Kansas City Royals

Midlo,

I've been following these guys as well, and I'm hoping they all find a place on the Royals MLB roster.   The good news is there is a lot of opportunity with KC and a huge organizational upside.  They haven't had a winning season since 2015 when they won the World Series.   I saw a clip of Vinnie the other day hitting a HR to CF, and I barely recognized him.   He is huge, and looks like a MLB 1st baseman.  I remember when he was a feisty little kid playing up with the older kids.  Go Royals!

The Royals have an embarrassment of riches at 1B, in that they have one kid (Pratto) they've always felt strong about (with good reason), and now here comes Vinnie tearing up every pitch he sees.  Santana had a terrible year last year, and I notice that he's found a bit of motivation this spring, what with the young dogs nipping at his heels.  Still, Santana's in his last contract year, so ... opportunity is forthcoming.  I suspect both of the youngsters will be sent down within the week, to get regular playing time.  (Actually Pratto went to minors camp yesterday.)

The AAA lineup should be prodigious with Vinnie and Pratto both in it.  One at 1B, one at DH -- or maybe Pratto will learn from what Lee Mazzilli once famously said.  We'll see how well the Royals contend, whether they are buyers or sellers come July, and whether they shift towards a youth movement for the latter half of the season.

Let's just keep everyone healthy in the meantime!

This one got by me, too:  Josh Winder, a James River HS and VMI alum, is up with the Twins and doing quite well, including a solid start in today's game.

It seems to be a great year for former Rapids, as UT Cullen Large and LHP Kit Scheetz have also seen spring training action with the Blue Jays and Astros, respectively.

Looks like Winder got himself an MLB roster spot to start the season!

I think vinnie will get traded, with pratto, santana and melendez  (and in a couple years perez) the royals are pretty full at 1b/DH.

Now you can never have too much talent and injuries and underperformance happen but VP is 24 his value won't go higher when he is 25 and in AAA.

If I was the royals I would keep him in the minors till the deadline and then make a decision.

@Midlo Dad posted:

It's amazing that three guys who all played with and/or against each other locally and in college ball are all there together now.

It's  crazy feeling.  When the Tigers and White Sox play tomorrow  (edit: nope, today!), a kid who played in HS for 3 years with my 2017 will be in one dugout, and a kid they both played against in HS, and that my son played with in travel for 2 years, will be in the other dugout.

@Dominik85 posted:

I think vinnie will get traded, with pratto, santana and melendez  (and in a couple years perez) the royals are pretty full at 1b/DH.

Now you can never have too much talent and injuries and underperformance happen but VP is 24 his value won't go higher when he is 25 and in AAA.

If I was the royals I would keep him in the minors till the deadline and then make a decision.

I think you're right.  They've got a value log-jam at those positions.  Why not move some pieces to plug areas of need and get more competitive?  KC is looking up in the division at Chicago, and trying to slug it out with 4 others who have added talent to their rosters.   AL Central is a tough, tough division to get ahead in right now. 

JMO.

As to Vinnie, I just hope he gets his shot and soon.  Fingers crossed.

His former James River teammate, Josh Winder, had his MLB debut yesterday, throwing one inning for the Twins.  1 run on 2 walks and a sac fly, no hits.  Did strike out the first MLB batter he faced, so that was nice!

Very timely article in the Richmond Times Dispatch this am about young Mr Pasquantino.

https://richmond.com/sports/ba...e9-74fa7116caa8.html

Pasquantino looks quite good. He is a bit old for a prospect at almost 25 but he walked more than he struck out in AAA and in his first games in the majors he also showed great plate discipline so far even though the hits haven't fallen yet.

The royals seem to be building a nice young hitting core.

The downside is that they haven't had much success with pitchers so far which is surprising since they used to have more pitching than hitting prospects.

People in the industry believe that they are behind in modern pitching analytics and thus their scouting and player dev isn't ideal when it comes to pitching.

Nate Eaton took advantage of an opportunity presented by the Royals having so many unvaccinated players who did not travel to Toronto for the Royals' games there.  KC purchased his contract, he started in CF (in the absence of Michael A. Taylor), and homered in his very first game!

So, the Royals are definitely my current favorite team.

As to Vinnie being almost 25, this is something we'll see more of, since all these guys didn't get to play any games in 2020.  But recently the topic came up, to whom would you compare Vinnie?  My best thought was Travis Hafner.  Hafner was already fully 25 when he debuted, and he didn't fully become a regular until he was 27.  His career earnings ended up like $65 million.

Compensation has skyrocketed since Hafner retired after the 2013 season, so ... it's far from too late for any of these guys to make a strong career for themselves.

The stats definitely look great. His contact and chase rate are both at an elite level and his power is well above average. He's a slow runner so he might not have super high babips but I could see vinnie being a 275/380/500 hitter if everything goes right, so ceiling would be like a bit worse version of a  paul Goldschmidt with less defense and baserunning.

That's a lofty comparison but you rarely see guys with low k rates, high walk rates and good power in the high minors being bad.

The low end of his outcomes (if he stays healthy) is probably someone like jesus aguilar or so.

Just bumping this up, because in case you haven't noticed, Vinnie Pasquantino is on a tear.  He was AL Player of the Week for last week, when he hit something like .455 with 4 HR's.  He hit an absolute bomb to start off this week, on Monday.  And he's still raking, including 2 hits in today's afternoon game (so far).  As I write this, his average is up to .275.

Daniel Lynch started today's game and went 6 innings, 3 earned runs.  Unfortunately, unless the Royals stage a major 9th inning comeback, he'll take a tough loss.  Nate Eaton started in RF today as well, to complete the "Richmond Royals" trio.  Nate's been a bit cold of late, but then, so was Vinnie at the same stage.

I can't get over how three guys who literally played against each other in our area just 6-7 years ago are now playing for the same MLB team.  How often does that happen?

Funny you say that, today I read an article today about these two guys who played for the same youth team in Atlanta and are now playing together on Cleveland:

https://www.washingtonpost.com...ll-benson-guardians/

Josh Winder (James River HS/VMI) is slated to start against the Royals this afternoon, with former James River teammate Vinnie Pasquantino expected to bath 4th, Nate Eaton 7th.

Unfortunately Daniel Lynch won't be the opposing pitcher today, as he started yesterday.

The game is one of two that could show on MLB Network today at 2 p.m.

I totally forgot the other angle to yesterday's game:  The Royals' Nate Eaton (Thomas Dale) was a VMI teammate of Winder's, too.  Wow.

I TiVo'ed the game and watched the 3 AB's each that Vinnie and Nate had.  Winder kept them 0-for-6, though Eaton ripped a shot that curved just barely foul.  Both Vinnie and Eaton had hits, but only after Winder left the game.  Solid start all around for Winder, though he took the L due to lack of run support.

Kudos to the KCR announcers who knew the connections and talked about both James River HS and VMI.  It was fun to watch!

Very happy to see Vinnie Pasquantino hit his 10th HR in the season's last game yesterday.  Vinnie ended his rookie season with a stellar .295 batting average.

Nathan Eaton ended the year at .264, which is very strong by current MLB standards, even more so for a rookie.

Daniel Lynch had a tough W/L at 4-13, and wrapped up with a 5.13 ERA.  I think it would be fair to say that he had some ups and downs this summer, but those numbers actually compare quite favorably to the rookie years of many ultimately elite pitchers.  Every reason to think he'll be back in the rotation next year as the Royals look to move up in the standings in 2023. (It'll be interesting to see who the new coaches will be.)

I really enjoyed watching both Eaton and Pasquantino this season - especially Pasquantino... I love how he goes opposite field with solid LD contact.  He has the look of being a very good hitter for a long time.

More walks than strikeouts, vinnie would have placed 6th in K rate and 13th in walk rate among qualified hitters.

Overall that is about the best plate discipline in the majors right on par with guys like bregman, freeman, jose ramirez or carlos santana.

That's definitely a great foundation for success

It is a great approach, especially for a hitter with his size and power. I've especially enjoyed Kwan and Oscar Gonzales this season too, but I'm going to be partial to the Guardians...

With the addition this spring of Jackie Bradley, Jr. (Prince George class of 2008, South Carolina), the Royals went into spring with 4 Richmond-area players on their roster.  Can you imagine if there were a game where 4 of the 10 guys in the lineup were from RVA?

Unfortunately, Daniel Lynch suffered an arm injury that has been reported as something he shouldn't be out with for too long.  So, we're still awaiting his first start of 2023. Fingers crossed.

After a bit of a slow start, Vinnie Pasquantino is now up to .293, which I think leads the team.  His K rate is a bit higher than usual but not bad.  He still has as many walks as K's (8).  Highlights include a 3-3 outing against Jacob DeGrom earlier this week (2 doubles included) and 2 HR's, including a shot at SF that just missed bouncing into the bay.

Nate Eaton seems to have fallen into a utility and pinch runner role.  He's off to a slow start offensively.  Those who remember him also as a strong pitcher should have enjoyed his stint as the position player, mop-up reliever Monday, when he gave up 2 hits but no runs in 1 inning, striking out 1 and pumping mid-90's.  Which is amazing for a guy who hasn't pitched in years.

I'm a little worried for JBJ.  He's off to a very slow start as a reserve/defensive OF.  KC picked him up off waivers from Boston, which means KC has almost no money tied up on him itself.  On the one hand, that makes him a bargain for KC.  On the other hand, it's not a lot of sunk cost if they were to release him.  He actually swung the bat very well in spring training, so maybe if they can get him a few steady AB's things will look up.

Bradley hasn’t hit since 2020. That was a short season. He got his hit streak in. The last time he hit .240 in a full season was 2017.

The last Management of the royals really did a bad job, especially with developing pitchers.

Vinnie is really good and if witt and melendez can improve it could be a solid offense, it least the top and middle of the lineup, but pitching really has been bad.

There is a bit of hope though, they are trying to modernize the system and reportedly have sent some pitchers to driveline this off-season.

Still overall the rebuild so far hasn't worked all that great.

JBJ was a youth travel ball opponent of my son's and our team's, going back to fall 1998, and he was always fun to watch.  The first time I ever saw him play, he was the catcher for a youth team called PG Gold -- the only guy they had who could handle the position at that tender age!  He progressed to SS by high school, but I think everyone realized his future lay in the OF.  He and my son became teammates for a couple of years, 2005-06, and we got to see him all the time there for a while.  Time flies; he's 33 now, so I suppose it's fair to say his career may be winding down.  But his career earnings are over $50 million, so ... it's been a wonderful ride for him and his family!

I do think KC is a long way from being a contender.  The silver lining is that it presents a great opportunity for some young bucks to get a lot of playing time.  They aren't languishing in AAA wondering when they'll get their shot.  Their future is in their own hands.

Witt hasn't nearly hit his ceiling yet.  He has a rare combination of speed, athleticism and power, so  I'm guessing he'll be the face of that franchise for as long as they can hold onto him.  BTW his father, the former MLB pitcher, was born in VA, and I seem to recall the closer had a brother (current player's uncle) who did some MLB scouting in our area once upon a time.  So maybe we'll claim Witt, too?  Haha

Sad week ... Vinnie on the IL, JBJ designated for assignment.

On the up side, Lynch has been back for a while now, and Eaton has been back up of late.

Vinnie P....out for the seams with a torn labrum.  So sad.

@Master P - Vinnie's hometown newspaper is reporting that it is a torn right labrum.  Vinnie throws and bats left handed so I'm hoping that is slightly good news given the circumstances.  I've been wondering what's wrong with him as his numbers were down quite a bit this year.  This makes sense.  I'm hoping for a speedy and successful recovery to get ready for Spring Training 2024..

He's been the only bright side here in KC, personality wise as well as his play on the field.  Its rough here, and now the owner wanted a new stadium downtown.