KC Royals: A look back at success and a vision for the future

The position players in the minors are a little barer.

Outfielder Khalil Lee is the most hyped of the bunch and could see action by the end of next season if everything goes as planned. Brady McConnell is ranked as the number seven prospect for the Royals by MLB.com, but is yet another shortstop.

M.J. Melendez is a catcher, a spot that is pretty much soaked up by the face of the franchise for the foreseeable future. Nick Pratto and Seuly Matias have also shown promise as well as outfielders Kyle Isbel and Michael Gigliotti.

Meibrys Viloria has been decent behind the plate since Martin Maldonado’s departure, but is rated at 24 in the prospect list from MLB.com. All of these minor-leaguers listed are ripe and under 23 years old. That being said, let’s take a sneak peak into the best possible scenario for the future.

The Royals are in a position where they need their farm system to pump out a few stars like it did with Hosmer, Moustakas, and Perez. Duffy and Ventura came up with those guys as well, meaning two pitchers and three position players would be fantastic. The Royals also added guys like Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar, core units to the title team, in a trade that starred Zack Greinke.

For the many preposterous trades that the Royals have made in the past, Carlos Beltran for example, this one may have won them a World Series parade. For the Royals to catapult back into the playoffs and start playing for those again, they need a little luck like they had in the earlier this decade.

There is one glaring difference between then and now: Zack Greinke. We don’t have a Greinke at the moment or anyone close to that talent at pitcher. However, if the Royals want to put themselves in the best position possible, it may have to start with a very controversial move like Greinke’s.

That move could involve Whit Merrifield.