Organizational Talent Rankings via Baseball America
2013 (18) | 2012 (3) | 2011 (1) | 2010 (16) | 2009 (11)
2013 Affiliate Records
MLB: [86-76] AL Central
AAA: [70-74] Pacific Coast League – Omaha
AA: [59-81] Texas League – Northwest Arkansas
A+: [63-77] Carolina League – Wilmington
A: [68-70] South Atlantic League – Lexington
Graduated Prospect
David Lough (OF)
The Run Down
For fantasy purposes, this Royals farm needs to be considered among the more exciting groups in the game. There’s big time appeal for the fantasy game from numbers one through eight on this list, and that talent is spread out across the developmental stages, with high-impact prospects at almost every level of the org. That distribution will make for a steady flow of mixed league-relevant arrivals over the next handful of years, and that includes this year, as front-end arms, Yordano Ventura and Kyle Zimmer, prepare to surface in the bigs.
Top Ten Fantasy Prospects
1. Yordano Ventura, RHP: Grey already went over his Yordano Ventura fantasy, projecting the flame-throwing 22-year-old at 7-7/3.92/1.35/90 over 100 IP in the upcoming season. Ventura is a Carlos Martinez-like hurler whose filthy stuff will bring fantasy value in any role, but of course, that value will be most significant as a SP. The Jason Vargas acquisition seems to leave Ventura out of the rotation to begin the season, but he’ll be the first man in as soon as there’s a need. For more on Yordano, check out the Scouting the Unknown post I put together during the 2013 season. ETA: 2014
2. Kyle Zimmer, RHP: After some inconsistent performances at High-A Wilmington to begin the 2013 season, Zimmer settled down in June and strung together a month’s worth of solid outings before being promoted to Double-A in mid-July. The 22-year-old was quite sharp through four starts at Northwest Arkansas after promotion, posting a 1.93 ERA, a 0.86 WHIP, and a K/9 at 13.0. KC opted to shut him down when some shoulder stiffness popped up in August — a precautionary measure intended to protect their 2012 1st round investment. With one of the best fastball/curve combos in the minors, Zimmer figures to return to Double-A in the spring, on track for big league arrival late this summer. ETA: Late 2014
3. Raul Mondesi, SS: Ranking Mondesi #47 on my mid-season top-50 was probably a bit aggressive, and after having the opportunity to absorb further intel on the 18-year-old, I think it’s safe to say I’d leave him off a revised version of that list — not by much, mind you, but for now, at least, Mondesi’s fantasy impact doesn’t figure to be top-50 worthy. In this way, he’s a little like Cleveland Indians prospect, Fancisco Lindor — a wizard at short with otherworldly instincts, and a monster prospect for real life purposes, but there are questions about just how much impact the bat will have at the big league level. To be fair, Mondesi probably brings a tick more potential at the plate than Lindor. There’s actually a glimmer of 20/20 upside here, so if the power begins to reveal itself, look for his fantasy hype to catch up with his real life hype. ETA: 2016
4. Sean Manaea, LHP: Manaea was the 34th overall pick last June and quite possibly the steal of the 1st round. He’s yet to pitch in pro-ball, so I’ll reiterate the notes from my pre-draft writeup: “Standing 6-5, 235, Manaea is a big boy. Given that sort of frame, you might expect the fastball to be quite good. You’d be right. Manaea has chewed up collegiate hitters with a mid-90s fastball that features devastating late action when it’s on. He changes speeds with a slider that has plus potential, and a fringy changeup. Naturally, both off-speed offerings play much better when he’s spotting the fastball. It should be noted, though, that 2013 reports on Manaea are not quite so glowing as they were in the preseason. This likely has more to do with injury than anything else, but his velocity has been down and his draft stock has sunk with it. The once sure-thing top 5 pick is looking more like a tail-end first rounder, and there’s a strong possibility that he’ll pull an Appel and return to Indiana State for his senior season in order to improve his draft stock/potential signing bonus. Let’s hope that’s not the case, because Manaea has a skillset that could be helping fantasy baseball teams at some point next season.” ETA: 2015
5. Bubba Starling, OF: The toolshed that is Bubba Starling is still yet to translate his considerable talents into measurable success on the stat sheet. In his first year of full-season ball, he hit .241/.329/.398 with 13 HR and 22 SB at Low-A Lexington. That’s not the sort of production Royals fans were hoping for from the 2011 5th overall pick in his age 20 season, but Starling was always viewed as a raw, long-term project, so it’d be silly to write him off just yet. His fantasy upside is by far the best of any hitter in this org, and he’ll look to make a breakout statement at High-A in 2014. ETA: 2016
6. Jorge Bonifacio, OF: Bonifacio hit .296/.368/.408 in 54 games at High-A Wilmington and earned a mid-season promotion to Double-A before a broken hamate bone ended his season. An advanced approach and plenty of raw power have the 20-year-old looking like a high-impact fantasy outfielder, but the in-game power is yet to take form (10 HR in 2012 is is career high). Because of his ability to find his pitch and make consistent hard contact, I’m confident the power will come, and I’m excited to see him return to the upper levels this spring. ETA: 2015
7. Miguel Almonte, RHP: A superb fastball/changeup combo allowed Almonte to post an impressive line at Low-A Lexington: 3.10 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 9.1 K/9 in 130 IP. The only knock on the 20-year-old is that he doesn’t yet feature a breaking pitch that projects as a useful offering in the bigs, but there’s still plenty of time for development of that third pitch. Don’t let the ranking here fool you — Almonte is one of the more impressive arms you’ll find in the bottom halves of these top 10’s. He’ll step up to High-A in 2014. ETA: 2016
8. Elier Hernandez, OF: Hernandez is yet to debut at the full-season level, so it’s unwise to make too much out of his rookie level statistics. We’re left, then, to go by the scouting intel, and reports across the industry on the 19-year-old Dominican are quite exciting. Outstanding bat speed and great hand-eye skills should translate into plenty of power as his frame fills out. There’s also ample speed in this equation, so the fantasy appeal is clear. Hernandez will be an intriguing prospect to track as he reaches the full-season level in 2014. ETA: 2017
9. Hunter Dozier, SS: The 8th overall pick last June, Dozier is a polished college product who should push through the minors quickly. He brings plus power potential to a middle infield position, but there are concerns about his ability to stick at short, and if he should move to 3B, his fantasy stock will suffer. The 22-year-old will make his full-season debut in 2014. ETA: 2016
10. Cheslor Cuthbert, 3B: Cuthbert has made a pattern of struggling after promotion to new levels. That was the case in 2012 at High-A, but a return to Wilmington in 2013 revealed much better results. KC is hopeful that trend will continue when Cuthbert makes a return trip to Double-A this year. In 64 games at Northwest Arkansas last season, the 21-year-old managed only a .215 AVG and zero homers. There’s still potential here for an above average offensive 3B, but he’ll need to prove he can hit upper levels pitching if he’s to remain on this list next year. ETA: 2015
