Comparing 2011 KC Royals prospects to 2019 prospects

If you are a KC Royals fan you may have heard Dayton Moore’s plan to compete by 2021, which sounds crazy since the team has had back to back 100-loss seasons.

Dayton Moore, general manager of the KC Royals, believes that this team can compete in two years. He probably thinks this because of the prospects that are skyrocketing through the minor leagues.

For Dayton’s plan to work the 2019 prospects need to develop quickly, but they have to be good enough by then for his plan to work. That is a lot of pressure on the 2019 class, but it could be possible if Dayton can make a couple free agent acquisitions or trades to be competitive by 2021.

Since the 2019 prospect class is being hyped up as one of the best classes the Royals have had recently, let’s compare them to the 2011 class which had a lot of hype and some helped bring the Royals a World Series.

Both of these classes are good and we will see if the 2019 class can live up to the high expectations of the fans. The classes have a lot of similarities and differences, from the hype behind them and the ranking for each, and discuss the areas of weakness for each.

One of the main similarities is the fact that the top prospect for both classes have very high expectations, and the top prospects for both classes are from 2011 Mike Moustakas and for the 2019 class Bobby Witt Jr. If we take the minor league stats for both players “Moose” was very good and rose through the minors with relative ease, while Bobby Witt just finished his first professional season in baseball. The expectations for both of these players is that they needed to get through the minors quickly and develop to be cornerstone pieces for the KC Royals when they got to the majors.

Moreover, for both classes, the starting pitching was a strong suit. In the 2011 class the starters had Danny Duffy, John Lamb, and Mike Montgomery. While in the 2019 class the main starters are Brady Singer, Jackson Kowar, and Daniel Lynch. The big difference between these two groups is that the hype behind the 2019 class outshines the 2011 class.

Another thing with the pitching prospects for the 2011 class was that a lot of them got traded to aid in the 2014- 2015 playoff runs that lead to two World Series appearances and winning it in 2015. For the 2019 starting pitching prospects, they can rest easy because I don’t think they will get traded to aid in any playoff run, rather they will be key pieces in a playoff run.

So far in the minor league careers for Singer, Kowar, and Lynch they have all been dominant in the minors and that is another reason why this group is adding to the hype of this class.

To start on the differences between these two classes we start with the top position player prospects who had the best bats according to scouting reports. The top three bats in the 2011 class were Moustakis, Eric Hosmer, and Wil Myers. The top three bats for the 2019 class are, according to scouts, Bobby Witt Jr., Seuly Matias, and Nick Pratto. This is a pretty good size difference in talent since the 2011 class top three were all-around good hitters, whereas in the 2019 class the best all-around hitter is Witt.

The 2019 class does not have an elite bat in the class, and the closest thing to elite in the class hitting wise is Seuly Matias who has a power ranking of sixty or above average. Now this doesn’t mean the 2019 class won’t be as good as the top three hitters in the 2011 class, but they have to improve a good amount to become as good as them.

Another difference for the Royals prospects in both of these classes is that the 2011 class had a lot more depth, which also means a lot more chances for players to have breakout seasons. For example, Salvador Perez in 2011 was the 15th ranked prospect in the Royals system and he was projected to be mainly a defensive catcher with little upside to his bat.

The 2019 prospect class, on the other hand, has not as much quality depth to have said breakout seasons, but there are still some chances. The players I would keep an eye on are Seuly Matias, who isn’t in the top 30 prospects for the Royals, Zach Haake, and Nick Pratto.

Now both classes do have some weaknesses and for both, they are kind of glaring weaknesses, for the 2011 class it is easier to show the weaknesses since it has been a couple of years to see them in the majors. The main weakness for the 2011 class was surprisingly the pitching, mainly because a lot of the top prospects were traded.

So far the best pitcher from that class who is still in the majors is Danny Duffy, and the next best is probably Mike Montgomery then after that is Tim Collins. Don’t get me wrong — back in 2011 that would be good, but since all three of these players made it to the majors and have stuck around with varying stats and careers it is not great since these players were supposed to be good or superstars.

The KC Royals’ prospects in the 2019 class’s main weakness is the fact that there is not a lot of infield prospects, moreover an elite first base prospect. Even though earlier I said to look out for Nick Pratto as a breakout he has not shown he is anywhere close to being ready for the majors. The Royals have had a good amount of elite first base prospects, recently Eric Hosmer and Billy Butler. Pratto isn’t on their level, but he is still young and has a great chance since the Royals don’t have a natural first baseman.

In conclusion, these are two of the best KC Royals classes in history and both will and have had good MLB talent to give. The best class though for weighing the pros and cons is the 2011 class, and that is based on the fact that some of those players have made something of their careers, while some were fodder for the Royals to trade to win a World Series, just goes to show how good the 2011 class was to the MLB.