I think we have all come to the conclusion that the Royals are seemingly always hot or cold. Here is some data to show just how streaky the Royals have been this year.
March 31st-April 9th: 6-2
April 10th-April 24th: 3-11 (including a 7 game losing streak)
April 25th-May 4th: 5-3
May 5th-May 10th: 1-5
May 11th-May 18th: 6-1
May 19th-June 11th: 4-19 (including a 12 game losing streak)
June 12th-June 27th: 12-2 (including a a 5 and 6 game winning streak)
June 28th-July 9th: 3-9
July 10th-July 20th: 5-2
July 21-July 26th: 1-5
July 27th-Aug 4th: 7-1
Aug 5th-Aug 12th: 1-5
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Pardon the Interruption
School this summer took up the majority of my time so I havn't been able to post, my last class is tomorrow so hopefully I can get back to some regular posting.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Brett Tomko designated; Rosa called up
Dick Kaegel of MLB.com reports that the Royals have designated for assignment Brett Tomko; the Royals have 10 days to place him on waivers, trade, release, or he could accept a minor league assignment.
Tomko sprinkled some pretty good starts in with his mostly terrible ones, however he has been just awful since moving to the bullpen. In relief Tomko went 0-1 with a blown save in 4.2 innings, he allowed 12 hits, 9 runs, and 3 home runs.
Taking Tomko's spot on the roster is Carlos Rosa. Rosa, the Royals 6th rated prospect, has split time between AA and AAA this season and has been good to great at both levels with a combined 62/11 ratio in K/BB in 70 innings.
I'm not at all surprised at Tomko's release, just surprised it took so long...he was this years Angel Berroa. It is some what a surprise to see Rosa get the call as he has only seen 25 innings at AAA Omaha, but then again looking at the Royals 40-man roster he is about the only one that makes any sense at all.
Tomko sprinkled some pretty good starts in with his mostly terrible ones, however he has been just awful since moving to the bullpen. In relief Tomko went 0-1 with a blown save in 4.2 innings, he allowed 12 hits, 9 runs, and 3 home runs.
Taking Tomko's spot on the roster is Carlos Rosa. Rosa, the Royals 6th rated prospect, has split time between AA and AAA this season and has been good to great at both levels with a combined 62/11 ratio in K/BB in 70 innings.
I'm not at all surprised at Tomko's release, just surprised it took so long...he was this years Angel Berroa. It is some what a surprise to see Rosa get the call as he has only seen 25 innings at AAA Omaha, but then again looking at the Royals 40-man roster he is about the only one that makes any sense at all.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Should the Royals look to trade Greinke?
Ken Rosenthal in his latest Full Count video blog thinks that the Royals might entertain offers for Zack Greinke. That might come as a shock to most Royals fans who are anxiously waiting for Moore and Glass to sign Greinke to a long-term extension, but Rosenthal does make some sense.
The Royals, while not exactly out of the race, find themselves struggling to play .400 ball. The good news, I suppose, is that the division is really down this year and despite the horrid play of late the Royals are still only 7.5 games behind the White Sox. The problem is this team lacks offense in a big way and there isn't much (if any) help in Omaha or Arkansas.
First lets look at the sorry state of the Royals AAA and AA teams and see what is going on that would require such a drastic move. Starting in Omaha most of the teams offense is coming from Royals retreads, such as Shane Costa, Angel Berroa, Jason Smith, and Ryan Shealy; that group accounts for 60% of the teams home runs and 48% of the teams RBI (not counting Aviles' numbers who is now on the Royals roster).
Also sitting in Omaha are former 1st round picks Mitch Maier, Chris Lubanski, and newly demoted Billy Butler. Butler will rejoin the Royals soon and Maier could be a useful bench player; as for Lubanski the jury is still out, he certainly isn't knocking down the door for a call-up.
Things in Arkansas are even worse as there are perhaps only two players who might be considered prospects at this point. Kila Kaaihue has been solid and Brian McFall is holding his own. This duo accounts for exactly 50% of the teams total home runs and the team is in the bottom third in AVG/OBP/SLG.
Without much coming up from the pipeline it then becomes a possibility that trading Greinke could be good for the future of this team. The question then becomes what could the Royals hope to get in return for their ace. As comparison I'm going to look at what teams got for their front of the line starters the past couple of years and see if that sort of return could be expected.
Johan Santana to the Mets
Carlos Gomez, Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey, and Deolis Guerra to the Twins.
-The Mets gave up their 3-6th best prospects to land perhaps the best pitcher in baseball. Is Greinke comparable to Santana? He is this year and he is younger and far cheaper.
Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, and Eduardo Morlan to the Rays
Delmon Young, Brendan Harris, and Jason Pridie to the Twins
-Matt Garza certainly isn't the pitcher Greinke is but he did net the Twins a former 1st overall pick back in Young.
Dan Haran and Conner Robertson to the Diamondbacks
Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland ,Greg Smith, Chris Carter, Aaron Cunningham and Carlos Gonzalez.
-Eveland and Smith are in the rotation and pitching well and Gonzalez, Carter, Cunningham and Anderson are in the A's top 10 prospects list.
Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, and Guillermo Mota to the Red Sox
Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, Jesus Delgado, and Harvey Garcia to the Marlins.
-This trade worked well for both teams, Ramirez is perhaps the best shortstop in baseball and Sanchez has already tossed a no-hitter.
As you can see there is some incentive for a rebuilding (yes,I said it) team to trade away a star pitcher for prospects but it isn't without danger, after all they are just prospects. Dayton Moore would have to find a team that is in win mode now and would be willing to part with several of their top prospects, so which teams are candidates?
New York Yankees: The Yankees are 20th in baseball in team ERA and find themselves in 4th place in the East. Brian Cashman has put more emphasis on keeping the farm system together, does Hank Steinbrenner step in and push for a trade?
Top Prospects:
The Royals, while not exactly out of the race, find themselves struggling to play .400 ball. The good news, I suppose, is that the division is really down this year and despite the horrid play of late the Royals are still only 7.5 games behind the White Sox. The problem is this team lacks offense in a big way and there isn't much (if any) help in Omaha or Arkansas.
First lets look at the sorry state of the Royals AAA and AA teams and see what is going on that would require such a drastic move. Starting in Omaha most of the teams offense is coming from Royals retreads, such as Shane Costa, Angel Berroa, Jason Smith, and Ryan Shealy; that group accounts for 60% of the teams home runs and 48% of the teams RBI (not counting Aviles' numbers who is now on the Royals roster).
Also sitting in Omaha are former 1st round picks Mitch Maier, Chris Lubanski, and newly demoted Billy Butler. Butler will rejoin the Royals soon and Maier could be a useful bench player; as for Lubanski the jury is still out, he certainly isn't knocking down the door for a call-up.
Things in Arkansas are even worse as there are perhaps only two players who might be considered prospects at this point. Kila Kaaihue has been solid and Brian McFall is holding his own. This duo accounts for exactly 50% of the teams total home runs and the team is in the bottom third in AVG/OBP/SLG.
Without much coming up from the pipeline it then becomes a possibility that trading Greinke could be good for the future of this team. The question then becomes what could the Royals hope to get in return for their ace. As comparison I'm going to look at what teams got for their front of the line starters the past couple of years and see if that sort of return could be expected.
Johan Santana to the Mets
Carlos Gomez, Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey, and Deolis Guerra to the Twins.
-The Mets gave up their 3-6th best prospects to land perhaps the best pitcher in baseball. Is Greinke comparable to Santana? He is this year and he is younger and far cheaper.
Matt Garza, Jason Bartlett, and Eduardo Morlan to the Rays
Delmon Young, Brendan Harris, and Jason Pridie to the Twins
-Matt Garza certainly isn't the pitcher Greinke is but he did net the Twins a former 1st overall pick back in Young.
Dan Haran and Conner Robertson to the Diamondbacks
Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland ,Greg Smith, Chris Carter, Aaron Cunningham and Carlos Gonzalez.
-Eveland and Smith are in the rotation and pitching well and Gonzalez, Carter, Cunningham and Anderson are in the A's top 10 prospects list.
Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, and Guillermo Mota to the Red Sox
Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, Jesus Delgado, and Harvey Garcia to the Marlins.
-This trade worked well for both teams, Ramirez is perhaps the best shortstop in baseball and Sanchez has already tossed a no-hitter.
As you can see there is some incentive for a rebuilding (yes,I said it) team to trade away a star pitcher for prospects but it isn't without danger, after all they are just prospects. Dayton Moore would have to find a team that is in win mode now and would be willing to part with several of their top prospects, so which teams are candidates?
New York Yankees: The Yankees are 20th in baseball in team ERA and find themselves in 4th place in the East. Brian Cashman has put more emphasis on keeping the farm system together, does Hank Steinbrenner step in and push for a trade?
Top Prospects:
1.Joba Chamberlain, rhp
2.Austin Jackson, of
3.Jose Tabata, of
4.Ian Kennedy, rhp
5.Alan Horne, rhp
6.Jesus Montero, c
7.Jeff Marquez, rhp
8.Brett Gardner, of
9.Ross Ohlendorf, rhp
10.Andrew Brackman, rhp
Texas Rangers: The Rangers have stockpiled talent over the past couple of years and now find themselves only 5 games back of the division leading Angels. Do they make a trade to bolster their 28th ranked pitching?
Top Prospects:
1.Elvis Andruz, ss
2.Chris Davis, 3b
3.Eric Hurley, rhp
4.Taylor Teagarden, c
5.Neftali Feliz, rhp
6.Michael Main, rhp
7.Kasey Kiker, lhp
8.Blake Beavan, rhp
9.Julio Borbon, of
10.Engel Beltre, of
Cincinnati Reds: The Reds are in a distant 4th in the NL Central but have the talent to compete with some help to their 23rd ranked pitching. Problem for the reds is Dunn is a free agent and their best talent is very young. Do they try to win now or continue to build through the system?
Top Prospects:
1.Jay Bruce, of
2.Homer Bailey, rhp
3.Joey Votto, 1b/of
4.Johnny Cueto, rhp
5.Drew Stubbs, of
6.Devin Mesoraco, c
7.Todd Frazier, ss
8.Juan Francisco, 3b
9.Josh Roenicke, rhp
10.Matt Maloney, lhp
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Losing streak comes to an end
The streak is finally over and it only took a recall of Minor League pitcher Kyle Davies to do it... well not entirely but it didn't hurt. Davies making his first start of the year earned his second career victory at the K by going 5 innings allowing 1 run on 5 hits. Not the best pitching performance we have seen this year but it was enough.
The Royals offense did just enough to beat reigning AL Cy Young award winner. DeJesus had a big night hitting his 4th home run to give the Royals a 1-0 lead in the third. The offense tacked on three more runs thanks to key hits from Buck, DeJesus, and Grudz.
Hillman did about everything he could to end this streak. He took Davies out after 5 innings and 100 pitches, Mahey pitched 1.1 innings, followed by Peralta for .2 innings, and Soria closed out the game by pitching the final 2 innings.
The Royals offense did just enough to beat reigning AL Cy Young award winner. DeJesus had a big night hitting his 4th home run to give the Royals a 1-0 lead in the third. The offense tacked on three more runs thanks to key hits from Buck, DeJesus, and Grudz.
Hillman did about everything he could to end this streak. He took Davies out after 5 innings and 100 pitches, Mahey pitched 1.1 innings, followed by Peralta for .2 innings, and Soria closed out the game by pitching the final 2 innings.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Look at the '08 draft
With the Royals in an 11-game loosing streak, and find themselves an ugly 9.5 games out of first, I figure it would probably be healthy to look at something other than the Royals box score.
The draft is a tough thing to predict, nobody really knows who is going where, and teams are throwing out names to throw other teams off their guy. There is however, a general consensus on who the top guys are.
Buster Posey:
Position: Catcher
School: Junior at Florida State University
Birthdate: 03/27/1987
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 200 lbs
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Posey is considered to be a gap-to-gap guy with occasional power to left field. He has good knowledge of the strike-zone and isn't afraid to take a walk. Posey is a versatile defender, only recently moving to catcher which means he has some work to do back there. He has an average to below average arm. He is projected to remain as a catcher at the Major League level which raises his stock.
Tim Beckham:
Position: Shortstop
School: Senior at Griffin High School
Birthdate: 01-27-1990
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 190 lbs
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Beckham is projected to have average power, but he has some flaws in his swing and could take awhile to develop fully. Beckham has good speed and is projected to have the tools to remain at shortstop. Labeled as a five-tool player Beckham will be hard to pass on but he does have a lot of work to do, particularly at the plate.
Pedro Alvarez:
Position: Third base
School: Junior at Vanderbilt University
Birthdate: 07/18/1987
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 225
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Alvarez is considered a safe bet to be a productive hitter at the Major League level, he should hit for a solid average with average power to develop. It is somewhat a question mark on whether or not he can play third in the bigs as he has limited range and average arm; could be a future first baseman. Alvarez is a high energy guy that should move through any system quickly.
Justin Smoak:
Position: First Base
School: Junior at the University of South Carolina
Birthdate: 12/05/1986
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 215
Bats: Switch
Throws: Left
Smoak is a big guy with a good bat, he is projected to be a 30-40 home run guy in the Majors and will also hit for a good average. Smoak is very limited defensively and is slow on the base paths. Smoak will either be a below average first baseman or a DH at the big league level but his bat will carry him.
Eric Hosmer:
Position: First Base
School: Senior at American Heritage High School
Birthdate: 10/24/1989
Height: 6' 4"
Weight: 210 lbs
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Hosmer is a big left-handed bat who projects to hit for good average and plenty of power. Hosmer is good defensively and has a good throwing arm at first, but lacks speed on the base paths. Hosmer is considered to be the best high school bat in the draft and should move fairly quickly through the minors for a high school kid.
Aaron Crow:
Position: Starting Pitcher
School: Junior at the University of Missouri
Birthdate: 11/11/1986
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 195 lbs
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Crow is a big right hander who has three plus pitches; a fastball that reaches 96, a hard slider, and a change-up. He has good command, especially with the fastball, and maintains his velocity well. Crow is aggressive and is perhaps the best college arm in the draft.
Brian Matusz:
Position: Starting Pitcher
School: Junior at the University of San Diego
Birthdate: 02/11/1987
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 200 lbs
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Matusz has four pitches, all at least average. He throws a fastball in the low 90's, a slider, a plus change up, and his out pitch is a big curve. It has been noted that he doesn't work off his fastball as much as needed but he has good command and will throw any pitch at anytime. Matusz is argueably the top rated pitcher in the draft.
The draft is a tough thing to predict, nobody really knows who is going where, and teams are throwing out names to throw other teams off their guy. There is however, a general consensus on who the top guys are.
Buster Posey:
Position: Catcher
School: Junior at Florida State University
Birthdate: 03/27/1987
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 200 lbs
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Posey is considered to be a gap-to-gap guy with occasional power to left field. He has good knowledge of the strike-zone and isn't afraid to take a walk. Posey is a versatile defender, only recently moving to catcher which means he has some work to do back there. He has an average to below average arm. He is projected to remain as a catcher at the Major League level which raises his stock.
Tim Beckham:
Position: Shortstop
School: Senior at Griffin High School
Birthdate: 01-27-1990
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 190 lbs
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Beckham is projected to have average power, but he has some flaws in his swing and could take awhile to develop fully. Beckham has good speed and is projected to have the tools to remain at shortstop. Labeled as a five-tool player Beckham will be hard to pass on but he does have a lot of work to do, particularly at the plate.
Pedro Alvarez:
Position: Third base
School: Junior at Vanderbilt University
Birthdate: 07/18/1987
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 225
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Alvarez is considered a safe bet to be a productive hitter at the Major League level, he should hit for a solid average with average power to develop. It is somewhat a question mark on whether or not he can play third in the bigs as he has limited range and average arm; could be a future first baseman. Alvarez is a high energy guy that should move through any system quickly.
Justin Smoak:
Position: First Base
School: Junior at the University of South Carolina
Birthdate: 12/05/1986
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 215
Bats: Switch
Throws: Left
Smoak is a big guy with a good bat, he is projected to be a 30-40 home run guy in the Majors and will also hit for a good average. Smoak is very limited defensively and is slow on the base paths. Smoak will either be a below average first baseman or a DH at the big league level but his bat will carry him.
Eric Hosmer:
Position: First Base
School: Senior at American Heritage High School
Birthdate: 10/24/1989
Height: 6' 4"
Weight: 210 lbs
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Hosmer is a big left-handed bat who projects to hit for good average and plenty of power. Hosmer is good defensively and has a good throwing arm at first, but lacks speed on the base paths. Hosmer is considered to be the best high school bat in the draft and should move fairly quickly through the minors for a high school kid.
Aaron Crow:
Position: Starting Pitcher
School: Junior at the University of Missouri
Birthdate: 11/11/1986
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 195 lbs
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Crow is a big right hander who has three plus pitches; a fastball that reaches 96, a hard slider, and a change-up. He has good command, especially with the fastball, and maintains his velocity well. Crow is aggressive and is perhaps the best college arm in the draft.
Brian Matusz:
Position: Starting Pitcher
School: Junior at the University of San Diego
Birthdate: 02/11/1987
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 200 lbs
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Matusz has four pitches, all at least average. He throws a fastball in the low 90's, a slider, a plus change up, and his out pitch is a big curve. It has been noted that he doesn't work off his fastball as much as needed but he has good command and will throw any pitch at anytime. Matusz is argueably the top rated pitcher in the draft.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Roster Moves: Butler down, Aviles up
We all expected some more roster moves but here is what we know so far. Billy Butler is being optioned to Omaha and Mike Aviles is being called up. Somewhat surprising, Butler hasn't been terrible but he has been struggling of late. Regarding Aviles about damn time, he has been tearing it up all year in Omaha, he will be starting tonight at shortstop.
More to come when on official release comes out.
Update: Here is the official release from Dick Kaegel. You have to figure there will be another move or two before to long, there are now 5 middle infielders on the 25-man roster...not good.
Update: There are now rumblings that Davies will be called up Saturday and Tomko will be moved to the pen. It appears Peralta will be the odd man out, or maybe Yabuta will see some time in Omaha.
More to come when on official release comes out.
Update: Here is the official release from Dick Kaegel. You have to figure there will be another move or two before to long, there are now 5 middle infielders on the 25-man roster...not good.
Update: There are now rumblings that Davies will be called up Saturday and Tomko will be moved to the pen. It appears Peralta will be the odd man out, or maybe Yabuta will see some time in Omaha.
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