Early Returns: Royals 2009 Draft Picks (Rounds 21-30)

After 10+ hours of working out in the yard today, it is time to relax and take a look at the early returns of more 2009 Royals draft picks.  In this edition we will take a look at Rounds 21-30.

OF-Marvin “Chanse” Cooper (21st Round/631st Overall)  Belhaven College, Mississippi
Rookie – Arizona League Royals
Cooper started out with the Idaho Falls Chukars and hit an uninspired 0.148/.258/.185 with 6 BB and 23 SO in 62 plate appearances.  On August 4th he was reassigned from Idaho Falls to the AZL Royals.  With his new team, he has hit 0.214/.405/.214 with 7 BB, 12 SO, and 9 SB in 38 PA.  He has drawn more walks and dropped his strikeout rate in the Arizona League but the BA and SLG numbers still aren’t good.  The Royals have a lot of speedy outfielders  in their minor league system who are hitting between 0.200 and 0.250.  Hopefully Chanse will do something to break out of that group in 2010, but right now he looks like he’s going to be just another one of “those” guys.

LHP-Ryan Dennick (22/661)  Tennessee Tech University
Rookie – Burlington Royals
Dennick has appeared in 14 games for the Burlington Royals and has made 1 start to go along with 13 relief appearances.  Regardless of the role, he has been pitching well to start his professional career.  In 33.1 innings, Dennick has a 2.43 ERA, 1.140 WHIP, and 3.09 SO/BB.  Even more encouraging is the fact that he has been getting better every month.  In 3.0 June innings he had 5 H, 0 BB, and 4 SO to go along with a 6.00 ERA.  During the month of July, he threw 14.1 innings with a 3.14 ERA, 9 H, 6 BB, and 11 SO.  Finally, During the month of August he has been dominant with a 1.13 ERA, 13 H, 5 BB, and 19 SO in 16.0 innings pitched.  The overall numbers are good and he is trending in the right direction.

RHP-Scott Kelley (23/691)  Penn State University
Rookie – Idaho Falls Chukars
Kelley kicked off his career in the Royals organization in the Burlington Royals bullpen.  While there, he threw 26.0 innings with a 1.38 ERA, 0.885 WHIP, and 3.86 SO/BB.  On the heels of his impressive numbers against Appy League hitters, he was moved to Idaho Falls.  Kelley has adjusted to the Pioneer League just fine and in 11.0 innings pitched as a member of the Chukars, he has a 0.00 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, and 2.75 SO/BB.  In his 37.0 innings on the season he has a very impressive 5.6 H/9.  Kelley came to the Royals after his senior season at Penn State so it should come as no surprise that he has handled rookie ball.  However, as his numbers suggest, he has done more than just survive against the Appy and Pioneer league competition.  Kelley bears watching in 2010 where he figures to open the season in the bullpen for the Low-A Burlington Bees.

RHP-Zachary Jones (24/721)  Santa Teresa HS, California
Did not sign with the Royals.

RHP-Richard Folmer (25/751)  Stephen F. Austin University
Rookie – Idaho Falls Chukars
Folmer made his professional debut with the Arizona League Royals.  In 2 appearances out of the bullpen, he pitched 4.0 innings with a 2.25 ERA, 2.000 WHIP, and 1.75 SO/BB.  He was then moved to Idaho Falls where he has continued to pitch in relief.  In 19 appearances as a member of the Chukars bullpen, Folmer has pitched 26.1 innings with a 4.78 ERA, 1.443 WHIP, and 3.40 SO/BB.  ERA and WHIP are a little high, but the SO/BB is still good and he is certainly holding his own.

1B-Matthew Frazer (26/781)  Nitro HS, West Virginia
Did not sign with the Royals.  He has committed to West Virginia University.

OF-Gabriel MacDougall (27/811)  Lynn University, Florida
Rookie – Arizona League Royals
MacDougall played 8 games with the Burlington Royals and hit 0.207/.378/.276 with 6 BB and 5 SO in 37 plate appearances.  His last game action came on July 1st, and on July 15th he was assigned from Burlington to the AZL Royals.  He has not appeared in an official Arizona League game, but I can’t find any evidence of MacDougall being placed on the 7-day DL at any point during July or August, so I’m not sure what happened to him.

1B-Eric Peterson (28/841)  Liberty HS, Washington
Did not sign with the Royals.  He has committed to the University of Washington.

OF-Nick Zaharion (29/871)  South Fork HS, Florida
Did not sign with the Royals.  He had accepted a scholarship to play for St. Pete Community College, but Rice University expressed interest in him after he was drafted by the Royals.  I’d assume he will end up playing for Rice next year, but I was unable to find an official “release” to validate my assumption.

RHP-Josh Worrell (30/901)  Indiana Wesleyan University
Rookie – Arizona League Royals
Worrell has made 12 appearances out of the bullpen for the AZL Royals.  In 13.1 innings pitched, he has a 4.05 ERA, 1.350 WHIP and 4.17 SO/BB.  Josh has a solid 8.1 H/9 and an extremely impressive 16.9 SO/9.  All in all, he has had a solid first season as a professional.

Thoughts:
Rounds 21-30 is completely devoid of position players.  The Royals selected 5 position players among these 10 picks but could only sign 2 of them.  Neither Cooper or MacDougall have shown much of anything in their first professional season.

The Royals drafted 5 pitchers in these rounds and managed to sign all of them except RHP-Zachary Jones.  The 4 that did sign with the team provide hope that this part of the 2009 draft will bear some fruit.  Folmer has had a solid, but unspectacular first season.  Worrell’s 4.05 ERA is respectable, but his H/9 and SO/9 are even encouraging signs for his future.  Dennick and Kelley are the two that jump out statistically.  Both have impressive all around numbers and both figure to open 2010 with new teams.  There is no doubt in my mind that Kelley should open the 2010 season as a member of the Low-A Burlington Bees staff.  Dennick, on the other hand, will probably head to Idaho Falls, but an aggressive push to Low-A to join Kelley is a distinct possibility depending on how the Royals other bullpen prospects are distributed among their minor league affiliates.