Its Not Too Early to Preview the June Draft!

by RoyalsRetro on Feb 13, 2007 12:04 PM EST Comment 21 comments

Moved from the Diaries...-RR

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Bob Dutton takes a look at how Deric Ladnier and the Royals front office is getting ready four months early for the June draft.

KC Star: Royals ponder No. 2 pick

"The position players as a group this year, collegewise, are extremely weak," Ladnier said.

"The high school pitching crop is exceptionally good -- probably the best I've seen. And I think there are good-quality college arms."

I don't know a lot about any of these guys, but Matt Wieters seems to be the general consensus for #2 overall pick. Andrew Brackman is sure to make entice some Royals fans, and I wouldn't totally overlook the high school kids.

Thoughts on the draft?

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to have thoughts on the draft now

is like admitting you have a serious problem with the Royals

by LeoBloom on Feb 12, 2007 11:00 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I do 100%

predict a high school pitcher

probably multiple

by LeoBloom on Feb 12, 2007 11:01 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

i want the catcher/first base/outfielder/DH type

thats exactly what we need!

60% of the time it works every time!

by greggagneHOF on Feb 12, 2007 11:19 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

We are weak at the Corners

some first/third help would be great

by wildthang on Feb 13, 2007 12:57 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

The corners

I appreciate sarcasm as much as the next guy, but is a lack of 1B depth in the system something you address in a draft? We may have enough bodies to fill the role at the MLB level right now, but looking deeper down the system, the 1B depth is just sad. Watching Wichita play last year was great, because, when they took the field, the team was filled with guys with (at the time) at least some chance of becoming big leaguers with one glaring exception (Dee Brown in the DH spot notwithstanding):

(By level of awesomeness):
3B-Gordon
RF-Butler
LF-Lubanski
CF-Maier
C-Tupman
SS-Sanchez
2B-Murphy
and
1B-Kila "Last Name I can't spell and am feeling too lazy to look up"

If we somehow have other great prospects in the system at other levels, I am unaware.

Now, I know that many think that you don't develop first basemen, as you can always go out and find a competent Major Leaguer to come in and play the position a la Stairsy. But people also always say that 1B needs to be a position of offensive strength, such as all those panning the Dougie M. signing last year. Do you need 1B depth in the farm system? Do you try to develop MLB first basemen?

(For the record, I would not be drafting a 1B very highly this year; I would be drafting A LOT of pitching unless another player available at the time is so clearly a superior talent. Maybe Wieters is that guy).

by CentralChamps2009 on Feb 13, 2007 10:25 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

1B depth weak?

Have you forgotten about Mike Stodolka? And that other guy?

Valid point. What I am still torn up about is the fact that we don't have the #1 pick. Why did we even bother to try at the very end of the year?

I guess you could say you're playing for pride, but how proud can you be to finish with over 100 losses?

by marbotty on Feb 13, 2007 11:01 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Does Matt Stairs have a son we could draft?

lordbyronk

by lordbyronk on Feb 13, 2007 1:49 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed marbotty

My fear is that we will end up regretting that season ending sweep over the Tigers. That was discouraging reading how there is a consensus #1, but no consensus #2, at this point. Of course, there are 4 months until the draft, so that prognosis is bound to change, and hopefully a "no-brainer" candidate emerges as the #2 option...

by loyal2s dad on Feb 13, 2007 11:37 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Wieters is somewhat intriguing at #2

But where will he end up in the field?

I'm afraid he'll end up as a DH, which obviously is not what we need.

by marbotty on Feb 13, 2007 12:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

1B is a position

where a lot of players get moved from other positions (ie- OF's, 3B's). Pitching is the far greater concern and it sounds like that will be in abundance in this draft. The Royals have a surplus at OF, so I wouldn't be surprised if some of them move to 1B. Also, if Ryan Shealy hits like I believe that he can, we shouldn't need a 1B for the next six years anyway.

lordbyronk

by lordbyronk on Feb 13, 2007 11:49 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

With Moore's strategy of stockpiling

pitchers at all levels I think it is a no brainer. He will either take the best college pitcher for our High A level or AA teams or he will take one of the many high school pitchers and let them age through the system. My choice would a strong armed lefty.

As far as that goes I think that the top pick is important but not as much as the entire draft. Right now we need to build dept in our minor league system and good deep drafts help do that. I would like to see us draft 70% pitching and 30% position players. Go for the college kids as position players and draft both in the pitching.

It will be interesting to see how Dayton and his team do on their first draft. If the Royals are going to win and win consistently then they are going to have to have great drafts.

by grudz69 on Feb 13, 2007 1:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

In my biased opinion

Take lefty pitcher Nick Schmidt from Arkansas and start him out with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Not only would the team get a great pitcher to work through the ranks, but the new team would get a great start with an already present fan base.

by jeep on Feb 13, 2007 2:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Draft and...

Having great drafts is important, but so is developing those players once you get them. Who knows if Jeff Austin, Chris George, et al, wouldn't be solid major league pitchers if they were drafted into a system that seems to actually develop their young pitchers, such as Oakland.

What really makes me more optimistic than the moves at the major league level this year is what appears to be a firm commitment to developing an entire system devoted to wining. Bulking up the scouting and development staff, adding the extra class A team, opening the Dominican academy--these are the kind of things that will make the Royals better, and make me one happy fan.

by CentralChamps2009 on Feb 13, 2007 2:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Agree on the pitching depth

The best way for the Royals to improve is to stockpile pitching. I think they will look to do this again 2007 draft. Jim Callis from BA had an interesting point in recent article. David Price is top rated player now but in only 2 of last 10 years has the preseason #1 guy gone as the top pick. Sometimes signability or another player rises but there is hope for the Royals to land a premium pitcher - hopefully at college level. More advanced and ready to pitch at majors but the ghost of Jeff Granger and Jeff Austin still haunt my memories.

Matt Wieters will go high and Lord knows we could use a strong catcher but the lack of position is a drawback. If he is that much better than any other pitcher available - that would be ok but still go with pitching.

I hope the Royals don't repeat for the third year in a row, picking a HS infielder who they see as a high pick and no else in baseball does - Jason Taylor in 06 and Jeff Bianchi in 05. The high schoolers take so long to develop - 4-5 years at least.

by daveyork on Feb 14, 2007 7:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

At this point

Wieters is my choice for best prospect in the draft bar none. I'd even put him ahead of Price, who people consider the best prospect. Reasons for this:

Price is a very nice prospect, on par with Andrew Miller or Brad Lincoln or probably Hochevar. He has a very high ceiling, a good track record, and glowing scouting reports. But he's still a pitching prospect with all the good and bad that comes with that.
I might be one of the few people who haven't given up on Wieters as a pro catcher at least for the first part of his career. His present weaknesses are a bit exaggerated and being tall isn't neccessarily an automatic black flag. It's rare, and it would most likely make him in fact a one-of, but he has an exceptionally strong arm and more athleticism than you usually find in a player that big, let alone a catcher. He'd have a lot of work to do. But I think it is possible to at least be a below average, but passable defensive catcher.
A below average catcher with that kind of bat would be a massive upgrade and a huge assett. The bat he has is probably the best in the NCAA and is good enough that I would consider him a candidate for the top 2 even if him being a catcher was out of the question. He has the athleticism to handle the outfield corners and a bat that is better than anybody from last year's draft and everybody who wasn't named Alex Gordon in the 2005 draft.
The R's seem to be loaded at LF/RF/1B/DH right now, but Shealy and Lubanski are no sure thing, Sweeney is a part timer at this point in his career and isn't terribly likely to be part of the 2009 team. So I'm not against drafting a high ceiling 1B/RF if I'm not 100% certain about any of the pitchers or if there isn't a Griffey/BJ Upton/Delmon Young/ARod kind of high school hitter.

by JM Barten on Feb 13, 2007 2:27 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I guess I really don't understand

Why Wieters is pre-ordained not to stay at catcher. Just because he's tall? Unless his defense really sucks (and even if it does, I can probably live with it - see Mike Piazza), he's be hugely more valuable at catcher than at 1B or DH.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Feb 13, 2007 3:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

i think thats basically it

and the fact that 90% of catchers in the low levels can't handle it later on anyway

like huber

FIRE BELL

by FireBell on Feb 13, 2007 4:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think GMDM should try his hand...

Drafting a high-school arm. Terrible results in the Allard Baird years, but, i'm rolling the dice that GMDM will have a little more foresight and better luck. The organization needs pitching, badly.

by nycroyal on Feb 13, 2007 4:36 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Greinke and Cordier

Look like pretty good high school picks under Baird.

by marbotty on Feb 15, 2007 2:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Harvey

I live right down the road from where this kid pitches in Groton, Connecticut. Maybe I'll go check out a game where he's pitching and file a full scouting report here for all to review. I've talked to a few people who have seen him pitch and they say he's the real deal but he has thrown a lot of innings for a young kid which is kind of scary to me.

by EricConley on Feb 14, 2007 9:47 AM EST reply actions 0 recs