Year Two of the Matt Quatraro tenure. Time to take a step up this year. Active in free agency and trades this offseason. A new look pitching rotation and bullpen. Will the young players take the leap up offensively? Bobby Witt extension? New stadium? Will Vinny recover from injury? Salvy taking aim at the Royals record book? Will Cole Ragans turn into the best Royals starting pitcher since Greinke 1.0?
Free Agents/Trades Acquisitions
Seth Lugo, SP
Michael Wacha, SP
Kyle Wright, SP
Hunter Renfroe, OF/DH
Will Smith, RP
Chris Stratton, RP
Nick Anderson, RP
Adam Frazier, 2B
Garrett Hampson, INF/OF
Matt Sauer, RP [Reply]
Originally Posted by dlphg9:
I really don't get why Jac Caglianone only has a 70 power grade on a few sites. The guy hit a 516 ft HR. He had 9 straight games with a HR. If he's not an 80 power guy to some publications, then idk who is.
I heard one scout say they would have him at 80 power but they are worried about his chase rate vs professional pitching. If this was the 90's nobody would give a shit about his chase rate. I get worried about chase rate more when guys can't hit baseballs. Like Pratto and Melendez have decent power, but they just don't have the elite skill to put bat on the ball. Caglianone has the potential to do that. We all hope he becomes more patient and nukes what he knows he can hit but it's worked for Salvy despite the patience. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BWillie:
I heard one scout say they would have him at 80 power but they are worried about his chase rate vs professional pitching. If this was the 90's nobody would give a shit about his chase rate. I get worried about chase rate more when guys can't hit baseballs. Like Pratto and Melendez have decent power, but they just don't have the elite skill to put bat on the ball. Caglianone has the potential to do that. We all hope he becomes more patient and nukes what he knows he can hit but it's worked for Salvy despite the patience.
What scout was that, cuz that makes them sound dumb as shit. His chase rate shouldn't have any influence on his power rating though. Use that chase rate to lower his hit rate, but to say his power isn't at the top of the charts because he chases pitches is ridiculous.
Also, last year looks like he got a lot better at avoiding strikeouts. He only had 26 Ks vs 27 actual walks (31 of his walks were intentional.
His fucking power numbers are literally insane over his collegiate career, which was basically a full MLB season worth of games
165 games - 75 HRs and 28 2Bs. That's just shy of a HR every other game.
Originally Posted by BWillie:
God damn it now I am too excited. If they do decide to just have him hit (which I ultimately think the Royals will sooner than later) when is he estimated to hit the majors?
He could be a 2025 debut guy if they sent him on an aggressive assignment (at least High-A to start) and had him perform so well he got at least a cup of coffee at AA. It's really about how he acclimates and how fast he shows he is ready to move up.
Originally Posted by BWillie:
I heard one scout say they would have him at 80 power but they are worried about his chase rate vs professional pitching. If this was the 90's nobody would give a shit about his chase rate. I get worried about chase rate more when guys can't hit baseballs. Like Pratto and Melendez have decent power, but they just don't have the elite skill to put bat on the ball. Caglianone has the potential to do that. We all hope he becomes more patient and nukes what he knows he can hit but it's worked for Salvy despite the patience.
Grades get weird... I think the most accurate scouts use a present/future rating for guys.
You could make a case for an 80 on his future power, to represent his potential (though 80 is really intended to be a generational skill, a once-every-10-years type of thing). Like, you'd give Aaron Judge an 80. Probably wouldn't hand that to maybe one more guy in his generation.
I'd probably say a fair and conservative grade on Caglianone is to give him a 55/65 power rating. Aggressive would be 60/70. Both are fair, IMO. [Reply]
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
He could be a 2025 debut guy if they sent him on an aggressive assignment (at least High-A to start) and had him perform so well he got at least a cup of coffee at AA. It's really about how he acclimates and how fast he shows he is ready to move up.
Grades get weird... I think the most accurate scouts use a present/future rating for guys.
You could make a case for an 80 on his future power, to represent his potential (though 80 is really intended to be a generational skill, a once-every-10-years type of thing). Like, you'd give Aaron Judge an 80. Probably wouldn't hand that to maybe one more guy in his generation.
I'd probably say a fair and conservative grade on Caglianone is to give him a 55/65 power rating. Aggressive would be 60/70. Both are fair, IMO.
But was Aaron Judge really thought of as that big of a power hitter? He had 23 HRs in 4 seasons in college and his senior year was the only year he had over 5. As a minor leaguer he only had 20 HRs once. Wouldn't you expect the guy with a 500+ ft HR and a few HR records to be more highly graded than that guy?
Judges back ground doesn't scream "60 HR/season power". Of course he has the size, but shit I wouldn't expect him to be a 30 HR/season guy.
Baseball prospectus had Judge as a 60 for future power. MLB.com had him at 40 for current and 70 for future. [Reply]
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho:
He could be a 2025 debut guy if they sent him on an aggressive assignment (at least High-A to start) and had him perform so well he got at least a cup of coffee at AA. It's really about how he acclimates and how fast he shows he is ready to move up.
Grades get weird... I think the most accurate scouts use a present/future rating for guys.
You could make a case for an 80 on his future power, to represent his potential (though 80 is really intended to be a generational skill, a once-every-10-years type of thing). Like, you'd give Aaron Judge an 80. Probably wouldn't hand that to maybe one more guy in his generation.
I'd probably say a fair and conservative grade on Caglianone is to give him a 55/65 power rating. Aggressive would be 60/70. Both are fair, IMO.
The chase rate thing is a little overblown, he was trying to carry his team so he would chase pitches to try to do something. When you are the only guy on your team that can make a difference should you just take walks? [Reply]
I love the enthusiasm, the optimism and all that, but I’d maybe temper expectations, at least until the guy is playing and performing at a high level in the minors. For all we know, he could be the second coming of Dave Kingman. I like the signing too, but man, how about we pump the brakes a tad before we enshrine him into Cooperstown. Sorry to be a party pooper, but damn gang… [Reply]
Originally Posted by dlphg9:
But was Aaron Judge really thought of as that big of a power hitter? He had 23 HRs in 4 seasons in college and his senior year was the only year he had over 5. As a minor leaguer he only had 20 HRs once. Wouldn't you expect the guy with a 500+ ft HR and a few HR records to be more highly graded than that guy?
Judges back ground doesn't scream "60 HR/season power". Of course he has the size, but shit I wouldn't expect him to be a 30 HR/season guy.
Baseball prospectus had Judge as a 60 for future power. MLB.com had him at 40 for current and 70 for future.
Yeah, he wasn't expected to be this good/hit for this much power. But he DOES, and his actual game power could be graded at 80. Some scouts would still say even HE does not grade out that high. [Reply]
Originally Posted by GabyKeepsMeWarm:
I love the enthusiasm, the optimism and all that, but I’d maybe temper expectations, at least until the guy is playing and performing at a high level in the minors. For all we know, he could be the second coming of Dave Kingman. I like the signing too, but man, how about we pump the brakes a tad before we enshrine him into Cooperstown. Sorry to be a party pooper, but damn gang…
So it's not ok to gush about a draft pick? I mean, this would be the first draft pick since Witt that we've really been able to get excited about. I don't see anyone enshrining him in Cooperstown. [Reply]
Originally Posted by GabyKeepsMeWarm:
I love the enthusiasm, the optimism and all that, but I’d maybe temper expectations, at least until the guy is playing and performing at a high level in the minors. For all we know, he could be the second coming of Dave Kingman. I like the signing too, but man, how about we pump the brakes a tad before we enshrine him into Cooperstown. Sorry to be a party pooper, but damn gang…
To be clear, when you're talking about a prospect's power grade, you're just talking about raw power - max exit velocity, the ability to elevate the ball.
Player's actual game power may variate from their raw score - some guys get to more because of their hit tool and other skills. Some get to less. [Reply]