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Royals Top 60 Prospects; #36-31

 

In this installment, we finish off the bottom half of the Top 60.  Here we have several players who project to be role players in big leagues.  Not big time ceilings but if the Royals are to compete in 2013 and beyond then some of these players (or players similar to them) will need to step up and contribute.  At the same time, the Royals need to avoid overexposing players with limited talents.  I am particularly interested in how the Royals bullpen will develop in the next couple of years.  Bullpen prospects are notoriously fickle but, among the Royals' strengths, are a large group of interesting bullpen pitchers.  If the Royals can put together a good, cheap bullpen that will free up resources to invest in other areas.   

 

60. Pat White--OF

59. Brain Fletcher--OF

58. Murray Watts--1B

57. Leonel Santiago--RHP

56. Justin Trapp--SS

55. Brandon Sisk--LHP

54. Mike Mariot--RHP

53. Wilian Avinazar--RHP

52. Shin Jin-Ho--C

51. Keaton Hayenga--RHP

50. Orlando Calixte--SS

49. Yowil Espinal--SS

48. Kevin Pucetas--RHP

47. Greg Billo--RHP

46. Henry Barrera--RHP

45. Jose Bonilla-C

44. Edgar Osuna--LHP

43. Rey Navarro--SS

42. Lance Zawadzki--SS

41. Jorge Bonifacio--CF

40. Elisaul Pimentel--RHP

39. Justin Marks--LHP

38. Humberto Arteaga--SS

37. Kelvin Herrera--RHP

36. Michael Antonio--SS--DOB:10/26/91

The Royals took Antonio in the 3rd Round of last year's draft out of HS in New York.  Going into his Senior season, he was a fairly high ranking prospect but he slumped that final year of HS.  The Royals took him higher than he was projected to go.  Antonio is currently a third baseman but there are big questions if he can stay there.  He is not terribly athletic.  His bat is his best tool.  He debuted in the Arizona Rookie League and hit 264/297/429.  He will probably be back at short-season ball in 2011.

35. Blaine Hardy--LHP--DOB:3/14/87

Year Age Tm Lev Aff ERA G GS IP WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB
2008 21 Idaho Falls Rk KCR 4.15 21 0 34.2 1.212 8.8 1.3 2.1 8.8 4.25
2009 22 Burlington A KCR 2.05 36 3 92.1 0.953 6.9 0.3 1.7 9.2 5.53
2010 23 2 Teams AAA-AA KCR 2.71 40 8 93.0 1.129 7.4 0.9 2.8 6.2 2.21
2010 23 Northwest Arkansas AA KCR 0.69 12 0 26.0 0.731 3.8 0.0 2.8 5.5 2.00
2010 23 Omaha AAA KCR 3.49 28 8 67.0 1.284 8.7 1.2 2.8 6.4 2.29
3 Seasons 2.66 97 11 220.0 1.068 7.4 0.7 2.2 7.9 3.56
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/15/2010.

 

Hardy was a 22nd Round pick in the 2008 draft out of a NAIA school.  He had a great 2009 at Burlington and then started off great at Northwest Arkanas in 2010 (helped due to a ridiculously low .155 BABIP).  He struggled going to Omaha.  His K rate dropped and his HR rate went up.  Part of that could be due to the Royals moving him to the rotation for awhile at AAA--he seemed to pitch much better in relief.  I don't know what the plan for him is moving forward; starting or relief.  Hardy doesn't have overpowering stuff so his margin for error is not very big.  He needs to go back to Omaha in 2011 and figure out how to get that K rate back up.  If he does that, he could see KC some time this summer.

34. Lucas May--C--DOB:10/24/84

Year Age Tm Lev Aff G PA AB SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
2003 18 Dodgers Rk LAD 48 184 159 11 1 19 38 .252 .350 .302 .652
2004 19 Ogden Rk LAD 34 158 147 4 3 8 37 .286 .329 .449 .778
2005 20 Columbus A LAD 99 416 385 5 2 16 92 .229 .267 .345 .613
2006 21 Columbus A LAD 119 497 450 14 2 35 130 .273 .332 .493 .825
2007 22 Inland Empire A+ LAD 128 554 507 5 7 36 107 .256 .313 .465 .778
2008 23 Jacksonville AA LAD 107 441 392 6 1 32 112 .230 .294 .403 .697
2009 24 Chattanooga AA LAD 68 277 235 3 1 31 58 .306 .390 .468 .858
2010 25 3 Teams AAA-AA LAD,KCR 104 417 375 4 2 36 86 .283 .349 .483 .831
2010 25 Chattanooga AA LAD 7 27 24 0 0 2 7 .167 .259 .208 .468
2010 25 Albuquerque AAA LAD 73 285 260 4 2 22 60 .296 .352 .496 .848
2010 25 Omaha AAA KCR 24 105 91 0 0 12 19 .275 .362 .516 .878
8 Seasons 707 2944 2650 52 19 213 660 .261 .322 .435 .758
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/15/2010.

 

Lucas May was part of the Scott Podsednik deal in July, coming over from the Dodgers.  That stats above don't include about 40 abs in September where he was overwhelmed by big league pitching.  May has been a slow mover (he turned 26 in October).  He was also converted to C a few years back.  His bat has been pretty good the past couple of years but his defense is still not up to par.  May has a chance to break spring training as the back up catcher for 2011.

33. Manny Pina--C--DOB:6/5/87

Year Age Tm Lev Aff G PA AB SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
2005 18 Rangers Rk TEX 27 101 85 2 0 7 12 .247 .356 .306 .662
2006 19 Rangers Rk TEX 14 50 45 0 0 2 4 .244 .300 .333 .633
2007 20 Clinton A TEX 86 306 281 0 0 15 28 .228 .278 .285 .562
2008 21 2 Teams A+-AA TEX 84 333 303 2 0 19 34 .267 .317 .360 .677
2008 21 Bakersfield A+ TEX 61 244 223 1 0 14 22 .265 .313 .359 .672
2008 21 Frisco AA TEX 23 89 80 1 0 5 12 .275 .330 .363 .692
2009 22 Frisco AA TEX 86 355 321 1 0 19 58 .259 .313 .393 .705
2010 23 2 Teams AA-AAA KCR 91 362 321 0 0 27 44 .252 .310 .393 .703
2010 23 Northwest Arkansas AA KCR 74 302 266 0 0 24 37 .259 .319 .398 .717
2010 23 Omaha AAA KCR 17 60 55 0 0 3 7 .218 .267 .364 .630
6 Seasons 388 1507 1356 5 0 89 180 .251 .308 .355 .664
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/15/2010.


Manny Pina came over in the Danny Gutierrez trade with the Rangers at the end of 2009.  He hit OK with Northwest Arkansas in 2010 and, while his numbers for his brief stay at Omaha look less impressive, he was basically the same hitter with bad luck on ball in play.  Pina's catch and throw skills are good but there has been some concern with his ability to call a game.  His skills make him a virtual lock to have some kind of big league career--probably as a backup catcher.  He is probably going to be at Omaha in 2011 but he has an outside chance of being the backup catcher for the big league team.

32 Patrick Keating--RHP--DOB:6/9/87

Year Age Tm Lev Aff ERA G GS IP WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB
2009 22 2 Teams Rk-A+ KCR 1.64 24 0 33.0 0.939 5.7 0.3 2.7 12.8 4.70
2009 22 Idaho Falls Rk KCR 1.78 22 0 30.1 0.989 5.9 0.3 3.0 13.6 4.60
2009 22 Wilmington A+ KCR 0.00 2 0 2.2 0.375 3.4 0.0 0.0 3.4
2010 23 2 Teams AA-A+ KCR 2.28 40 0 71.0 1.127 6.5 0.6 3.7 12.8 3.48
2010 23 Wilmington A+ KCR 1.19 13 0 30.1 0.923 5.3 0.6 3.0 12.2 4.10
2010 23 Northwest Arkansas AA KCR 3.10 27 0 40.2 1.279 7.3 0.7 4.2 13.3 3.16
2 Seasons 2.08 64 0 104.0 1.067 6.2 0.5 3.4 12.8 3.79
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/15/2010.

 

Most folks have heard the story of Keating--20th Round pick in 2009 out of U. of Florida. The Royals changed his delivery, his velocity went up and all the sudden the Royals have a very interesting relief prospect.  He has simply been dominant since turning pro striking out 12.8 batter per 9ip.  His BB rate ticked up when he was promoted to AA but other than that was basically the same pitcher (pay no attention to the difference in ERA).  He could go to AAA in 2011 and could help the big league club sometime in 2011.  He is one to watch and I fear I may have him a little low on this list.

31. Jarrod Dyson--CF--DOB:8/15/84

Year Age Tm Lev Aff G PA AB SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
2006 21 Royals Rk KCR 51 189 161 19 4 18 30 .273 .358 .373 .731
2007 22 Burlington A KCR 10 39 37 3 1 2 12 .270 .308 .297 .605
2008 23 Wilmington A+ KCR 93 331 288 39 9 32 60 .260 .337 .288 .626
2009 24 2 Teams AA-A KCR 80 358 315 46 10 32 68 .276 .345 .337 .681
2009 24 Burlington A KCR 17 75 67 9 4 5 14 .343 .397 .403 .800
2009 24 Northwest Arkansas AA KCR 63 283 248 37 6 27 54 .258 .331 .319 .649
2010 25 4 Teams AAA-A+-Rk-AA KCR 71 328 294 24 8 22 46 .299 .347 .395 .741
2010 25 Royals Rk KCR 6 25 25 3 1 0 3 .520 .520 .640 1.160
2010 25 Wilmington A+ KCR 12 52 49 5 1 1 9 .327 .327 .531 .858
2010 25 Northwest Arkansas AA KCR 7 32 25 3 3 5 2 .240 .375 .240 .615
2010 25 Omaha AAA KCR 46 219 195 13 3 16 32 .272 .327 .349 .676
5 Seasons 305 1245 1095 131 32 106 216 .278 .344 .343 .688
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/15/2010.

 


Ladies and gentlemen, I present the most divisive Royals prospect.  The KC Star did a piece a month or two ago about Royals prospect and had Dyson in the Top 10.  Some seem him as a late bloomer (he's already 26).  Some people will probably think I'm overrating Dyson by having him at #31.  Dyson hasn't shown the ability to hit but his defense in CF is supposed to be amazing.  He has a strong arm and, of course, steals lots of bases.  There was some talk about him being the CF in 2010 but thankfully, it looks like he will get more time at AAA.  The best case scenario for Dyson is to post an OPS of around 675 in the big leagues with gold-glove CF defense.  That could have value but he could also post an OPS south of 600--in which case no amount of defense can overcome.