RR Royals #4 Prospect RUNOFF

by doublestix on Oct 21, 2008 12:25 AM EDT Comment 34 comments

#1 Mike Moustakas, 3B
#2 Eric Hosmer, 1B
#3 Daniel Cortes, RHP
#4 ???

Duffy, Melville, and Kila Monster are all very close. And thus...runoff.

Vote.

Daniel Duffy | LHP | 19-years-old | 6-foot-3, 185 pounds
-Four pitch lefty. Fastball 88-93, has been clocked higher in the past. Good curve, good change, both potential to be plus. Still needs to improve fastball command, but made huge strides this year thanks to improved mechanics.

Kila Ka'aihue | 1B | 24-years-old | 6-foot-3, 230 pounds
-Tremendous plate discipline with very good power. Defense at 1B isn't particularly great, but it plays. Charts all of his AB's and strives to get better. Not a great minor league track record. Nearly big league ready if not already there.

Tim Melville | RHP | 18-years-old | 6-foot-5, 205 pounds
-Extremely projectable with present stuff. Already 91-94 with chance for plus curve and change. Scouts love his long term fastball projection, think he could throw very hard.

Poll

Who is the Royals #4 prospect?

Daniel Duffy, LHP

44 votes

Kila Ka'aihue, 1B

49 votes

Tim Melville, RHP

36 votes

129 votes | Poll has closed

1 recs | Comment 34 comments

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Comments

no Melville supporters

4 votes in

by dn_311 on Oct 21, 2008 12:52 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I was the first

But not the last! Gooooooooooo Melville!

Waiting for a 90+ win season

by RoyalsFanInMarinerTown on Oct 21, 2008 1:38 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

+1

2nd Melville supporter.

by DarthYoshi on Oct 21, 2008 2:21 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

me too, although I am #19 apparently

he seems to have the most potential upside

The concept of progress acts as a protective mechanism to shield us from the terrors of the future. - Collected sayings of Muad'Dib

by buddyball on Oct 21, 2008 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I like it that Duffy

has actually done something in pro ball. (I actually voted for Rosa before.) What I love most is that the Royals actually have enough decent prospects to make the discussion worthwhile.

by BrRoyal on Oct 21, 2008 8:28 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Ka'aihue

might be the most likely to contribute at the MLB level of the group, and if the numbers from the last year are real, might have the most upside of the group as well. I like Duffy a lot and I think I’ll like Melville too once he proves he can handle pro competition, but KC needs OBP and slugging so badly right now, it’s hard to vote against the guy that really could fill that hole starting next year. The odd’s aren’t necessarily great that he will, but they’re probably better than Duffy or Melville’s chances of being top of the rotation starters at the MLB level.

by kcdc1 on Oct 21, 2008 12:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Depends on how you rank prospects

KC needs OBP and slugging so badly right now, it’s hard to vote against the guy that really could fill that hole starting next year

I wouldn’t give Kila an edge just because he would fill an immediate need at the bigs while Duffy and Melville are at stronger filled positions.

by Top Ramen on Oct 21, 2008 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Duffy or Melville over Bannister or Kila over Gload which one makes the bigger impact on the Royals?

Go Royals!

by BabyBlues on Oct 21, 2008 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

When other publications begin ranking prospects that way

I will too

by Top Ramen on Oct 21, 2008 5:00 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

fair enough

Kila might not bring as much in a trade as the Duffy or Melville, so in that sense, he might not be as valuable of a prospect. On the other hand, he’ll probably be in the majors next year, and the skill set he brings perfectly suited to the team’s needs. I think it’s very fair for Royals fans to consider Ka’aihue the single most exciting prospect in the system for those reasons. Duffy and Melville are 50-50 shots to make the majors. I’ll take the bird in hand, especially when the major league club has precisely a bird/hand shaped hole.

by kcdc1 on Oct 22, 2008 10:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

How about this?

Neal Musser has a much better chance of making it to KC next year than Melville, Duffy or any prospect in the low minors. Does that make Musser a better prospect? Does it even make him a top 10 prospect?

Professionals who evaluate prospects (BA, BP, Sickels, etc.) rank them based on tools, performance and how good they are likely to be in the majors. It isn’t about how soon they’ll get to the majors.

This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.

by NYRoyal on Oct 22, 2008 11:42 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

it partially is...

you have to take in to count (or at least I do) the chances the do make it to the show. the closer the better, obviously. this isn’t really the case with the TOP prospects, like say moustakas or jason heyward (braves) who are still a ways away but have legitimate MVP type upside. but after those guys, ya I do take likelihood to reach the bigs (most of the time that means closer). it’s not a huge factor but it is a factor nonetheless.

Rowdy Hardy Fan Club member.

by doublestix on Oct 22, 2008 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Got a chance to watch Kila

in Springfield this past year, the guy was very impressive. The AA cards pitched around him like he was Barry Bonds, and when they couldn’t, he just raked

by dn_311 on Oct 21, 2008 8:19 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

My problem with Kila's breakout year

is that it is the first time he has shown this type of ability. He has always had a good eye but in his previous years we just haven’t seen the impact. I would love it if he were the real deal! I had him at 6.

Melville could be much higher but just hasn’t pitched yet.

Duffy has had two good years in a row – LH starting pitchers are valuable commodity.

by daveyork on Oct 21, 2008 11:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Duffy has only pitched 119 innings!

Small sample size alert!!!
Kila’s breakout season is a better sample size then Duffy’s! and its at high minor leauge level.
So why no love for Kila?

Go Royals!

by BabyBlues on Oct 21, 2008 11:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Duffy doesn't have other data which competes with Kila's one good season

Duffy doesn’t have other data which might make his good season look like an aberration. Kila has multiple years of mediocre-to-poor performance. Look at the various years of his professional career. Which of them is not like the other? He was essentially a non-prospect (marginal prospect at best) before 2008. Did he suddenly just figure everything out? It’s possible. But it is also possible that this is something we’ll never see again. I don’t think it was a total fluke. But I also don’t think he magically became a great hitter. I think he’s a pretty good prospect now. But a top 5 in this organization? IMO, no way.

This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.

by NYRoyal on Oct 22, 2008 12:16 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

yeah, but Kila has like three cool nicknames, how many does Duffy have?

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

by devil_fingers on Oct 22, 2008 12:26 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh Yeah!

This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.

by NYRoyal on Oct 22, 2008 12:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

In fairness,

I think all of his previous seasons were mediocre – none poor. (I am ignoring the one year that was poor, because by all accounts he played the entire year at less than 100% due to an injured knee, which kills any chance at putting up even mediocre power numbers)

Does that remove all skepticism about his 08 performance? No, but if you ignore that injured year when analyzing him, it makes the argument that he went from a mediocre performer and a marginal prospect to a spectacular performer and a serious prospect much easier to make, and it would align with a prospect who suddenly “got it” seemingly overnight. That doesn’t happen all that often – but it does happen on occasion, and I would argue that true power may be the last tool to develop, and once it develops, it only enhances plate discipline skills because pitchers begin to attack the hitter differently.

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

by loyal2sdad on Oct 22, 2008 3:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I basically agree with that

And that is why I think he is a real prospect now and deserves to be in the Royals top 10. But I think given the high quality of the Royals top 10 prospects, it is a big stretch to put him in the top 5.

This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.

by NYRoyal on Oct 22, 2008 4:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs