Kansas City Royals: Two Years or Three Months
By Paul York
Hopefully the team will get some help from the farm system, right?
ESPN’s Keith Law just released his rankings of the 30 MLB farm systems, and the Royals check in at 23rd …out of 30.
It wasn’t long ago the Kansas City Royals were considered to have an elite, if not historically good, minor league system. What happened?
The KC Royals, specifically Dayton Moore, used the farm system exactly how you’re supposed to. Many of those prospects worked their way through the ranks and are helping the big league club (i.e. Hosmer, Moustakas, Cain, Perez, Ventura, Duffy, Herrera). Many others were traded away for talent to help the big league club:
- Wil Myers and Jake Odorizzi (and more) for James Shields and Wade Davis
- Brandon Finnegan, John Lamb, Cody Reed for Johnny Cueto
- Sean Manaea for Ben Zobrist
After all of that, any minor league system is going to take a significant hit.
Next: More on the farm system