Kansas City Royals: Twitter question to get you thinking

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ANAHEIM, CA – JUNE 04: Ian Kinsler #3 of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim is tagged out at home by Salvador Perez #13 of the Kansas City Royals during the sixth inning of a game at Angel Stadium on June 4, 2018, in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

A question on Twitter sparked an interesting question for all fans to think about. Especially for a rebuilding team like the Kansas City Royals. So, I decided to take a stab at it.

The question sparked a lot of interest from fans of all teams. While the question originally didn’t seem like it would be too hard to answer, once I started going I found myself struggling and second guessing myself.

Let's imagine MLB expands to 32 teams. They inform the current 30 teams that they can protect just 10 players from their 25-man roster AND minor leagues. The expansion teams will draft out of the remaining players.

Quote this with the 10 players you would protect at all costs.
— Stephen Josiah (@StephenJosiah13) July 7, 2018

After going back and forth with myself for a bit, here is what I found to be my final list. Keep in mind, they are in no particular order, and I will be justifying why I picked the players I did.

Adalberto Mondesi (SS/2B)
Salvador Perez (C)
Brad Keller (SP)
Nicky Lopez (SS/2B)
Khalil Lee (OF)
Seuly Matias (OF)
MJ Melendez (C)
Brady Singer (RHP)
Jackson Kowar (RHP)
Whit Merrifield (IF/OF) or Richard Lovelady (LHP)

Ironically enough, I have made a change to my choice from what I said yesterday on Twitter. I told you, I keep going back and forth. However, I believe this is my final choice.

Rationale

When going through this, I had a really hard time once I reached 10 on my list. I know, I picked two, but I have a reason. I am under the impression that the Royals are going to be trading Merrifield. Meaning, I can’t really keep him if he isn’t on the team. Which is why I have two selected so if Merrifield is traded I have a replacement already decided on.

So let’s start with the MLB players first. I picked Perez, Merrifield, Mondesi, and Keller to keep for a simple reason.

Salvador Perez

Perez, while having a down year, is still one of the best defensive catchers in the league. I also don’t think this is going to be the norm offensively for him. He has said, as well as others affiliated with the organization in some way, that he is pressing. Perez seems to be trying to be the guy to “save the team” instead of being who he is. He also brings stability to the Royals that no one else in the system at the position can match right now.

Adalberto Mondesi

Mondesi, I still believe is the future middle infielder for the Royals. Even though he has a .222/.236/.352 slash on the year, over his last nine games he has a .273/.273/.455 slash. Consistent playing time is all he needs, which he might be turning the corner right now. Plus, he is an amazing defender that can play second base or shortstop and is just 22-years-old.

Brad Keller

Keller looks like a future front-end rotational arm. The Rule-5 pick who had never pitched higher than Double-A before this year is shining. So far this year he has a 2.52 ERA over 28 appearances and 60.2 innings. Keller has since been moved to the rotation where he has made seven starts, posting a 2.83 ERA over 38.1 innings. He may not be a high strikeout pitcher (22 strikeouts compared to 16 walks), but his 1.365 WHIP as a starter is solid. Plus, he is only 22-years-old.

Whit Merrifield

Lastly, if the Royals still have him, Merrifield made the list. This shouldn’t be a surprise for anyone. Over his three year career, Merrifield is hitting .291/.337/.435 and is hitting .303/.371/.429 this year. He is not only a great offensive player but one of the most versatile defenders in the league. During his time with the Royals, the only positions Merrifield hasn’t played is catcher and pitcher. That type of skillset makes him an easy in on this list. Unfortunately, due to his skillset, he is most likely going to be traded to a contending team. But, for the time being, he is still in Kansas City so he makes the list.

KANSAS CITY, MO – APRIL 01: A general view of Kauffman Stadium on April 1, 2018, in Kansas City, Missouri. The scheduled game between the Chicago White Sox and the Kansas City Royals was postponed due to the bitter cold and expected snow accumulation. The clubs will play a day-night doubleheader on Saturday, April 28, with the makeup contest scheduled for 1:15 p.m. (Photo by Brian Davidson/Getty Images) /

Now for the minor league players. Singer, Kowar, Lopez, Lovelady, Lee, Melendez, and Matias all made the list. Upside and ability is the main reason these guys made the list.

Brady Singer

The 2018 first overall pick for the Royals seemingly had to make the list. With the amount of upside Singer has, leaving him unprotected would most likely result in him getting picked. Singer also has the ability to be a front-end rotational pitcher, and he could very well be close to MLB ready. Singer won the Dick Howser Award this year, which goes to the college player of the year, and was SEC Pitcher of the Year. Expectations are high, so leaving it up to chance that he wouldn’t get grabbed would be foolish.

Jackson Kowar

Kowar was teammates with Singer and similar to Singer, Kowar has a lot of upside. The 33rd pick is starting to piece things together as a starter, and some believe he has a very high ceiling. Maybe even higher than Singer’s. Kowar was projected to be a Top-20 pick in the draft this year, so an expansion team would most likely look at the upside Kowar has and be tempted to take him.

Nicky Lopez

Lopez is currently the Royals #6 prospect. However, he easily could be higher on that list. Lopez has been putting on a show recently in the minor league system. The 23-year-old started the year in Double-A but was quickly promoted after hitting .331/.397/.416 over 73 games. Now in Triple-A, he is continuing to have some success hitting .270/.308/.459 over nine games. His ability to hold down the middle of the field is also desirable. Especially with him being close to MLB ready.

Khalil Lee

The Royals #1 prospect has been making a lot of noise within the system lately. After having success at Lexington, the Royals decided to promote him to Double-A. He has continued to have success. The hope is that Lee can be the future centerfielder for the Royals. He is just 20-years-old right now but has shown the ability to hit for some power, while being productive defensively and on the basepaths. Lee is part of the future wave of young talent, so leaving him up to chance might not be the best move for the Royals.

Seuly Matias

Matias, the teams #3 prospect, is probably the one player making the most noise. As of right now, Matias is doing one of two things. Mashing the baseball with 26 home runs, and 10 doubles. Or he is striking out, 106 strikeouts. Matias is someone that you would hope can start becoming more patient at the plate while continuing to show power numbers like he is. As of right now, the 19-year-old is hitting just .218/.299/.568 on the season. However, he is part of the next wave and could be a big contributor depending on his plate discipline and continued development.

MJ Melendez

Yes, a catcher even though I protected Perez. However, the 19-year-old is still a few years away from being MLB ready. Hopefully, Melendez is MLB ready by the time Perez is ending his current contract with the Royals. As of right now, the #4 prospect and 8th best catching prospect is impressing. Similar to the other teens, his average is less than desired, but his power is showing big upside. As of right now, he is hitting .246/.305/.504 with 15 doubles, six triples, and 13 home runs. He is, hopefully, the future at the catching position. To leave him unprotected and hope a team overlooks his production seems a bit too daring for me.

Richard Lovelady

Lovelady does make the list but as 10b. Lovelady is very impressive and his production at Omaha hasn’t disappointed. As a 23-year-old, back-end bullpen arm, potentially a closer, Lovelady would seem to be a pitcher a new team would want to pick away from the Royals. So far, he is having the worst year of his three year career, and he has an ERA of 3.18 over 28 games and 45.1 innings. What is impressive is he has given up one or fewer runs in 26 of his 29 games, and zero runs in 21 of the 29 games. In fact, if you exclude his three games where he gave up 11 runs over 4.2 innings, his ERA drops to 1.12 on the season. He is knocking at the MLB door right now. To let a team take a 23-year-old pitcher like Lovelady would feel wrong.

KANSAS CITY, MO – OCTOBER 26: A general view of Kauffman Stadium as the Kansas City Royals workout the day before Game 1 of the 2015 World Series between the Royals and New York Mets on October 26, 2015, in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Final Thoughts

As mentioned, this wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. I feel comfortable with the players I’ve protected, but the feeling of missing someone still sits in my stomach.

The Royals really do have a lot of players that are hiding in the rankings that we don’t talk a lot about. For example, left fielder Brewer Hicklen (my original #10) in Lexington and he is hitting .307/.362/.528 with 14 doubles and 10 home runs. Then you have Carlos Hernandez who has a 3.76 ERA over 11 starts and 55.0 innings.

I will say, I decided against keeping a first baseman because the Royals seemingly have four. While Hunter Dozier isn’t having as much success offensively, he has shown to be a serviceable defender at first. Then they have Frank Schwindel, Ryan O’Hearn, and Nick Pratto. I highly doubt all four would be taken.

Next: Jason Hammel demoted

If you really go looking throughout the system, you can find a lot of gems that are hidden. If the MLB allowed for two expansion teams to be formed and they had the ability to dig throughout the rankings, those gems would easily be found. That is why I feel like it was a hard decision finding only 10 players at all levels to protect.

So what do you think Royals fans? Do you agree with my list? What would your 10 keepers be? Let us know below!

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