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Sickels' Ranking of Royals Prospects

He describes the list as very preliminary and puts Kila all the way up at no. 3.

"The Royals have made a lot of improvements, but still need more offensive depth beyond the top elite batters. Focus on pitching has yielded dividends at the lower levels, but injury attrition will hit at some point, and they could use more polished guys to mix with the tools players."

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NO ROWDY HARDY?!?!?

Urge to kill rising.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Oct 15, 2008 10:40 AM EDT reply reply actions actions   0 recs

He's a polished college guy, too!

OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG

by devil_fingers on Oct 15, 2008 10:49 AM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

I'll be honest...

I’m stunned that Kila got #3 from Sickels. Kila has turned into a top-10 prospect, but not top 5, imho.

by DarthYoshi on Oct 15, 2008 12:37 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

i wonder

if SIckels (being a Lawrence resident, if I remember correctly) got caught up in “Kila Fever,” or if this might actually say (a little bit) about what he thinks of the Royals pitching prospects — not so much that they aren’t good, but maybe they aren’t quite as good as the consensus here has them if the get passed by a 24 year-old 1B who just broke outin AA/AAA.

OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG

by devil_fingers on Oct 15, 2008 12:41 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

He always is conservative with pitching prospects.

Don't forget to send your broken maples to the US Forest Service.

by 306008 on Oct 15, 2008 2:08 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

position player prospects are often considered slightly easier to project, though

…but not always (see also: M. Aviles).

FWIW, my top ten would have probably gone:

Moustakas, A-
Hosmer, A-
Cortes, B+
Melville, B+
Rosa, B
Duffy, B
Montgomery, B
Ka’aihue, B-
Johnny G, B-
Wood, C+

As an aside, I’m surprised Sickels has Mongtomery ranked higher than Melville, albeit with the same grade.

by DarthYoshi on Oct 15, 2008 3:01 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Kila, Kila, Kila!

I eat some flames in the other thread for deeming Kila the #3 Royals prospect. Now, I feel justified. He’s for real, folks.

by Royals Nation on Oct 15, 2008 12:54 PM EDT reply reply actions actions   0 recs

eat some flames?

Rather – took some flames. I long for the day editing posts becomes a function of SB Nation.

by Royals Nation on Oct 15, 2008 12:55 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Wow.

Running around in a thread repeating, “John Sickels disagrees with you” is seriously immature and mildly pathetic. I hope you’re proud of yourself.

by DarthYoshi on Oct 15, 2008 1:05 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

How about describing how Kaaihue shouldn't be #3?

…Instead of blasting my OPINIONS regarding Royals prospects and placing Kaaihue as high as a prominent baseball author and blogger? No, Sickels’ opinions are far from the end-all, but maybe you should try convincing me why Kaaihue shouldn’t be higher, and why my grades in the other thread were obscenely friendly.

by Royals Nation on Oct 15, 2008 4:27 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

what will Kila do with KSeitz ?

He should be an A+ now!! In three years we’ll be talking about trading Hosmer because Kila is so entrenched at 1B. :)

Don't forget to send your broken maples to the US Forest Service.

by 306008 on Oct 15, 2008 6:22 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Very fair, and excellent analysis

I won’t concede my Kila/Top 3 selection, but I’ll apologize for calling you out like I did, and rubbing it in, so to speak.

by Royals Nation on Oct 16, 2008 1:36 AM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

it's all fine

I think, and hope, that Kila will turn out to be a productive 1b for the Royals. We’ll see what Sickels’ final grades turn out to be.

by DarthYoshi on Oct 16, 2008 12:10 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Well, for starters

you could look at how Sickels said Kila could be anywhere from 3-8 depending on how highly you value pitching.

Which is really no different than Sickels saying “as far as I’m concerned, 3-8 on this list are fungible.”

Sarcasmâ„¢. It's the new gravy.

by jonfmorse on Oct 16, 2008 2:10 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

ALL RANKINGS ARE EXTREMELY PRELIMINARY!

I don’t know why prefaces each ranking like this. Preliminary to what?

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Oct 16, 2008 2:46 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

his book

OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG

by devil_fingers on Oct 16, 2008 4:18 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Little Guido and MITCH

Nice to see Giovotella at B-. I know that some had him projected as a utility type. Does Grade B- mean that he has a chance at being a league-average regular? Even getting a guy who is below average but above replacement level is a decent thing — means not overpaying for them on the FA market when the need arises.

Also, on a less exciting note, what do obsevers make of MITCH? He’s not star or starter, but I figure if he can play an above average CF, that’s an asset, as long as hit can OPS at least in the low 700s (I personally don’t think Gathright can do either). That’s a useful thing for a team like the Royals, where DDJ is the only one of their starting who can play CF at this point, and he definitely needs days off.

Another issue with MITCH is his splits — I checked minorleaguesplits.com, and, although he’s a lefty, his L/R splits show him hitting lefties considerably better. WTF?

Anyway, what are the odds that mitch could OPS even .720 in the majors?

OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG

by devil_fingers on Oct 15, 2008 2:53 PM EDT reply reply actions actions   0 recs

He has

Gritty fourth outfielder written all over him.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Oct 15, 2008 2:56 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

does that mean he'll be a good defender with at least replacement offense

or does it mean that he’ll OPS .640 with bad range and routes while everyone talks about how good his glove is?

OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG

by devil_fingers on Oct 15, 2008 3:05 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Did DeJesus get traded?

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Oct 15, 2008 3:37 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

DDJ?

With all due respect, DeJesus is our best in house option to start in centerfield, and it shouldn’t even be an issue.

Mr Glass, this is a pro sports team, not a retail store - run it like one!

by loyal2sdad on Oct 15, 2008 3:37 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

haha

I agree with the others that if the roster stays the same that DDJ should start in center, but I bet it would be a surprisingly close contest between Teahen/DDJ/jOGui and haveing DDJ should start in left, MITCH in center, and Teahen and Guillen should platoon in right…

OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG

by devil_fingers on Oct 15, 2008 3:47 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

ugh, let me try that last part again
Teahen/DDJ/jOGui and haveing DDJ should start in left, MITCH in center, and Teahen and Guillen should platoon in right…

should have been that it might be closer contest than people might think between starting Teahen and Guillen in the corners, and DDJ in CF vs.

LF DDJ
CF MITCH
RF Teahen/JoGui platoon

OMG Banny. FWIW I am only crdtng u w/3 runs allwd bc of DDJ OMFG

by devil_fingers on Oct 15, 2008 3:49 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Exectaly, and it allows us to have Teahen as the backup and midigates the bad glove of Guillen.

That would save us abour 40 outs over our current outfield, which if you include two base errors in the outfield and ability to prevent EBH is almost a 1-1 ratio in terms of runs, and therefore wins us four more games. I would doubt that Teahen gives us 4 runs over Mitch in terms of offensive production. Still not a lot of an upgrade unless we get a better bat in centerfield, but I think DDJ in left is the way to go unless we get a different good defending and hitting corner. I would think that the CF would be cheaper considering we had to spend 36 million to get Guillen. The other option would be Gordan in left and find a stopgap 3b until Moose is ready or play Teahen at third.

Go Royals!

by BabyBlues on Oct 15, 2008 6:22 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

i think that the B- for Johnny G

Probably means that he projects as an average or maybe a hair below average regular starter. C+ types usually end up being 4th outfielders, spot starters, or other decent bench players, so B- would probably imply that he has the chops to be a starter, but a mostly unremarkable starter.

I’m not entirely sure what to do with Maier. With the caveat that his 90 or so AB’s in the bigs this year are a very small sample size, there were a lot of issues—two of the biggest being his inability to take walks and hitting for absolutely zero power. I think he’ll probably become a serviceable fourth outfielder, but only if he can come up with an extra-base hit every now and again . I do think that calling him a “prospect” at this point is a little charitable—he turns 27 next year and probably won’t get much better.

by DarthYoshi on Oct 15, 2008 3:14 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

as for Kila

Sickels does say he could easily be anywhere from 3rd to 8th.

That being said, numbers are numbers, even if he was repeating AA at age 24. He also went on to improve on AA numbers at AAA (in a small sample size), and then to, at the very least, look VERY comfortable against Major Leaguers (again, in a small sample size).

What’s not to like about a 24 year old with a combination of power, plate discipline, and the ability to avoid strikeouts? Number 3 on the list sounds about right to me – certainly shouldn’t be lower than 5th (I could see Cortes and Rosa ranking ahead of him)

Mr Glass, this is a pro sports team, not a retail store - run it like one!

by loyal2sdad on Oct 15, 2008 3:42 PM EDT reply reply actions actions   0 recs

Anyone else surprised

Blake Johnson and Julio Pimentel are not on his list at all? That strikes me as a large omission. Neither are great shakes, but they’re definitely better prospects than Mitch Maier, Joe Dickerson or Chris Nicoll.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Oct 15, 2008 4:47 PM EDT reply reply actions actions   0 recs

A little, more so for Johnson than for Pimentel

Pimentel’s stock took a pretty serious blow this year, probably a little more so than Johnson’s. Unlike Pimentel, Johnson was able to keep his BB/9 rate down, and he generally gives up fewer hits than Pimentel. I think the omission of Johnson was slightly more egregious, but in any case, I think they both are certainly better prospects than Maier or Nicoll. I don’t even really count Maier as a prospect any more, and Nicoll is a little like a pitching version of Kila—an AA player who is on the older side (he turns 25 at the end of this month), but who happened to have a good 2008 season.

by DarthYoshi on Oct 15, 2008 5:29 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

I like Pimentel more...

Both hurt their stocks by not pitching well, but Pimentel’s pure stuff is much better. I think he’d take off if moved to the bullpen, but there’s no reason to do that quite yet.

Rowdy Hardy Fan Club member.

by doublestix on Oct 15, 2008 5:54 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

A lot of ways to look at it, one way is how they fit into the needs of the Royals.

If you look at it from that perspective, we really need bats and our pitching is pretty solid right now. If you look at if from who is the best in terms of the major leauge value then it looks a lot different. The fact is that the Royals could use players like Mitch and Kila right now, and the pitchign prospects are not needed and will most likely stay in the minors next year other then Rosa. I would say that if you are deciding top picks you need to pick one of these perspectives first and then decide what order you like. You need to compare apples to apples, not apples to oranges.

Go Royals!

by BabyBlues on Oct 15, 2008 6:29 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

I'm pretty sure that Sickels doesn't take organizational need

…into account when making his ranks and grades. If I’m wrong, please correct me. And a lot of these hitting prospects (Moose, Dickerson, et al) are going to be in the minors for at least another couple of years. They won’t be called up regardless. I don’t understand how this is apples to oranges.

by DarthYoshi on Oct 15, 2008 6:56 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

I wasn't talking about Sickels specifically, just in general.

     It is a pretty simple concept that if you are looking for who can help the Roylas vs who has the best chance to make an impact in the major leauges as a whole, that you would come up with a different ranks for postion players vs pitchers. If your organization needed pitching, the pitchers would be ranked higher, if they needed postion players, then they would tend to be ranked higher because that would make your club better if they were ready to join the ballclub and make a difference.

Go Royals!

by BabyBlues on Oct 16, 2008 12:32 PM EDT to parent up reply reply actions actions   0 recs

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