Kyle Zimmer

Scott Evans

2013 Minor League Preview: Kansas City Royals

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Organizational Talent Rankings via Baseball America
2012 (3) | 2011 (1) | 2010 (16) | 2009 (11) | 2008 (24)

2012 Affiliate Records
MLB: [72-90] AL Central
AAA: [83-61] Pacific Coast League – Omaha
AA: [58-81] Texas League – Northwest Arkansas
A+: [66-74] Carolina League – Wilmington
A: [68-72] Midwest League – Kane County (SAL Lexington beginning 2013)

Graduated Prospects
Will Smith (LHP); Kelvin Herrera (RHP); Everett Teaford (LHP)

The Run Down
The Royals traded away a decent chunk of their upper-levels talent in the James Shields deal with the Rays. Wil Myers, Jake Odorizzi, and Mike Montgomery are all gone, and what’s left is a very young system. It also happens to be a very good system. But with youth comes risk. There’s as much upside here as there is in any other organization — numbers 1-10 below are all capable of bringing significant value to fantasy owners — and there are some college arms that should move quickly. But for the most part, this farm system is unproven. Unless Yordano Ventura is converted to relief, I don’t see much fantasy value pushing through until 2014. Even so, this group will be a lot of fun to watch in the upcoming season.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Scott Evans

Scouting the Unknown: 2012 Draft Edition, Part 3

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This post concludes my little venture into draft prospecting.  It was fun while it lasted, and if you’d like to take a look at either Part 1 or Part 2, go ahead and click those links.  Today, I have three more first-rounders to discuss, but first, a quick recap of where everyone ended up from Parts 1 & 2:

Marcus Stroman (22nd pick – Blue Jays); Richie Schaffer (25th pick – Rays); Kyle Zimmer (5th pick – Royals); Mark Appel (8th pick – Pirates); Mike Zunino (3rd pick – Mariners); Andrew Heaney (9th pick – Marlins)

Now, these three:

Chris Stratton | RHP, Giants

Over the past decade, the Giants have been pretty successful in turning first-round arms into fantasy baseball gold.  Matt Cain (2002), Tim Lincecum (2006), and Madison Bumgarner (2007) were each drafted within the first 25 picks, and each developed into a big league pitcher relatively quickly.  Lincecum, the lone college arm in the group, was helping fantasy owners a little more than a year after signing.  On Monday, San Francisco used the 20th overall pick to select Chris Stratton out of Mississippi State.  Should things go as planned, he’ll be in the bigs as early as 2013.  Stratton lacks a true plus offering, but his secondary stuff is advanced and it compliments his low-90′s fastball nicely.  His well-rounded repertoire should allow him to push through the system quickly.  I don’t see the same upside here that Cain, Lincecum, or MadBum were drafted with, but I do think Stratton will make for a nice #3-type starter in the bigs.

Please, blog, may I have some more?
Scott Evans

Scouting the Unknown: 2012 Draft Edition, Part 1

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We’re two weeks away from Major League Baseball’s First-Year Players Draft, during which droves of high school and college baseball players will be chosen by MLB organizations to fill their farm systems.  Most all the draftees will never make it further than the low minors.  A handful of the college guys, however, are already too advanced for short-season or instructional ball.  Mind you, this group is merely a tiny fraction of the overall draft class — there aren’t many guys worth noting for fantasy baseball purposes just yet.  But there are some.  And for the next couple weeks I’m going to highlight a few of my favorites in this weekly feature, which is typically reserved for already-pros.  Anyway.  We start with a Dukie:

Marcus Stroman | RHP, Duke

Gifted pitchers tend to arrive in the majors a bit more quickly than the hitters.  2011 first-rounders like Trevor Bauer and Danny Hultzen are already on the cusp of breaking through in the bigs, and they’ll be making impacts in fantasy ball this year.  Marcus Stroman, a starting pitcher out of Duke, could find himself in a similar position a year from now.  At 5-9, 180, Stroman isn’t your prototype pitching prospect, but he’s strong and athletic and can bring it at 98 with his fastball.  He counters with a plus changeup and a filthy slider, giving him a three-pitch repertoire that’s not far from big league-ready.  His ceiling as a starter is that of a #2, but many think he’d make an outstanding high-leverage reliever.  Either way, Stroman will go in the first round and he’s well suited to climb the ladder quickly.

Please, blog, may I have some more?