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KC Royals: Kyle Zimmer, Raul Mondesi Make Keith Law’s Top 50

By John Viril

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Kansas City Royals prospects Kyle Zimmer and Raul Adalberto Mondesi made Keith Law’s top 100 prospect rankings which were released late on ESPN.com Thursday. Law also ranked the Royals farm system at no. 15 in MLB in his organizational rankings which came out Tuesday.

Law, a former Blue Jays player personnel executive turned sportswriter, saw starter Kyle Zimmer as the KC Royals top prospect (25th in MLB) and SS Raul Mondesi at no. 38.

No other Kansas City Royals prospects made the grade.

Law had this to say about Zimmer:

"When healthy, Zimmer shows ace-caliber stuff — a fastball up to 97-98 mph, a plus-plus curveball, a plus changeup — with a strong build and good control. Unfortunately for Zimmer and the Royals, he hasn’t been healthy for most of the past 18 months, finally succumbing to a shoulder ailment that required minor surgery (a debridement, to clear out debris and loose bodies in the joint) in October. The shoulder has been bothering him in various presentations since late summer 2013, limiting him to just 14 1/3 innings total in the last calendar year, and he might not be ready to return to the mound until late April 2015. The surgery was successful and minor, and if that means his stuff is back without the tightness and discomfort, the Royals can work on building his strength back up over the summer and perhaps giving him a major league trial in the bullpen in the fall, the way they did with Brandon Finnegan in 2014.When healthy — and he showed it again for two starts in the Fall League before he got hurt — he’ll pitch at 93-97, spin a tight 11-to-5 curveball up to 80 mph with depth, and flash a late-tailing changeup at 86-87. His slider is still a below-average offering, and I think he’d be fine without it since he already has two above-average secondary pitches and his slot is more conducive to the true curveball anyway. His upside is near that of anyone on this list; right now it’s about proving he can stay healthy for a full season."

It’s interesting that Keith Law still sees Kyle Zimmer as the KC Royals top prospect despite his injury struggles that pretty much made 2014 a lost season for the pitcher. Clearly, Law sees Zimmer as a guy with ace potential.

Law wrote about Raul Aldaberto Mondesi, son of former Expos and Dodgers outfielder Raul Mondesi:

"Mondesi was the youngest high-A regular by six months, so his struggles at the plate in 2014 aren’t a huge surprise; he’s physically immature compared to just about everyone else in the Carolina League and doesn’t have as much pro experience either.Mondesi is a true shortstop with good actions, plus running speed and very good feel to hit. Despite poor walk/strikeout numbers, he actually has a good idea of the strike zone and ability to recognize pitches. He likes to bunt to try to reach base, especially when hitting left-handed, which the Royals view as an important part of his game as long as it doesn’t detract from his development as a hitter, especially since he projects to have average power once his body fills out.To give you some sense of how young Mondesi was for high-A, there were only five players younger than him to get at least 200 plate appearances in 2014 in low-A, so while it’s certainly disappointing that he didn’t make more contact, there’s a lot of time as well as reason to remain optimistic. He needs to develop a better two-strike approach, and he also has a slight leak when hitting right-handed that robs him of extra-base power. The defense at short and overall aptitude still project to make him a star once his strength arrives."

Keith Law thinks highly of the KC Royals top two prospects, but cited lack of depth for the farm system’s fall out of the top 10 systems.

I’m particularly encouraged by Law’s evaluation of Kyle Zimmer. Three plus pitches sounds like Zimmer could become the KC Royals Madison Bumgarner.

Perhaps Zimmer is a big part of the reason why general manager Dayton Moore doesn’t want to commit big money to the aging James Shields.

Next: Chances For James Shields Return To KC Increase

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