Thanks to AAA and AA All Star games (which allowed me to get stats from those league earlier than usual) and also due to some extra free time, I am able to get this out to you on the 1st--which I don't think I've done before. Don't get used to it--it's probably a one time thing.
This past month's draft has infused the Prospect ranks with some new blood. I've included 6 of our draft picks in these rankings. Our top hitters did pretty well for the month. Montgomery and Crow had down months for different reasons--Montgomery because he was hurt and Crow because he sucked. It will be interesting to see if any prospects are added during the month of July--either by the International Free Agents signing period which begins July 2 or by the trade deadline at the end of the month.
Also, the beginning of June brought word that Dan Duffy was coming back--there was must rejoicing and he has been moved up in the rankings. On the flip side, there was news that Noel Arguelles might not pitch this year because of his shoulder (also, Greg Schaum has alluded to some attitude issues). As a result, there is now no Noel in the Top 10.
The Royals already have an incredible Top 5 prospects--as billexgordler linked to already in a Fanpost, Kevin Goldstein just listed 5 Royals prospects among his Top 20 prospects in baseball. After those guys, there are a handful of guys who could make a Top 100 list depending on how they do in the second half.
As always starts are for hitters: avg--obp--slg and for pitchers: K/9---BB/9--FIP ERA| Rank | Name | Last Month | June stats | YTD | Comment |
| 1 | Mike Moustakas--3B--AA | 1 | 291/330/553 | 336/404/668 | An off month for him and his OPS in June is still near 900. |
| 2 | Wil Myers--C--LowA | 4 | 306/462/569 | 289/408/500 | Amazing start for a teen in the Midwest League--and the rumor is he we will very soon be promoted to Wilmington. |
| 3 | Mike Montgomery--LHP--AA | 2 | 7.4/2.5/2.60 |
HighA11.9/1.4/1.34 AA7.4/3.0/3.19 |
Elbow is never good--hopefully he's healthy and pitching again in July. Supposed to be resuming his throwing program this week. |
| 4 | Eric Hosmer--1B--HighA | 3 | 351/435/557 | 350/422/524 | Bounced back in June after a so-so May. |
| 5 | John Lamb--LHP--HighA | 6 | 11.3/2.6/2.25 |
LowA9.6/3.8/3.31 HighA10.6/2.5/2.26 |
Nipping at Monty's heels for best pitching prospect in the organization. |
| 6 | Christian Colon--SS--HighA | NR | 000/000/000 | 000/000/000 | If we does well at Wilmington, could see AA by season's end--off to 0-9 start in 2 games. |
| 7 | Aaron Crow--RHP--AA | 5 | 8.5/5.6/4.58 | 5.9/4.1/4.87 | I haven't lost hope in him and he has pitched somewhat better of late |
| 8 | Chris Dwyer--LHP--HighA | 11 | 11.5/2.5/1.79 | 9.1/3.8/3.31 | Has gotten better as year went on. JJ Picollo said they would have taken Dwyer at #4 in this year's draft. |
| 9 | Tim Melville--RHP--HighA | 8 | 7.8/4.9/5.06 | 7.8/4.3/4.34 | Pitching better after the horrible start of the year. |
| 10 | Kila Kaaihue--1B--AAA | 9 | 276/438/480 | 307/472/572 | Hopeful that he won't be on this list in a month. |
| 11 | Dan Duffy--LHP--EXST | 27 | NA | NA | He's baaaack--will get a few starts in Arizona before going to AA. I won't bother to put his rate stats for 2/3 of an inning. |
| 12 | Brett Eiber--CF--not signed | NR | NA | NA | Should be signed--huge power potential, supposed to be pretty good in CF, but will probably strike out a lot. |
| 13 |
Derrick Robinson--CF--AA |
10 | 290/319/374 | 298/368/384 | Has cooled off but still hitting better than at just about any other point in his career. Walk rate dropped this month. |
| 14 | David Lough--OF--AAA | 12 | 271/311/486 | 273/308/435 | Looks like he may be starting to get it at AAA. |
| 15 | Johnny Giavotella--2B--AA | 13 | 277/384/383 | 278/362/366 | Good month with the bat--still questions about his defense |
| 16 | Jordan Parraz--OF--AAA | 17 | 282/356/500 | 267/368/429 | Numbers in June were as good as May's--just not as lucky. He's kind of flying under the radar. |
| 17 | Salvador Perez--C--HighA | 14 | 194/233/239 | 255/294/372 | Had miserable month--partly due to drop in power, partly due to low BABIP. He's still pretty well for his age in the Carolina League. |
| 18 | Tyler Sample--RHP--LowA | 16 | 8.6/5.7/5.30 | 7.5/6.3/4.67 | Has good stuff, but has been pretty lucky. Needs to rapidly improve control. |
| 19 | Noel Arguelles--LHP--DL | 7 | NA | NA | I don't know what to think of this guy. |
| 20 | Luis Coleman--RHP--AA | 18 | 11.8/2.2/2.79 | 9.5/2.4/3.31 | Starting to hit his stride. Is decent vs. lefties but is death to right handed hitters. |
| 21 | Patrick Keating--RHP--AA | 19 | 7.7/4.5/3.71 |
HighA12.3/3.0/2.63 AA7.7/4.5/3.71 |
Promoted to AA where he is holding his own but I expect his numbers to get better in the 2nd half. |
| 22 | Manual Pina--C--AA | 26 | 182/270/394 | 245/328/406 | Pegged as a future backup--but the bar has been set pretty low for what passes for a Royals starting catcher. |
| 23 | Cheslor Cuthbert--3B--SS | 21 | 231/333/269 | 231/333/269 | Young even by Arizona league standards. |
| 24 | Tim Smith--OF--AA | 20 | 283/427/367 | 299/399/446 | Intrigued by his bat but needs to show consistent power. |
| 25 | Jason Adam--RHP--not signed | NR | NA | NA | Local HS arm with decent upside. Will sign around the deadline for an above slot deal. |
| 26 | Yowil Espinal--SS--SS | 22 | 314/351/314 | 314/351/314 | Talented middle infielder who should hit pretty well in Idaho Falls. |
| 27 | Rey Navarro--SS--HighA | 29 | 275/302/396 | 236/263/324 | bad luck on BABIP hurt his average but he needs to up his walk rate back to his career levels. |
| 28 | Clint Robinson--1B--AA | 33 | 409/461/796 | 308/392/558 | One heck of a month--but he's got better players above and below him in the minors. |
| 29 | Edgar Osuna--LHP--AA | 24 | 6.7/0.4/3.77 | 6.0/1.0/3.64 | His margin for error is so slim, I have a hard time seeing him being successful in the majors. |
| 30 | Crawford Simmons--LHP--SS | 35 | 9.3/4.7/4.30 | 9.3/4.7/4.30 | Pitched great in his first start and then was so-so in his second. |
| 31 | Buddy Baumann--LHP--HighA | 31 | 8.8/1.6/2.06 | 9.7/3.5/2.44 | Has started a couple of times with good results--a sleeper. |
| 32 | Michael Antonio--SS--SS | NR | NA | NA | Supposed to have a prett good HS bat but probably won't stay at SS. |
| 33 | Jai Miller--CF--AAA | 25 | 244/286/478 | 254/318/492 | Power still there but inability to get on base may keep him from the big leagues. |
| 34 | Brandon Sisk--LHP--AA | 32 | 12.0/3.1/2.72 | 8.6/3.2/3.75 | Had a great month of June, part of a stellar AA bullpen. |
| 35 | Paulo Orlando--CF--AA | 38 | 325/411/470 | 313/374/457 | Having a pretty good year--not sure if we have something interesting here or he's simply having a nice AA season. |
| 36 | Kelvin Herrera--RHP--DL | 15 | NA | 8.4/3.2/3.32 | Great arm but injuries are becoming a huge issue |
| 37 | Mario Santiago--RHP--AA | 28 | 5.4/1.3/4.48 | 5.1/2.4/3.98 | Hard to get too excited when the K rate is that low at AA. |
| 38 | Kevin Chapman--LHP--not signed | NR | NA | NA | 5th Round pick this year is a lefty reliever who pitched well U of Florida. |
| 39 | Shin Jo-Ho--C--SS | 43 | 353/400/588 | 353/400/588 | Young catcher off to pretty good start in Arizona. |
| 40 | Alex Llanos--CF--SS | 39 | 250/308/361 | 250/308/361 | Normally hits for a good average, we'll see if he adds any power. |
| 41 | Jeff Bianchi--SS--DL | 40 | NA | NA | Still recovering from TJ surgery. |
| 42 | Robinson Yambati--RHP--SS | NR | 10.8/0.9/1.97 | 10.8/0.9/1.97 | Young, hard throwing right, off to quick start in Arizona league. |
| 43 | Keaton Hayenga--RHP--LowA | 42 | 3.6/4.8/6.40 | 3.4/4.8/5.71 | Getting tattooed at LowA. |
| 44 | Alex Caldera--RHP--AA | 41 |
HighA6.4/3.7/3.32 AA5.1/3.4/3.42 |
HighA8.3/2.4/3.36 AA5.1/3.4/3.42 |
Moved up to AA--don't know if he'll stay there when Montgomery comes back. |
| 45 | Jarrod Dyson--OF--SS | 46 | 520/520/640 | 520/520/640 | Rehabbing in Arizona, should be moved to a full season club soon. |
| 46 | Jerico Blanco--OF--SS | 50 | 227/250/227 | 227/250/227 | We'll see how he does in his first exposure to pro ball in the US. |
| 47 | Dusty Odenbach--RHP--LowA | 36 | 8.3/4.5/5.36 | 9.2/4.6/4.02 | Needs to improve control/command. |
| 48 | Ed Lucas--3B--AAA |
NR | 314/422/543 | 331/402/542 | 28 year old isn't a much of a prospect but sometimes you just have to reward a great performance. |
| 49 | Chris McConnell--SS--AA | NR | 257/341/392 | 241/342/328 | Defense first SS has resurrected his career. |
| 50 | Scott Fletcher--OF--not signed | NR | NA | NA | Late round pick from Auburn has a pretty good bat--might be a moderately tough sign for a college junior. |
Player(s) of the Month: Clint Robinson and Wil Myers
By all rights, it should be Clint Robinson, the 1B/DH had an amazing month at the plate culminated by a HR in the Texas League All Star game last night. But I have a hard time seeing him having a future with an organization that Butler, Kaaihue, and Hosmer. But I also want to point out that Wil Myers had a great month and it sounds like he will debuting at Wilmington, perhaps as soon as tonight. Myers' defense continues to be a question mark but there is no doubt in his bat. He will probably eventually move to the OF, but I don't see any harm leaving him at catcher for the rest of the year. Manual Pina and Salvador Perez are OK but not great catching prospects. What do you think the Royals should do with Wil Myers defensively?