Early 2009 Power Rankings #26

Back to the TBG Early 2009 Power Rankings - #'s 27-30 can be found in the archive for January...

Note: I will have a "final" pre-season set of power rankings ready on Opening Day (along with all of my other predictions), so this is not my "final word" on how things will shake out.

26. Kansas City Royals

Like a lot of teams ranked near the bottom of the TBG Power Rankings, the Royals confuse the hell out of me. We all undertand that they have financial limitations and I think any logical person who follows baseball will give them the benefit of the doubt in that regard.

Those limitations, however, do not explain the oddball moves this team makes on a year-to-year basis. They waste a lot of the money they have available on mediocre, middle-of-the-pack players who are easily replaceable.

Why spend money on guys who are not difference makers when you have limited resources?

I'll get into detail on that subject as we go through the projected lineup and rotation further down the page but I've already touched on that subject on this blog with the piece I did about their catching situation called "This is why the Royals are the Royals":

http://thebaseballgods.blogspot.com/2009/01/this-is-why-royals-are-royals.html

The team is doing some good things - and I'll be sure to credit them for those things - but there are still far too many strange decisions made on a pretty regular basis...

LINEUP

According to the Royals' official website, here are their projected starters:

C. Miguel Olivo/John Buck
1B. Mike Jacobs
2B. Alberto Callaspo
3B. Alex Gordon
SS. Mike Aviles
LF. David DeJesus
CF. Coco Crisp
RF. Jose Guillen
DH. Billy Butler

Since I've already addressed the catching situation at the above link, I'll keep my comments on that subject brief. Why in the world would a team with limited resources pay two catchers nearly $3 million each to be the SAME PLAYER. Buck and Olivo are the same guy - good pop, terrible contact skills and decent defensively. I don't get it.

First base is another spot I just don't understand. Mike Jacobs is a decent player and certainly an everyday big leaguer but why the Royals wanted him is beyond me. First of all, they have to pay him somewhere between $3.05 and $3.85 million this season to play a position that could be manned by a younger, cheaper player with more upside. What would have been wrong with playing Kila Ka'aihue there? Kila's cheaper, has big-time power and he actually knows how to draw a walk, something Jacobs isn't especially familiar with. I just don't get why teams like the Royals block talented young players with below average veterans, which is what Jacobs is. Compare him to the other starting 1B's in MLB and tell me he's not in the bottom 10.

Second base is also a bit of a mystery, though I like what I'm hearing about giving Mark Teahen a shot there in Spring Training. He doesn't have enough power to be a regular at 1B, 3B, LF or RF but if he can handle the position his bat would be okay for a regular 2B. As of now the team has Alberto Callaspo listed as the starter but he's more of a utility man to me.

Mike Aviles and Alex Gordon are solid at SS and 3B, respectively. I'm not sure Aviles is as good as his '08 numbers indicate but entering '09 he's a solid choice. Might be better suited at 2B long term, but we'll see. Gordon needs to step it up at the plate and in the field this season. He was drafted with the idea that he'd be a cornerstone player for this franchise long-term and while the ability is certainly there the consistency has not been. I'm feeling optimistic about him for '09, however, and think he'll have a breakout season.

What's up with this team paying veteran backups a couple million a season? Are Willie Bloomquist ($1.4 million) and Ross Gload ($1.9 million) really worth that money to this team? Nothing against either guy, they're both serviceable Major Leaguers, but this team simply cannot afford to pay that much to backups. They'd be better off investing that money in prospects from the Dominican every year or on their draft picks. They've been a last place team with guys like them and they can be a last place team without them.

The outfield isn't horrible, it just isn't all that exciting either. David DeJesus hasn't developed as the Royals had hoped and while he's a decent player he's pretty much average across the board and not "special." He's better than their other options in the OF but he's not what the team hoped he would be. Coco Crisp is okay as well but they'd be better off with just one of those two guys rather than both - I'd pick Coco over DeJesus because of his speed. Crisp wasn't a bad pickup, I'm just not sure he's worth $5.75 million to this club. Jose Guillen is the most talented of the bunch and can be a productive hitter - when he feels like it. The problem with Guillen is that he suffers from "turd-itis." Good player, bad guy.

As far as offensive prospects go, I'm not all that excited about anyone not named Kila, at least not for 2009. I really think Ka'aihue is going to be a good player, a power hitter that will get on base as well. Not sure why the team blocked him heading into '09. Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer look like excellent long-term hitting prospects but the Royals are looking at 2010 or 2011 before they'll be an option.

PITCHING

Once again, referring to the Royals' website:

1. Gil Meche
2. Zack Greinke
3. Brian Bannister
4. Kyle Davies
5. Luke Hochevar

That's actually a decent group of starters. Meche has turned out better than I thought he would when the Royals gave him that contract and the team certainly deserves credit for that move. He may not be a true #1 starter but he's proven himself to be a good pitcher and the team needs him badly.

I'm a big fan of Zack Greinke and think he'll continue to improve upon what he did last season. I also love the fact that Dayton Moore got Greinke locked up long-term - great move. This guy is their ace going forward.

I think Brian Bannister is better than his '08 numbers indicate but he's more of a 4th/5th starter on a good team. Still, he's not a bad option. Kyle Davies is very talented and started to "get it" toward the end of '08 - he could be the 2009 version of what Todd Wellemeyer was in 2008, the guy who has always had talent and finally combines performance with opportunity. Luke Hochevar has the ability to be this team's second or third best starter in the not-too-distant future, barring developmental problems. I liked what I saw from him in spots last season.

Brandon Duckworth and Horacio Ramirez are also possibilities for the rotation, especially if Hochevar and/or Davies have a poor spring. Not a fan of either, to be perfectly honest, but they're serviceable. Not sure why the Royals thought Ramirez was worth $1.9 million since he hasn't been very good since 2005 and even then he was only mediocre. More on that in a bit...

CL. Joakim Soria

This guy is nails. Love everything about him. He's got great stuff, excellent make-up and he's young. Also, brilliant move by Moore getting Soria locked up long-term - he's under team control for the next 6 years (3 years guaranteed, 2012-2014 at the team's option). Much respect to the Royals for how they've handled Soria.

The rest of the bullpen is okay but not spectacular. I didn't like the Ramon Ramirez-for-Coco Crisp deal at all and I don't think Kyle Farnsworth is a guy I'd give $9.25 million to over two years. Ron Mahay is okay, so is Jimmy Gobble, but I think they have more depth than quality.

There are some pitching prospects on the way and I think that's something for the Royals to be excited about. Carlos Rosa, Daniel Cortes, Blake Wood, Danny Gutierrez, Julio Pimentel are all getting close and eventually guys like Tim Melville and Mike Montgomery will starting making some noise as well.

OVERVIEW

Despite some of the goofy moves this team makes at the big league level, there is reason for Royals fans to have hope for the future. The farm system is getting better and some of those guys are developing pretty rapidly.

Here's a question for you: What if the Royls hadn't made the following moves?

* Trading Ramon Ramirez for Coco Crisp ($5.75 million)
* Signing Kyle Farnsworth ($4.25 million for '09) - could have kept Ramirez in that role
* Signing John Buck ($2.9 million) to complement Miguel Olivo
* Signing Ross Gload ($1.9 million) to a 2-year deal before '08
* Signing Willie Bloomquist ($1.4 million)
* Signing Horacio Ramirez ($1.9 million)

Had they not made those moves they could have saved $18.1 MILLION. Given what has happened with the free agent market (guys like Adam Dunn and Bobby Abreu still looking for work), the Royals could have landed an IMPACT PLAYER, which is exactly what they so desperately need.

Hell, you could probably land Abreu for two years with that $18 million right now.

Plus, you wouldn't even notice the other guys were missing.

That's what I'm talking about, fellas. Stop wasting money on fringe players, backups, utility guys and inconsistent veteran relievers and save that money for IMPACT PLAYERS. Use minimum wage guys for the bench and save the money for the everyday players.

KW