Media Day brings us the first look at each year’s newest edition of the Legends, and this year certainly didn’t disappoint. After following the Astros’ minor leaguers since 2010, it was somewhat bittersweet to join the Kansas City Royals as their newest affiliate, but that’s the nature of minor league baseball. Affiliations can change, technically, every two years. You don’t usually see that happening, but it can. Anyway, our Player Development Contract expired, Houston declined to renew it, and life goes on.I’ll miss our players far more than I’ll miss the Astros. Hope that makes sense.

Anyway, Kansas City is well-known for drafting some excellent talent, and from what I’ve seen they certainly seem to know how to handle them. Regardless of the record at the ML level over recent years, I think the results speak for themselves. Kansas City has a LOAD of talent at the top level, with only the starting rotation seeming to be a bit weak in recent times. With the trade for James Shields and Wade Davis (I see Davis as a starter, in the long run), they’ve addressed that concern rather well.But I digress. Back to the subject at hand, learning more about the new Legends, starting with infielders:

Infielders

Geez, where do I begin? This infield is locked down. First things first…at first. Base. Yeah.

Mark Threlkeld

2012 (@ Burlington):

62 games, 240 PA, 37 runs, 62 hits, 18 doubles, 10 HR, 40 RBI, 15 BB, 40 SO, .283 BA, .333 OBP, .863 OPS

Nicholas Cuckovich

2012 (@ Idaho Falls Chukars):

66 games, 288 PA, 44 R, 69 H, 12 2B, 8 3B, 3 HR, 43 RBI, 9-11 SB, 33 BB, 68 SO, .280 BA, .376 OBP, .807 OPS

First off, we’ve got Mark Threlkeld and Nicholas Cuckovich at first. Both are adept with the glove, with Threlkeld showing a plus arm for a first baseman. I have quick rundowns on both of these guys on my blog @ The Grand Old Game.

From what I saw of these two, I like the footwork, they position themselves well, and they both have a good arm for their position (Threlkeld has the edge here, thus far).

It should be noted that Cuckovich is listed as a third baseman and left fielder on the Legends roster, and is likely just filling in at first for now. He did struggle mightily at third in 2012, with 15 errors in 43 games, but there’s lots to like about him. He’s going to be versatile as he can cover left (avg-plus speed), third (as he becomes more accustomed to the glovework) and now first (with which he should have no problem at all). He’s got a good eye already, as demonstrated by his .376 OBP last year in Idaho Falls, and he also popped 23 extra-base hits in 66 games. His developing gap power, combined with his speed, could make him especially valuable if he ends up sticking at third. Whatever happens, Cuckovich is a valuable addition to this or any roster, in my opinion.

As for Threlkeld, I’m pretty high on this kid. This is especially so when you consider that he was a 25^th round pick. Granted, that was in 2011, and he turns 23 in May, but I don’t put a ton of stock in that whole “old for his level” business. At least, not as much as others do. For now, he’s just a shade old for the level (we’re talking a matter of months, basically), but don’t let that dissuade you. In 62 games at Rookie-League Burlington last year, he batted .283 with 10 homers, 40 RBI, and 18 doubles. He certainly squared the ball up in BP, and spread it around like fertilizer on a flower bed. I see him as the starting first baseman, when whatever happened to him in the first game (HBP, left game, no updates yet) is resolved. So to summarize: strong D, avg-plus power, frequent contact, low strikeouts thus far in his career.Now, to the middle of the diamond. Man, oh man:

Adalberto “Raul” Mondesi, SS

2012 (@ Idaho Falls Chukars):

50 games, 232 PA, 35 runs, 60 hits, 7 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 30 RBI, 11-13 SB .290 BA, .346 OBP

Humberto Arteaga, 2B

2012 (@Burlington):

58 games, 262 PA, 40 runs, 64 hits, 13 doubles, 2 HR, 29 RBI, 7 SB, .274 BA, .694 OPS

 These two play the middle like they were born to play it together. They came out of the womb and turned two.

They’re just that good.

I’m known to get excited about prospects, from time to time, and sometimes there’s a bit of the ol’ hyperbole in what I write, but let me just say this: I’d buy a ticket just to watch these two work their magic. That’s a fact.

To begin with, Mondesi has some of the softest hands I’ve ever seen. Anywhere. I’ve seen a few shortstops, in my time. This kid could be one of the best in the Majors, glovewise. His range is already well into “plus” territory, though being as young as he is (SEVENTEEN) he often will chase after balls which he would be better off letting go. He’ll get to the vast majority of the most difficult-to-reach grounders, true, but he then finds himself in poor position to actually complete the play. This will change and improve with time. I was actually surprised that he was bumped up to A ball this year, but the idea seems to be to keep him paired with Arteaga up the chain. In a perfect world, they make it to The Show together and hold down the middle for 15 years. They may very well end up becoming a classic double play combo for many years, sort of in the Trammell-Whitaker mold, but with more glove and less bat.On that subject, Mondesi is wiry-thin but already seems to put a bit of a hurt on the ball. He’s all wrist at the plate, but he’s got a firm, upright base and good balance, with a short swing. He keeps his feet awfully close together, which could lead to him becoming overwhelmed by the better fastballers in the league until he adjusts appropriately. Notably, he drove in 30 runs in Idaho Falls last year on only 12 XBH in 50 games. He also stole 11 bases, which may be more a testament to his advanced baserunning skills than his raw speed.

Arteaga was Burlington’s shortstop in 2012, being bumped over for Mondesi. This is rightly so, though they could be interchangable if the need presented itself and little (if anything) would be lost in terms of defense. Both Arteaga and Mondesi have superior defensive skills, though Arteaga has the advantage on Mondesi at this stage, while Mondesi has the superior range to Arteaga. As an 18-year-old in rookie ball, he hit 13 doubles and drove in 29 in 58 games. Neither Arteaga nor Mondesi could buy a walk, but that may be due more to youthful exuberance than pure selectivity. Arteaga is more of a groundball hitter at this point, but sprays it gap-to-gap and can go opposite-field with ease relative to his age and experience.

He is quite nearly a carbon copy of Mondesi, although he appears to have put on perhaps 10 pounds in the off-season. That would make him 6’1”, 170, which is right about where he will stay for some time. Guys like Mondesi and Arteaga, with slight builds and very small bone structure, do best to keep themselves as near their ideal weight as possible.

At third:

Mike Antonio

2012 (@ Kane County Cougars, Class A, Midwest League):

123 games, 464 AB, 51 runs, 99 hits, 23 doubles, 5 HR, 64 RBI, 32 BB, 79 K, .569 OPS

Antonio is repeating A ball, but was ranked the 16^h best prospect in the Royals system as recently as 2012′s preseason. He was also the highest draft pick from NYC’s high schools since 1996. This kid shows good lateral movement in the field, keeps his center of gravity low and stays on top of grounders well. He also shows at least average arm for the position. What stood out for me was the power in BP; sounds like someone’s firing a .22 in the box. He’s aggressive with his swings but he’s not wild or a free-swinger. He hit a couple of bombs in BP, as I remember, and I expect him to be a solid run producer in the Legends lineup this year.

Yowill Espinal, 3B-SS

2012 (@ Kane County, 21 games; @ NW Arkansas, 7 games):

28 games, 76 AB, 10 runs, 19 hits, 4 RBI, 23 K

I’m not so sure what to think of this kid. First of all, I don’t expect he’ll ever be a run producer of any great substance, although I’ve been wrong before about guys like this. He’s going to be a ground-ball guy who can run a bit, and if everything goes right for him may end up being a bottom-of-the-order tablesetter. Those guys, I like. And for whatever reason, I honestly feel like he could force his way into a lineup on his glove alone; he can cover third, second, or short, and do so with better-than-average range (despite what John Sickels may think).

Adrian Morales, 3B-1B

2012 (@ Burlington):

31 games, 94 AB, 11 runs, 16 hits, 3 doubles, 1 HR, 8 RBI

A 49^th round pick of the Royals in 2011, Morales is notable for being a part of the South Carolina team that won it all in 2010 and 2011. To begin with, this kid is literally built like a brick outhouse. Good Lord, he’s stout. He certainly hasn’t put up huge numbers since advancing beyond the Arizona League, but I suspect there’s some hidden power in his bat. He did put some distance on the ball in BP; I don’t recall if he hit any out, though. Nevertheless, I’m watching him. He’d be a guy I would want to test, to see what’s there. On this team, he may end up being a bat off the bench, and you could do a lot worse. There’s power potential, here.

Catchers are next up (Cam Gallagher, Alexander Marquez, Jin-Ho Shin), followed by a stunningly powerful outfield. Stay tuned, true believers.

Feb 21, 2013; Surprise, AZ, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Yordano Ventura (73) poses for a picture during photo day at the Royals Spring Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

MiLB.com pointed out two of the Royals full-season affiliates as they picked out the minor leagues’ best starting rotations. They picked Northwest Arkansas in the Texas League as one:

• Yordano Ventura
• Jason Adam
• J.C. Sulbaran
• Noel Arguelles

Wilmington in the Carolina League was the other rotation:

• Kyle Zimmer
• John Lamb
• Sam Selman
• Kyle Smith

Side note: Jake Odorizzi and Mike Montgomery were a part of the Durham Bulls’ International League-best rotation.

Jason Parks of Baseball Prospectus did a final wrap up of what he saw on the backfields in Arizona while scouting out prospects. He had high praise for the usual suspects. On Zimmer, he stated he had #2 starter stuff and raved about his curveball. He also heaped praise upon Adalberto Mondesi calling him a “monster prospect in the making”. It wasn’t all big names, though. He made a point to mention Lexington’s Michael Antonio as a prospect with some tools but more development to do and brought up Aroni Nina as a big arm in Low A. There are more prospects mentioned, as well.

Royals Review’s Jeff Zimmerman shot some video in Surprise of Bubba Starling, Mondesi, Elier Hernandez and Cameron Gallagher. I won’t repost all of Jeff’s videos, but here’s a teaser of Elier Hernandez:

Feb 21, 2013; Surprise, AZ, USA; Kansas City Royals shortstop Christian Colon (72) poses for a picture during photo day at the Royals Spring Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Lee Warren’s covering the Omaha Storm Chasers again for Yahoo Sports and one of his recent pieces shed some light on Christian Colon‘s approach after suffering a fluke injury to his eye last year. Colon rebounded, playing well in the Puerto Rican Winter League and showing no ill effects of the injury. The key quote gives us an idea of what the Royals may do with him, position-wise. He told Warren that he anticipates playing 60 percent shortstop in Triple A and 40 percent at second. With Colon, Johnny Giavotella, Irving Falu, and Anthony Seratelli, Omaha isn’t hurting for middle infielders.

If you’re looking for a particular prospect during full season play, we’ve got the full opening rosters lined up here and Jen Nevius will be providing nightly updates on how the Royals affiliates are performing.

They’re coming off two games in which they scored a combined 30 runs, including some big days for Chris Getz and Johnny Giavotella. It’s been expected that the two would go to the last day before the team made a decision, and as it stands now, their numbers are close.

Giavotella:

Getz:

The difference is still the Getz homer, but they’re otherwise about as even as you can get. There’s a lot of time for the battle to play out, and for one or the other to get separation. The weekend’s games saw both get three hits, first with Giavotella doing damage against the Giants and Getz’s answer against the Angels. The big days and small sample size gave both a boost in the numbers.

Also, apparently Giavotella has earned the nickname of “Wreck-It Ralph”. According to Jonah Keri, it’s because he has long arms and large hands for being only 5’8″. I guess I’d never noticed that before…

March 6, 2013; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Kansas City Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas (8) hits a double in the third inning during a spring training game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

-Two interesting takes on the same situation: Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star and Dick Kaegel of the Royals official site talked with Mike Moustakas. Dutton was able to coax a slight admission that an injured knee may have resulted in Moustaka’s struggles at the plate in the second half, but Kaegel made a point to let Moustakas and Ned Yost dismiss the notion.

Dutton’s passage:

Moustakas now admits, albeit grudgingly, that a sprained right knee suffered July 28 in Seattle might have been a factor. He suffered the injury while making a diving stop in the first inning on a Casper Wells grounder.

“It’s whatever you guys want to make of it,” Moustakas said. “It definitely didn’t feel like it was 100 percent, but that didn’t affect me on the field. Any time I step on the field, my body is 100 percent.”

And Kaegel’s:

Did the knee injury affect his bat?

“No, I’m not going to ever be one to make excuses,” Moustakas said. “I was on the field, so I was 100 percent. Any time I’m on the field, there’s nothing wrong with me. I’ll go out and play as if everything was 100 percent, and that’s how you have to approach the game.”

Both did point out the splits pre- and post-injury, and Damion Mandalas Royal Revival provided a nice examination of this question a couple of weeks ago. I’m convinced that, despite Moose’s pleas to the contrary, there was something affecting his performance. That it coincides with a documented injury is awfully coincidental to me. Good news is that he’s healthy now and hitting the ball well.

- Salvador Perez (Venezuela) and Luis Mendoza (Mexico) should be back with the team on Tuesday after their teams were eliminated from the World Baseball Classic. Eric Hosmer is still with Team USA as they move onto the second round. He’s 3-13 but blew the game open against Canada on Sunday with a bases-clearing double in the ninth inning. Tim Collins is with him in Miami, while Irving Falu (Puerto Rico), Miguel Tejada, Atahualpa Severino, and Kelvin Herrera (all the Dominican Republic) are still active in the WBC as well. Tony Botts says that might not be a good thing, though.

- Finally, I had to share some comments from J.J. Cooper on Twitter. Cooper is the primary writer for Baseball America when it comes to Royals prospects, so he sees Kansas City’s minor leaguers often. He was discussing Adalberto Mondesi today and noted:

• He’s bulked up a bit, from 167 pounds to 180.
• He’s grown an inch, from 6′ even last year this time to 6’1″.
• A scout suggested that Mondesi could end up with more power from the shortstop position than current top Rangers prospect Jurickson Profar.
• There’s still a lot of projection still, but Mondesi hit .290/.346/.386 in the Royals highest level of rookie ball. He did that at an age when Wil Myers was “getting ready for his prom as a junior in [high school]“. Mondesi turns 18 in July.

Berroa had a solid 2003 season, but like much of that year, it was just a mirage. His production dropped off sharply and it turns out he was two years older than believed when he was traded to Kansas City from Oakland. That led to the need to make a change and the trade for Pena. After two years of decent defense but feeble offense, Pena was converted to pitcher. He’s now floating around the White Sox organization.

September 14, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar (2) makes a throw to first for an out against the Los Angeles Angels during the seventh inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Dayton Moore inherited a rough shortstop situation. Scratch that. He inherited a complete black hole of a shortstop situation. The Royals got a good 2008 from Aviles, but he needed Tommy John surgery in 2009, prompting the Royals to trade for Yuniesky Betancourt. Before Aviles, the last decent shortstop the Royals had was Rey Sanchez, but you have to go back to 2001 to see him. After that, it went Neifi Perez to Berroa to Pena to Aviles to Betancourt before finally getting Alcides Escobar in the Zack Greinke trade.

In light of that, the Royals also had few shortstop prospects. Going back through Baseball America’s prospect rankings, projected lineups had the following players in at short:

• 2007 – projected Jeff Bianchi in 2010
• 2008 – projected Tony Pena in 2011
• 2009 – projected Mike Aviles in 2012
• 2010 – projected Bianchi in 2013
• 2011 – projected Christian Colon in 2014

Of course, the projection made in 2011 was done before the Royals got Escobar, but that demonstrates how barren shortstop talent was in the Royals organization. Bianchi was ranked as high as 11^th in 2010 but he’s battled injuries throughout his minor league career. Older rankings listed Mike Moustakas as a shortstop (which he’d played in high school), but Baseball America was so confident in his ability to stay at that position that he was in projected future lineups as a right fielder.

It’s tough to find a good shortstop. If it was easy, everyone would do it.

In 2012, I found five players who played shortstop in 90% of their games, made 500 or more plate appearances and had an OPS+ above 100.

Some teams can find shortstops who can play the position but aren’t productive at the plate and that becomes acceptable. Like the catching position, defense is at a premium so finding anyone who can play there is enough for most teams. Finding someone who can produce at the plate is a bonus.

To do that, teams draft and scout players who play shortstop and hopefully can stay there. Most of the time, though, a player needs to move. Either they lose range as they get older, they fill out and aren’t as quick, they aren’t that good at the position, their arm is bad, or any number of reasons pop up that requires a move. Finding prospects who can play (and stay) at shortstop injects value into a farm system.

And faced with of that dearth of talent, Dayton Moore went out and got it.

The shortstop talent pool extends well beyond Escobar. Whereas before, you’d have to fudge the rankings to make Moustakas a shortstop prospect, now the Royals have two true shortstops in their Baseball America top 10 and five total in their top 22 according to the publication.

That’s light years from the situation Moore inherited. More importantly, most of those prospects figure to be players who can stick at shortstop or, at the very least, can be capable in utility roles to play shortstop part time. This provides value that could be used in the majors or can be turned into big trade value later on. Teams are always looking for shortstops. The Indians just got Trevor Bauer by finding a way to get the Reds to give up Didi Gregorius, one of their top shortstop prospects. Maybe you don’t like Bauer because of his attitude or the long-toss, but he can be a number one starter someday and those don’t grow on trees either. To trade a young, defensive-oriented shortstop for him (and in Cleveland’s case, not even one from their system) is a steal.

So who are these guys?

Adalberto Mondesi

There’s an argument to be made that Mondesi, and not Bubba Starling, is the top non-pitching prospect in the Royals system. He turned 17 in July, a year after signing with the Royals out of the Dominican. He celebrated by hitting .290/.346/.386 in the upper levels of rookie ball for the Idaho Falls Chukars. He succeeded against players who were two or three years older and with more professional experience. He’s got pretty good pop already according to scouts and he’s only now starting to fill out. Oh, and he switch hits, too. Jason Parks raved about him the last time we had him on the Kansas City Baseball Vault. Mondesi has a good shot at being the top prospect in the system after this year.

Orlando Calixte

Calixte is the other top 10 prospect in Baseball America’s rankings who plays shortstop. They say he has more power and contact ability than most shortstop prospects and after success in A ball in 2012 (at the age of 20) he has a good shot at Double A this year. He has the range, arm and hands to stay at shortstop and BA deemed him the closest shortstop prospect to the big leagues. Kevin Goldstein (when he was with Baseball Prospectus) said that watching Calixte field is what a big league shortstop looks like.

Feb 21, 2013; Surprise, AZ, USA; Kansas City Royals shortstop Christian Colon (72) poses for a picture during photo day at the Royals Spring Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Christian Colon

Colon is pegged as a SS/2B in Baseball America’s annual prospect book, but Bob Dutton has suggested (and J.J. Picollo has confirmed) that Colon is the likely player to step in if there’s a long-term injury to Alcides Escobar in 2013. BA doesn’t list him in the shortstop depth chart – instead putting him at the top of the second base chart – but Colon was drafted as a shortstop and figures to start in Triple A at that position while either Johnny Giavotella or Chris Getz play second in Omaha.

Jack Lopez

The Royals built up their depth of talent in the system by going after players that most teams assumed wouldn’t sign. Lopez is one of those players. In the 2011 draft, the Royals took him in the 16th round and gave him a $750,000 bonus to go pro instead of taking a scholarship to Miami. He’s small (5’8″ and 170) and reports are that he hasn’t hit well because “pitchers can knock the bat out of his hands” but BA predicts that if he can get stronger, he can play shortstop everyday.

Humberto Arteaga

Arteaga turned 19 a month ago after spending the last two seasons in rookie ball. After signing in 2010 out of Venezuela, he’s not considered to have the same upside as some, but could be the best fielder of the group. He’ll have to get on base to have value, but if he makes strides with the bat, he could surprise a lot of people.

Ramon Torres

Torres just turned 20 and has been in the Dominican Summer League and played last year in Arizona, so he’s slower to develop than some of these guys, but the report on him gives him a great approach and judgment of the strike zone. He doesn’t strike out much and is able to take a walk, so even if there isn’t much power, he could be effective in the field and possibly get on base, which is a good combo for a shortstop. He’ll probably be taking a backseat to the rest of the shortstop crew, but might also move to second base. Five years ago, though, he’d probably be right around Bianchi in the shortstop prospect depth chart though, and that’s a sign of immense progress.

I wasn’t kind to Dayton Moore the other day, but I do want to give him credit for what he’s done for the problem positions in the organization. Shortstop was as empty as it could be when he took over and now, there are half a dozen guys who could turn into valuable trade chips or possibly play at the big league level.

And that doesn’t even count Escobar.

Some key names:

2011 first round pick Bubba Starling will be in Burlington, North Carolina to start his professional career. He’s been in Arizona working with the Royals as he refines his skills. Starling has a ton of upside, but he’s raw. Bryce Harper is younger and already excelling in the big leagues, but Starling had his attention diverted between football, basketball and baseball. He’s the best athlete in the entire Royals organization, but there’s some risk that baseball acumen never matches his tools. If it does, though, his potential is limitless.

This year’s first round pick, Kyle Zimmer, will stay in Arizona to start out as he nurses hamstring and groin injuries from the end of his college season. Once he’s recovered there, he’ll likely end up in Idaho Falls but could end up in Kane County. He might be able to get five or six starts in this year.

Two key international signees will start in Idaho Falls, as outfielder Elier Hernandez and shortstop Adalberto Mondesi (the Torpedo Boat). Both were among the top Dominican players available last July. They have a ways to go, as Hernandez, the elder, doesn’t even turn 17 until November.

2011 draft picks Bryan Brickhouse, Kyle Smith (both pitchers) and shortstop Jack Lopez are in Idaho as well, and while there hasn’t been an official announcement that I’ve seen that he’s signed, 2012 second round pick left-handed pitcher Sam Selman out of Vanderbilt is listed on the Chukars roster.

Last year’s second rounder, catcher Cameron Gallagher, will join Bubba Starling in Burlington. They’ll be joined by other names like pitcher Jake Junis, shortstop Humberto Arteaga and 2012 draftees Colin Rodgers (a left-handed pitcher from the third round) and outfielder Fred Ford (seventh round). The ninth round pick, Daniel Stumpf (another lefty) will be in Burlington as well. Their fourth round pick, Ken Diekroeger, signed earlier today and could possibly go to Idaho Falls.

Other notables:

The Royals have nine of their top ten picks from 2012 signed. The official announcement is still pending on Selman but it’s safe to assume he’s in the fold. Catcher Chad Johnson is still listed as being in Arizona, and pitcher Zach Lovvorn and outfielder Alexis Rivera are there too. Alfredo Escalera-Maldonado signed but, seeing as how he’s the youngest player selected in the draft, he’ll probably be in Arizona receiving further instruction.

The full roster assignments as of Thursday are linked below:

• Arizona Royals
• Burlington Royals
• Idaho Falls Chukars

For those near Pulaski, Virginia or traveling that way, Bubba Starling should be in the lineup on June 19th for the Burlington Royals first game at 7:05 p.m. EST on the road against the Pulaski Mariners. He’ll debut in Burlington against Elizabethton on the 22nd.

Chief among them is Bubba Starling, the Royals first round pick in 2011.  Because he signed right at the deadline, Starling wasn’t assigned to any short season rookie level club, so this will be his first work as a professional baseball player in a game setting.

He’s not the only rookie down there though.  July international signees Elier Hernandez and Adalberto Mondesi will be in Arizona as well, along with other 2011 draft picks and prospects.

A full list below (via the KC Star):

(more…)

That’s what it took for the Royals to sign Dominican shortstop Adalberto Mondesi, the son of former big leaguer Raul Mondesi.  Although the international signing period began on July 2, Mondesi didn’t turn 16 until midnight Wednesday morning and was unable to sign.  The Royals were frontrunners to sign him after he spent time in their baseball academy in the Dominican Republic.

(more…)