KC Royals - May

[XManCometh]

Myers is adjusting to AA right now and seeing moderate success. I see him being there all season and in AAA next season. I think Francouer's contract includes a club option for next year. So the pieces for RF are fitting nicely together.

I could see us signing Francouer to a 3-4 year deal and keeping Wil down on the farm until then. He's only 20, and will be 20 until December, and has just converted to RF from catcher. So he'll probably need a few years to adjust to both professional pitching and an entirely new position. By the time Wil is ready to come up, we should be near the end of the *new* Francouer deal and we could trade him to make room for Myers. Heck, in 3-4 years Gordon might be gone and we could just shift him to LF, or move Francouer over there. Who knows. SO MANY DECISIONS! So much fun to talk about though, now that the team has the look of finally turning around. Great time to be a Royals fan, that's for sure.

[wufan]

That's a fair point. I forgot all about Maier being up there considering he never plays. He'd make a pretty good 4th outfielder for someone I think. But it's fairly obvious that it won't be in KC. I know they really like Cain and Lough is playing well. I guess we'll see what people are offering for Melky when the time comes.

I do like the fact that we have such a young team, and that we may be getting younger as the season progresses. But that getting younger may in fact make us better as well. I know Yost likes the defense that Getz provides, but if he continues to hit .220ish, you may be right.

I wonder what happens to Colon. I know they say he can play SS but range is a question. Many project him to play 2B, but if Giovatella is around... Who turns into the utility guy in that group? We have Aviles there right now. Is Colon or one of the others capable of playing 3B as well?

Maybe I should start looking into some of this a little more...

From what I hear, Colon is the future at 2nd. They want him, Escobar and Cain manning the middle of the field for years to come. I've never even heard Giovatella mentioned as a long term answer.... anywhere actually. With Moustakas likely to play 3rd base 150+ games a year, Giovatella had better like being a utility player. I also think Lough is going to be the odd man out as well. Cain will be manning CF, Gordon in LF and from what I've gathered recently, we're considering signing Francouer to a long term deal, around 4-5 years. So either Lough is the 4th OF, or he's in AAA until we deal him. Personally, I like Maier as a 4th OF. He's solid, plays great defense and won't screw up repeatedly when he's in the lineup. I think Lough's upside is pretty average considering his size and poor strikeout to walk ratio. Plus he gets caught stealing a bunch. Don't forget about Jeff Bianchi too. He's been a "top prospect" in our system for what seems like 10 years. He might get a shot at some point.

Giovatella was the top 2nd base prospect in NCAA baseball when the Royals drafted him in the second round of 2008 MLB draft. He is considered the #7 2nd base prospect in all of baseball. I imagine that if the Royals don't have plans for him to play every day that they will trade him. He will likely be worth too much as a 50 game per year guy. He could also hold 2nd base down until Colon is ready. If Colon shifts to 2nd, then the Royals likely don't have long term plans, but if Colon is to play SS (I think they'll keep Escobar there) then Gio is the guy on the right side of the IF.

Bianchi has shown some potential, but has been hampered with injuries. Where's Eibner (another supremely talented outfielder)? Played first two games of the season for Kane County and now he's out.

I see 2012 with Gordon and Frenchy manning the OF with either Cain or Melky in centerfield (Cain might be 4th OF), Escobar and Giovatella up the middle, and Hosmer and Moose on the corners. Not sure about C, but there are a couple of pretty decent ones in the farm. Duffy, and Monty fill in the rotation for Davies and one other.

[SubGod22]

Updates on Eibner in the KIDS thread.

[wufan]

Thanks for the update on Eibner and all the links you share!

[XManCometh]

Thanks for the update on Eibner and all the links you share!

I enjoy the links as well. Thanks for taking the time to post them here.

[SubGod22]

No problem. I have excessive amounts of free time most days at work and I love this stuff.

[SubGod22]

Maier embraces backup outfielder role

DETROIT -- Mitch Maier knew in Spring Training that the Royals' outfield would consist of Alex Gordon in left, Melky Cabrera in center and Jeff Francoeur in right. With Maier on the bench.

Some players might have been chafed at being left on the bench, but Maier had an enlightened approach.

"I knew if I wasn't playing, it was a good thing for the team," Maier said.

I really like Mitch and wish he had more opportunities, but at least he has the right mindset and approach to everything.

Yost digging Royals' fine bullpen, defense

DETROIT -- The Royals, after 39 games, were nearing the one-quarter pole of the season and, as of Sunday morning's rainout announcement, were five games behind Cleveland in the American League Central.

"I don't really like that," manager Ned Yost said.

But Yost is rather happy with the rest of what he's seen from his club so far.

"It's about what I expected," he said. "We've played decent baseball. If we get beat, it's because the opposing team beats us. We've played great defense -- yeah, just about what I expected."

The Royals' 24 errors were the eighth fewest in the AL and they had by far the most assists with 451, indicating good positioning on defense.

Yost's young bullpen, with five rookies and a second-year pitcher to go along with closer Joakim Soria, has been a boon.

"It's hard to anticipate this bullpen being as good as it's been," Yost said. "You like the guys, you like their stuff, but being young guys, you don't really know what to expect. So, you just go into it and see what you've got."

What he's got is a bullpen with a 3.05 ERA that ranks fourth in the American League. In the 15 games since April 29, the 'pen has given up just six earned runs in 48 innings for a 1.13 ERA.

[SubGod22]

Nobody Said Contending Was Easy

A few weeks back, as the Royals were wallowing through an 0-6 road trip to Texas and Cleveland, I noted that the May schedule would probably determine if Kansas City was truly going to contend or not in 2011. Counting the April 29th and 30th games against Minnesota and the June 1st game against the Angels, this 31 game (now 30 with the rainout) stretch looked pretty daunting.

Could the Royals keep their heads above water during this stretch?

Well, nearing the halfway point of this gauntlet, the Royals stand at 8-6 and have lost exactly one-half of a game in the standings. Even with Detroit leapfrogging into second place, Kansas City is still ‘hanging around’. I would settle for ‘hanging around’ in 2011, wouldn’t you?

A breakdown of the remaining schedule (thru June 1) follows in the article.

The Royals may end up finishing around .500 for the month, and I don't see that as a bad thing. It's not an easy part of the schedule with series against Cleveland, St. Louis, Baltimore, Anaheim and two against Texas.

[newshock1234]

Well its obviously who won the DDJ trade after Vin Mazzaro allowed 13 runs in 2.1 IP

[RoyalShock]

Mazarro sucks, but for the money he was going to make DDJ wouldn't bring any more to this team than Cabrera.

[SubGod22]

Mazarro sucks, but for the money he was going to make DDJ wouldn't bring any more to this team than Cabrera.

:yes:

It may be earlier than they'd like, but with Davies apparently down and Chen suffering and Mazzaro sucking....it's time to bring up Duffy. However, at this point, it wouldn't surprise me if Suppan gets the call when they need another starter.

[Shocker85]

It may be earlier than they'd like, but with Davies apparently down and Chen suffering and Mazzaro sucking....it's time to bring up Duffy. However, at this point, it wouldn't surprise me if Suppan gets the call when they need another starter.

... and so it begins ... Royals starting pitching is going to seriously hold this team back.

--'85.

[SubGod22]

After reading this article, it sounds like the Royals aren't sure what they're going to do. Initial plans appeared to have been to call up Teaford. Question is would he be a starter or in the pen. Royals recently moved him to the pen in case they needed another lefty. But he began the season as a starter and was effective. There's also a little mention of Monty or Duffy getting the call as well as Suppan. So who knows. Tejada may also make his comeback.

Teaford has a 2-1 record and 3.04 ERA in 10 games for Omaha, but only three outings have been starts. He's been pitching in the bullpen recently in case the Royals needed another lefty in relief. He's been throwing strikes, with 24 strikeouts and six walks in 26 2/3 innings.

[RoyalShock]

Duffy is up and scheduled to start tomorrow night.

[SubGod22]

Duffy is up and scheduled to start tomorrow night.

Where did you see/hear that?