As our look around the Cardinals’ system, from the roof to the basement continues, we’ll move onto catcher, where the club is in a familiar situation. In Yadier Molina, the direction of the team is set with perhaps the face of the entire organization, yet even in as secure of a situation has there is, there still have to be contingencies. So what is the scenario behind Yadi? And is the future potentially as certain as the immediate past and present has been? Here’s how the current situation for the Cardinals’ backstops is playing out.

St. Louis: The scene is set with the big league squad, and isn’t changing for a while. Molina is arguably the best catcher in baseball currently. Since inheriting the job from now manager Mike Matheny in 2005, he’s grown into the best defensive player in baseball, a winner of five consecutive Gold Gloves and two Platinum Gloves as well. His bat has also began to rise up the level of his prodigious defense as well, has he has hit .310 over the past three seasons. This balance helped him finish fourth in the National League MVP vote a year ago. At 31, he’s the cornerstone of the team, and is an unapproachable role as the team’s top catcher.

Although the opportunities behind Molina are sparse, Tony Cruz made a solid impact in his part-time work and is a fairly good athlete. He’s in a good position to hold the spot for a while, as he is low cost, young and has an ability to play other positions if needed.

High Minors: At Memphis, the club currently has some veteran backstops stashed to provide depth, and most importantly, help groom the young arms reaching the brink of St. Louis. Rob Johnson and J.R. Towles are currently lining up behind the plate. While neither is much more than an extreme fallback option in case of an injury to Molina or Cruz, Johnson did perform well in the spring.

At Double-A Springfield, 26-year- old Audry Perez has been the part-time backstop for two years, splitting the duties three ways in 2011. While not a major prospect, in five seasons through the organization, he has hit .275.

Low Minors: Cody Stanley and Jesus Montero are the prime talents at the Class-A level, both at Palm Beach currently. A former pitcher, Montero the 21-year-old hit .308 at Low-A Batavia in 33 games a year ago. Of all the catchers in the system currently, he has among the best chances of breaking through into St. Louis. While he projects favorably, but needs to get healthy to starve off his teammate this season, Cody Stanley. The 24-year-old is hitting .250, with a home run and two triples, and while he isn’t a great threat to make an impact in St. Louis, he can be a solid player in the minors.

Steve Bean, the team’s second round pick a year ago, showed some potential as well. He split his first professional year at Johnson City and the GCL Cardinals at the Rookie level. After a slow start at Johnson City, he hit .320 in 50 plate appearances in the Gulf Coast League, and at only 19 years old, he has a decent amount promise to still deliver on. He’ll continue in the GCL when season play starts June 21.

Prognosis: In a lot of ways, it’s really Yadi and then everybody else. And while that would be the case regardless of the talent behind him, it’s a rather extreme difference. From veteran backups to young, but one-dimensional prospects, there’s not a clear player that is “next” in the organization right now. While Cruz is talented, he’s not displayed himself to be a candidate for much more of a role than he carries now, for any club. And while Montero and Bean are showing potential, they are some way off from being even among the better players in the system as whole. So for the time being, in Molina’s value is even greater than is seen daily, just due to how much taller he is than the pool he’s standing in.

If, as Dayton Moore is so fond of saying, “pitching is the currency of baseball,” then the Royals drew pretty heavily from their account this season, dipping into the minors for nearly every capable reliever they could find.

Aaron Crow, hardly ready for the big leagues at this time last year, was promoted to the big league bullpen, as were several others who could probably have benefited from a little more work at Triple-A. Any of the cast of newbies – Tim Collins, Everett Teaford, Louis Coleman and Greg Holland – probably should have been on the list of 2012 top prospects, were it not for the big league club’s urgent need for arms. Throw in Nate Adcock and it was basically a Triple-A cast of characters.

But they held their own. The bullpen is now the strength of the pitching staff, and the team needs desperately to find some starters worthy of the collection of talent now manning the fielding positions.

There may be some help on the horizon, but nothing in the Royals’ farm system looks like a sure thing for 2012. In this, the second part of a post-season evaluation of the Royals’ top minor league prospects, I-70 Baseball.com highlights the pitchers. See the first part of the series for a look at the top prospects at the fielding positions for 2012.

(This article will ignore many of the pitchers who might well play a role in the Royals’ future, such as Robinson Tejeda, Vin Mazarro and Sean O’Sullivan. They’ve had their chances, and they are at this point nothing more than interchangeable parts.)

Right-handed starters:

There is a need for more top-flight righties in the system. The top righty however, Jake Odorizzi, might wind up being the best prospect in the entire organization. Will he be another Greinke, as was originally advertised?

Jake Odorizzi – he will rate very high in the next version of Baseball America’s rankings. Is he ready to make the jump to Kansas City? He will most likely be given at least a shot at a rotation spot in the spring.

Jason Adam – one of the Royals’ most prized developmental projects, Adam made 21 starts for Kane County in his first professional season. Though his numbers weren’t great, the potential is there.

Greg Billo – turned 21 at mid-season for Kane County. Pitched well as a starter and out of the pen, registering a 1.93 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP.

Left-handed starters:

Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas got most of the ink last winter, but it was the Royals’ wealth of left-handed pitching that made their farm-system truly phenomenal. With Danny Duffy, Collins and Teaford in this mix, they were simply loaded with top-flight lefties. But now the Royals need some of the remaining talent to give their big-league starting rotation a makeover.

Mike Montgomery – going into 2011, he was without a doubt the Royals’ most dynamic pitching prospect. But Montgomery never quite harnessed his tremendous ability this year. He battled the organization over training methods, and his 5-11 record, 5.32 ERA and 1.500 WHIP were all disappointments. Nonetheless, he will probably start the season in the KC rotation, and the team desperately needs him to develop into a quality big league starter.

Chris Dwyer – was up and down, but probably has a shot at making the Royals’ rotation next season. If not he will probably be second only to Odorizzi amongst the Royals’ top farm hands next season.

John Lamb – possibly the biggest disappointment in the whole farm system was the arm injury suffered by Lamb early in the season. Going into the year, there were many who considered Lamb the Royals’ top pitching prospect and one of the best in game. Now Lamb begins the long (approximately one year) road back from Tommy John surgery. According to the customary timeframe, he could be pitching by June of next year.

Noel Arguelles – many doubted this guy would ever wear a uniform, so secret and mysterious were his arm problems. But the Cuban signee finally did take to the field and he was solid if not spectacular. Time will tell if he can recover the arm strength that made him a coveted international prospect.

Right-handed relievers:

Former big-leaguers Tejeda and Jeremy Jeffress remain options at this spot in spite of their struggles.

Kelvin Herrera – the best prospect that never showed up on anyone’s radar, neither before the season nor during it. He quietly put together a dazzling season, jumping from Wilmington to Northwest Arkansas to Omaha in a whirlwind campaign. Batters at each of the three levels failed to hit .200 against him. His WHIP was an uncanny .842. Herrera will turn 22 on New Years Eve, and could make next year a happy one for Royals’ fans.

Jeremy Jeffress – everyone else acquired in the Greinke trade had a great season. This guy went the wrong direction, getting demoted twice in one year.

Kendal Volz – came over in a mid-season trade. He’ll be given a crack at the Omaha pen next year.

Left-handed relievers:

There aren’t many lefty-relievers at the top levels of the farm system. Considering the shakiness of Collins and Teaford, more help may be needed, sooner rather than later.

Kevin Chapman – at Wilmington and Northwest Arkansas he struck out a combined 13.1 per nine innings. Due to the lack of lefty relievers ahead of him, Chapman should play a key role in the Omaha pen, just a phone call away from KC.

The big story come spring training will be who will make up KC’s starting rotation. Montgomery, Dwyer and Odorizzi should all receive a very long look. Judging by the rocky season Duffy just suffered through, fans should brace for the steep learning curve facing any rookie who makes the rotation. The bullpen looks more set, but Herrera and Jeffress will probably get a shot at making the big club.

Where did this come from? The Angels and the White Sox looked slightly puzzled this week facing a revamped Royals team. This is definitely not the team from a year ago. They have exhibited a bite and determination in the late innings that was not there last year unless Joakim Soria was pitching.

The Royals are only a half a game out of first after this afternoon’s loss to the Tigers, which is encouraging to the entire organization. The young hitters are hitting pretty well (ranked in the top 8 in both average and home runs) and the defense right in the middle of the pack (14th ranked field percentage).

The Royals won four in a row after losing their home opener before losing the second game of a two-game series with the White Sox and again this afternoon in Detroit. The Royals still have a solid chance to take the series with two games remaining in Detroit before a day off.

After Monday, the Royals will travel to Minnesota for a quick two game set, which begins a thirteen-day stretch in which the Royals will play. After Minnesota the Royals will travel back home to host the Mariners (four games) and the Indians (3 games) before traveling down to Texas to face the Rangers.

The Royals have been fortunate so far in avoiding injuries. Currently the only one on the disabled list is veteran Jason Kendall, who is expected to be return as soon as he has been deemed ready. His return, like Jeff Suppan’s, should provide veteran leadership to a very youthful team (especially the pitching staff). His contributions at the plate are significant but not nearly as significant as those behind it.

The pitching staff both starters and bullpen have been shaky the last couple of games but kept the games within reach (three runs or less) during every single contest. However one or two mistake pitches is all it takes to make the difference in this game. If the pitching staff falls into sync, the defense will naturally improve as the season goes along.

Taking the season one game at a time is working for these young players. A loss or two in a row is expected for any team. They are young and ambitious at this point. The fans eagerly want this team to stay hungry but also are skeptical because they have been burned by many previous Royals’ teams that have come before that showed this kind of promise. If they keep it up, they will earn back the respect of their city and fan base that after last year, had all but given up on them.

Photo by Erika Lynn

The Kansas City Royals have not given their fans much to get excited about for the upcoming 2011 season. Their biggest, and only legitimate, superstar in Zack Greinke was traded to Milwaukee, thus leaving their rotation depleted. They’ve brought in a couple of average-at-best hitters in Jeff Francoeur and Melky Cabrera to fill the holes in their outfield created by other deals. The faith of the entire organization is in the Royals farm system that has been called the best in Major League Baseball, led by slugger Mike Moustakas.

Let loose The Moose

Royals’ fans need a boost of energy. They need something about this team to get excited about. They need a new face of the franchise. Here’s a quick solution to all three of those needs: Name Moustakas the starting third baseman for the 2011 season. He is ready. Look at this stat line from last year: .322 BA, 36 HR, 124 RBI, .999 OPS, and only 67 strikeouts in 534 plate appearances between Northwest Arkansas and Omaha. What else does he need to learn in the minor leagues?

Now, the Royals may be a little gun-shy after seeing the struggles of Alex Gordon. There was just as much excitement for the arrival of Gordon in 2007, but he had only spent one season in the minor leagues. Moustakas now has four seasons of minor league ball under his belt, and he has succeeded at every level. Also, it’s not like the Royals have anyone blocking his position. Does anyone really think that journeyman Wilson Betemit is the answer at the hot corner? It’s highly doubtful.

It’s been rumored the Royals want to bring up their most advanced prospects at the same time, in order to keep that core group together for as long as possible at any level. The fact of the matter is that Moustakas is more ready than any one else in the system, and it would be a mistake to make him wait any longer. The ideal outcome would be that he hits the ground running, possibly even putting Jason Heyward-type numbers. Even if that isn’t the case, he has to learn how to succeed at the highest level at some point. Moustakas is certain to struggle at some point when he makes it to the big club, but learning to handle those struggles both physically and mentally will be key to a successful career with Kansas City. The Royals are not going to be competitive in the near future, so this seems like an ideal time to start calling these super-prospects up to see how they can perform against the best of the best.

So, give Moustakas the call. Name him your starting third baseman for this upcoming season, attach him to hitting coach Kevin Seitzer’s hip, and watch him mold into a superstar. The Royals are staring down the barrel of another triple-digit loss season. The organization knows it, the players know it, and the fans know it. However, if Moustakas turns out to be as dominant as scouts say he is, that little light at the end of the tunnel could start to faintly appear. The future of the Royals is now, and it starts with Mike Moustakas.