On this, the first day of pitchers and catchers reporting, there’s obviously lots of intrigue around baseball.
But few franchises have more intrigue than Kansas City. The young, building team has the interesting combination of a phenomenal farm system and many roster spots up for grabs. The result: a camp that oozes young talent, with some prospects more likely to make the majors than others.
Let’s take a look at this rather jumbo-sized list of notable NRIs.
INF Joaquin Arias—Arias didn’t hit very well in the bigs last year, putting up a .250/.280/.320 line. Nobody really likes his middle infield defense either, and without plus ability on either side of the ball, it’s clear as to why he’s accumulated a negative WAR in his career. He is still just 26, though, so if he shows some life with the bat, perhaps he can work his way into the picture for Kansas City–after all, this is an organization that’s used Tony Pena Jr., Willie Bloomquist, Chris Getz, and Yuniesky Betancourt in prominent middle infield roles recently.
OF Brett Carroll—The former Marlin put up some impressive Triple-A numbers in 2007-08, but he’s never solved big league pitching, and even Triple-A hurlers have overmatched hm for the past two seasons. At 28, he needed a change of scenery, and outfield isn’t exactly the most crowded area of Kansas City’s organization, but he’s a long way past his last quality production.
LHP Tim Collins—It’s weird that a 5’6″ lefthander who hasn’t turned 22 yet has the inside track at a job, but Collins has nothing left to prove in the minors after striking out over 15 batters per nine innings in Double-A and then whiffing over a batter per inning in Triple-A. The little lefty with the big curveball has gotten incredible strikeout numbers everywhere he’s been, and should be an effective MLB reliever basically immediately.
LHP Danny Duffy—After nearly retiring last season, Duffy came back and was his usual dominant self in Double-A. Arguably the most polished on Kansas City’s vaunted minor league pitchers, he throws strikes with a solid-across-the-board arsenal, as sort of a poor man’s Cliff Lee. Duffy will be one of many pitchers vying for “first 2011 callup” status, which is important given the shaky nature of Kansas City’s projected Opening Day rotation.
LHP Chris Dwyer—Dwyer will be competing with Duffy as well, not only for first callup status (which will also, of course, be determined by 2011 minor league performance), but also for a spot in what figures to be a crowded Triple-A rotation. Dwyer has the best stuff of Kansas City’s quartet of hyped lefties, but probably the worst idea of how to deploy it, so he’ll be looking to prove he can throw strikes with some consistency.
3B Pedro Feliz—A truly awful player in 2010, Feliz is an extreme longshot to be of any use in 2011. The hope is that the Royals just want him to help Mike Moustakas improve his questionable fielding, but Dayton Moore is on record as saying Feliz has an “opportunity to compete” for the starting job at third. Here’s hoping that doesn’t happen; Mike Aviles, Wilson Betemit, and Moustakas all make infinitely more sense.
2B Johnny Giavotella—The organization’s top second base prospect, Giavotella isn’t likely to be a central player on the hyped-up future Royals teams, but he should be a solid regular, making up for iffy glovework with a stinging doubles bat. The 23-year-old had a productive year between Double-A and the Arizona Fall League in 2010, and will start 2011 in Triple-A–if he shows decent fielding ability this spring, the Royals will be more inclined to quickly push him past the inept Chris Getz.
RHP Gaby Hernandez—A former hot prospect with the Marlins, Hernandez never really developed, and he’s had three straight years of ineffective Triple-A pitching. Still somehow just 24, there’s always the chance he rediscovers how to locate his offspeed pitches, but Hernandez’s homer problem isn’t going away. The Royals would be well-served to transition him to relief, and he’ll probably wind up there sooner rather than later anyway, since many of the Royals’ top pitching prospects will soon hit Triple-A. One has to wonder if Hernandez could be one of these guys that takes off with a move to relief; I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
1B Eric Hosmer—Hosmer is one of the top offensive prospects in the game, and could break into the majors as soon as the second half of 2011 after hitting .313/.365/.615 in Double-A. A polished all-around hitter, he may or may not be trying to get some work in the outfield this spring; some have speculated the athletic Hosmer will move from first base, since Billy Butler and Kila Ka’aihue are already entrenched at first and DH for the Royals.
LHP John Lamb—Younger than the other famous lefty prospects but nonetheless at the same level, Lamb is probably the best prospect of the four. Due to his youth, he’s also the least likely to open 2011 in Triple-A, so he’ll need to impress in camp to get that assignment. Still just 20 years old, the lefty has excellent command of a three-pitch mix that blew away hitters at both A-ball levels, but Double-A brought more mixed results last season.
RHP Luis Mendoza—Mendoza inexplicably broke camp with Kansas City last year, and while the sinkerballer isn’t likely to do so again, it’s weird that he’s still in camp, since his Triple-A season was middling and he was pounded in the majors last year. Mendoza strikes out almost nobody and doesn’t have any sort of second pitch; Kansas City’s going to have a bad pitching staff as it is, so Mendoza’s the last guy Royals fans want to see.
RHP Zach Miner—Brought over from division rival Detroit, Miner may get a look as a starter after working in a swing role for his entire career. A better pitcher than he’s given credit for, Miner’s been well above replacement level in each of his four MLB seasons, and owns a career 4.24 ERA and 4.49 FIP. A fairly typical four-pitch righty with average command and a knack for getting grounders, he could prove useful as a fifth starter or bullpen innings sponge.
LHP Mike Montgomery—I feel that Montgomery’s a bit overhyped in prospect circles, but that’s only because he gets a lot of hype; he projects as more of a #2 (to me) than a true ace. Like Dwyer and Lamb, Montgomery found the transition from High-A to Double-A a bit disconcerting in 2010, and unlike them, he dealt with injury problems–getting back on track in camp would be a big boost.
3B Mike Moustakas—Of all of Kansas City’s hyped prospects, Moustakas is the closest to the majors, as he ended 2010 in Triple-A. The second overall pick in 2007 hit .347/.413/.687 in Double-A before falling to .293/.314/.564 at the higher level, bashing 36 homers in total. He’s still got work to do on his plate discipline (eight walks in 52 Triple-A games) and defense, but if he shows improvement in those areas in March, there’s no reason he won’t be up once the usual service-time issues are out of the way.
C Salvador Perez—Perez offers exceptional contact and defensive skills for a catcher, and if Lucas May and Brayan Pena can’t turn into starting-caliber players, Perez should ultimately become Kansas City’s everyday backstop. Just 21, he’ll be opening 2011 in Double-A after hitting .290 in High-A last year. He needs to take more walks to reach his full potential, only taking 18 in 99 games last season. Even if he doesn’t, Perez looks like Bengie Molina 2.0–there’s light here at the end of the Tunnel of Horrible Catching (featuring Jason Kendall).