Does anyone else feel like the MLB Playoffs are starting to feel like the NBA playoffs? I don't mind all the games--but all the days off are painful. The offseason has officially now begun and with fresh rumors that there might be prospects involved in the Teahen trade. Let's just say if there are prospects involved from the Royals, they better be ones I've already written about (both for the sake of making a good trade and of not messing up my list). We finish up the bottom half of the Royals Top 60 Prospects. Next week I'll do #30-26 of the Royals Top 30.
Here's a review of the previous players listed:
60--Dylan Lindsay
59-Blaine Hardy
58-Barry Bowden
57-Rowdy Hardy
56-Matt Mitchell
55-Ryan Wood
54-Eduardo Paulino
53-Nick Van Stratten
52-Deivy Batista
51-Sean McCauley
50-Fernando Cruz
49-Eric Basurto
48-Pedro Nivar
47-Cole White
46-Jarrod Dyson
45-Jerico Blanco
44-Shin Jin-ho
43-Manny Pina
42-Ben Theriot
41-Dusty Odenback
40-Jason Taylor
39-Geulin Beltre
38b-Ed Cegarra
38a-Jose Bonilla
37--Malcolm Culver--3B--Age-19
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | Aff | PA | AB | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 19 | 2 Teams | 2 Lgs | Rook | KCR | 234 | 203 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 24 | 8 | 4 | 26 | 41 | .222 | .315 | .315 | .630 |
| 2009 | 19 | Burlington | APPY | Rook | KCR | 214 | 184 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 8 | 4 | 25 | 37 | .217 | .316 | .321 | .637 |
| 2009 | 19 | Idaho Falls | PION | Rook | KCR | 20 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .263 | .300 | .263 | .563 |
| 2 Seasons | 264 | 229 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 24 | 9 | 4 | 29 | 54 | .218 | .313 | .301 | .614 | |||||
We drafted Culver in the 8th Round of the 2008 draft out of HS in California. Culver is projected to hit for power and already shows a pretty good eye at the plate. He has the tools to be a pretty good defender at 3rd base. If he does well in the spring, he could go to Low-A Burlington, Iowa in 2010.
36--Alex Llanos--CF--Age:19
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | Aff | PA | AB | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | -- | 2 Teams | 2 Lgs | Rook | KCR | 274 | 252 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 30 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 77 | .266 | .309 | .369 | .678 |
| 2009 | -- | Idaho Falls | PION | Rook | KCR | 139 | 130 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 42 | .223 | .252 | .277 | .529 |
| 2009 | -- | Royals | ARIZ | Rook | KCR | 135 | 122 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 35 | .311 | .366 | .467 | .833 |
| 2 Seasons | 497 | 455 | 19 | 4 | 3 | 47 | 32 | 13 | 28 | 140 | .229 | .278 | .308 | .585 | |||||
We drafted Llanos in the 6th Round of the 2008 draft out of Puerto Rico. He was known as a toolsy, raw kid who had some potentail with the bat. He was relatively young--playing the 2008 Arizona League at the age of 17 and posting an uninspiring 471 OPS. In his second go around in Arizona he did much better. He struggled again when he was promoted to Idaho Falls. He's still very young (won't turn 20 until next September) and I'm guessing he'll get a second go at Idaho Falls this coming year.
35--Chris Nicoll-RHP--Age:26
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | Aff | ERA | G | SV | IP | WHIP | H/9 | HR/9 | BB/9 | SO/9 | SO/BB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 25 | 2 Teams | 2 Lgs | AA-AAA | KCR | 4.47 | 39 | 1 | 88.2 | 1.410 | 9.1 | 0.8 | 3.6 | 7.7 | 2.17 |
| 2009 | 25 | Northwest Arkansas | TL | AA | KCR | 3.50 | 33 | 1 | 61.2 | 1.395 | 8.8 | 0.6 | 3.8 | 8.5 | 2.23 |
| 2009 | 25 | Omaha | PCL | AAA | KCR | 6.67 | 6 | 0 | 27.0 | 1.444 | 10.0 | 1.3 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 2.00 |
| 5 Seasons | 3.83 | 123 | 5 | 397.0 | 1.234 | 8.0 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 9.4 | 3.06 | |||||
This is an agressive ranking for Nicoll--but I've always liked him. Nicoll was our 3rd round pick in 2005. He has battled injuries in the past and has been moved to the pen for the past couple of years. He pitched pretty well at AA last year but struggled at AAA. He's a flyball pitcher--so he will be suseptible to the HR. I think he can go back to AAA in 2010 and, if he performs well, could contribute later next year.
34--Brandon Sisk--LHP--Age:24
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | Aff | ERA | G | SV | IP | WHIP | H/9 | HR/9 | BB/9 | SO/9 | SO/BB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 23 | Wilmington | CARL | A_adv | KCR | 1.92 | 45 | 21 | 61.0 | 0.787 | 4.4 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 11.5 | 4.33 |
| 2 Seasons | 1.75 | 67 | 23 | 143.2 | 0.974 | 5.5 | 0.3 | 3.3 | 11.4 | 3.50 | |||||
The Royals recently signed Adam Frost--a 22 year old SS-from the independant leagues. Perhaps they were inspired by the success Brandon Sisk has found. We signed Sisk out of the Indy Leagues in 2008 and he been very successful so far. I've heard that his stuff is not overpowering but he seems to get the most out of it. He is pitching in the Arizona Fall League where he has pitched well in 8ip which bodes well that he could continue his success in AA in 2010.
33--Crawford Simmons--LHP--Age:19
We drafted Simmons in th 14th Round out of HS in Georgia. We signed him away from Georgia Tech. We gave him way over slot money ($450,000) because he has an average fastball but a couple of potential plus pitches in his curve and his change-up. The Royals seem to be targetting young pitchers who have several good pitches as opposed to one great one. As I've said before, I like this strategy. Simmons is a good prospect if he has an average pitch and 2 plus pitches. If Simmons' fastball gains velocity as he fills out he could become a very good prospects. The odds are against that but its worth half a million to gamble. Simmons will play short season ball next year.
32--Juan Abreu--RHP--Age:24
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | Aff | ERA | G | SV | IP | WHIP | H/9 | HR/9 | BB/9 | SO/9 | SO/BB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 24 | 2 Teams | 2 Lgs | A_adv-AA | KCR | 3.67 | 36 | 16 | 41.2 | 1.512 | 5.8 | 0.9 | 7.8 | 11.4 | 1.47 |
| 2009 | 24 | Wilmington | CARL | A_adv | KCR | 1.69 | 20 | 12 | 21.1 | 1.031 | 3.4 | 0.4 | 5.9 | 11.8 | 2.00 |
| 2009 | 24 | Northwest Arkansas | TL | AA | KCR | 5.75 | 16 | 4 | 20.1 | 2.016 | 8.4 | 1.3 | 9.7 | 11.1 | 1.14 |
| 4 Seasons | 4.90 | 92 | 25 | 220.1 | 1.530 | 8.0 | 0.7 | 5.7 | 10.9 | 1.90 | |||||
He certainly does strike a lot of people out. But he walks a bunch of them too and he's a flyball pitcher and he's not terribly young. He was pretty lucky with homers at Wilmington and not so lucky at Northwest Arkansas. He's the kind of pitcher you are afraid the second he leaves this team will figure it out and become some other teams Robinson Tejeda. He'll probably go back to AA in 2010 to see if he can harness his stuff.
31--Tug Hulett--2B--Age:26
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | Lev | Aff | PA | AB | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 26 | Omaha | PCL | AAA | KCR | 442 | 374 | 27 | 4 | 11 | 53 | 9 | 2 | 58 | 79 | .291 | .384 | .473 | .858 |
| 6 Seasons | 2833 | 2333 | 146 | 25 | 39 | 287 | 102 | 31 | 421 | 517 | .284 | .394 | .418 | .812 | |||||
Will this guy ever get a chance? He gets on base, has some power, doesn't kill you at 2nd base--that is valuable. We picked him up from Seattle last Spring and he got a cup of coffee last year with the big club. With the possible addition of Chris Getz--along with Callaspo/Bloomquist, it looks like 2nd base is going to be pretty packed. My guess is that we send him along to another club where he becomes a useful player.