According to international scouts, Hernandez has the best bat speed they have seen in recent years. His quick swing right now is more suited for line drives than homeruns. He still has work to do on pitch recognition and tapping into his above-average power potential.

Baseball America expected him to make his United States debut at the rookie-level Arizona League in 2012. Instead, the Royals pushed him to rookie-level Idaho Falls for the 2012 season (with alot of their college signees). Hernandez struggled mightily, as he hit just .208 with 66 strikeouts in 60 games (250 at-bats). He also didn’t hit any homeruns, though he did hit ten doubles.

Bob Dutton on the Kansas City Star ranked Hernandez at 11 and believes only Bubba Starling has higher potential. MLB.com has him coming in at 18th.

Will the Royals continue to push Hernandez (to Low-A Lexington) or will they hold him back and have him play at the rookie-level again in 2013?

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.

Not in a way that would make me the quirky character on a sitcom, or anything, but I get to work at the same time, go to my break at the same time, check my DVR at home about the same time.

Usually when I run home for my lunch break, I check in via Google Reader to see what’s going on in the world of Royals baseball.

Here’s what I’ve read recently (that you should check out):

First, an interesting video about the teacher who threw a perfect game on MLB 2K11 and won a million dollars because of it. The sidenote is that he wasn’t a baseball fan – just a gamer.

Thus, in order to assist him on his quest, he enlisted many of the same resources baseball fans use on the internet for their information, namely Baseball-Reference.com and other forums. Their scouting reports and statistics showed him the best matchup to throw the perfect game, as well as tendencies of batters. Now, maybe the game’s engine isn’t as sophisticated as to include actual scouting reports, but it helps I’m sure.

Then, check out one of Joe Posnanski’s most recent articles, this time saying what many of us want to say about Fox. Remember, Tim McCarver, “strike” is six letters long…

I’m jealous of Clint Scoles from Pinetar Press – he was down in Arizona watching Royals in the Arizona Fall League and in instructionals. He took some great video of notable players like Bubba Starling, Elier Hernandez and Bryan Brickhouse, among others. You can also hear him discuss some of those players on the most recent Royalman Report.

So that’s what I’ve been looking at this hour. There will be more to come, I promise.

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…)

Castellano is 6’1″ 175 pounds and bats right-handed.  He has power potential but may have to shift positions, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America.  Lara is a defense-first catcher.

As with most young international players, Castellano and Lara should end up in instructional leagues for a while and could see short-season baseball next year.  Both players’ potential bonuses have not been announced.

The Royals were rumored to be the frontrunners on Hernandez back in June.  With the official international signing period starting July 2, Hernandez was among the first announced signings.

Since he’s only 16, it will take a while for him to work up the ladder, but Hernandez has the fabled five tool label and sees himself as another Andruw Jones (we can only assume he means late-teens, early-20s Andruw Jones and not Los Angeles Andruw Jones).

Hernandez, from the Domincan Republic, is described by Baseball America as a high-risk, high-reward player, but “if the hitting comes, he’ll be a superstar.” Clint Scoles at Pinetar Press has video posted of Hernandez as well as an interview with International Prospect League founder Jim Sanson about the outfielder.

The Royals have had success recently with other international signings.  Cheslor Cuthbert hit his fifth home run on Friday for Kane County in Low A.  Meanwhile, Noel Arguelles has been dominating in Wilmington and may be the next pitcher to get promoted to Double A.  Hernandez should end up in the instructional leagues and then on to winter ball with the target of 2012 for short season leagues.  From there, the sky’s the limit.

For more on Elier Hernandez, check out the IPL online.

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