If I Were Named Royals GM for the Next Two Days

I want to make it crystal clear that the following is in no way based on rumor or conjecture.  It is based on nothing I’ve heard or read.  It is simply wishful thinking on my part and it is all a figment of my baseball befuddled mind.

It is July 30^th and I have been named The Grand, Interim, Magical, Mystical, and Omnipotent General Manager of the Kansas City for two days.  The kingdom is mine!

I trade Lorenzo Cain and Kyle Davies to the Houston Astros for Wandy Rodriguez.  No, Houston, we don’t need any cash for Wandy’s future years – just take Kyle Davies.  Please.

I trade Joakim Soria (this one kills me a little), Jeff Francis, and Mike Aviles for Jesus Montero, Ivan Montero, and a player to be named later.

I then flip Montero, Nova, in addition to Chris Dwyer, and some lower level prospect for Ubaldo Jimenez.

I trade Bruce Chen to anybody for a utility infielder with a good glove.

I release or demote Chris Getz and promote Johnny Giovatello.

I lock up Jeff Fanceour and Melky Cabrera through at least 2012, maybe 2013.  With their contracts, this will be relatively easy.

I name Greg Holland closer.

The Yankees name Manny Banuelos as the player to be name later.

By the end of the day on Sunday 31^st, here is the Royals line-up:

LF Gordon

CF Cabrera

DH Butler (suddenly the second coming of Rusty Staub)

1B Hosmer

RF Franceour

3B Moustakus

C Treanor/Pena

SS Escobar

2B Giovatello

Rotation:

Jimenez

Rodriguez

Paulino

Hochevar

Duffy

The Royals suddenly have a team with no starting position player, with the exception of catcher, older than 27.  The rotation is younger and much, much more talented.  The bullpen is the youngest in baseball but full of talented arms.  They have the most productive outfield, both offensively and defensively in the American League (this is true even now – you can look it up).

Suddenly, the Royals are a force now and maybe are the AL Central favorites in 2012.  Best of all, most of the pieces of the Royals topnotch minor league system is still intact for the future.

At the end of Sunday, July 31^st, I step down from my vaunted post and all hail me Genius and Savior of the Franchise.  I nod and wave to my legions of fans as I slowly fade away.  There is never a genie in a bottle lying around when you need one…

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Baseball Remains Broken for Small Market Teams

It seems to me the Major League trade deadline frenzy is getting to be more rumor than substance of late.  Things have changed so much in baseball over the last three years and it doesn’t seem as if everyone has caught up yet.  With the (theoretical) elimination of steroids, HGH, and other PEDs, offense numbers are down and we seem to be in the dawn of a new pitchers’ era.  Outside of Toronto, no one is banging out 50 home runs anymore, let alone 60 or 70.  Thirty dingers a year now seems to be valuable again.

General Managers for about 70% of the MLB teams have realized they cannot compete financially with the other 30%.  Several teams, and not just those from small markets, are now realizing they must build success from within their systems.  A month or so ago, I heard an interview with Dayton Moore in which he all but admitted the Royals were never going to have success signing top notch free agents.  Teams like Seattle, Cincinnati, Pittsburg, Cleveland, Oakland, Minnesota, San Diego, Houston, Milwaukee, Florida, and Tampa join Kansas City in this predicament.  Nearly half of all teams probably all ready believe they cannot compete for quality free agents with the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, and Angels, let alone other teams who are willing to spend when necessary like the Rangers, White Sox, Cubs, Mets, Cardinals, and even the Orioles. 

These small markets teams can not only not sign big name free agents but also have trouble keeping their owns stars they develop themselves.  When teams like the Royals and Astros have to consider trading some of their best players like Soria and Pence for prospects, it is just sad.  This is nothing new but it seems to get worse every year.   An argument for trading Soria is that it does no good having him on the team.  Kansas City is going to finish as one of the worst teams with him.  What does it matter?  It really makes the immediate future seem hopeless. 

I keep reading about how the Astros are asking a ton for Pence.  Ditto for the Royals and Soria.  The same with the Padres and Bell and Adams.  I can’t blame these teams for this attitude because this is one of the few ways a team can build up its system.  On the other hand, unless you are one of the big dogs, teams are hesitant meeting those steep asking prices unless they believe for certain they can win a playoff spot.  If they gamble and do not make the post season, they are screwed. 

 Teams seem more willing to just accept sandwich draft picks for their Type A free agents if they don’t get exactly what they want for their trade bait.  Teams are actually willing to take a complete, absolute crapshoot on a player with zero professional experience than take minor league players with a history.  That is how much the mindset of baseball has changed. 

Of the Big Three professional team sports, only baseball shows no interest in a competitive balance.  I know, I have read how much parity there is in baseball.  Ten different teams have won the World Series since the strike of 1994.  That is all fine and dandy but teams like Kansas City really don’t have much of a chance on a yearly basis to compete for the playoffs.  Teams may get lucky and compete for a year or two but long term, they lose out.  In football, the Chiefs recently went through their worst three year stretch in 20 years but bounced back  to win their division last year.  As a fan, I believe most years my team has a chance.  I never feel that way in baseball.  Every spring, I hope that year is the magical year when the Royals are the Cinderella team, like the Reds last year, and the Pirates this year.  It never happens.

Some small market teams are having success building form within.  The Twins has been a model organization for small markets teams.  Tampa has had some recent success.  Several years ago, the A’s had a good run for a few seasons.  These are the exceptions.  Until baseball takes a page from the NFL, it is going to continue to lose ground to football.  I know the NFL has been embroiled in a labor dispute over the past several months, but it has not been about doing way with competitive balance.  To some extent, both the players and the owners want to insure parity, not destroy it.  MLB is the prime example of how not to run a league.

How can these issues be fixed?  I am not paid enough to figure out all the answers.  I am of the firm belief though, that until the owners unite and share more of the revenues, baseball is going to have a competitive imbalance.  There needs to be a salary cap, and a salary floor.  Spread out the money to give each team an equal chance at signing free agents.  Put in rules to insure that owners like David Glass don’t pocket the money generated by revenue sharing into his own pocket and it is spent on the field.  I am tired of having to rely on the speculation of the quality of prospects as the basis of all my hope.  I am tired of having to watch the best players on my team be traded away each year for more prospects because my team can never afford to keep the better players. 

As the next 10 days unfold, it will be interested to see if teams can get what they want for their players form the big boys.  As we watch the endless speculation provide the energy that powers the rumor mill, we should question if baseball is broken.  And we should question if anyone is interested in fixing it.  The landscape of baseball has changed as far as the performances on the field.  The financial inequity stays the same.

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My Top 10 Starting Pitchers

As time goes on, one thing I have learned to appreciate more and more in the game of baseball is dominating starting pitching.  With the exception of  Zack Greinke’s brilliant 2009 season, the Kansas City Royals have been bereft of quality starting pitchers for a couple of decades.  Yes, we’ve got to see Kevin Appier and David Cone in that time, along with Greinke, but that is a short list when you consider what the Phillies run out to the mound on a daily basis this year.  This list is not based on this season alone – a consistent, dominant history went along way, especially when deciding on position.  I would take any of these guys in a second for the Royals, I can tell you.  The numbers provided are career numbers.

10. Dan Haren – Haren made this list ahead of some other deserving hurlers because of his health record.  He has made at least 33 starts for 6 straight seasons going into this year.  He has been remarkable consistent, turning in good ratios and strikeouts numbers for years.  Only 30 years old, Haren should have several quality seasons left.

101-80, 1602.1 IP, 1368/344 K/BB, 3.58 ERA, 1.175 WHIP

9. Cole Hamels – Certainly one of the most exciting young arms in the majors, Hamels is quickly becoming a dominant force in filling out the Phillies’ Big Three.  As he matures, Hamels seems to becoming more and more awesome.  His numbers thus far in 2011 are crazy good and at only 27, Hamels has plenty of time to move up this list.

71-49, 1077.1 IP, 1018/272 K/BB, 3.38 ERA, 1.147 WHIP

8. Clayton Kershaw – I really questioned myself about putting Kershaw this high.  At 23, he is the youngest and least experienced on the list.  The deciding factor came down to his overwhelming strikeout numbers, combined with his declining walk tendencies.  He is on pace for nearly 300 strikeouts.  He has also improved his WHIP each season.  With his youth, if he can avoid injuries, he could be at the top of this list within 5 years. 

36-27, 620.2 IP, 652/261 K/BB, 3.11 ERA, 1.219 WHIP

7. Cliff Lee – After I compiled my list, I was surprised I had Lee this low but after taking a closer look, I think I have him in the right position.  At 32, Lee has only been a dominating since 2008.  At this point in his career, Lee is the most Greg Maddox-type on the list.  He definitely knows how to pitch.  I could see him having several more years of excellence, if not dominance, in front of him.

111-67, 1546.1 IP, 1222/379 K/BB, 3.76 ERA, 1.238 WHIP

6. Jeff Weaver – Maybe the biggest surprise on the list, Weaver gets the nod because of his steadily improving numbers.  He went from a nice, solid starter to a dominating force.  He is only 28 and doesn’t get the luxury of throwing to pitchers like many on this list.  He is one pitcher whose numbers this season really impressed me enough to move him up the list.  He has become a 200 plus strikeout pitcher and this proves he truly is deserving. Weaver is also very durable and should be a Top 10 hurler for years to come.

75-43, 1036.1 IP, 899/283 K/BB, 3.32 ERA, 1.166 WHIP

5. Felix Hernandez – In reality, there is very little difference in the next four spots as far as talent goes.  I gave this position to King Felix because of the crappy team he works for.  How incredible is it that he won the 2010 Cy Young with a 13-12 record?  This really is par for the course of his career.  He has amazing, workhorse-like numbers, put up for an offensively hindered ball club.  Hernandez is only 25 but has worked a ton of innings and this could be worrisome in the future.  He is as steady as they come and if he ever gets on a good team, the sky is the limit, if his arm holds out.

79-60, 1298.2 IP, 1182/400 K/BB, 3.20 ERA, 1.216 WHIP

4. C.C. Sabathia – What a monster of a man!  And what a workhorse!  He has averaged 227 innings pitched for his career and I have seen many predictions that his workload and his size were going to do him in.  There have been no signs that I can see.  He has not been as consistently dominating as some of the others on this lists but he has been far above average his whole career.  Still only 30, he should have several big seasons in front of him, especially if he stays with the Yankees.  He just keeps going along, putting up big numbers and he has really earned this spot.

170-92, 2272.2 IP, 1913/699 K/BB, 3.52 ERA, 1.224 WHIP

3. Justin Verlander – If Verlander didn’t pitch in the AL Central, he might not be so high.  Unfortunately, I get to see him on a regular basis.  I think he is terrific.  Some of his career numbers are above average but not spectacular and his 2011 numbers have helped him into this rating.  He has been awesome so far this season.  Like so many pitchers on this list, he is an absolute workhorse, throwing a big number of innings every year, averaging 210 a season.  It feels as if Verlander has been around forever but he is still only 28.  If his arm does not give out, he could put up some giant careers stats.   

95-57, 1221.1 IP, 1118/386 K/BB, 3.61 ERA, 1.213 WHIP

2. Tim Lincecum – This kid has been about as dominating at an early age as any pitcher could hope to be in this day and age.  Still only 27, he is working on his 4^th straight 200 K season.  His career ERA and WHIP are mind boggling.  To do that consistently is just incredible.  We all know about his freaky delivery and his slight body type.  We still don’t know if he will suffer from his awesome workload.  Until he shows signs of breaking down, Lincecum will be high on this list and no one is more deserving as he is.

64-34, 940.1 IP, 1046/341 K/BB, 3.04 ERA, 1.184 WHIP

1. Roy Halladay – I don’t think it was any mystery who was going to sit atop this list.  Doc is the oldest name on this list but he has only gotten better with age.  He has been pretty good his whole career but his last 6 plus years have been phenomenal.  He had some injury problems early in his career but has had no issues for years now.  He has supreme control (only 502 career walks) and seems to have no hit stuff every night he pitches.  He is showing no signs of slowing down with age.  I think we can expect a least 2 or 3 more years of dominance from this great pitcher.  I certainly hope so.

180-89, 2440.2 IP, 1852/502 K/BB, 3.27 ERA, 1.172 WHIP

Others I considered for this list include Josh Johnson, David Price, Josh Beckett, Matt Cain, Tommy Hanson, Tim Hudson, Chris Carpenter, Zach Greinke, and C.J. Wilson.  Stats through 7/15/2011

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Royals' Mid Season Grades

I have decided to give the Royals an All-Star Break grade card.  These are just my opinions based on performances, expectations, and observations from watching at least parts of almost all the Royals’ games this season.

Catcher – B-.  I was expecting nothing from this position and Matt Treanor and Bryan Pena have played surprisingly well.  Neither gives many at bats away and they both battle hard at the plate.  Pena has improved visibly on defense and both are stone walls when it comes to blocking the plate.  The Royals outfield would not have thrown 17 runners out at home plate without these two doing a terrific job.  If Pena continues to improve on defense, I could see him becoming more of an everyday catcher in the future.

1B – C.  Kila Ka’aihue gets an F.  I wanted the Royals to give him a chance and I saw all I needed to.  Eric Hosmer still has a lot of maturing to do as a major leaguer but I am confident he will be a corner piece for this organization for years to come.  His defense has not been mistake free but I see a lot I like.

2B – C-.  Mike Aviles hit poorly and fielded even worse.  I’m not sure how much of a future he has in this organization.  I like the grittiness Chris Getz brings.  He handles the bat adequately and is one of the better bunters Kansas City has had in several decades.  He runs well and I can live with his average.  He has been disappointing to me defensively, making errors on some routine plays and he sometimes botches the turn on double plays.  I’m not sure if I’m sold on him being the second baseman of the future.  If the brass thinks Johnny Giavotella can be a productive, every day starter, then he should be brought up immediately.

SS – A-.  After watching Alcides Escobar play the field.  I really don’t care what he bats.  He is better than I expected with the glove and not as good as I had hoped with the bat.  We have seen much improvement at the plate over the last five weeks and I still think he can be productive.  He needs to not give away his at bats as often as he does and he needs to not hit as many weak grounders as he does but I see improvement and I love his glove.

3B – C.  Mike Aviles and Wilson Betemit were not good defensively.  Betemit can rake and I can’t believe there isn’t a market for him, especially from a NL team.  Mike Moustakus is the future but he still needs to get through the natural growing pains and make the necessary adjustments he needs to become a legitimate run producer.  He is better in the field than I expected but I don’t think any Gold Gloves are headed his way any time soon.

OF – A.  I do not need to break down the outfield by position for three different grades.  The Royals have three everyday players out there for the first time in years.  Alex Gordon looks to have finally turned a corner offensively and has really grown as a left fielder.  He leads all AL left fielders in several offensive categories and in fielding percentage and outfield assists.  Melky Cabrera has been a stalwart.  He has been very steady and consistent at the plate all season and he is a better glove man than I anticipated.  His come up with big hits all year.  He isn’t the most fleet center fielder around but he is steady and shown a good arm.  Jeff Franceour has shown why he was a top prospect a few years ago.  He still free swings a bit much but he has been a very good run producer all year.  He sets up defensively to throw the ball as well as anyone I’ve watched and his arm is magnificent.  He doesn’t break back on balls particularly well but he is an above average right fielder.  These three guys have 32 assists so far.  ‘Nuff said!  Mitch Maier has down whatever the Royals have asked, including sitting on the bench for long stretches at a time.  He has hit well with limited chances and has been a perfect 4^th outfielder.  Franceour and Cabrera are both trade candidates but at their ages, if the front office thinks their first half performances are for real, maybe Kansas City should consider them our outfielders for the future and work at tying them up.  If not, we will see Lorenzo Cain and maybe David Lough within the next three weeks.

DH – B-.  Billy Butler has been just all right.  I expect more from him.  I wish he would elevate his swing a bit more.  I tire of him driving the ball into the ground as much as he does and he doesn’t seem to be very clutch.  I do love the way he takes outside pitches to the opposite field.  I have started to read rumors about him sulking about DHing and not playing much in NL parks during interleague play.  He does have a legitimate beef but as a team leader, he can’t vocalize it.     

Bullpen – A.  With a bullpen with six rookies for much of the season thus far, what was expected?  Nothing, really.  The kids have been brilliant.  All bullpens have their bad days but for the most part the bullpen has performed well.  Joakim Soria had me worried for a while but appears to have righted the ship.  I have no complaints about the pen.

Rotation – F-, F-, F-!  Kyle Davies should never be allowed to throw another pitch for the Royals.  I am quickly losing faith that Luke Hochevar is more than a talented head case.  At times, he has been dominating but he turns right around, often in the next inning, and looks awful.  That is his head and not his arm.  In my opinion, he has 3 months to fix it or move on.  Jeff Francis has been about what I expected.  Sean O’Sullivan and Vin Mazarro have been total and utter disasters.  Dayton Moore traded legitimate major leaguers for those chumps.  Bruce Chen has continued to surprise me and Felipe Paulino looks like he may have a chance to be a decent pitcher.  Only time will tell with him.  Danny Duffy has shown improvement of late but he really needs to work on his control and consistency.  The emphatic grade I gave this bunch is because of the combined awfulness of Davies, Hochevar, O’Sullivan, and Mazurro. 

Coaches – B-.  Yost has done as well as any manager would do.  He does some things I don’t agree with.  Some of his line-up changes seem to be arbitrary at times but I doubt anyone else could have done better.  I love what Doug Sisson has done with the running game.  The Royals have been much more aggressive and haven’t made near as many bone headed base running errors as they have in past seasons.  I am starting to lose faith in Bob McClure.  He has three months to fix Luke Hochevar.  If he can’t, I think he should be replaced.

Front Office – C.  It is hard for me to continue to trust Dayton Moore as long as Kyle Davies is on this roster.  I just can’t.  He finally made the right signings with Frenchy and Melky, plus bringing in Francis and bringing back Chen have been decent decisions.  I think Escobar was worth Greinke by himself, and if Cain and Jake Odorizzi pan out, that will have been a great trade.  Going into the season with Mike Aviles as the starting third baseman was a big mistake, though.  Moore does deserve credit, though, for Hoss and Moose, plus all those young guns in the bullpen.

Overall – B-.  This may have been the hardest grade to assign.  How can I give the Royals a B- with the record?  Well, what did you expect of this team?  They are right where I expected them to be.  I hoped they would be improved, and they are, every where but the starting rotation, which may be even worse than anticipated.  The offense, defense, base running, and bullpen are all better than I thought.  Only the rotation has been terrible. 

All of this has been fun but it means nothing.  I just hope the right moves are made to make this team a much better team in 2012.

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Dayton Moore's Job in July

With the 2011 baseball season just passing the midway point, the Kansas City Royals are already playing for 2012.  It’s not unexpected.  The Royals, at 34-51, are about as good as most of thought they would be.  It’s kind of a crazy occurrence because in most facets of the game, this version of the Royals is better than their recent predecessors.  With Alex Gordon having a break out year, and Jeff Francoeur and Melky Cabrera showing some of the talents that made them top prospects at one point early in their careers.  The defense is miles ahead of last year with the brilliant Alcides Escobar leading the way.  The outfield is as good as any in the league.  Even the bullpen, overloaded with wet behind the ears rookies, has been a big improvement over the past few seasons.

Of course, that leaves the starting rotation as the anchor weighing down the Royals.  This is no secret and I have discussed it in previous posts.  With most of the top pitching prospects looking to be farther away than most of us hoped, this is the area that Dayton Moore must try to shore up over the next three weeks.

Pitching is precious for every team in baseball.  No one can ever have enough pitching, so it is hard to acquire it.  Moore is going to have to work overtime through the end of July in an attempt to turn over ever stone and pursue every avenue in order to find a way to improve this ball club, not only for 2011, but beyond as well.

What bargaining chips does Moore have to work with?  Well, I would count Mike Aviles and Wilson Betemit as players that could be moved but I am unsure of their value right now.  If they aren’t good enough to play for the Royals, how good can they be in the eyes of other general managers?  I think they will be traded because both could be valuable bench players, especially in the National League, but I wouldn’t hold my breath the Royals receive much in return.  If some contenders start to have rotation injury issues over the next three weeks or so, both Jeff Francis and Bruce Chen could bring a middling prospect but not much else.  Melky Cabrera recent power surge could make him the most valuable chip.  He is playing well enough to offer many teams a boost in their outfield line-ups.  He might garner a strong, young arm from someone like the Giants, Rays, or Braves.  We can only hope so.

The biggest decision for Moore may be whether to trade Francoeur or not.  My feeling on this is that if the Royals do not think David Lough can be an every day player, and soon, Frenchy won’t be traded.  I still think, though, if some team calls about Francoeur, Moore has to listen.  And that’s about it as far as value on this team.

Unless, of course, teams come calling about Joakim Soria or Billy Butler.  This could be Moore’s toughest call in the next three weeks.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love both players and I want them to be part of the future with the Royals.  I think both want to be here and they are working hard to be successful here.  If someone offers a major league ready starting pitcher (and not a Sean O’Sullivan or Vin Mazzaro type either) doesn’t Moore have to think about it?  It would have to be a bona fide arm, to be sure, maybe two.  I’m not sure that if the right deal came along for either or both players, Moore wouldn’t be obligated to act.  Let me make this clear though.  If he would trade either player for someone with the skill set of O’Sullivan or Mazzaro, I will be the first to scream for his head.  So is the life of a general manager.

Moore has more than hinted that the Royals will not be able to land any top notch major league starting pitcher free agents.  He has also said (not hearsay, I heard it) Kyle Davies will be the 5^th best starter free agent in this off season.  I think that as far as Davies goes, Moore has a gigantic blind spot.  I’ve looked at the list, and not counting players with options, there are easily more than 4 better free agent starters, although he is definitely the youngest.  Maybe Moore is equating youth with talent, and that is certainly not the case in this instance.  With this all being said, Moore is probably right.  The Royals are not going to be able to sign a top notch free agent starter.  That is just life.

Another option would be for Moore to dangle some of that vaunted farm system talent the Royals supposedly have to some other poor small market team for some top of the line arms.  I’m not a fan of the solution but it also must be considered.

Dayton Moore is going to have to work his rear end off over the next few weeks and hopefully it will pay off.  The 2012 Kansas City Royals are going to be no more successful than the 2011 squad if these same type of pitchers are ran out there everyday .  Something has to be done and it is Moore job to get it done. 

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Is the Royals' 2012 Season In Jeopardy?

I’m getting more and more worried about the 2012 outlook for the Kansas City Royals.  2011 was supposed to be the year when we catch glimpses of the bright future.  The year in which the Royals would struggle through but the year their vaunted minor league would begin to product results.  To a certain extent, these last two statements are, in fact, happening as expected.  There is one major piece missing that makes me afraid for 2012.

It’s not Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas that worry me.  Both are getting a chance to prove themselves and work through some natural growing pains.  I feel good about what I’ve seen from both of them.  I see what the Royals see in them and I think both will be very good major league hitters with time and experience.  It’s not the young arms Kansas City has been developing for the bullpen.  Tim Collins, Blake Wood, Everett Teaford, Greg Holland, and Louis Coleman have emerged as legitimate major league arms.  The Royals scouting team should be commended for focusing on Nate Adcock and grabbing him in last year’s Rule 5 draft.  It is hard to believe Adcock was still A ball with the Pirates.  He has held his own very well for most of the season. These six pitchers all have plenty of room to improve but I think they have done very well.  I am impressed the Royals’ brain trust believed what they were seeing in spring training and gave a bullpen spot to Aaron Crow.  He has been terrific and this leads to my worries.

Kansas City had 5 highly rated starting pitchers in most preseason prospect lists – Mike Montgomery, John Lamb, Danny Duffy, Chris Dwyer, and Jake Odorizzi.  This is where I get worried.  It doesn’t appear the pitching prospects will be ready to compete next year as hoped.  Duffy is with the big league ball club right now.  He has struggled mightily with his control in the bigs thus far but has shown enough for the Royals to go with a 6-man rotation rather than returning him to AAA.  When he throws strikes, he has shown he can garner some strike outs but he definitely needs seasoning.  From here, though, things aren’t looking very rosy.  Mike Montgomery has spun his wheels in AAA.  With an ERA near 6 and a WHIP over 1.5, Montgomery has not put himself in position to get a call-up.  John Lamb underwent Tommy John surgery and is out for at least a year and it is doubtful we can look for him before 2013.  Chris Dwyer is in AA and his numbers are unfortunately similar to Montgomery’s in AAA.  Finally, there is Jake Odorizzi.  For some inexplicable reason, Odorizzi is still languishing in A ball where he has been absolutely dominant.  He sports a 2.87 ERA and a WHIP of 1.15 through 15 starts.  He has 103 Ks to only 22 BB in 78.1 IP.  Why he hasn’t been promoted to AA is beyond me.  I don’t see what he left to prove. 

So, three of the 5 top pitching prospects are either hurt or performing in a very disappointing fashion.  At this point, other than Duffy, I can’t see any of these other arms making the roster as early as the start of the 2012 season.  What will the Royals do?  Right now, they have a bunch of number five starters.  Will they resign Kyle Davies?  I just threw up in my mouth a little at the very thought.  I don’t want to watch that guy throw another pitch in a Royals uniform.  Ever.  Bruce Chen or Jeff Francis?  Both are serviceable back end of the rotation guys but is this how a team competes?  I hardly think so.  Will Luke Hochevar ever get it?  He looks brilliant at times and terrible at others, unfortunately it is often inning to inning.  Felipe Paulino has showed signs of some real talent but I feel like I’ve seen this act before.  He has looked very good for the Royals at times, and his strikeout to walk ratio has been terrific, but historically he hasn’t been good.  Are Sean O’Sullivan or Vin Mazzaro the answers for 2012?   Please, please, please let that not be the case.  What O’Sullivan lacks in talent he makes up for in heart and Mazzaro doesn’t seem to have either.  And neither is even close to being the right answer to the rotation woes.  Are we really going to have to suffer through another disaster in 2012?  I do not see any way to avoid it.

Are there any other possible arms in the minors that can help?  By the numbers, the answer is no.  No one has stepped up.  The only hope from AAA may be Jeremy Jeffress but he has been a disaster since being demoted.  Maybe Montgomery can turn it around.  Even in AA, no one appears close.  Only Kelvin Herrera, a reliever, has been outstanding with 28 Ks and 1 walk in 22.1 IP with a 1.61 ERA and a .76 WHIP.  In A ball, besides Odorizzi, Elisaul Pimentel and Noel Arguelles both have eye popping numbers but there is no hope for them to be far enough along to make the 2012 rotation. 

This takes us back to Aaron Crow.  I am loath to tinker with success but the Royals have little choice.  I think Crow has to be a strong candidate for the 2012 rotation.  Leave him alone in 2011, at least until September.  But in spring training, they will have to stretch him out.  He may be the only choice.

Let’s face it.  Kansas City is not going to attract any big name free agent starting pitchers and couldn’t afford to compete with the big boys even if someone showed interest.  The Royals are stuck.  It looks like some of the offensive players are on the proper path to the majors, and it looks like there is bullpen depth lined up in the minors but the future is starting to look bleak as far as starting pitchers go.  And I am worried…

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