Royals Draft and other Notes

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2012 MLB Draft 5 Spot; Possible Picks For The Royals In The MLB Draft

With the 2012 MLB draft just a week away it is time to focus on how the Royals can improve their future. The new rules will play a factor in who the Royals should look at but considering the state of the franchise Kansas City should stick primarily with pitchers in the first three rounds of this years MLB draft.

I agree with this and believe that the focus should be on college pitchers who could reach KC within a year or two. But I also don't know exactly how the new CBA rules are going to impact the Royals. They have a little over 6mil to spend on their first 10 picks I guess. I don't like the new rule at all as I've expressed when it was first being discussed.

Greg Schaum's 2012 Mock Draft Picks 1-60 And Round 2 and 3 Options For The Royals

Hat tip to resources like baseballamerica, , espn highschool, SB nation, Jonathan Mayo, Baseball Prospect Report, and the excellent MLB draft insider…also twitter, your favorite friend anonymous scouts, a pair of agents, and some coaches.

Special thanks to Perfect Game for giving me a better idea of where to align these players in terms of round and also to introducing me to high school players and JUCO players I was not aware of.

This is a reference guide for you more than anything else.

* I believe Mike Zunino is the best player in this draft….If he is available at 5 I hope the Royals grab him and worry about the fact that they have two very good catchers later..

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Kansas City Royals Mock Draft Rounds 5 And 6

Hat tip to resources like baseballamerica, , espn highschool, SB nation, Jonathan Mayo, Baseball Prospect Report, and the excellent MLB draft insider…also twitter, your favorite friend anonymous scouts, a pair of agents, and some coaches

Special thanks to Perfect Game

Remember this is a reference sheet based off the crazy notes I take every year…I just thought i would share with you all

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Royals plan to build on recent Draft success

KANSAS CITY -- There's always euphoria immediately following the First-Year Player Draft surrounding a team's selections, especially in the first round. There's the promise of the new kid's future, the anticipation of him signing his contract and starting his pro career and then ... well, it's off to the World Series.

Whoa. Let's get back to reality with the help of Kansas City general manager Dayton Moore.

"It's very hard to predict the strength of the Draft. You won't realize the impact of this year's Draft class until three or four years from now," Moore said. "But there's always enough talent that if you draft properly, you can improve your system."

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Royals Draft Day Pitching Dilemma

It was July 2011, Greg Schaum and I drove to Oklahoma City in hopes of being one of the few if not only Royals website and Kansas City media outlet to be there for what we were hoping would be the day the Royals landed their newest pitching phenom. At the time we thought that Dylan Bundy had a chance to get to them and even if he was gone there was a small chance his buddy and training partner Archie Bradley may land in Kansas City to be apart of the greatest farm system in the history of whatever. Of course the Mariners and Orioles would toss a wrench into our plans and instead of getting drunk and celebrating at the hotel bar with Bobby Knight, who was there for a sports conference, we left with our tails between our legs wondering. What now? What if Mike Montgomery, Chris Dwyer, Aaron Crow and others didn’t develop into the starters Kansas City needs? Who would they take in 2012 to help things out? Is there a glimmer of pitching hope down the line in the 2012 draft?

Now we’ve arrived much closer to that day and Kansas City remains with the same question but with larger holes than even we could have imagined at the time. We thought at the time Danny Duffy would take a step forward, Montgomery would correct his 2011 ways, the team could trade for an arm and Jake Odorizzi could continue to get better. Little did we know that the trade wouldn’t happen, Duffy would encounter arm problems, Montgomery would remain stagnant at AAA with only Odorizzi looking like a bright spot at the upper levels of the organization.

So the Royals are back at square one pitching wise with their backs against the wall, the process in flux with nothing but a weak draft, a capped rookie pool and little am talent outside Odorizzi the cusp of making an impact in Kansas City soon. They need arms and not the 2011 long developing arms that take time, they need a talented fast mover. Lucky for Kansas City if there is a minor strength in this weaker draft it is college arms. Now these aren’t Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer arms but they are arms none the less. Mark Appel, Kevin Gausman and Kyle Zimmer all are solid arms that could challenge if not overtake Odorizzi as the #1 pitching prospect in the system. Again Kansas City sits there at 5 due to some poor late season wins, behind the Mariners and Orioles, behind the Twins who are devoid of pitching and way behind an Astros team that is said to be coveting a fast moving player themselves. What if Kansas City misses out again for the top college arms? What arm can they turn to instead of Zimmer, Gausman and Appel?

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Final 2012 MLB Mock Draft (Royals Picks From Round 1 Til Round 40)

First Annual PTP Writer Mock Draft

We here at Pine Tar Press love the draft and thought we would be giving you a fun look at how it would unfold if we were running it. We’ll be updating this during the day so comeback and check it out.

It appears each writer took a division and drafted for each team in it.

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Not Last Year's Draft - Some interesting info/thoughts in this. I do think that the new draft system will be good for college baseball but bad for the Royals. And even worse for college SRs who may get shafted more than usual with the new system in place.

Probably before the Royals take the field on Monday night, almost certainly by the time they have lit up the Twins for three runs in the bottom of the first, Kansas City fans will know who the next big prospect in their system will be. It is nothing new for the Royals picking early in round one, but not much else about the 2012 Draft is familiar.

Gone are the recommended slots from the commissioner’s office with the only penalty for not adhering to them was a mean look from Bud Selig. In their place comes a prescribed bonus pool for each team’s picks in the first ten rounds. The penalty for exceeding them by even just five percent is a punitive tax and the spectre of the loss of draft picks in future drafts. Personally, I think this is probably a bad development for the Royals, but no one really knows how this new system will play out.

What we do know is that Kansas City has a total of $6.1 million to spread across Rounds 1 through 10, during which time the Royals have ten picks. While the Royals first round pick is assigned a value of $3.5 million, they can spend as much or as little of their total allotment of $6.1 million as they want on that pick.

There are two kickers to this process. First, if a team does not sign one of their picks in the first ten rounds, the value of that pick goes away and cannot be used on another. If the Royals are unable to sign their 8th round pick, as was the case last year with Evan Beal, the $139,000 assigned to that pick is deducted from the allotted total of $6.1 million. In addition, any bonus in excess of $100,000 given to any pick from Round 11 on counts against the first ten round allotment. There will be no more $750,000 signing bonuses to a 16th round pick like Kansas City did last year to sign Jack Lopez away from his college commitment.

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The draft begins tonight at 5pm CT. I'll be out of the house and away from things so I most likely won't have updates until tomorrow morning. I believe they'll start earlier tomorrow and I'll do what I can to stay on top of those if work allows.

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Names of interest that are mentioned by Schaum here.

23. St. Louis Cardinals- Pierce Johnson RHP Missouri State- Another helium pitcher who has a high ceiling. He throws 91-95 with a plus slider and solid change.

Possible 5th round target

2- RHP Mark Sappington Rockhurst University- Hard throwing righty that touches 96. The 6’4 220 pounder was the KC scholar athlete in 2009. He has dominated small school baseball this year going 10-3 with a 1.78 e.r.a and 101/30 k/bb ratio in 96 IP. Pitched in high school at Ray-Pec.

Dakota Bacus RHP Indiana State- (7th round) Transfer from Southeastern CC (Iowa) he saw his name going up the charts with scouts as his velocity picked up throughout the season. Settled in the low 9′s with a very effective curve. Has a change too so should remain a SP

1B Chris Serritella Southern Illinois- (7th round) The Royals took a chance on him last year drafting him in the 31st round. They took this chance after he had missed his entire junior season with a broken bone in his wrist. The 6’3 210 pound left handed hitter swatted 13 HR and drove in 64 as a sophomore with a .374 .Avg. This season he has 12 HR, 58 RBI, .400 .avg, and a .473 OBP.

Eric Stamets SS Evansville- (7th round) 6’0 185 native of Dublin, Ohio where he lettered in 3 sports (baseball, basketball, football) One of the steadiest yet most unknown SS in college. The 3 year starter is a terrific base stealer, flashes solid leather at SS and consistently makes contact. He drew rave reviews playing at the Cape last summer for Hyannis (0,12, .277, 11 SB) As a freshman he stole 43 bases batting .321 with 4 HR. As a sophomore he hit .292 with 27 SB and this season he is batting .318 with a HR, 27 RBI and 30 SB. He has struck out 17 times and walked 30 in 220 at bats.

Jake Johansen RHP Dallas Baptist- (7th round) A solidly built 6’6 and 215 pounder with power stuff hitting 97 with his fastball. Features a slider. But, like a lot of young power arms he often doesn’t know where his pitches are going. High reward pick in the 7th round

C Jeremy Lucas Indiana State-(9th round) Not a great catcher but improving and will remain behind the dish.. The bat gives him cred as a top 10 round pick. Lucas has been a fine hitter in college after the Orioles drafted him in the 35th round out of HS. His senior year in HS he was All-State batting .490 with 46 RBI. Tough hitter to strike out with solid bat control and plate awareness.
Indiana State stats: 2010 (1, 24, .326,.13 DB with just 17 K in 175 at bats)
2011 (3, 28, .333, 10 DB with 19 K’s)
2012 (9,52, .350/.445/.550 21 K in 220 AB)

RHP Stuart Pudenz Dallas Baptist- From Blue Springs South (9th round) .The closer for Dallas Baptist. Pudenz put up sick numners saving 8 games with a 1.23 e.r.a and 47 K in 37 IP this season. A 6’5 220 pounder who touches 94 with a solid secondary offering (splitter) Had a break through year after going 4-1 with a 6.50 e.r.a and a 38/20 K/BB ratio in 36 IP as a sophomore.

RHP Tanner Poppe University of Kansas- (14th round) He really struggled this year going 0-5 with a 6.52 ebut the 6’5 230 pounder has some nice oomph on his fastball reaching 95. His slider has the potential to be a very good pitch. He was a 3 sport star from Girard, KS. He was a draft eligible sophomore last year and turned down the Rays who took him in the 37th round.

C Bennet Pickar Oral Roberts- (15th round) He has developed into a terrific defensive catcher with a plus arm and an emerging bat. He was drafted by the Braves in the 15th round out of HS (Eaton HS, Colorado) Hit .288 with a HR and 15 RBI for the La Crosse Loggers in the Northwoods League 2010. At Oral Roberts he started as a freshman throwing out over 30 percent of the runners trying to steal and batted ,286 with 3 HR and 17 RBI. Struggled with the bat as a sophomore hitting just .193 with 2 HR and 14 RBI but threw out 19 of 28 runners against him. This year he hit .303/.420/378 with 2 HR and 32 RBI striking out 44 times and walking 34 in 188 AB. He threw out 16 of 23 runners.

2B Austin Elkins Dallas Baptist- (16th round) Nice player who has solid bat control with good speed and pop. Hitting .356 this season with 9 HR, 44 RBI and a 439 OBP stealing 7 bases. Hit .245 with 4 HR and 37 RBI for the very good 2011 DB team. As a freshman he hit .341 with 8 HR and 39 RBI stealing 5 bases.

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Nathan Dorris LHP Southern Illinois-Dorris was seen by a lot of scouts in HS because he matched up against local rival Jake Odorizzi often. Dorris was taken by the Braves in the 45th round out of HS and committed to Vanderbilt but left after one semester in hopes of being drafted after some success at a Juco. He went to Bend Lake CC and this year at SIU is 7-4 with a 4.17 e.r.a and a 80/35 k/bb ratio in 82 IP. He throws a 87-91 fastball has touched 94 in the past with a solid curve and change.

OF Robby Ort Indiana State- Left handed bat with some pop. The 6’2 205 pounder has a solid baseball body. Has been a consistent 3 year performer at Indiana State, where as a freshman he hit .353 with 5 HR, 50 RBI. As a sophomore he hit .322 with 10 HR and a .559 slug. This year he is batting .293 with 7 HR, 53 RBI and a 350 OBP.

3B Jake Barrios Seward County CC- Big kid at 6’3 who has handled SS in JC.with solid arm and power potential. He hit .359 his first year with 8 HR and 58 RBI in 64 games for the Saints. He was set to attend LSU after his first year but returned to Seward after haivng concerns about playing time. He was also a standout HS QB in Oklahoma where he was the 4A football player of the year.

1B/DH Johnny Coy- Coy is a big 6’8 hitter who has a long swing but when he makes contact he can blast some 500 foot home runs (I know, I saw one when he was a sophomore) the St. Joseph native spent his first year at Arizona State as a basketball player before coming to WSU to play baseball. He hit .344 with 9 HR as a freshman and after a down year last year (7,59, .274) he has been one of the few offensive bright spots for the Shockers batting .344 with 9 HR and 63 RBI. He has struck out 53 times and walked 30 in 227 at bats. He was drafted by the Blue Jays (45th round) last June.

1B/3B Zac Elgie Kansas- Has one tool that grades better than average and that is power. His defense is shaky at 3B but can look really good at times too. Good gap to gap guy that uses whole field. Possibly a future 1B. Spent 2011 playing in the California Collegiate League for the San Luis-Obispo Blues batting .315 with 3 HR and 29 RBI with a .476 SLG. He is not from a baseball rich state as he hails from North Dakota and Minot HS. He was mostly seen in American Legion Ball. where he hit a record 34 HR during the 2007 season.
Stats:
2009 (3, 27, .305/.364/.448)
2010 (4, 14, .226/.272/.405)
2011 (7, 37, .297/.339/.520)
2012 (5, 28, .258/.333/.444)

SS Joel Hutter Dallas Baptist- Hutter is a senior from Davenport, Iowa. He is a prospect that had to use showcases to get recognition coming out of HS. Solid tool set at SS with some speed and pop. Began his career at Augustana College . Hit .303 with 9 Hr and 50 RBI and a .396 OBP for the Dallas Baptist team that qualified for the NCAA super regional. This year he is hitting .338 with a .397 OBP and .571 SLG with 11 HR, 66 RBI and 7 SB.

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2B Kevin Medrano Missouri State- Looked to be a high draft pick last year but that did not happen. He returned as a senior and hoped to answer concerns about where he fits on the field The Lees Summit North product had 2 brothers play in the pros before him (Jesus with the Marlins and Red Sox, Steve with Royals who reached AA) Career line of .348/.407/.450, 7 HR, 125 RBI, 40-49 SB in 866 at bats.

RHP Lee Ridenour Johnson County Community College- Should be selected around the 25th round. Former Shawnee Mission West and KU hurler who has missed 2 years of baseball. Had a solid season for JCCC out of the pen throwing in 50 games with 77 IP and a 79/17 k/bb ratio with a 7-5 record and 2.91 e.r.a Throws a 92 mph fastball with an effective slider.

C Jeremy Lucas Indiana State- Drafted in the 35th round out of HS by the Orioles from West Vigo HS in Indiana after hitting .490 with 46 RBI. At Indiana State he hit .326 with 1 HR and 24 RBI as a freshman while proving to be a very tough player to strike out (17 in 175 at bats) As a sophomore he hit .333 with 3 HR and 28 RBI. He struck out just 19 times in 177 at bats. This season he was the Joe Carter MVC Player of the Year and a Johnny Bench Award Finalist. He hit .350 with 9 HR and 52 RBI with a .445 OBP and .550 SLG.

RHP Mitch Mormann Wichita State- His best role as a pro will be out of the pen where his 93-95 fastball (plenty of sink) and slider will work. The 6’6 Mormann has had quite the journey in college. He spent his first 2 seasons at Des Moines CC where, as a sophomore, he was 10-3 with a 3.40 e.r.a and 76 K in 71 IP. He transferred to LSU going 3-0 with a 5.97 e.r.a in 19 games (18 K, 29 IP) he sat out 2011 before the Jays took him in the 25th round. This year as a 5th year guy for the Shockers he has been statistically unimpressive with a 3-3 record and a 3.91 e.r.a while not missing many bats with just 28 K in 53 IP (he has also walked 31) But, scouts used to like the arm but the team that drafts him knows he is a long shot now.

RHP Mitch Mormann Wichita State- His best role as a pro will be out of the pen where his 93-95 fastball (plenty of sink) and slider will work. The 6’6 Mormann has had quite the journey in college. He spent his first 2 seasons at Des Moines CC where, as a sophomore, he was 10-3 with a 3.40 e.r.a and 76 K in 71 IP. He transferred to LSU going 3-0 with a 5.97 e.r.a in 19 games (18 K, 29 IP) he sat out 2011 before the Jays took him in the 25th round. This year as a 5th year guy for the Shockers he has been statistically unimpressive with a 3-3 record and a 3.91 e.r.a while not missing many bats with just 28 K in 53 IP (he has also walked 31) But, scouts used to like the arm but the team that drafts him knows he is a long shot now.

Players that were good enough to be drafted in the past that should get opportunities again

LHP Josh Smith Wichita State (26^th round Brewers in 2011) Returned to pitch for the Shockers this season going 6-4 with a 3.10 e.r.a and a 77/32 k/bb ratio in 96 IP. He is originally from Pleasant Hill, Missouri. As a junior he was 7-4 with a 3.00 e.r.a and 56 K in 78 IP. His sophomore season he was 4-3 with a 5.02 e.r.a and 37 K in 61 IP. Made 20 appearances as a freshman going 0-2 with a 8.62 e.r.a striking out 21 in 24 IP.

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5 Years Of MLB Drafts Under Dayton Moore

I am taking 2006 out of the equation even though I absolutely do not buy that he did not have influence on the 1st overall pick.

2007:
1st pick at #2 overall Mike Moustakas- Great pick, although at the time Matt Wieters seemed like the best pick. In fact, the story goes that DeriC Ladnier, who was in charge of the draft, at that time was set to take INF HS Josh Vitters but awoke the next morning and decided Moustakas was the guy.

Top 10 picks: 1-Moustakas 3B HS- BigLeague 3B

2- Sam Runion LHP HS- Has struggled with injuries and has been used as a RP since 2010. The very next pick the Nationals took RHP Jordan Zimmerman out of U. of Wisconsin Stevens Point and Giancarlo Stanton went 10 picks later to the Marlins, Freddie Freeman #14 to Braves.

3- Danny Duffy LHP HS- Great pick, only C Jonathan Lucroy (University of Louisiana Lafayette) went soon after this pick in 3rd

4- Mitch Hodge RHP HS- Released this year

5- Adrian Ortiz OF Pepperdine- Released last year

6- Fernando Cruz 3B HS- Now a P and not in organization

7- Hilton Richardson OF HS- Released in 2011 and now a football player at Boise State

8- Casey Feickert RHP Junior College- Out of baseball after 2008

9- Zack Canyon RHP HS Iowa- Did not sign and had less than stellar career at University of Iowa. He was not drafted again

10- Greg Holland RHP Western Carolina- Solid pick in 10th round

Best pick rest of draft: Clint Robinson 25th round and David Lough in 11th round

MLB Live 2012 Draft Chat tonight.

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Draft Preview 2012.

The first rule of the draft is: I don’t know anything about the draft.

The beauty of baseball is how so much of it is accessible to the informed outsider. I love football, but I couldn’t tell you 90% of what goes on in any given play. The teams themselves don’t know half of what’s going on, at least not in the moment, which is why they watch so much tape afterwards and guard the overhead 11-on-11 videos from the public like they’re state secrets.

The easy quantification of baseball makes it possible for someone like me to know what is going on. Maybe I don’t know how or why, but I know what. It allows me to opine on the abilities of players and the sensibilities of tactics without coming off as a complete moron. (A partial moron, sure.)

But the draft is still a black box. Yes, we have stats. But high school stats are essentially meaningless; college stats aren’t much better. It’s the most important aspect of baseball that is impervious to statistical analysis. So my opinions here are even more speculative than my other ones.

I can’t talk about the draft without mentioning the elephant in the room, which is that the new CBA completely changes the draft, even if no one knows exactly how. In essence, the Royals have a draft cap, and their cap is different from that of every other team. Signability is no longer an excuse to keep from spending money – it’s a very real issue. (Even if the reason that the draft cap was put in place was to keep teams from spending money.)

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Round 1 - Kyle Zimmer - RHP San Francisco U I'm fine with this pick, but am I missing something? Was Appel still available at 5? I never read much on him as he was expected to go #1.

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Royals Select Kyle Zimmer

Just like last year, the 2012 draft was turned upside down. In 2011, it was the Mariners selecting a starting pitcher with the second overall pick. This time, it was the Astros passing on a starting pitcher.By the time the Royals were on the clock, two college arms they thought to have targeted remained on the draft board – Kyle Zimmer and Mark Appel.Appel was the one generally thought to be the top selection overall, so it looked as though the Royals struck gold… Yet they selected Zimmer. The Royals say he was their top pitcher in the draft all along. So if that’s the case, good for them.

Found my answer about Appel. His agent is Scott Boras

Royals Select Kyle Zimmer

Early in the year it didn’t appear the Royals would have a chance to draft Kyle Zimmer, the hard throwing righty from the San Francisco Dons but hamstring problems and some helium high schoolers pushed Zimmer down a couple slots and he was there for the Royals taking at the fifth spot Monday night.

Zimmer strained his hamstring during the season and pitched through it costing him some velocity but showing he’s quite a competitor as Greg explained in his mock.

At his best Zimmer can touch 98 on the gun, bring the best curveball in the draft and toss in a solid change up as well as a average slider. He has a fresh arm as a former position player who made the conversion in college. As a former position player he is like adding an extra infielder to the field while on the mound. Standing in a 6’4 220 lbs Zimmer has the looks of a innings eater who should move through the minors rather quickly once he proves the hamstring is healthy.

Forgive me for the quoting fail. I've spent 5-10 minutes trying to fix it but it won't let me.

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Draft day and daft decisions

The Royals did two very important things yesterday, they selected Kyle Zimmer as their 1st pick in the draft and they exposed Ned Yost as almost certainly unworthy to manage this, or any Major League team.

Let’s start with the newest of Royals: Kyle Zimmer. First I think it would be cool to call him Kyle “The Don” Zimmer. It works for a couple of reasons. First, it’s the mascot of the University of San Francisoco where he played. Second, it sounds like Don Zimmer the pre-historic but culturally relevant baseball player, manager and bench-coach. When it comes to analysis this is really all I’ve got. I’ve never seen him pitch and can’t pretend I have a scouting report. Instead, I’ll present you with a couple of videos for you to peruse:

Live Draft Chat Day 2 Begins at 11 AM CST

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Round 2 pick - Sam Selman, LHP Vanderbilt. I'm glad to see them going after college arms that may be able to reach the majors in a couple of years as opposed to 5.

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Round 3 pick - Colin Rodgers LHP. HS. 6' 180. Parkview Baptist School, LA
Round 4 pick - Kenny Diekroeger SS R/R JR. 6'2" 200. Stanford, CA
Round 5 pick - Chad Johnson C. R/R. HS. 6'1" 175. Galesburg HS, IL