speed in the 2 hole down the road. Ideally, he’d be a backup and great bat off the bench because his glove becomes a liability over 162 games. However, with our current garbage offense - he should hit two every night.

Willie Bloomquist -
Optimist: This guy is a good utility player. He can play multiple positions. He handles the bat well and will steal some bases. Has GRIT.
Pessimist: He had 1 extra base hit in 192 PA’s last year. Last year (age 30) was his first year with an OBP over .320. Even Hillman doesn’t trust him too much at SS.
Realist: I’m ok with this guy as a Utility INFIELDER. Not Utility player. Meaning: Don’t put him in the outfield. He reads balls poorly leading to awful jumps and he has a bad arm. It makes no sense to play him in the OF. Also, he needs to play sparingly and not be overused (I know Aviles is hurt, but still worry he’ll play too much).

Mike Aviles -
Optimist: Mike was the best hitter for the Royals in 2008. He played very capable defense at SS and could be a staple in the infield for the next handful of years.
Pessimist - He is Angelv2.0. Stick a fork in him - flash in the pan.
Realist - I’m going to cop out here and say incomplete. I want to believe in Mike and I certainly have not given up on him - but its not looking great right now. We will know by the end of this year (depending on his forearm “injury”) if he is a piece for the future or not.

TPJ/Luis Hernandez -
NO

Mark Teahen -
Optimist: His ability to drive the ball the other way is extremely impressive and rare in today’s game. He can play an average to slightly above average 3B. His arm is very plus in the outfield (though he still needs work on reads). He brings a positive attitude and hustles all the time. Maybe the best base runner in the game.
Pessimist: Can’t pull the ball with effectiveness to save his life. His numbers have trended down over the last two full seasons. Has shown no pop since his “fluke” 2006. Really getting annoyed with his lack of productive outs. For instance: He has been up with a runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs 11 times. He has driven in the run TWICE. That is pathetic.
Realist: He should be the 10th man. I don’t think he has the skill set to play 162 games a year and be effective. He should be a super utility guy - though he’ll make over $4M next year, so that’s a lot of money for a small market team to pay a utility player…

Alex Gordon -
Optimist - He’ll be fine when he gets back from his injury. He took a big leap last year with his stats and he is ready to take the next step to an elite ML ballplayer. He is a great athlete, plays average defense, and will hit for average and power.
Pessimist - Gordon will be a starter for us, but he will not be the .315 35 HR 130 RBI guy we thought. He will probably be more like this guy: .275 20-25 HR 85 RBI. Which is fine, but not Evan Longoria.
Realist - I think Gordon will still be a great player. He is obviously hurt right now, but I said before the season that I think he is legit - its just a matter of time. Time, you say? Royals fans have been saying that for 15 years, what’s a few more.


OK, I’ve got to stop here because I’ve only done Catchers and Infielders and I’m thoroughly depressed. Bottom line - if I’m Dayton Moore:

Full-time Starter: Butler, Gordon
Platoon/back up: Callaspo, Jacobs,
Maybe: Teahen (If you can sign him under $3M per year) Bloomquist (if under 200 PA’s)
Cut: Buck, Olivo, Pena Jr., Hernandez
Incomplete: Aviles

I guess that is depressing as I went through 11 players who’ve played catcher or infield for us so far this year and I honestly believe 2 of them can be starters on a playoff team.

I’ll go through the outfield later this week and then talk about the pitchers.



Exit Question: Of the players I went through, who do you think can be a FULL time starter for the Royals and be a part of a playoff team? Take your royal blue glasses off and be honest with yourself.