KC Royals - August

[RoyalShock]

I've read at least one statistical analysis that says Paulino is pitching more like a front-of-the-rotation starter. Duffy is showing some consistency and Hochevar appears to be finding some of that. If the Royals can find one more front guy then they only need to fill one spot. And hopefully that can be Crow or Montgomery. That should be enough to make them, if not a contender, a .500+ team in the AL Central next season. They are actually playing that way right now, and that's with Getz and a struggling Moose in the lineup.

The wildcards for next year will be CF (can Melky repeat and if not, can Cain perform?), 3B (need Moose to find his bat) and the bullpen. Bullpen's are always shaky. With Crow out, all it would take is for Soria to struggle for the bullpen to become a weak spot. I'm not convinced Holland can step in.

But the positively wonderful thing is, we're talking about contending next year, and it's not just wishful thinking.

The coaching job has been amazing. Gordon went from bust to the best leadoff hitter in the AL and one of the best LF's in baseball. Butler, err CountryBreakfast, is hitting for power now that he has a threat (Hosmer) hitting behind him and his swing was tweaked. Escobar has learned to hit. Cabrera's career has been resurrected.

I hope Moore is paying Seitzer what he's worth.

[SubGod22]

I believe that Duffy, Hochevar and Paulino are a nice start to next years staff. IF the tweaks they've made to Hoch really do make a difference and his consistency is there. We'll find out more with the finish to this year. Duffy keeps improving and will only get better. Paulino has been pretty solid. Monty could play into next year, we'll see. They definitely need to add one mid to top starter and maybe another. I may be okay with a rotation of Hochevar, New Guy, Duffy, Paulino, Monty/Chen or something along those lines.

They don't need to get too crazy in spending money as that may be better used by getting some of the younger guys signed to longer deals. But they would be wise to go find one or two starting pitchers in the off season.

[ShockTalk]

No crazy spending, but they need at least one soild veteran near the top of the rotation, plus another good 3 or 4 (better than they have now).

I'm not saying that Luke, Duffy, Paulino can't do well, however, 1) Paulino's best ERA prior to his handful of games with the Royals is 5.11 and 6.27 before that, 2) Gordon had a rebirth of his career, maybe the same for Hochevar and his last 3 of 4 games is nice, but he's done something like that a couple of times already this year...we'll see how he finishes, 3) Duffy is very young, and while he's had several nice games, he still has a 5.05 ERA, averages only slightly better than 5 innings a start, in 68 innings given up 33 walks, 80 hits, and 11 HR. Chen and Francis are what they are and Montgomery probably isn't ready. In truth, that's 6 guys competing for the bottom 3 spots in the rotation.

[shockmonster]

I am for Gio being brought up as much as the next guy but to think that it'll mean immediate consistent improvement may be pushing it.

Getz has done a nice job for the tools he has. He is a good base stealer, he's hit 260, and is a good hitter with players in scoring position. If Moustakas would be hitting as good, I'd be thrilled. It's hard to run down Getz for the job he's done.

However, when Gio gets going, hopefully, he'll bring some power numbers, and good slugging percentage into the equation (doubles, triples, hrs.). It may take him some time to get untracked, but the positives he'll bring will be nice.l

[shockmonster]

A Ben Mesche would be a nice addition. They would have to overpay for him, but a veteran that can stabilize the rotation that is a middle rotation pitcher somewhere else would be a possibility.

[RoyalShock]

I am for Gio being brought up as much as the next guy but to think that it'll mean immediate consistent improvement may be pushing it.

Getz has done a nice job for the tools he has. He is a good base stealer, he's hit 260, and is a good hitter with players in scoring position. If Moustakas would be hitting as good, I'd be thrilled. It's hard to run down Getz for the job he's done.

However, when Gio gets going, hopefully, he'll bring some power numbers, and good slugging percentage into the equation (doubles, triples, hrs.). It may take him some time to get untracked, but the positives he'll bring will be nice.l

I'm basically hoping (next year) for Gio to hit roughly .275 with doubles power and a few inevitable homeruns. That would easily outperform Getz. Gio could hit .250 with a few doubles and at least equal Getz' overall production. So I think improvement is likely.

But I have to ask, who is Ben Mesche?

[SubGod22]

Getz is what he is. A below average baseball player with little value. IF he gets on base he's a theat to steal. He only has 8 extra base hits all year. He's not a threat to drive the ball anywhere. His defense isn't superb either. He lacks range and doesn't do a great job with the exchange at second. He's servicable if there are no other options. We have options. Nobody is expecting Gio to light the world on fire, but he brings a much more potent offense and isn't any worse definsively. He has better range and a better arm. He's making improvements defensively with his highest fielding percentage of his career I believe. He'll bring more to the back of the lineup than Getz ever dreamed of.

Getz is hitting .256 with 24 RBIs. I will give you that he's hitting .324 with RISP.

[shockmonster]

There's no doubt that Giovatella is a step up (maybe 2-3 steps up) providing he doesn't tank at the major league level like Alex Gordon did for three years. That's why I'm cautious.

Frankly, they don't have 2-3 yrs to wait on some of these guys. We knew that Alex had the talent but it took him long enough. I appreciate what Getz has brought (for him a nice year), but for his sake, his only chance in the majors for the long term is to learn to play 2nd, 3rd, and SS and become a utility player. He does have nice speed, and rarely strikes out. If he did this, he'd move around, but stick in the majors for a long time, and have a nice life.

If all players would learn to maximize their talents like he has, they would be much better off.

[SubGod22]

He doesn't have the range to play SS or the arm to play 3B. He's had a pretty good year for himself considering, but has no place on the future of this team. That's why it's so important to get as many of the 'kids' up this year as we can, and are ready, so we have a better foundation going into the next. We very likely should have a lineup of

OF - Gordon, Cabrera, Frenchy/Cain/Dyson/Lough (4)
3B - Moose
SS - Shortstop Jesus
2B - Gio
1B - Hos
C - Perez/Pena/Pina (2)
DH - CounrtyBreakfast
UT - Navarro (3B, SS, 2B)/Seratelli (IF)/Somebody the find in the offseason/Colon (SS/2B).

I'm really not sure who would best fit in as a UT guy. Seratelli hasn't played above AA but has played well and I believe every infield position. Colon doesn't seem to be ready and I'm not sure they're ready to not have him getting PT. Navarro may be ready, but will they want him to sit on the bench this much?

You'd think they'd carry 13 position players. Would they carry a 5th outfielder so they could utilize a Dyson?

I'm alright right now with a rotation of Duffy/Paulino/Hoch/FA/Monty/Chen and a pen of Crow/Holland/Collins/Soria (if not traded)/Wood/Teaford/Coleman/Chavez/Hererra/Jeffress. I think we can come up with 7 out the 10 to put together a fine pen.

I do think we COULD be in the mix in the Central next year. Should definitely make good progress. I'm excited to see what happens and watch the youngsters progress.

And it's possible that Odorizzi could make his debut next year as well. Probably mid-season though.

[shockmonster]

I obviously am not as good a judge of talent as you are. However, utility guys often are limited in their abilities and they all have weaknesses. They rarely play all positions with the same ability. That's why they are utility players. But they still are valuable to teams. Teams don't like to waste young players who have the ability to start by keeping them on the bench instead of playing in Triple A. Don't know if he will have an opportunity to keep playing or if he'll just disappear but it is my opinion that his best chance of staying in the major leagues is to be more versatile.

[shockmonster]

By the way, Navarro is a much better utility player than Getz and he doesn't have a future with the Royals.

[SubGod22]

Getz will NEVER play SS and I have my doubts about him being able to pull off 3B. Navarro at least has the ability to play the other positions. I do wonder if they'll give Seratelli a shot. He's seen by most as a UT guy in the future. Not sure if KC sees him as being ready though. I think Navarro will either become the UT guy next year, or they'll end up trading him somewhere he'll be able to start. I think that's why he'll end up back in AAA today.

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

Navarro to AAA.

[SubGod22]

Navarro to AAA.

Which pretty much guarantees that Moose and Shortstop Jesus are playing everyday of the week.

[wufan]

Okay, someone help me out here. Do all the Royals have a nickname now?

Butler = Country Breakfast (love it)!
Moustakis = Moose
Escobar = SS Jesus
Giovatelli = Gio
Hosmer = Hoss (not sure if I just made that up or if others call him that?)
Francouer = Frenchy

Gordon could certainly be called Flash (although we already had one of those in the 90's)
Melky...does he really need a nickname?

Am I missing anyone else? How about the pitchers and catchers?