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**SubGod22** · October 5, 2011, 12:51 PM

Top picks Starling, Gallagher impress in Arizona

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals' top two 2011 Draft choices had big days on Monday in an 8-4 victory over the Dodgers in the Arizona Instructional League.

Outfielder Bubba Starling, the top pick, had a home run among his two hits with four RBIs. No. 2 selection Cameron Gallagher, a catcher, was 2-for-2 with a home run, two walks and two RBIs.

Kenny Swab, drafted in the 21st round as a catcher, was 3-for-3 with a double and scored three runs. Pitcher Cody Fassold, signed as a free agent, pitched 2 2/3 hitless innings.

**SubGod22** · October 6, 2011, 11:33 AM

Royals release several minor leaguers

Lance Zawadzki INF who almost made team out of ST and sent season at Omaha. He is in the baseball encyclopedia as he played briefly with the Padres in 2010.

OF Darian Sanford who played locally at Park University played for the Idaho Falls Chukars this season. He stole 57 bases in 84 pro games after being taken late in the 2010 draft.

OF Steven Brooks Former Wake Forest player who was a NDFA this year and was 19-66 with 0 HR for the Burlington Royals.

C Dale Cornstubble Royals 40th rd pick in 2010 out of Western Michigan. He did not play affiliated ball this season as he was out with a injury

P Casey Edelbrock a NDFA out of Chico State who pitched in 8 games for the AZL Royals this season

OF Justin Fredejas 2 year starter at Auburn who was signed as a NDFA by the Royals this year. He hit .310 with 2 HR in 84 at bats for Idaho Falls.

OF Nick Francis One of the most talented offensive performers in the system….but he could never stay out of trouble. He finished his Royals career with a line of .286/.340/.476 in 1523 at bats. He should get a shot with another organization.

There are more listed. I do wonder what Francis has done to get the boot. The kid has shown some promise on the field.

**SubGod22** · October 12, 2011, 02:39 PM

Starling sidelined with minor quad injury

KANSAS CITY -- Royals prospect Bubba Starling's fall season may be over, as the top pick is out with a quad injury.

Starling, the fifth-overall pick in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, is not playing in instructional league games in Arizona due to the injury, as first reported by the Kansas City Star.

However, the injury is minor, and Scott Sharp, Royals director of Minor League operations, said the organization is being overly cautious about it.

**SubGod22** · October 17, 2011, 12:09 PM

Bubba Starling And The Importance Of Age.

Bubba Starling And The Importance Of Age.
I’ll get back to looking at starting pitchers soon, but first I wanted to point out a pair of articles I wrote for Baseball Prospectus, which are free and open to the public, and which you can read here and here.

If you don’t have the time to read those articles, here’s the summation in one sentence: at least when it comes to high school hitters, a player’s age on the day he is drafted has a dramatic effect on the odds that he succeeds in the major leagues. A high school hitter who is drafted when he is 17 is much, much more likely to become a star than one who is drafted when he is 18, even if both are selected at the same point in the draft.

While I was astonished to find that the effect was this strong, I have suspected that there was some sort of an effect for a long time now. The reason for my suspicion was precisely because, in the weeks leading up to a draft, I’d read dozens if not hundreds of articles talking about every potential first-round pick, his strengths and weaknesses, his signability, who’s trending up or down – but almost never would someone mention that Player X was still 17 while Player Y was almost 19. This struck me as very strange. After all, we know that with major league hitters, the difference between a 21-year-old and a 22-year-old is substantial enough to comment on. Given that teenagers are still developing physically and improving at a more rapid pace than twentysomethings, wouldn’t it matter if a high school senior was particularly young or old for his age? Turns out it does.

There are always exceptions, of course. The first time I gave this a lot of thought was back in 2007, when the Royals had the #2 pick in the draft and were all set to draft high school third baseman Josh Vitters – and then, the morning of the draft, decided that Mike Moustakas was signable and picked him instead. While Moustakas seemed to project a little better, I was concerned at the time that no one was pointing out their difference in age. Moustakas born on 9/11/88, being one of the oldest players in his high school class; Vitters was born 8/27/89, being one of the youngest players in his class. Moustakas was almost exactly one year older than Vitters, and that extra year of development might prove to be crucial.

At least so far, it hasn’t. While Vitters is not a bust yet, his development has been hampered by his ultra-aggressiveness at the plate, and he hit .283/.322/.448 for the Cubs’ Double-A affiliate this year. Moustakas, obviously, is in the majors, and a year ago – when he was the same age Vitters is now – he hit .322/.369/.630 between Double-A and Triple-A.

We have to hope that Bubba Starling is another exception. Starling was born on 8/3/1992; he had actually turned 19 years old. He was the third-oldest high school hitter drafted in the top 100 picks this year. Historically, it’s rare for a player as old as Starling was – roughly 18 years, 10 months old on Draft Day – to develop into a star. But there are certainly reasons for optimism here. Like Moustakas, who was one of the best hitters in southern California as a junior, Starling didn’t exactly come out of nowhere in his senior year. He’s an extremely athletic player who had a lot of success playing for Team USA before his senior year, the summer he turned 18. If he had been eligible for the draft as a high school junior, frankly, the Royals would probably have drafted him #4 that year instead of Christian Colon.

**SubGod22** · October 18, 2011, 01:35 PM

Surprise! It’s the Arizona Fall League

My trips to Surprise for Spring Training are one of the highlights of my baseball season. The Surprise baseball complex is fantastic and seeing young talented Minor Leaguers playing in such an intimate and casual atmosphere is amazing. The Arizona Fall League would be a great way to bookend the season, however I haven’t been able to make that trip, yet. So instead, let’s take the trip together via the magic of the intertrons and see what’s going on with the Royals prospects out west.

**SubGod22** · October 21, 2011, 01:34 PM

Pics from Arizona Instructs and Fall League

If you like baseball in its purest form then you can’t beat a trip to Arizona during instructs and Fall league play. Going to an Arizona fall league game brings out just the purest fans, relatives, autograph seekers and scouts and front office personnel with the games I attended having no more than 500 in the stands all included and that was with Mike Trout and Bryce Harper on the field. It is a great atmosphere for the true baseball fan with just baseball on the field a PA announcer and the sounds of baseball, none of that in game filler and annoying music between innings. Here are a few pics if you would like to see more checkout this link .

**SubGod22** · October 24, 2011, 12:32 PM

Notes from Instructs
Always good to hear what's going on.

Video from Instructs
Seeing what's going on is nice too.

**SubGod22** · October 27, 2011, 11:20 AM

Myers tearing it up in Arizona Fall League

KANSAS CITY -- Right fielder Wil Myers is having a hot time in the Arizona Fall League. When he went 3-for-5 in Surprise's 8-6 victory over Mesa on Tuesday, he raised his average to .396 and he boosted his RBI total to 12 in 13 games.

Not only that but former catcher Myers, a right-handed batter, had drawn 14 walks for a .532 on-base percentage. On the other hand, three other Royals outfielders were off to slow starts elsewhere in winter ball. Jarrod Dyson was hitting .227 and Lorenzo Cain .212 in Venezuela and David Lough was at .189 in the Dominican Republic.

Billo rebounds with dominant season

Greg Billo's 2011 season as a member of the Kane County Cougars can be summed up in four simple words: local boy makes good.

The 21-year-old native of Orland Park, Ill. grew up less than an hour away from Elfstrom Stadium, occasionally attending Cougars games and even got the chance to pitch there as part of a high school tournament. He returned to Kane County in a professional context this past season, posting a 9-5 record and compiling a Midwest League-leading 1.90 ERA over 135 innings. As a result of this sustained stretch of dominance, Billo has earned the MiLBY Award for Class A Starting Pitcher of the Year.

**SubGod22** · October 28, 2011, 11:58 AM

Trio of Royals lead Saguaros to 15th win

Without the Royals, Surprise would still be in search of its Arizona Fall League-leading 15th win.

Kansas City prospects Wil Myers and Christian Colon both went yard and Anthony Seratelli scored the go-ahead run in the Saguaros' 5-3 win over the Salt River Rafters on Thursday afternoon.

The Saguaros (15-5) and the Rafters (14-7) lead the West and East Divisions respectively.

Dyson dings shoulder in Winter League play

KANSAS CITY -- Jarrod Dyson returned to Kansas City this week to be examined after banging up his right shoulder while colliding with a wall during a game in the Venezuelan Winter League. The outfielder is expected to be OK.
General manager Dayton Moore said that Dyson, playing for Caracas, will take a couple of weeks to heal from a contusion and slight strain of the shoulder. He is not likely to return to Venezuela, where he was batting .227 (5-for-22) in seven games.

**SubGod22** · November 1, 2011, 12:21 PM

Top 40 Royals prospects end of season 2011 from PTP. I'm going to list a few of them.

1- OF Wil Myers- I know the regular season numbers don’t show the progress fans wanted but I watch this guy play and I see a star. He has a terrific approach at the plate and his swing is so fluid and quick that I feel like I am watching a young Chipper Jones. He is not a switch hitter but I remember watching Chipper when he first came up and he just had that old school swag about him. He loves playing the game and when he is off the field he is always busy doing something like finding a fishing pond, playing video games with his buddies, or perfecting his golf game. Don’t let his laid back nature fool you as I have been told by his teammates he is obsessively competitive. We all tend to forget he is a kid playing a game he is still developing in. He is having a terrific fall league playing with some of the games best prospects.

2- LHP-Mike Montgomery- Mike has the stuff to be an ACE even though he did not throw like one this season. The one thing I see Monty do (I have seen Duffy do the same thing at the big league level) is not routinely get out the guys he needs to get out. He nibbles to much with the Robinson Cancel and Tommy Manzella’s of the world. He should identify who will be tough outs and just blow away those lesser hitters in the opponents line up. By, not doing this he runs his pitch count up and often gives up walks or hits by not just trusting how good he really is. A lefty that blasts 95 is dangerous and when he gets it on the black watch out baseball world! I know he has a fantastic work ethic and as stubborn as he is it leads to him being a perfectionist. I have heard names like Cole Hamels and Steve Carlton mentioned with his name and while no one is ever compared to Albie Lopez and Dave Eiland (well, I think you get the point)

5-RHP-Jake Odorizzi- Jake has a nice 4 pitch mix of fastball, slider, curve. change. Eventually he might have to push one of the 2 secondary pitches aside as many coaches would like to see that 3 pitch concentration. I hear he favors his slider which is basically a feel pitch so maybe we will see him concentrate on the curve the rest of the way this season. His achilles has been the long ball but he will tell you he knows the adjustments he needs to make going forward at each level. He might not be the next Zack Greinke but he has a chance to be a very good #2 SP in the big leagues.

6- RHP- Kelvin Herrera- He has not been able to stay healthy in his pro career and the Royals did the right thing moving him to the pen to protect his arm. Still, the Royals have not ruled out a return to the rotation because of his 3 potentially plus pitches. He has a blazing fastball that can touch 100 and he supports that with a knee buckling change of pace pitch (change-up) and a curveball, that at times, is borderline criminal. He could become a terrific closer but he might have more value as the 7th, 8th inning guy because he has shown that he can give you 2 knockout innings before handing the ball off to the closer.

10- 2B- Christian Colon- I still believe that Colon can be a regular big leaguer similar to Placido Polanco. But, I think if he is going to be a 2B let’s move him there now. I say that because I am a big fan of the mental part of the game. I think Colon has all you would want in a player off the field but at the same time I have to ask “is he trying to hard to prove that SS is his spot and it is affecting other aspects of his game.” I know people see him in uniform and don’t see a big league body. I get that, as it is easy to do but you don’t see the heart when you look at a player. He possesses the 6th tool and that was a important factor in why he was the 4th pick in the draft. The job is Giavotella’s for now but Colon will be nipping at his heels from Omaha in 2012.

17- LHP- Noel Arguellas- Noel threw a lot harder in Cuba. He throws 90 now but was lighting up 96 in Cuba. Has the shoulder issues from last year affected him that much? Or, has a change in practice affected him more? I know that eventually Noel will get back the velocity to some degree and I think we see that in 2012 when he comes to realize that he needs to go back to what works for him.

23- RHP- Tim Melville- Tim has terrific stuff but to this point, in his young career, has been unable to find consistent movement or outings. He is a candidate that makes you think he is a late bloomer but with his fastball/curve combo maybe he is a future reliever…I don’t think so and I look forward to him continuing to figure out what will make him succesful.

26- LHP-Justin Marks- I really liked Marks at Louisville and when I saw his name in the Dejesus trade I thought they got a good one. But, then I looked at his numbers and they were not good. He also was not good to start out his Royals career but in the middle of 2011 he went back to throwing his bread and butter pitch in his slider and he has begun to look like the guy that pitched so well as a freshman at Louisville. Of course, AA hitters are much more advanced so he won’t be able to get buy on just a effective slider so 2012 will be a great test for this potentially fast rising prospect.

27- C-1B- Cam Gallagher- Everything I read about Gallagher reminds me of Mike Napoli. The video I have seen supports that….a big strong kid with that coveted RH pop that might or might not end up at C. Obviously, the Royals believe he can catch and he should give the Royals another shot at the weakest position depth chart wise in the system (although I have heard good things about the 2 Royals C’s in the Dominican and also I like Kevin David quite a bit) Clint Scoles pointed out in his coverage of instructs that Cam was working out at 1B.

29- SS- Adalberto Mondesi- Like most teenagers he will probably stick around this number over the next couple of seasons. But, he could pull a Cuthbert or Profar and surprise all of us and shoot right up the list. He comes from a solid baseball blood line and has shown quick hands and a nice arm handling the most important position in the infield.

34- RHP- Greg Billo- With the numbers Greg put up you can make an argument that Billo should be higher. But, I need to see him at Wilmington and continuing to develop. He is, arguably, the smartest P in the organization. But, has he found success tricking inferior hitters or is he really this good. 2012 will provide us with more evidence.

40- RHP- Tyler Sample- I still believe Sample can be a quality power arm out of the pen. He has sacrificed velocity for control this season and that is fine. He often relied to much on his fastball and I knew it was a matter of time before the better competition feasted on him. He does have a solid heater and he uses a power curve to compliment that pitch. His overall numbers (the ones I look at ) our down this season with a 86/58 k/bb ratio in 130 innings. I know the organization sees what I see and I think it is a matter of time before he becomes a full time reliever.

**SubGod22** · November 2, 2011, 11:45 AM

Four Royals players selected as AFL's Rising Stars

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals will be well-represented in the Arizona Fall League's sixth annual Rising Stars Game on Saturday night at Surprise, Ariz.

Four Royals -- pitchers Nate Adcock and Jeremy Jeffress, infielder Christian Colon and outfielder Wil Myers -- were named from the Surprise Saguaros roster. Only the Colorado Rockies had more players (five) selected.

The Rising Stars Game will be televised on MLB.TV and carried nationally by the MLB Network at 7:10 p.m. CT.

**SubGod22** · November 7, 2011, 10:41 AM

Royals farmhands also contribute in AFL showcase

The Royals also had a hand in the resounding victory. Wil Myers played right field and went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs, and Christian Colon was 1-for-2 with two runs scored. Jeremy Jeffress struck out all three batters he faced, including Harper.

**SubGod22** · November 7, 2011, 11:01 AM

Scoles Roylas Top 10 Prospects

The guys over at Baseball Instinct asked my help for a Royals Top 10 so I thought I would share my thoughts here as well. Checkout Baseball Instinct for tons and tons of prospect knowledge and draft previews as well as excellent video.

It's a pretty solid Top 10. The farm system may have taken a hit with all the promotions, but it still looks pretty solid.

**SubGod22** · November 9, 2011, 03:55 PM

Minor League Profile INF Carlos Garcia

INF Carlos Garcia: 3/18/92
Municipio De Diaz, VE
6’0 176 bats R throws R

Since I began covering the Royals minor leagues I can tell you the hardest players to find information on are the Latin players. In the last year Clint and I have began to develop some very good relationships with people involved with the Dominican, Venezuela, Italy and other places outside the states. I have always had a decent relationship with one of the Royals brass with international scouting (I can tell you KC is very lucky to have him) and when he is not busy I like to get updates on guys from time to time.

The problem is that until they get to full season baseball it is hard to gauge how they project. Sure, we can look at the body and the swing and baseball people will recognize talent but most of these guys pass the eye test already.

Dating back to 2008 I have heard great things about players named Geulin Beltre, Fernando Cruz, Jorge Bonifacio, and others. To this point, Bonifacio looks like the one that will stand out. In the last month I have been hearing some intriguing things about another Royals farmhand named Carlos Garcia.

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