My favorite of your many great posts this year! I love this topic! And I agree with most/all of what you have surmised. My guess is that Taylor will not want to come back except as the CF starter until after he goes on the market and no one else will give him that. I also agree that how JJ/Dayton view the importance of reliable CF defense, will determine whether they make an early decision to bring him back for that as a starter, or instead take the risk of losing him to get him later as a great defensive 4th outfielder who can do great in CF. I also agree that the timing of Carlos/Nick Pratto as 1B starter is a little fuzzy to see, as Pratto recently is scuffling a bit with strikeouts, and as no one is likely to take Santana's salary in a trade - so that could be more of a June 1 type of thing. Knowing that Mondesi is likely to only play around 100-110 games does make him interesting for which spot can best help keep him healthy and use his fabulous defensive skills. If the 3 new guys are doing great, then Dozier/Isbel/Olivares/Rivero are the subs, knowing that Matheny likes to have most of the starters play every day, so unless RF is the revolving door spot, there may not be many at bats for this group, making the trips to Omaha for more frequent at bats perhaps a platoon of Isbel and Olivares. I think we are more likely to keep Benny for at least next year, or at least the trade deadline, even if we do not extend, to see if we really believe that one of our new guys is as good as him for our next World Series win.
I agree with Mr. Yaekel about loving this subject. I also agree with most of what you said said in your post. I would be very disappointed if Carlos Santana is still on this team next year. I can see where that contract as being a big problem toward getting him moved. He just looks out of shape and and his age I just don't see any more production from him when he's a year older. If for some reason Pratto doesn't hit as good as desired, Dozier is adequate till he does. I would love to see Isbel start the year in center, as I would hope they don't resign Taylor. I believe Isbel can be really close to Taylor on thedefensive side.He also provides another lefty bat. I think they have lost about all confidence in Oliveras and don't see him as a factor. I also agree Mondi gets most of his time in RF. I look forward to your pitching post tomorrow.
Thanks to both of you. These are the fun ones because I get to guess at stuff haha. It's not easy this year with a lot of options, but also a couple holes that need to be filled without depleting the rest. It'll be an interesting winter for sure.
And, if Rivero has options, perhaps we do keep Cam as a true "someone gets injured emergency only" for days when Salvy and Melendez are C/DH or DH/C or, if losing the DH is not so bad if one of them does get injured during a game, then no Cam. In either event, if there is an injury lasting multiple games, Rivero can come up, but until then is getting regular ABs at Omaha.
Yeah, it could be a two catcher setup, but I think, especially if they go with the 13/13 split they had talked about before the shortened 2020 happened, the Royals will keep three catchers to be able to not worry about Salvy or MJ DHing.
I will be surprised if all 2-3 of the prospects come up at the same time. I would imagine the front office will want to "blend them in" so they only have to deal with one adjusting to the majors at a time. 2011 they brought up Hosmer after 26 games and the Moose(55 games) and Salvy was bought up after 91 games
The difference, in my opinion, is that they won't be counted on by the team to be the difference makers. Hosmer hit fifth in his third game and third by his fifth. Moose hit sixth in his first game and fifth by his seventh. I don't think, barring injury, that Witt and MJ would hit higher than seventh for awhile, which eases the process as well.
I really admire the restraint the front office showed with these guys in 2021. Sometimes, I can't help but think about the weight Alex Gordon must've felt on his shoulders on Opening Day 2007, and how that might have affected him.
He turned out to be a great player anyway. But it'll be nice that Witt, Pratto, MJ, et al. won't have to try to play savior.
Totally agree. I wonder sometimes why Salvy hit the ground running without the minor league track record that Hosmer and Moose did, and I think a lot of it is because he was just another guy they called up, not the savior. Hosmer had a nice rookie year, but I remember he had one of his classic stretches not long after coming up too. If you can ease guys in, even the absolute best prospects, it gives them a chance to get acclimated without also being the focal point for opposing pitchers.
I believe that Bobby Witt Jr. Is going to bring a lot of energy and excitement to both the team and the fans!! If he hits one to the gap, in spacious Kauffman Stadium, look out!! The kid can fly!!!
Are you kidding me, that’s kind of thinking is why the Royals have sucked for so long. Starting infield opening day 2022 should be: 1B Pratto, 2B Lopez, SS Witt Jr, 3B Mondesi, C Melendez, DH Perez, RF Merrifield, LF Benintendi, CF Reynolds (FA from Pirates). This list of players are no longer Royals - Taylor, C. Santana, O Hearn, Dozier, E. Santana, Hahn, Davis, Holland
While Bryan Reynolds would be a very nice pickup, he’s not a free agent until after 2025 and every indication is the Pirates don’t want to move him yet. Obviously there’s a price for everyone, but it’s going to be exorbitant after the season he’s had.
My favorite of your many great posts this year! I love this topic! And I agree with most/all of what you have surmised. My guess is that Taylor will not want to come back except as the CF starter until after he goes on the market and no one else will give him that. I also agree that how JJ/Dayton view the importance of reliable CF defense, will determine whether they make an early decision to bring him back for that as a starter, or instead take the risk of losing him to get him later as a great defensive 4th outfielder who can do great in CF. I also agree that the timing of Carlos/Nick Pratto as 1B starter is a little fuzzy to see, as Pratto recently is scuffling a bit with strikeouts, and as no one is likely to take Santana's salary in a trade - so that could be more of a June 1 type of thing. Knowing that Mondesi is likely to only play around 100-110 games does make him interesting for which spot can best help keep him healthy and use his fabulous defensive skills. If the 3 new guys are doing great, then Dozier/Isbel/Olivares/Rivero are the subs, knowing that Matheny likes to have most of the starters play every day, so unless RF is the revolving door spot, there may not be many at bats for this group, making the trips to Omaha for more frequent at bats perhaps a platoon of Isbel and Olivares. I think we are more likely to keep Benny for at least next year, or at least the trade deadline, even if we do not extend, to see if we really believe that one of our new guys is as good as him for our next World Series win.
I agree with Mr. Yaekel about loving this subject. I also agree with most of what you said said in your post. I would be very disappointed if Carlos Santana is still on this team next year. I can see where that contract as being a big problem toward getting him moved. He just looks out of shape and and his age I just don't see any more production from him when he's a year older. If for some reason Pratto doesn't hit as good as desired, Dozier is adequate till he does. I would love to see Isbel start the year in center, as I would hope they don't resign Taylor. I believe Isbel can be really close to Taylor on thedefensive side.He also provides another lefty bat. I think they have lost about all confidence in Oliveras and don't see him as a factor. I also agree Mondi gets most of his time in RF. I look forward to your pitching post tomorrow.
Thanks to both of you. These are the fun ones because I get to guess at stuff haha. It's not easy this year with a lot of options, but also a couple holes that need to be filled without depleting the rest. It'll be an interesting winter for sure.
And, if Rivero has options, perhaps we do keep Cam as a true "someone gets injured emergency only" for days when Salvy and Melendez are C/DH or DH/C or, if losing the DH is not so bad if one of them does get injured during a game, then no Cam. In either event, if there is an injury lasting multiple games, Rivero can come up, but until then is getting regular ABs at Omaha.
Yeah, it could be a two catcher setup, but I think, especially if they go with the 13/13 split they had talked about before the shortened 2020 happened, the Royals will keep three catchers to be able to not worry about Salvy or MJ DHing.
I will be surprised if all 2-3 of the prospects come up at the same time. I would imagine the front office will want to "blend them in" so they only have to deal with one adjusting to the majors at a time. 2011 they brought up Hosmer after 26 games and the Moose(55 games) and Salvy was bought up after 91 games
The difference, in my opinion, is that they won't be counted on by the team to be the difference makers. Hosmer hit fifth in his third game and third by his fifth. Moose hit sixth in his first game and fifth by his seventh. I don't think, barring injury, that Witt and MJ would hit higher than seventh for awhile, which eases the process as well.
I really admire the restraint the front office showed with these guys in 2021. Sometimes, I can't help but think about the weight Alex Gordon must've felt on his shoulders on Opening Day 2007, and how that might have affected him.
He turned out to be a great player anyway. But it'll be nice that Witt, Pratto, MJ, et al. won't have to try to play savior.
Totally agree. I wonder sometimes why Salvy hit the ground running without the minor league track record that Hosmer and Moose did, and I think a lot of it is because he was just another guy they called up, not the savior. Hosmer had a nice rookie year, but I remember he had one of his classic stretches not long after coming up too. If you can ease guys in, even the absolute best prospects, it gives them a chance to get acclimated without also being the focal point for opposing pitchers.
It's nice to have too many (potentially) good players.
I believe that Bobby Witt Jr. Is going to bring a lot of energy and excitement to both the team and the fans!! If he hits one to the gap, in spacious Kauffman Stadium, look out!! The kid can fly!!!
Are you kidding me, that’s kind of thinking is why the Royals have sucked for so long. Starting infield opening day 2022 should be: 1B Pratto, 2B Lopez, SS Witt Jr, 3B Mondesi, C Melendez, DH Perez, RF Merrifield, LF Benintendi, CF Reynolds (FA from Pirates). This list of players are no longer Royals - Taylor, C. Santana, O Hearn, Dozier, E. Santana, Hahn, Davis, Holland
While Bryan Reynolds would be a very nice pickup, he’s not a free agent until after 2025 and every indication is the Pirates don’t want to move him yet. Obviously there’s a price for everyone, but it’s going to be exorbitant after the season he’s had.