Good news/bad news.
The full organizational rankings from Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus are out today, and our Royals check in at number 10. When we talked about the state of the system awhile back, some speculated that the Royals might snag a high rating from BP/Goldstein, who was pretty high on the system in his early evaluations.
That didn't quite happen. However, 10th isn't a horrible ranking either.
10. Kansas City Royals
Last Year’s Ranking: 16
Why They Are Here: Because they know how to draft, at least after the first round. Some might even classify them as trailblazers when it comes to small-market teams spending big money in the later rounds, as it's still the best bargain in baseball. The Royals have tons of impressive young pitchers, most of them with true starter profiles.
Where They Will Be Next Year: It should be up, and maybe significantly so. They pick fourth overall, will likely lose nobody from their current list, and there are still plenty of scouts who think disappointing elite-level picks Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer have plenty of upside.
For what its worth, the rest of the AL Central shakes out like this:
- Cleveland - 3rd overall
- Minnesota - 6th overall
- Royals - 10th overall
- Tigers - 14th overall
- White Sox - 27th overall
Bit of a bummer seeing the Royals still behind Minnesota and still well behind Cleveland. And being that close to the Tigers isn't super awesome either.