RR Royals #14 Prospect

by doublestix on Nov 15, 2008 11:31 PM EST Comment 7 comments

#1 Mike Moustakas, 3B
#2 Eric Hosmer, 1B
#3 Daniel Cortes, RHP
#4 Kila Ka'aihue, 1B
#5 Daniel Duffy, LHP
#6 Carlos Rosa, RHP
#7 Tim Melville, RHP
#8 Mike Montgomery, LHP
#9 Johnny Giavotella, 2B
#10 Blake Wood, RHP
#11 Daniel Gutierrez, RHP
#12 Derrick Robinson, CF
#13 Jason Taylor, 1B/LF
#14 ???

Taylor wins.

Herrera and Runion on, Pimentel off.

Short scouting reports:

Edward Cegarra | RHP | 19-years-old | 5-foot-11, 175 pounds
Acquired - UDFA: Venezuela | '08 Level - Burlington (Low A)/Wilmington (High A)
Vitals - 8-11, 3.99 ERA, 160.0 IP, 112/26 K/BB, 0.88 FB/GB
-Undersized strike thrower that does an excellent job of not giving free passes. Currently possesses average fastball that runs up to 93. Flips in curveballs for strikes to keep hitters off balance. Working on changeup which he'll need to remain a starter.

Joe Dickerson | RF | 22-years-old | 6-foot-1, 190 pounds
Acquired - 4th Round, 2005 | '08 Level - Wilmington (High A)
Vitals - .297/.376/.442, 48/31 K/BB, 24-for-38 SB
-Tweener outfielder with very good hit tool and good eye. Good speed underway, but doesn't translate well on the basepaths. Uses the gaps for extra base hits, enough strength to hit one out on occasion. Must keep hitting to remain prospect as he's likely locked into a corner spot.

Kelvin Herrera | RHP | 18-years-old | 5-foot-10, 165 pounds
Acquired - UDFA: Dominican | '08 Level - Burlington (R)/Burlington (Low A)
Vitals - 4-2, 1.56 ERA, 63.1 IP, 52/7 K/BB, 1.67 FB/GB
-Small pitcher with pitchability and maturity beyond his years. Fastball ranges 89-91 and runs to 94 with boring action in on RHP. Shows plus curve on occasion as well as average changeup. Superb command for his age.

Sam Runion | RHP | 20-years-old | 6-foot-4, 220 pounds
Acquired - 2nd Round, 2007 | '08 Level - Burlington (Low A)/Burlington (R)
Vitals - 5-9, 4.45 ERA, 89.0 IP, 41/19 K/BB, 1.45 FB/GB
-Big physical pitcher with lively 90-92 fastball that touches 94. Strike thrower. Below average curve and changeup that need improvement. Struggled in Low A before moving back to Rookie ball where he had significantly more success.

Tyler Sample | RHP | 19-years-old | 6-foot-7, 240 pounds
Acquired - 3rd Round, 2008 | '08 Level - Arizona (R)
Vitals - 0-5, 9.00 ERA, 27 IP, 39/29 K/BB, 2.60 FB/GB
-Huge frame with big time fastball/curveball combination. Changeup is a work in progress, as is command of all his pitches. Sample has huge upside but is light years away from helping out the Royals.

Poll

Who is the Royals #14 prospect? (players listed in alphabetical order)

Edward Cegarra, RHP

14 votes

Joe Dickerson, RF

38 votes

Kelvin Herrera, RHP

17 votes

Sam Runion, RHP

8 votes

Tyler Sample, RHP

26 votes

other (specify)

6 votes

109 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 7 comments

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Comments

Voted other for Jeff Bianchi

Go Royals!

by BabyBlues on Nov 16, 2008 11:14 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

damn I forgot about him

good call, he’s on the next poll.

Rowdy Hardy Fan Club member.

by doublestix on Nov 16, 2008 4:52 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Pimentel

His sinker is still a decent bet to make the majors and contribute out of the pen.

by Gopherballs on Nov 17, 2008 12:40 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

yea

i took him off because he didn’t get much support…but i think he is a solid bet to be a nice middle reliever. i would still be hesitant to take him out of the rotation though for now since he has 3 pretty decent pitches.

Rowdy Hardy Fan Club member.

by doublestix on Nov 17, 2008 1:58 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

These are getting a little tougher

but more fun. You really have to look at their stats, where they played, drafted, and age/body….I went with Sample purely because of those last 3 things.

by I need more Esteban on Nov 17, 2008 12:31 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

has pimentel fallen off this much?

by royalsreview on Nov 17, 2008 2:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Not really despite the down year

Pimentel was overrated last year in large part to the system having a down year. The problem with prospect Top Ten lists sometimes is that every team has to have ten players on the list even when the organization does not have ten players worthy of that connotation. This year, the Royals organization has more talent thanks to the last two drafts, mixing some high upside (but far, far from the majors) players with pitchers putting up gaudy numbers in the incredibly pitching-friendly Midwest League.

This year, Pimentel certainly scuffled at AA, but he pitched better than his ERA suggests (4.33 FIP). He was unlucky with BABIP (.355 versus a 20% LD%), and his K/9 rate actually jumped despite pitching at a more advanced level with more than one opposing batter in the lineup who can hit breaking balls. Unfortunately, his groundball rate dropped to 45 %, but is probably a decent bet to rebound near his 52 % career average. He is still more tools than performance at this stage, but his velocity should jump a little with a move to the pen, and he might need only modest improvement in command to stick as a mid-leverage reliever who can generate groundballs and use his change to keep lefties relatively in check (he has not shown much of a platoon split in the minors).

by Gopherballs on Nov 17, 2008 3:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs