Operations Manager & MLB Draft Evaluator with
@ProspectsLive
| Co-Host of On the Clock | Covering College Baseball & the MLB Draft |
@IBWAA
&
@ABCA1945
Member
The Kansas City Royals highlight of the day is Yordano Ventura dominating game 6 of the 2014 World Series to force a game 7.
One of the greatest performances by Yordano. I’ll never forget this one. RIP Ace!
It’s time for the 1,000 follower giveaway! I wanted to thank everyone who’s supported me so I’m giving away two
#TogetherRoyal
autographed baseball cards (see pic below). To enter:
1. Be following me!
2. Like this tweet
3. Retweet this tweet
Giveaway announced Sunday!
Kansas City Royals highlight of the day features David DeJesus’ walk off home run against the Seattle Mariners on July 12, 2008 👀👀👀
Man, he was a bright spot on some not so great Royals teams!
We interviewed Coach Kelly for On The Clock with
@ProspectsLive
and man, he’s an incredible human being.
Such a massive loss for the University of Washington. Big gain for Texas A&M.
Sources: Washington head coach Jason Kelly is expected to be named the pitching coach at Texas A&M.
Kelly has been the UW coach for two seasons. Spent two years on staff at Arizona State with Michael Earley.
The
#Royals
got lucky to take 3 out of 4 against the Guardians because their players are overperforming (especially that pitching staff), and they aren't that good.
Oh, and obviously, because they cheat at home as well.
*Guardians Fans on Twitter*
Rintaro Sasaki almost got his second home run in two games. Tall walls in Frederick holds it to a long single.
97.4 mph EV
34 degree launch angle
Here’s an open side shot ⤵️
Today’s Kansas City Royals highlight of the day is Mike Sweeney stealing home on Andy Pettitte and the New York Yankees!
Shoutout to
@HoshJoferer10
for the recommendation!
The
#Royals
Trade Deadline Summary…
OUT
Aroldis Chapman, LHP
Nicky Lopez, INF
Jose Cuas, RHP
Scott Barlow, RHP
Ryan Yarbrough, LHP
IN
Cole Ragans, LHP
Romi Cabrera, OF
Taylor Hearn, LHP
Nelson Velazquez, OF
Henry Williams, RHP
Jesus Rios, RHP
Devin Mann, 1B
Derlin Figueroa,
My updated top 10
#Royals
prospects after day one of yesterdays draft:
1. Jac Caglianone
2. Blake Mitchell
3. Ben Kudrna
4. Ramon Ramirez
5. Gavin Cross
6. Carter Jensen
7. Blake Wolters
8. David Shields
9. Asbel Gonzalez
10. Javier Vaz
We are approaching September, and the Royals are still, how do you say... good.
The
#Royals
staff to date...
Ragans - 10-7, 3.18 ERA
Lugo - 14-7, 3.02 ERA
Singer - 9-8, 3.18 ERA
Wacha - 10-6, 3.33 ERA
Lorenzen - 1-0, 2.87 ERA
Despite what broadcast says I'm still not sold on the Royals. I think they will come back to earth some especially starting staff. Are the improved 100% but one injury to a starting pitcher or batter and depth will get tested.
My
#Royals
wish list for potential trade options:
Outfield
Taylor Ward - LAA
Kevin Pillar - LAA
Michael Conforto - SFG
Designated Hitter
JD Martinez - NYM
Relief Pitching
Paul Sewald - ARI
Kyle Finnegan - WSH
Hunter Harvey - WSH
Jordan Leasure - CWS
Michael Kopech - CWS
Will Smith - 6.75 ERA
Chris Stratton - 6.00 ERA
James McArthur - 4.56 ERA
These were the guys you expected to pitch in high-leverage situations. They either can't or don't anymore. Shake. Things. Up.
#Royals
Dylan Coleman is just flat out nasty. He’s definitely a dark horse to become the
@Royals
closer. Triple digit fastball to go along this hard slider. If he can stay healthy, he’s easily one of my favorites in the back end of that bullpen 🔥
Chicago Cubs pitching prospect
@DavidjohnHerz
was absolutely electric all year long. Of those who threw 80 IP, he ranked 3rd in K rate (40.4%) only behind Daniel Espino and Grayson Rodriguez. He improved his mechanics and CH to go with his CB. 📈📈📈
Prospect “analysts”: "Royals farm system sucks!"
Royals: *trades prospect from so called bad farm system for a proven piece*
Prospect “analysts”: "Royals got fleeced! Sandlin is good!"
The
#Royals
2024 1st rounder Jac Caglianone is quietly heating up in High-A. He's had seven multi-hit games in his last ten. Finishes today 2-for-6 with a 2B and 2 RBI.
Season stats:
.258/.324/.441/.765
9 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 7 BB, 22 SO
21.9 K%, 7.3 BB%
113 wRC+
"The
#Royals
could join the bidding...J.J. Picollo has been open about his desire to add a bat capable of playing both the infield and the outfield — a need Chisholm would fill nicely."
It doesn't get talked about enough, but Marcus Stroman (
@STR0
) is consistently good year in and year out. A career 3.64 ERA, great clubhouse guy, will get you a good amount of innings, and a competitor on the mound. Chicago Cubs have to be happy with this sign.
#ItsDifferentHere
Low-key love this move. Seems light on paper, but Cole Ragans is a former first rounder. He has had two Tommy Johns. FB usually sits 90-93, T94. Plus CH. Makings of a starter.
Roni Cabrera is in his second DSL stint and still 17. Slashing .320/.469/.620 w/ a 18.8 BB% & 10 K%
And so trade season begins: The Texas Rangers, in pursuit of bullpen help, acquired left-handed pitcher Aroldis Chapman. Going back to Kansas City in the trade will be left-hander Cole Ragans and outfielder Roni Cabrera.
The
#Royals
sweep the Reds and are now 3.0 games behind the Guardians for the division and up 4.0 games on the Boston Red Sox for the wild card.
+109 run differential (2nd in all of baseball)
38-25 at home.
31-30 on the road.
Excited to announce I have become a full-time prospect writer w/
@RoyalsFarm
. Can't thank them enough for this awesome opportunity!
After working for the Kansas City Royals for almost 8 years, I became a huge fan and it will be great to cover the team I love more in-depth!
The Just Baseball Top 100 update is out! There are three
#Royals
in the top 100:
29. Jac Caglianone - 1B
53. Blake Mitchell - C
97. Ramon Ramirez - C
The Kansas City Royals farm system continues to get stronger. Incredible stuff by
@AramLeighton8
as always.
🚨Top 100 Update With the 2024 Draft Class🚨
Our latest top 100 prospect update features roughly 30 new faces, including the top prospects from this year’s draft class!
Full rankings and reports:
#Padres
OF prospect Robert Hassell III is 2 for 2 tonight with an RBI and 2 SBs. He’s hitting .311 on the season with 4 HRs, 42 RBIs, and 24 SBs. He’s quickly making his way into the top tier of prospects in his first pro season.
#Prospects
#FriarFaithful
Michael Lorenzen: 5.2 IP, 5 H, ER, 5 K
Paul DeJong: 2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI
Not a bad day so far for the new guys acquired by the
#Royals
at the trade deadline!
Blake Mitchell is adjusting to professional baseball quite well. Might be time for people to be paying more attention to him.
10 home runs in the year. He’s now hit safely in 18 straight games in Columbia (Low-A).
#Royals
The
#Royals
take Blake Wolters (RHP) with the 44th pick. From
@MLBPipeline
:
"He has been clocked as high as 99 this spring. His power and physicality have prompted comparisons to fellow Illinois prep product Bobby Miller, now a Top 100 prospect with the Dodgers, though Miller
Jesse Winker traded to the Mets last night. Main guys the
#Royals
have been in on are available:
OF Lane Thomas - WSH
INF Luis Rengifo - LAA
OF Taylor Ward - LAA
RHP Luis Garcia - LAA
LHP Tanner Scott - MIA
Could we see JJ try go an under-the-radar move outside of these five?
Walter Pennington
37.1 Innings Pitched
1.93 ERA
60 SO
12 BB
14.46 K/9
0.72 HR/9
2.37 xFIP
I'd say Pennington is quite ready to help what seems to be a gassed
#Royals
bullpen. Get him to the show!
Pratto has always been known for his ability to draw walks and he wasn’t being aggressive enough at the plate. Love the adjustments he’s made this year. Not letting pitches he should hit go by. Beautiful swing.
Alright
#Royals
fans, I got bored on my plane ride home from MLB All-Star weekend and wrote nearly 2,000 words about the entire Royals 2024 MLB Draft Class for
@farmtofountains
.
Analysis and draft grades for each day. Enjoy!
Nick Moten (
@CrowderBasebal1
) got my attention. Stuff was on point. FB had life. Consistently 94-95. SL had really good bite to it. Flashed a CB. Pitches with a ton of controlled emotion and fire.
Line: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K
FB - 93-95
CT - 91-93
SL - 82-85
CB - 79-80
Random thought of the day... if you're the
#Royals
, do you try to package Josh Bell with Tanner Scott?
Take on Bell's salary to lessen Tanner Scott's prospect cost. This could be an unlikely scenario, but it popped into my head.
Michael Massey is slashing .286/.300/.536 with a .836 OPS with 2 HR and 9 RBI in 32 plate appearances against lefties. I get that it's a small sample size, but I'm confused about why he's being benched against lefties, given the struggles of the
#Royals
lineup overall.
Kansas City Royals international signs so far:
Emmanuel Santos, OF
Darvin Cruz, OF
#49
Marwys Jorge, RHP
Jorge is really intriguing. Trained by Edinson Volquez. MLB Pipeline say some see a hint of Sandy Alcantara 👀. Have to take comps with a grain of salt of course.
The
#Royals
will face Tanner Gordon as the Rockies have called him up for his major-league debut today.
He posted a 5.35 ERA, 1.48 WHIP with a 27:8 K:BB ratio in 33.2 innings pitched in Albuquerque (AAA). It seems like the perfect scenario for the offense to get back on track.
And there it is! Looks like the
#Royals
were saving money as they took RHP Kyle DeGroat out of NY in the 14th round.
DeGroat comes in at
#138
on the
@ProspectsLive
Top 300 Board. Huge get for the Royals.
I worked on my personal Kansas City Royals top 10 prospects over the weekend. I’ve got 2-6 at 50 OFPs.
This system took a bit of a bit with the graduations of Massey, Vinnie P, Pratto and others, but there is still a lot of fun talent in their farm system.
#TogetherRoyal
Where
#Royals
prospect Blake Mitchell rank in wRC+ among qualified 19 yo in A Ball...
FIRST
Where does he rank among ALL qualified players in A Ball...
FIRST
Yes, I know wRC+ doesn't tell the whole story, but it's wild that Mitchell doesn't get love as a top 100 prospect.
The Royals are making moves and apparently aren't done. Sounds like there is still a need for one more SP. If you had to choose, hypothetically, which move would you want them to make?
A. Trade MJ Melendez in a package for a 1/2 type SP. Sign a OFer like Tommy Pham
B. Salary
Digging a bit more into Blake Mitchell and don’t hate the pick for the
#Royals
. Mitchell came in at
#16
on
@JoeDoyleMiLB
’s ranks. Raw pop from the left with a progressing hit tool. Plus arm. Been up to 97 on the mound. 80-grade makeup as a person.
I’ve been watching video footage of
@Royals
2021 2nd Rounder (43rd overall) Ben Kudrna. FB has been up to 98 mph. Quick arm action and protectable frame. Slider with good bite gives him a solid secondary. CH w/ some depth tops off a solid three pitch mix.
Taking a look at my favorite under-the-radar prospects in each organization. Starting this series with the
@Royals
Vinnie Pasquantino - 1B 📈📈📈
Tucker Bradley - OF 📈📈🎯
Drew Parrish - SP📈👀
Carter Jensen - C 👀
Will Klein - SP 🔥🔥
Emilio Marquez - SP 🔥
#TogetherRoyal
On July 11th, it was announced that LHP Austin Cox exercised his right to opt out of his contract with the Royals.
According to the MLB transactions page, Cox has signed back with the
#Royals
on a minor league contract.
With Jazz & Yimi Garcia off the board, here are some of the names I'd still be interested in for the
#Royals
Bats
Cody Bellinger - CHC
Brent Rooker - OAK
Luis Rengifo - LAA
Jesse Winker - WSH
Relievers
Pete Fairbanks - TBR
Jason Adam - TBR
Carlos Estevez - LAA
Tanner Scott -
I’ve been writing my series covering 2022 Kansas City Royals prospects to watch from each level this morning and I can’t get over how nasty Ben Hernandez’s change up is. Keep your 👀 on him. Advanced feel on the mound and developing a breaking pitch 🔥🔥🔥
Baseball America on Royals International Signee Yandel Ricardo
"Ricardo is the top prospect from Cuba eligible to sign in 2024, blending good size, athleticism and hitting ability...He takes a direct, efficient swing from both sides with good bat path to stay behind the ball."
BA’s International Bonus Board is live.
The players expected to sign for the top 50 bonuses in the class. Scouting reports and signing team for each player.
Plus, “Trending Up” tags next to players rising heading into January 15.
Full board here ⬇️
The
#Royals
are past the “it’s just baseball. Streaks happen” and into the “when you think it can’t get worse, it does” phase of this losing streak.
Since the Erceg and Vinnie P injuries, they’ve been a straight dumpster fire. Gotta turn it around quick.
I mean what are we even doing here?
This team is tied for the 5th best run differential in the MLB. Does the team have areas it can improve? Absolutely. As does every team.
To say this team has nothing good about them in the article is an absolutely wild take.
I wrote about
@Royals
OF prospect Darryl Collins in my article released today for
@RoyalsFarm
. Athleticism. Advanced bat-to-ball skills with sound hitting approach. He has some of the best exit velocities in the farm system. Lots of unlocked potential left.
Another fun Kansas City Royals prospect from the 2021 MLB Draft is 5th rounder RHP Eric Cerantola from Montreal. Solid FB that can push up to 100 mph paired with an elite CB and average CH. You also gotta love the emotion he has on the mound!
@RoyalsFarm
Excited to announce that the Beyond Baseball podcast is heading over to
@JustBB_Media
.
Caleb and I are all kinds of excited to bring incredible human side stories of players to Just Baseball Fans. Tons of incredible interviews lined up and ready to go.
More to come soon! 👀
Royals starting rotation current FIP ranks:
8. Cole Ragans (2.57)
26. Brady Singer (3.20)
27. Seth Lugo (3.20)
46. Michael Wacha (3.92)
Marsh is 3.28, but doesn't qualify due to innings. All the Royals pitchers have the 6th best FIP in the league.
#Royals
Zach Haake looked great again today for the
#Royals
in the Arizona Fall League. The RHP went 3 innings giving up one hit, one earned run, and striking out four. In the previous outing he was sitting mid-90s. Great to see the continued progress trending up! 📈📈📈
#TogetherRoyal
Being from Maryland, have to talk about Jake Yeager who’s a 2024 MLB Draft prospect. Been really impressed with his stuff in the videos I’ve seen. Maryland commit FB sits in the low-90s but can get it up to 95-96. SL is a good secondary. Physical makeup.
Here’s Chase Burns complete start from yesterday, including all 13 K’s.
FB was 95-99 T 100 w/ insane carry & ride. Sat 97-99 early. Best pitch of the night was his SL (87-91), which he went to often late. Flashed a CH that hit 93 mph. Just insane stuff.
Have fun
@PitchingNinja
!
I’m ready to see what Samad Taylor (.309/.391/.461) can do in the show. He’s cut his K rate below 20%. Showing off some pop and his plus speed with 21 SBs so far. Really nothing left for him to prove in Omaha.
Brito is a 24-year-old 1B/3B who was playing with the Staten Island Ducks of the Atlantic League.
Between the MLB Draft League and Staten Island, Brito slashed .336/.434/.586 with a 1.020 OPS and 18, 14 HR, 71 RBI in 302 PA (78 G).
#Royals
Everyone has focused on Witt, Jr., Pratto, and Melendez, but have you 👀 at Michael Massey? He's slashing .288/.352/.543 with 21 HR, 85 RBI, and 12 SB in High-A. That goes with a 14.5 K% and 7.7 BB%. Get on board the Massey 🚂 before it is too late.
@RoyalsFarm
#TogetherRoyal
Chase Burns had another 10+ K outing for
@WakeBaseball
. K'd 13 in 7 IP. 109 pitches.
Best pitch was his SL (87-91). Went to it often, especially late in the game. One word to describe it… Diabolical.
Here he is punching out Griff O'Ferrall on 3 pitches looking. All sliders.
Love
@FoulTerritoryTV
giving the
#Royals
some love for their trade deadline moves.
Easy to agree here with how JJ and company approached the deadline. Kept the farm mostly intact while making this team better. Should pay off in the long run.
Intrigued by the Evan Sisk acquisition for the Kansas City Royals.
@twinsdaily
had him as the 2022 Minor League Relief POTY. Extremely deceptive delivery. Lots of movement on his FB w/ a couple of good secondaries. Command is improving.
🎥:
@DrakeMann4
It’s May 1st…
19-13 Record
+50 Run Differential
This is what happens you when you spend money on quality players in the offseason and instill confidence in the young players you have on your team.
#Royals
Personal News: I've decided to leave Prospects Live. It was a tough decision, as everyone at this organization is top-notch. I am so grateful for my time there, the people I got to work with, and the opportunity they gave Caleb and me to build and grow Beyond Baseball.
Maikel Garcia is a candidate to be added to the
@Royals
40-man roster. He might be my favorite MI prospect they have outside of Bobby Witt, Jr. 35 steals, 62 walks with a 15.2% K rate and 12.9% BB rate in 2021. 129 wRC+ in Low-A and 108 in High-A.
"The Royals absolutely love Teel and have spent an inordinate amount of time taking in his games toward the end of the year"
Great mock here by Joe Doyle. Has Kyle Teel going to the Royals at
#8
. If he makes it...
💎Mock Draft 4.0 is here💎
- 39 picks
- Under-slot deals
- Over-slot pulldowns
- Making sense of bonus pools
- A shake-up in the Top 10
Enjoy!
Just 6 days to go.
The Royals arms in the minor leagues often get overlooked. Baseball America has their farm system statcast pitching rankings having them come in at
#10
.
Carter Jensen is going to be a quick riser in my
#Royals
top 50 prospects! It is looks like the Royals got a steal in the 3rd round of the 2021 MLB draft!
#TogetherRoyal
It is wild that a not-so-good Seth Lugo start is 6 IP, 6 H, ER, 3 BB, 5 K - 100 pitches.
Even when he doesn't have his best stuff, he finds a way to be efficient and still toss together a quality start.
#Royals