Tuesday, June 30, 2020
State of the Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an AL expansion franchise starting in 1969. Per Wikipedia, the name refers to the annual American Royal horse and livestock competition and is a continuation of team names from the Negro League. The Royals have had their ups and downs winning World Series in 1985 and 2015 and AL pennants in 1980 and 2014. In between there have been many losing seasons due in part to a small TV market. They are currently in another rebuilding stretch looking for a contention window.
Ownership: Local businessman John Sherman purchased the team from David Glass in November 2019 for $1 Billion. He made his stash in energy and salt mining. His stated goal is to build a "sustainable winner." He has prior ownership experience as a minority owner of the Cleveland Indians.
Grade C(but hopeful for better).
Management: Longtime Dayton Moore is retained for now. Moore is a traditional scouting oriented GM much maligned by SABR enthusiasts. Moore got the last laugh by building back-to-back pennant winners in 2014 and 2015 and a World Series Championship in 2015.
World Series Champion Manager, Ned Yost, retired and Mike Matheny is the new manager. Matheny's tenure as manager of the Cardinals received severe criticism for his managing decisions despite an overall winning record.
Grade C +.
Current Roster:
Starting Nine: Salvador Perez C, Ryan O'Hearn 1B, Nicky Lopez 2B, Maikel Franco 3B, Adalberto Mondesi SS, Alex Gordon LF, Whit Merrifield CF, Hunter Dozier RF, Jorge Soler DH.
Bench: Cam Gallagher C, Ryan McBroom 1B, Matt Reynolds SS, Bubba Starling OF, Brett Phillips OF.
Starting Rotation: Brad Keller RHP, Danny Duffy LHP, Jakob Junis RHP, Mike Montgomery LHP, Glenn Sparkman RHP.
Bullpen: Ian Kennedy RHP(Closer), Scott Barlow RHP, Jorge Lopez RHP, Tim Hill LHP, Jesse Hahn RHP, Greg Holland RHP, Trevor Rosenthal RHP, Chance Adams RHP, Josh Staumont RHP.
There is some talent her, but it's spotty and thin, especially on the pitching side. The Royals will need a few more high draft picks and farm system graduations to be competitive again.
Grade D+
Farm System: High draft positions have started to replenish a depleted farm system. 2019 top pick, Bobby Witt Jr, is the top prospect but may be a couple of years away. The Royals can expect more immediate help from Brady Singer RHP and Jackson Kowar RHP from the 2018 draft. 2020 top pick, Asa Lacy, should be a fast mover.
Grade C+.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
With 10's of millions of young men and boys who wish they could play major League baseball and would play for a tenth of the ML minimum, Ian Desmond, Mike Leake, Joe Ross, Ryan Zimmermann have opted out.
ReplyDeleteNot to say they don't have good reason, but I wish I had that choice!
That is probably not a fair comparison. I am afraid we are all going to face some very tough decisions before we are done with this thing. How much is your life worth? A member of your family's life?
DeleteI'm not sure basing it on ONE life is a fair comparison either.
DeleteI agree with Ian Desmond: If I had four kids at home, another in the oven, and my family was set for life at 30 yo, I wouldn't play either!
Here's another question: would it help or hurt the Giants if 4 or 5 of their highest paid players (who are very probably set for life) opted out for the season?
Not sure what you mean by ONE life. We have lost over 125,000 lives to Coronavirus so far(and probably at least half again as many if you count the same way a seasonal influenza) while only being about 1/10 of the way to any semblance of herd immunity.
DeleteYes, I am sure it is much easier for someone who has already made their stash to decide not to work, but I am sure they also have legitimate health-related reasons.
Other than vanity, why would someone spend $1,000,000,000.00 (aka a billion bucks) and buy a Major League baseball team, receive revenue (income not profit) of a quarter of a billion every year and not spend enough on the players to be competitive (59 wins in 2019!)?
ReplyDeleteBillionaires don't invest to lose money, so why spend Big Bucks to field a laughing stock team?
Do they have a great Owners box where they invite Big Shot friends to come and watch their team flail?
Do they have theaters in their mansions and play B-grade movies?
Do they buy their steaks at Food-For-Less in Kansas City of all places?
Do they serve Thunderbird to their guests at dinner?
After 5 years of declining attendance since winning a World Series - the second in their 50 year history - do they expect a million or so fans to keep coming in?
Would you pay to see your team get blown out at home 19-14, 16-1, 14-2, 13-5, & 12-3?
The one thing Ownership gives you is Job Security, but what if they gave a game and no one came?
What if you spend a $ Billion on a team less than 6 months before the entire sport got shut down by a 100 year pandemic? Oof!!!
Delete