Royals Rumblings - News for January 25, 2018

Clint Scoles talks draft, looking at potential draftee Griffin Conine:

Griffin Conine, Jeff’s son, has proven over the course of two summers that he can do some major damage with a wood bat, hitting 25 home runs between the Northwoods League in 2016 and the Cape Cod League in 2017. The right-fielder does this with a powerful swing that, while long, stays in the hitting zone for a decent amount of time. Operating with an open stance that he keeps open throughout the swing, Conine has a leveraged cut that should continue to create plenty of fly ball contact once converted to pro ball.

Shauny tweets:

FanGraphs’ Travis Sawchik argues that someone really needs to sign Lorenzo Cain:

With Carlos Santana off the board, with prices typically lower after the New Year than before it, Cain is now likely the No. 1 bargain in free agency.

The crowd and Dave each projected a four-year deal worth $68 million for Cain. But since no free agent has yet to sign a deal greater than three years, since deals signed after the New Year were 25% below the FanGraphs crowdsourced dollar predictions (compared to 4% above the predictions before it) from 2013 to -17, since there seems to be a lack of market for Cain, there stands a good chance that Cain can be signed for three years or less.

FanGraphs projects Cain to produced 3.3 wins in 2018. With a win worth roughly $9 million on the open market, Cain projects to create significant surplus value in the early part of a potential deal.

Sawchik also tries to find a home for Mike Moustakas:

The Braves have a glaring void at third and money to spend. They are projected to finish last in third-base WAR (0.5). Craig Edwards made the case that the Braves ought to be aggressive in this market, also noting that Moustakas would fit well. The Braves could be a sleeeper team in 2018. Not only does the team have a need, but the park would be an upgrade for Moustakas’ batted-ball profile. SunTrust’s left-handed split ranked 12th (108) last season for home runs. Earlier in the offseason, the Angels had a glaring third-base need but filled it with Cozart.

If the Braves are uninterested, it’s unclear where Moustakas might fit. One club that has the payroll space and could front load a deal — as they have with the free agents this season — is the Phillies.

Kings of Kauffman’s Jordan Foote profiles Jason Hammel.

At RotoGraphs, old pal Jeff Zimmerman argues production matters more than home runs for fantasy first basemen, using Eric Hosmer versus Edwin Encarnacion as his example.

Jeff Sullivan notes that the Brewers are trying to add top-tier talent this offseason.

Because it bears repeating, indy-league baseball players (and minor leaguers) make virtually no money.

The Field of Dreams in Dyersville, IA was recently vandalized, and there’s a GoFundMe up to help with repairs.

In light of Glen Perkins’s retirement, Aaron Gleeman’s goodbye is fittingly republished.

BP’s Scott Delp profiles Brewers’ prospect Keston Hiura.

Kyle Glaser uncovered a weird bit of scouting history:

Former USA Gymnastics physician/trainer Larry Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison for sexual abuse of athletes in his care.

Two physicians are lobbying for Julian Assange to be granted safe passage to a hospital for serious health issues.

That Dundee teaser? That’s a gag ad for Australian tourism.

A new population of one of the world’s rarest fish was found.

Frontman of seminal post-punk band The Fall, Mark E. Smith passed away yesterday.

The song of the day is “A New Face in Hell” by The Fall: