November 30^th, 2012

Springfield, MO – The Springfield Cardinals have been named by Baseball America as the Minor League Team of the Year in 2012.

Springfield captured their first Texas League Crown by defeating the Tulsa Drillers in the North Division Finals in five games before besting the Frisco RoughRiders in four games.

The St. Louis Cardinals Double-A Affiliate was littered with talent including seven of the Top 30 prospects according Baseball America and Texas League Player of the Year, Oscar Taveras. The 20-year-old outfielder was the first Springfield player to lead the league in batting average (.321), doubles (37), extra-base hits (67) and total bases (273) while finishing in the top five in home runs (23), RBI (93), runs scored (83), triples (7) and slugging percentage (.572).

The Cardinals boasted five Post-Season All-Stars including Taveras, second baseman Kolten Wong, and pitchers Trevor Rosenthal, Keith Butler and Seth Maness.

“We are honored to be named the 2012 Team of the Year by Baseball America,” Vice President and General Manager Matt Gifford said. “This is a tremendous honor for arguably one of the best teams in Springfield Cardinals history. It’s a tribute to player development and the coaching staff for putting together a great club and to the players for their hard work throughout a long season.”

First year Double-A Manager Mike Shildt guided the Cardinals to a 35-35 record in the first half before the team hit their stride in the second half, winning the North Division Second Half crown with a 42-26 record. Overall, Springfield finished a franchise best 77-61, the best record in the North and third best record in the league. For Shildt, the 2012 title was his third straight after capturing back to back Appalachian League titles in 2010 and 2011 with Johnson City.

Springfield will open up the 2013 season on the road in Corpus Christi April 4^th before returning home to Hammons Field April 11^th for a six-game homestand against the Hooks and San Antonio Missions.  Season Ticket Packages are on sale now. Please call (417) 863-0395 or visit www.springfieldcardinals.com for more details on how you can become a season ticket holder.

Jake Odorizzi Joins Royals

SPRINGDALE, AR – Right-handed pitcher, Jake Odorizzi, was brought up to the Kansas City Royals on Sunday, September 16.  Odorizzi becomes the 32nd former Natural to make it to the major leagues.

Odorizzi spent the beginning of the 2011 season with Wilmington (A Advanced) and the latter part in Northwest Arkansas pitching a total of 147.0 innings.   He went 10-7 on the season and posted a 3.73 ERA in 27 starts.

The Illinois native has spent the beginning of the 2012 season with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals going 4-2 with a 3.32 ERA over seven starts.  Oddorizzi was transferred to Omaha (AAA) on May 17 and has surrendered 35 earned runs in 107.1 innings with Omaha.

Odorizzi went into the 2012 season rated as the fourth-best prospect in the Royals organization by Baseball America.

The 22-year-old was acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers along with RHP Jeremy Jeffers, INF Alcides Escobar and OF Lorenzo Cain in exchange for RHP Zack Greinke and INF Yuniesky Betancourt, December 19, 2010.

KANSAS CITY, MO (September 4, 2012) – Baseball America announced today that Kansas City Royals outfield prospect Wil Myers has been named the publications’ 2012 Minor League Player of the Year. Myers becomes the third Royals prospect to win the prestigious award since its inception in 1981, joining Tom Gordon in 1988 and Alex Gordon in 2006.

Myers, 21, opened the 2012 campaign at Double-A Northwest Arkansas and batted .343 with 13 home runs and 30 RBI in 35 games before a promotion to Omaha in mid-May. For the Storm Chasers, who begin their quest to repeat as PCL champions tomorrow night in Omaha, Myers hit .304 (118-for-388) with 15 doubles, five triples, 24 home runs and 79 RBI in 99 regular season games. Overall, his 37 home runs were the second-most in minor league baseball, one shy of 26-year-old Darin Ruf who hit 38 for Reading (AA), while his 109 RBI ranked fourth overall.

The Royals’ third round selection in 2009 collected two hits and drove in three runs for the U.S. squad at the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game in Kansas City on July 8 and then three days later was selected the “Star of Stars” for the Pacific Coast League in the Triple-A All-Star Game after recording two hits, including a double, with an RBI and a run scored. Last week, he was named to the 12-member all Pacific Coast League squad and he is one of five finalists for USA Today Minor League Player of the Year.

Just before Tuesday afternoon’s trade deadline, the Royals traded closer Jonathan Broxton to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for two minor league pitchers, righty J.C. Sulbaran and lefty Donnie Joesph. The Royals were also willing to trade Yuni Betancourt, Jeff Francoeur and Jose Mijares, but Broxton was the only player traded by the deadline.

The Reds lead the National League Central and were looking for a leadoff hitter to bolster their lineup. They weren’t able to get a leadoff hitter, so they made a trade for Broxton, who will join an already strong Reds bullpen as a setup man for lefty closer Aroldis Chapman. Broxton will be at least a two month rental for the Reds before becoming a free agent in the offseason. In return, the Royals get two young, controllable pitchers for the next few years.

The 22 year old Sulbaran is a starting pitcher with a 4.04 ERA, a 9.5 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 ratio and a 2.06 strikeout to walk ratio. Sulbaran pitched 104.2 innings over 19 starts and a 7-7 record for the AA Pensacola Blue Wahoos. Baseball America ranked Sulbaran 12th among Reds prospects, while MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo ranked him fifth among Reds prospects.

Sulbaran’s best pitch is his curveball. Scouts say he’s a highly competitive power pitcher with good stuff, but there are some concerns about his maturity and secondary pitches. Sulbaran was a teammate of Eric Hosmer at American Heritage High School, winning a state championship during Hosmer’s senior year. The Royals assigned Sulbaran to AA Northwest Arkansas. He projects to be a No. 3 starter, and is likely a year or two away from the Majors.

The 24 year old Joseph is a relief pitcher with a 1.72 ERA, a 11.7 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 ratio and a 2.44 strikeout to walk ratio. Joseph pitched 22 innings over 18 games with a 4-1 record and five saves for the AAA Louisville Bats. Baseball America ranked Joseph 27th among Reds prospects and MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo ranked Joseph seventh among Reds prospects. He was also the Reds Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2010.

Joseph is a power lefty with a mid 90s fastball, a hard slider and curveball. If Joseph can improve his mechanics, scouts say he could be a power reliever in the Majors. The Royals assigned him to AAA Omaha and it’s possible Joesph could be with the big club this year.

The Royals wanted a Major League ready starting pitcher, but to be honest, giving up Broxton to get Sulbaran and Joesph was a better deal. If the Royals got a Major League starter, they probably would get another pitcher like Sean O’ Sullivan, Vin Mazzaro, Jeremy Guthrie or Jonathan Sanchez. The Royals have enough of these type of pitchers. At least with this trade, the Royals have a potential No. 3 starter and a power lefty reliever for the future.

It’s unlikely Sulbaran and Joseph will be star players and the Royals still need to sign or trade for a front line starter this offseason. But fans should be glad the Royals traded for the pitchers they got for Broxton, who was going to be a one year player for a losing team if he stayed. And it gives Greg Holland a chance to be the closer for the Royals, which is another plus.

ROYALS SIGN FIRST-ROUND PICK KYLE ZIMMER

Kansas City, MO (June 7, 2012) – The Kansas City Royals today announced the club has signed first-round draft choice Kyle Zimmer, the fifth overall selection in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft.  Consistent with team policy, terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The 20-year-old Zimmer, a 6-foot-4, 220-pound right-handed starter, went 5-3 with a 2.85 ERA in 13 starts, including three complete games, for the Dons in 2012.  In 88.1 innings, he allowed 76 hits, 28 earned runs and 17 walks, while striking out 104.  Zimmer led the West Coast Conference in shutouts (2), strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings (10.6).  Baseball America rated Zimmer as having the best fastball among all collegiate prospects and his curveball as the third-best in the collegiate ranks.  He was named a preseason second-team All-American by Baseball America entering 2012 and to the 2012 Midseason USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Watch List last month.  Zimmer was also a member of the 2012 WCC All-Academic team, posting a 3.72 GPA.

Born in San Francisco, Calif., he attended La Jolla (Calif.) High School in the San Diego area where he played four years of baseball, mostly as a third baseman, while also competing in water polo and basketball.  Serving mostly as a position player, he pitched a total of 21.1 innings during his high school career.  Zimmer converted to pitcher his freshman season at USF, but only made five appearances that year.  He then posted a 6-5 record with a 3.73 ERA last season, including outdueling 2011 first-overall selection Gerrit Cole and the UCLA Bruins, 3-0, in a four-hit complete-game shutout with 11 strikeouts in a NCAA regional game on June 3, 2011.

Zimmer is the 23^rd pitcher to be selected by the Royals in the first round and the first since 2011 All-Star Aaron Crow in 2009.

Naturals’ outfielder Wil Myers has been selected as the Texas League Player of the Week for the period of April 23^rd-29^th, Texas League President Tom Kayser announced Monday.

The 21-year old Thomasville, NC resident hit safely in all six games he played in the past week, and hit .556 (10-for-18) with two home runs, six RBI’s, three walks, and two stolen bases.  A Texas League All-Star last season, Myers is batting .354 with six home runs and 14 RBI’s in his second season with Northwest Arkansas.

The Kansas City Royals’ third-best prospect overall according to Baseball America, Myers is taking home a player of the week award in the Texas League for the first time.

Tulsa Drillers starting pitcher Dan Houston was named as the league’s pitcher of the week.

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are the Double-A Texas League affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and play at state-of-the-art Arvest Ballpark, located in Springdale.  Visit our website, nwanaturals.com, for information on season tickets and ticket plans.

The Royals’ minor league clubs moved quickly into action as soon as the big league club broke camp. No sooner were the minors rosters set than they were on the field, starting games on April 5.

The Royals had the top rated farm system in all of baseball just over a year ago. But much has changed since then, and most of those top prospects are now doing battle in KC.

That doesn’t mean, however, that the cupboard is now bare. The minor league rosters are peppered with another crop of elite prospects. And though the games going on in KC should actually mean something this year, the minor leagues bear watching as the next wave of prospects matures.

Take a look at the Royals top pitching prospects

Photo Courtesy of Minda Haas

With Eric Hosmer, and Mike Moustakas entrenched in the corners of the Royals infield, most of the Royals’ top rated prospects are pitchers.  Only three position players were ranked in the top 100 by Baseball America this off-season, and only those three were rated among the Royals’ top 10 prospects.

Wil Myers has been touted as one of baseball’s top prospects for a couple of years now, and he headlines the Royals farm system. Myers was rated the #10 prospect by Baseball America a year ago, and even after an injury-plagued, mildly disappointing 2011, he still is rated #28. Myers will start this season in Double-A Northwest Arkansas, but will look to move up mid-season.

Without having done anything on the field yet, outfielder Bubba Starling is Baseball America’s #24 prospect. Starling has every tool known to man, but will take time converting to baseball full-time after devoting little time to low-level Kansas high school competition.

Rising star Cheslor Cuthbert, a third baseman who will begin the season in Wilmington, is rated #84.

It’s time for some new position prospects to move to the fore.

Three of the Royals’ most prime prospects are not on rosters as of the beginning of the season. Starling, Brett Eibner and Elier Hernandez have yet to find their home for the start of 2012.

Hernandez signed the largest contract ever given to a Latin American amateur in KC history, and he will be brought along slowly. Eibner has been a frustrating talent since being drafted out of college. His days as an elite prospect are about up.

Omaha:
The Omaha roster is full of mid-to-late-20s players who aren’t exactly prospects anymore, minus the exception of second baseman Johnny Giavotella. Giavotella will turn 25 mid-season, and has a good chance of returning to KC sometime this season.

Minor league veterans Kevin Kouzmanoff, Clint Robinson and Jarrod Dyson will provide insurance, should any injuries occur in KC. Outfielders David Lough (26) and Derrick Robinson (24) are talented, but see their windows of opportunity closing.

No catcher in the Omaha roster is truly big-league caliber, which is why the Royals were forced to trade for Humberto Quintero after Salvador Perez went down. Minor leaguer Manny Pina may go to Omaha after he returns from the disabled list.

Northwest Arkansas:
In Christian Colon and Rey Navarro, Northwest Arkansas has two top prospects in its middle infield. Former number one draft pick Colon (23 years old) is still struggling to put it all together at shortstop. Last season he batted just .257 with eight homers at Northwest Arkansas.

Colon has been given some chances at second base, but that’s also Navarro’s territory. Navarro (22) put up a .280 average with nine homers and 11 stolen bases between Wilmington and Northwest Arkansas.

Myers will hope to improve on his .254 average and eight homers posted in Double-A last season. He looks to be just a year away from a shot at the big league roster.

Wilmington:
Third baseman Cuthbert will start the year in Wilmington, and he won’t be rushed. After all, he is just 19. He’s two years younger than any other position player on the Wilmington roster. Cuthbert’s numbers don’t wow anyone, but his physical talents and maturity have impressed ever since he was signed as a 16-year-old.

Kane County:
Outfielder Jorge Bonifacio is considered an elite prospect out of the Dominican Republic. Just 18 years old, and like Hernandez, he has lots of tools, but just needs to grow into them.

2010 Third-rounder Michael Antonio gives the Royals a shortstop to watch for down the road. He hit well in the rookie leagues last year.

Idaho Falls:
Salvador Perez is the Royals catcher of the future, but catcher of the future-future might be big 19-year-old Cameron Gallagher, a second-round pick who got in 28 games of rookie ball last season. There aren’t many catching prospects in the farm system, so Gallagher will be watched closely.

The Royals’ minor league clubs moved quickly into action as soon as the big league club broke camp. No sooner were the minors rosters set than they were on the field, starting games on April 5.

The Royals had the top rated farm system in all of baseball just over a year ago. But much has changed since then, and most of those top prospects are now doing battle in KC.

That doesn’t mean, however, that the cupboard is now bare. The minor league rosters are peppered with another crop of elite prospects. And though the games going on in KC should actually mean something this year, the minor leagues bear watching as the next wave of prospects matures.

Noticeably absent from the minor league rosters is John Lamb, Baseball America’s #18 prospect in 2011. Lamb is still rehabbing his surgically repaired elbow in Surprise. Still, Baseball America thought enough of Lamb to rank him sixth among Royals prospects.

Pitching prospects in the system ranked by Baseball America in 2012 are Mike Montgomery, #23, and Jake Odorizzi, #68.

Omaha:
Triple-A rosters are usually stocked at least in part with veterans who are ready to jump to the big leagues in a moment’s notice. KC’s Omaha farm team has a handful of starters who have already failed once (or more times) at the big league level.

Zach Miner fits that description. The 30-year-old who owns a 25-20 record in the bigs is still trying to work his way back from an injury that knocked him out of the entire 2010 season.

Also on Omaha’s staff will be Vin Mazzaro and Sean O’Sullivan, two who failed miserably in their chances in KC. No longer considered prospects, Mazzaro, O’Sullivan and particularly Miner will need to seize this as possibly their last opportunity.

Brandon Sisk, a 26-year-old who has received very little attention to this point, had a very good season split between NW and Omaha in 2011. Ryan Verdugo, 25, came over in the Melky Cabrera trade from San Francisco.

In the Omaha bullpen are three familiar faces to KC – Louis Coleman, Nathan Adcock and Jeremy Jeffress. Coleman has to be the most disappointed to not be on the big league roster. Coleman pitched well for the Royals last season, posting a 2.87 ERA and a 1.173 WHIP in 48 games.

Adcock was overmatched last year, but he has a chance now to prove who he truly is as a prospecT. Jeffress spiraled from KC all the way down to Double-A, struggling at every level. But his enviable physical ability keeps him in the “top-prospect” category.

Much to Ned Yost’s dismay, Montgomery solidified his spot in Omaha quite early in the spring. KC hoped to give the big righthander every opportunity to crack the big league rotation. But Montgomery failed miserably in spring training and took himself out of the running. Still ranked #1 among Royals prospects by Baseball America, Montgomery needs to improve on an awful 2011 in Omaha (5-11, 5.32 ERA), or he’ll be in danger of becoming a bust.

NW Arkansas:
Double-A tends to be the “proving ground” for prospects. Therefore it shouldn’t be surprising that most of the Royals’ premier pitching talents (aside from Montgomery) will start the season in Northwest Arkansas, even though many of them ended 2011 there.

Probably the team’s top pitching prospect at this point is 22-year-old lefty Odorizzi, the Royals’ #4 prospect according to Baseball America.  A key piece in the Zack Greinke trade, Odorizzi has moved slowly but steadily through the ranks. Odorizzi’s performances were spotty at Northwest Arkansas after dominating at Wilmington in the first half of 2011. He will probably get a promotion if he pitches well at Double-A.

The Royals’ #9 rated prospect, Chris Dwyer, will also start the same place he finished 2011. Dwyer was marginally successful last season, going 8-10 with 5.60 ERA. He will also be gunning for a mid-season promotion.

Northwest Arkansas will have an abundance of starting pitchers, and the most intriguing prospect is Noel Arguelles. The Cuban signee finally made his appearance in Wilmington last year after hiding in the shadows of a huge contract and mysterious arm troubles. Opinions of his ability vary greatly, but Arguelles had a 3.20 ERA and a 1.125 WHIP in his first professional season.

Other marginal prospects Tim Melville (22-years-old), Justin Marks (24) and Kendal Volz (24) will have a chance to prove themselves as prospects or just warm bodies against the tough Texas League competition.

Wilmington:
The Royals #8 prospect, Jason Adam and #10 prospect, Yordano Ventura, will begin the season in Wilmington. Both 20-year-olds had losing records and high ERAs at Kane County last year, but both have highly-regarded talent.

Keep an eye on 21-year-old Greg Billo. He went 9-5 with a 1.93 ERA and a 1.022 WHIP at Kane County. Billo struck out 7.9 batters per nine innings.

Earlier this week as I was drowning in the sarcasm and negativity from my fellow Royals bloggers, I made a decision to make sure this week’s article was positive. It’s hard to imagine a Spring Training going much worse than 2012 has gone for the Kansas City Royals, so I thought I should offer up a little Kool Aid for a fan base that may be growing hesitant to partake. Of course, Dayton Moore kind of beat me to it now didn’t he?

The Alex Gordon signing makes three in just over a month for Moore and all of them have surprised me by how little they’ve cost. This means Dayton Moore is either a master negotiator or Kansas City is truly a place these guys want to be.  Either would be great news for the Royals, but I tend to believe the latter is more of a factor. Whatever the motivation, we are now assured that the core of this team will be together for the foreseeable future. We have superb defense at short and catcher, developing power at the corner infield positions, solid production from a corner outfielder and (still) the second best farm system in all of baseball according to Baseball America. The rest of the AL Central ranks 20^th (Minnesota) 23^rd (Detroit), 29^th (Cleveland) and 30^th (Chicago). The future has never looked brighter in Kansas City, and I mean never.

That being said the Kool Aid Drinker, like many of you I assume, is tired of waiting. I’ve had illusions of grandeur with no payoff for far too long and I’m ready for some results. When I say “results” I mean playoffs; when I say “ready” I mean expect. And I mean now. How?

The Superstar- This offense will score a ton of runs in 2012, of that I have no doubt. Even with Chris Getz or Yuniesky Betancourt sieving at bats… even with Humberto Quintero or Brayan Pena clogging the bottom of the order. They will score runs because for the first time in a decade they have a legitimate top and middle of the order. More to the point, they will score runs because of Eric Hosmer. Before I started at I70 Baseball, I had my own little blog and I wrote this about Hosmer. The kid is destined to be a star and there is no reason to think a regression is coming in year two. With Billy Butler (whom I expect to have a career year in 2012) behind him teams will no choice but to pitch to him, which will result in Hosmer breaking Steve Balboni’s embarrassment of a home run record. I said it on Twitter, and I’ll say it now officially. Hosmer is going .335-37-132 and winning the MVP. Think that is ridiculous? No player has ever had a rookie season like Hosmer’s and not won an MVP eventually.

Country Breakfast- There are countless articles on the web telling you how Billy Butler is in the best shape of his life and it’s about damn time. Butler is the quintessential “see ball, hit ball” hitter and I guess because of that he always thought his pudgy frame served him just fine. I was always concerned that the current wave of Royals prospects would see Butler’s approach and adopt it, turning us into a cheaper and less talented version of the Boston Red Sox. Thankfully, it seems that Hosmer and company have reversed my expectations and motivated Butler to hit the weights. It is not possible to state the importance of Billy Butler producing behind Hosmer’s big bat, and no one should know that better than Butler himself. He knows what it’s like to be a star up-and-coming hitter with no protection. Of course, Butler still isn’t exactly a grizzled veteran himself, he turns 26 in a little over 2 weeks. In other words, he’s entering his prime. Billy Butler will have a career year in 2012, putting up .351-26-115 and winning his first batting title. I admit I may be a bit off on this one. I see Butler as a right handed hitting Carl Yastrzemski, and Butler could very well mimic Yaz’s 1967 season in which he went .326-44-121. For those of you rolling your eyes, Yaz had never hit more than 20 home runs coming into that year.

Luke Hochevar- I said it before and I’ll say it again, Cool hand Luke is going to break out in a big way in 2012. I really think he’s the kind of guy that may not do well playing out the string on another 90 loss season but may thrive when things are really going well. He has what should be an excellent defense behind him, and he’ll get to face terrible lineups in Chicago and Minnesota along the way. I’m not predicting anything silly like a Cy Young, but I think 15 wins and a sub 4 ERA is well within his reach.

The Competition- The White Sox and Twins are flat out terrible; the Royals should win 25-28 of those 36 games. The Indians, in my opinion, are overrated and will struggle to win 72 games. That leaves us with the Tigers, who I think are this year’s candidate to be the most disappointing team in Major League Baseball. There is absolutely no way that Justin Verlander duplicates what he did in 2011, none. I think he’s due to regress in a major way, if not fall to injury. He’s thrown nearly 900 innings the past 4 seasons combined, and not less than 200 in the last five. I think that streak gets broken in 2012. Of course, the Tigers pitching isn’t what scares people, right? It’s that lineup. Well, I ain’t scared. It didn’t take long at all for Miguel Cabrera to take a ground ball off the face, who knows what injury is next. Even if he doesn’t, we’ve already talked about the massive letdown Prince Fielder is about to experience. After those two, what’s left? Austin Jackson? He’s got over 350 strikeouts in 2 seasons. Brennan Boesch? Your Kila Ka’aihue impersonation isn’t fooling anyone. Delmon Young? Please. This lineup just isn’t that scary, and there defense will be atrocious. This is not a 100 win team, and it may struggle to be a 90 win team.

At this point you’re either extremely excited, or wondering what I’m smoking…or both. Regardless, jump on the Kool Aid Drinker bandwagon now! 93 wins and an AL Central title from now, it may be too full.

I attended the Futures Game at Kauffman stadium last year, hoping to catch a glimpse of the prospects that earned a #1 ranking for the Kansas City Royals by Baseball America.

Photo Courtesy of Minda Haas

Let me tell you, from that one exhibition, I came away with a new twist on an old phrase:

“I have seen the future, and it is Mike Montgomery.”

On that April 4 afternoon, all the top prospects were on display. Danny Duffy and John Lamb looked good, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Wil Myers looked ok, and Christian Colon looked awful.

But Mike Montgomery stood head and shoulders above them all.

No one was surprised. After all, he lit up spring training in Arizona and was only sent to Omaha for a little more seasoning.

Fast-forward one year, and Montgomery now not only isn’t ready for the big leagues, he seems headed in the wrong direction.

While all the news in Surprise this month swirled around contract extensions and injuries, Montgomery was quietly demoted to the minor league camp as the Royals trimmed their roster. This time around, he was one of the first to be cut.

That he didn’t make the roster isn’t shocking. But his downward spiral is. The big left-hander got blasted in his two trips to the mound in the Cactus League – 2 2/3 innings, six runs, six hits, three walks.

That disappointment comes when we all hoped for a bounce-back from the dismal 5-11 record and combustible 5.32 ERA he posted in Omaha last year.

“It was a struggle for him this year,” manager Ned Yost told reporters in Surprise. “He didn’t command the ball.”

Reading between the lines, Yost seems pretty frustrated with Montgomery’s showing.

“We wanted to see him come in and… compete for one of these spots, and it just never developed. We want him to go back and get his innings. He’s a guy that we think can come help us sometime over the course of the year, but that’s up to his performance.”

Obviously, Yost saw Montgomery as an integral piece of the youth movement. But as long as the prospects flounder, Yost has to continue to cobble together a rotation of veteran castoffs and stopgaps. (Jonathan Sanchez, Bruce Chen, Felipe Paulino, etc.)

What exactly is Montgomery’s problem?

Much was made last year of his disagreement with the organization over training methods. Montgomery has been a devotee of “long-toss” exercise, which the Royals don’t fully endorse.

Without any inside information, and because Yost gives no hint to Montgomery’s health being an issue, one has to speculate that one the following is occurring:

1) Montgomery is employing his own chosen training techniques, but they aren’t working.
2) Montgomery is being forced to follow the Royals’ prescribed regimen, and it’s not working.
3) Montgomery is allowing his frustration with the organization to affect his performance, and his “coach-ability.”

This is pure speculation, obviously. But something is most definitely wrong.

Back in January, Baseball America rated Montgomery the Royals’ top prospect. But he’s slipping down MLB.com’s list. Last year, Montgomery was rated the #14 prospect by MLB.com. This year, he fills the #31 spot.

That’s not the direction you want your stock heading.

I’m sure the Royals aren’t ready to give up on Montgomery yet. But with the “player to be named later” looming out there after the Humberto Quintero trade, I wouldn’t be surprised it that player turns out to be Montgomery. If Montgomery doesn’t want to train the way the Royals want him to, he may need to be sent elsewhere.

One year ago, the Royals farm system was flush with prospects. Former pitcher and current announcer Jeff Montgomery said at that time that the team was so loaded, it could handle failure from a fraction of those prospects.

But now, with injuries and attrition, each prospect seems like a precious resource. It’s painful to see any of them fail, particularly one of the most highly touted of all.