***ROYALS MINOR LEAGUE SURVIVOR: Hochevar Wins!***

[mtroyals]

Rowdy.

[skillset]

Repost:

Here are the final regular season stats for the players we have remaining:

Omaha
Billy Buckner – 3.78 ERA, 104.2 IP, 108 H, 11 HR, 26 BB, 83 SO

Wichita/Omaha
Luke Hochevar – 4.86 ERA, 152 IP, 163 H, 24 HR, 47 BB, 138 SO

Wichita
Carlos Rosa – 4.36 ERA, 97 IP, 101 H, 8 HR, 43 BB, 70 SO

Wilmington
Rowdy Hardy – 2.48 ERA, 167 IP, 144 H, 6 HR, 16 BB, 91 SO
Julio Pimentel – 2.65 ERA, 152.2 IP, 145 H, 8 HR, 43 BB, 73 SO
Dan Cortes – 3.07 ERA, 123 IP, 102 H, 7 HR, 45 BB, 120 SO

Idaho Falls
Mike Moustakas - .293/.383/.439, 41 AB, 0 HR, 10 RBI, 4 BB, 8 SO, 0/0 SB

Arizona
Daniel Duffy – 1.45 ERA, 37.1 IP, 24 H, 0 HR, 17 BB, 63 SO

[skillset]

mtroyals said:

They have rarely picked the best guy on the board. They've consistently picked the best guy that would sign at a low price after the first round. And just because 29 other teams pass on a guy multiple times, that's really no excuse. I don't understand the mindset of following the patterns of the other MLB teams. We've been playing follow the leader for a very long time... Even the Handbook says Taylor was of the impression that he'd go in the fifth round. And I trust the independent BA more than the Royal front office because they have a bottom line to meet.

So you are saying that having all 30 major league teams agreeing on a players value on one hand, and the BA sports writers on the other, you would say that the sports writers are correct and ALL the PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL PEOPLE are wrong???

Plus the sports writers have a bottom line (to sell magazines and website subscriptions) but the people in baseball do not? I would think that the bottom line for the individuals that work for the clubs would be to properly assess value of players and draft accordingly or get fired and find work elsewhere (you see this a lot in sports, these fired workers go to work for ESPN and become sportswriters and "analysts").

Bottom line - The MLB draft is very complicated because there are not enough rules in place to make it a fair way to allow teams to select talent. Due to this not only do teams have to judge the talent of amateur players, but they also have to judge their signability, character, and various other things plus deal with MLB pressures to maintain sanity for the betterment of the game. Matt LaPorta, Jeff Samardzija and others required big money to sign. Clubs did not see them as worth the risk due to LaPorta's poor season combined with Scott Boras as an agent and Samardzija's high risk as a player who hasn't played much due to his football commitments and likelihood of being a 1st round pick in the NFL.

Baseball drafts are full of talented youngsters. If a club gambles on a LaPorta in the 3rd round and fails to sign him, they loose a very valuable opportunity to select someone like Dan Duffy who was our 3rd round pick this year. Duffy looks like an unbelievably talented LHP and to sacrifice him to take a chance on a tough sign like LaPorta was or a Lars Anderson could cost a scouting director his job if it backfires on him. That is why these type of players are selected in rounds like 15 or 20 because the player selected that late has very little chance to play in KC anyway so little is lost if the gamble misses.

So I say that I trust that major league teams to take the best player available that they feel like wants to sign and will not be an off the field problem. Baseball America does a tremendous job of reporting a very difficult subject. But they are often very wrong when they compile there lists of top 200 players. The top 30 or so are usually good but after that it is way off.

Also saying that the Royals should follow what BA reports is not having them "think outside the box." It would be doing what other people think is right. The Royals are drafting players that they believe in, like Jason Taylor and like Sam Runion. They feel those two can be stars in the major leagues, but BA reports that both are likely not stars. So, IMO, the Royals are doing the things you want them too, you just don't seem to be seeing it.

[skillset]

My vote in Round 94 goes to Rowdy Hardy.

[mtroyals]

BA's bottom line isn't reached by ranking one player low and another player high. By letting Troy Patton, for example, fall to the ninth round, the teams are serving their budget because as he falls, so does the signing bonus. As Lars Anderson falls, so does the signing bonus. And with the draft being the cheapest way to secure good players, why is one million dollars for Matt LaPorta SO out of line? It's not.

[mtroyals]

I see the Royals taking players that OFTEN fall on their faces. And BA ranks 900 players within the minor leagues every year, so I'm pretty certain they can pick the best 200 collegiate and high school players pretty accurately. You really can't defend the Royals drafting tendencies...ever. That's why our farm system is shoddy. Look at our top ten this year:

1. Alex Gordon, consensus best prospect, very poor first two months, coming around
2. Luke Hochevar, very inconsistent, though should have a shot at the rotation coming into spring training
3. Billy Butler, did well after Buddy Bell came to his senses.
4. Chris Lubanski, didn't do so well in AAA and his AA numbers weren't that good considering he was repeating the level. Might be a regular.
5. Tyler Lumsden, horrible season
6. Mitch Maier, likely fourth outfielder.
7. Brian Bannister, unforeseen RoY candidate, very old.
8. Justin Huber, no defensive position, likely won't get a real opportunity, the power they nitpicked him for not having has shown up but at the expense of his plate discipline.
9. Billy Buckner, BB-rate AND K-rate have dropped. Might be a reliever, might be a back of the rotation starter.
10. Brent Fisher, 35.1 innings all year in Low-A ball.

And most people think those are pretty much the top ten. And look at who we've graduated to the bigs. The farm system is going to fall on its face. Dan Duffy might be doing relatively well (that BB-rate is a killer) but he's not going to be ranked THAT high. Moustakas is the only new player that is going to be well-thought of coming out of the gates. So our 11th ranked farm system is going to fall...and fall hard considering that it is losing Gordon, Butler, Bannister, Soria and I believe Braun. Add to that that many of the Top 30 players have had regressing seasons...and that's one sorry state of affairs. Having some interesting prospects in the lower wrungs of the farm system does very little to hold its value.

[skillset]

Round 94 Update
2 votes Dan Duffy (Royals Nation, RoR1fan)
2 votes Rowdy Hardy (mtroyals, skillset)

[FanOfJoseAgain!]

I vote Rowdy.

Well, I'm done arguing, it's going no where. But while our high end talent has graduated to the bigs, I think we gained a lot of depth in the past two years. It's not great yet but it's pretty good.

[KC Royals Nation]

And just like that, Rowdy is done.

For the next round, I will vote Danny Duffy.

[FanOfJoseAgain!]

Julio Pimentel

[skillset]

Rowdy is the victim of Round 94. Onto victim #95...

I vote for Mike Moustakas, the newest millionaire to the Royals family. I really do not want a Scott Boras client who holds out til the last 10 mins winning this.

[mtroyals]

1. Gordon-gone
2. Hochevar-inconsistent
3. Butler-gone
4. Lubanski-sub-par year
5. Lumsden-terrible year
6. Maier-okay year, old, likely sub
7. Bannister-gone
8. Huber-hurt most of year, not valued by front office
9. Buckner-interesting year
10. Fisher-not so good this year in very few innings in low-A
11. Bianchi-poor year
12. Braun-likely gone
13. Soria-gone
14. Wood-good year
15. Cordier-unfortunately gone
16. Taylor-horrendous year that did nothing for his growth as a ballplayer
17. Johnson-good year
18. Pimental-good year
19. Rosa-okay year, a bit shaky from time to time
20. Cota-injured
21. Robinson-poor year
22. Nicoll-terrible year
23. Plummer-very good year in relief
24. Christensen-terrible year
25. Sanchez-hurt
26. Mertins-okay year
27. McConnell-poor year
28. Dickerson-nice year
29. Godin-okay year.
30. Cortes-good year.

The draft has produced interesting players, but most players are playing in leagues where they're the oldest players. That's not the best sign of real dominance. I expect Duffy and some of the others drafted (definitely Moustakas) to be on this list next year, but the system as fallen a long ways. And depth isn't nearly as important as a few high impact players. Right now we have ONE, maybe TWO in Moustakas and Hochevar. Duffy might become one, Cortes might become one...but at this point, consensus says they're not as of yet.

[mtroyals]

Julio Pimental

[KC Royals Nation]

OK, since I voted for Pimentel several times before, I will change my vote to Julio. I feel it's only fair. So Pimentel is officially gone.

Dan Duffy will receive my next vote.

*Edit* 6 Remain!

Billy Buckner ("Omaha")
Luke Hochevar ("Omaha")
Carlos Rosa (Wichita)
Dan Cortes (Wilmington)
Mike Moustakas (Idaho Falls)
Dan Duffy (AZL)

[FanOfJoseAgain!]

Billy Buckner