The composition of the Royals 40-man roster

August Fagerstrom at Fangraphs has an interesting piece up now about how all 30 teams built their current 40-man rosters. Things can change of course over this winter, but its an interesting snapshot, especially in the wake of the astonishing dealings by teams like the Athletics, Padres, and Dodgers.

I wanted to take a closer look at how the Royals compiled their 40-man roster. The Royals have wanted to put an emphasis on homegrown talent (homegrown meaning the Royals are the only professional team the player has played for), and according to his data, 22 of the 40 players on the 40 man roster are homegrown, good to tie fourth in the league. Since then, the Royals have officially signed some free agents (and have yet to officially add Edinson Volquez to the roster). Here is the current breakdown of the 40-man roster:

Homegrown (21): Lane Adams, Jorge Bonifacio, Aaron Brooks, Orlando Calixte, Louis Coleman, Christian Colon, Cheslor Cuthbert, Danny Duffy, Jarrod Dyson, Brandon Finnegan, Alex Gordon, Terrance Gore, Kelvin Herrera, Luke Hochevar, Greg Holland, Eric Hosmer, John Lamb, Michael Mariot, Mike Moustakas, Salvador Perez, Yordano Ventura

Acquired via trade (12): Lorenzo Cain, Tim Collins, Wade Davis, Alcides Escobar, Brian Flynn, Jason Frasor, Reymond Fuentes, Jandel Gustave, Jeremy Guthrie, Ryan Jackson, Erik Kratz, Paulo Orlando

Free agent (7): Omar Infante, Kris Medlen, Kendrys Morales, Francisco Pena, Yohan Pino, Alex Rios, Jason Vargas

If we look at the breakdown in projected WAR from Steamer for those categories, the Royals are projected to get 21.2 WAR from the homegrown players, 7.8 WAR from the players acquired via trade, and 6.5 WAR from the free agents (including Edinson Volquez). A bulk of the value from the players acquired via trade comes from one trade - the Zack Greinke deal. Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar combine for 4.7 of the 7.8 projected WAR.

As many have stated this winter, the Royals success in 2015 will hinge largely on the homegrown talent.

As far as 2015 payroll, the Royals will pay those seven free agents about $35 million next year, plus another $9-10 million they will end up paying Edinson Volquez. The homegrown players are set to earn about $44 million or so, depending on how the final few roster spots are filled out and what players are awarded in arbitration. Players acquired via trade will earn about $24 million.

Its no surprise free agents will cost more while netting less WAR. Free agents tend not to be the best bargains.

How about where these players are literally from?

United States (25): Lane Adams, Aaron Brooks, Lorenzo Cain, Louis Coleman, Tim Collins, Wade Davis, Danny Duffy, Jarrod Dyson, Reymond Fuentes, Brandon Finnegan, Brian Flynn, Jason Frasor, Alex Gordon, Terrance Gore, Jeremy Guthrie, Luke Hochevar, Greg Holland, Eric Hosmer, Ryan Jackson, Erik Kratz, John Lamb, Michael Mariot, Kris Medlen, Mike Moustakas, Alex Rios, Jason Vargas.

Dominican Republic (6): Jorge Bonifacio, Orlando Calixte, Jandel Gustave, Kelvin Herrera, Francisco Pena, Yordano Ventura. (Edinson Volquez is also Dominican).

Venezuela (4): Alcides Escobar, Omar Infante, Salvador Perez, Yohan Pino.

Brazil (1): Paulo Orlando.

Cuba (1): Kendrys Morales.

Nicaragua (1): Cheslor Cuthbert

Puerto Rico (1): Christian Colon.

'MERICA!