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.
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!