Kansas City Royals: Three bold predictions for Winter Meetings
By Cullen Jekel
Bold Prediction No. 2: Deal for a Young Bat
The Kansas City Royals are brimming with talent when it comes to young arms. The system is loaded with guys like Brady Singer, Kris Bubic, Jackson Kowar, and Asa Lacy, just to name four. The list goes on.
Not so much, however, when it comes to position players. Or, more specifically, bats.
Bobby Witt Jr. is ranked the organization’s No. 1 prospect by MLB.com, and rightfully so. The young shortstop has superstar potential. Outside of him, though, I’m less keen on the bats in the organization. Once upon a time, Seuly Matias looked like he might make an impact in the majors. Flash forward to now, and he’s been left unprotected for the approaching Rule 5 Draft.
So while the Royals have young arms and one prospective young bat, for the most part, the organization’s bats and arms are not on the same timeframe. To remedy this problem, look for Moore to make a trade to bring back to the system a bat that’s more aligned with the pitchers’ age group.
Two things about this idea. One is, what will the Royals send back? Well, it could be a player on an expiring deal, whether a pitcher or a hitter. Or it could even be one of the Royals’ plethora of young pitchers.
The next thing is who, exactly, the Royals would target. To that end, I’d answer that the possibilities are endless, and it doesn’t matter what position that hitter plays. The great thing about Witt Jr. is that he’s athletic and toolsy enough to play shortstop, which in turn means he’s athletic and toolsy enough to play just about any other position except for catcher.
In trying to narrow down the search, though, let’s head back to MLB.com. They recently posted an article titled “1 prospect from each org. who could be dealt.*” Among the names listed are several players I’ve wanted the Royals to target in years past:
- Miami Marlins No. 5 prospect, OF Jesus Sanchez
- St. Louis Cardinals No. 8 prospect, 3B Elehuris Montero
- Arizona Diamondbacks No. 14 prospect, 1B/OF Seth Beer
- Oakland Athletics No. 5 prospect, 3B/SS Sheldon Neuse
- Boston Red Sox No. 3 prospect, 3B Bobby Dalbec
*For the record, this article lists Matias as the Royals’ selection.
Get it done, GMDM!