For several years now the Royals have had one of the better farm systems in Major League Baseball.  Most teams should be so lucky.  The Royals however haven’t been able to translate this advantage into success on the field and there would seem to be one very good reason for this.

You can’t win the World Series with the AAA Storm Chasers.  It takes time to scout and develop major league talent.  While developing young talent can be exciting, it usually comes with long periods of growing pains while the fans wait for the team to assemble all of the necessary pieces to win consistently.  And if you’re a mid-market team like the Royals then you hope that you have enough players developed each year to keep costs down.

In a weak division, the offensive core might be enough to keep the Royals out of the basement for the foreseeable future but to be yearly contenders they are still missing something.  Pitching, pitching and maybe a little pitching.  This is where general manager Dayton Moore earned his paycheck this offseason.

Moore started his offseason by acquiring Ervin Santana (and cash) from the Angles in exchange for LHP Brandon Sisk.  The Angles are of course currently attempting to outspend every other team in baseball and thought they could do better than Santana.  Forced to exercise his buyout option, the move seems more about dumping Santana to try and buy up more expensive pitching arms than it was about picking up prospects.  Santana isn’t exactly anyone’s idea of a team ace but he can definitely eat up innings and has the potential to strike out a ton of guys.  Unfortunately he also has the potential to give up a lot of runs.

Santana is coming off of a pretty bad year where he gave up a league leading 39 of said home runs as well as one of the more undesirable ERAs (5.16).  The Royals are hoping that the Santana they get is the Santana that can strike out 200 plus batters while posting a 3.49 ERA like he did in 2008 and so far so good.  In 7 starts, Santana has a 2.79 ERA.  What probably scares the Royals is that fact that almost half of his earned runs have come off of the long ball.  Still, it seems like a smart move, especially since Sisk, the minor league pitcher they gave up to acquire Santana, now needs Tommy John surgery.

Sisk, who has been a career minor league pitcher, seemed ready to come up and take on a bullpen position.  He posted a 2.54 ERA at the AAA level in 2012 but elbow surgery puts his future into question.  The Angles did place Sisk on their 40 man roster which means they still see potential, but for now the Royals seem to have come out on top of this trade.

But by far the biggest move for the Royals this offseason was the 6 man trade with Tampa Bay.  The trade sent starting pitchers James Shields and Wade Davis to Kansas City in exchange for minor leaguers Patrick Leonard, Jake Odorizzi, Mike Montgomery and Wil Myers.

Wade Davis probably isn’t going to win over the hearts and minds of the ever patient Royals fans.  Just another arm for an under achieving starting rotation.  James Shields is another matter as he’s the closest thing to an ace the Royals have had since the departure of Zack Greinke.  He’s had a strikeouts per 9 innings rate of over 8 since 2010 and pitches deep into games.  But even if he’s everything the Royals hope he will be, he is only signed through this year with a $12 million dollar option for 2014.

The Royals gave up the 2012 minor league player of the year for what seems to be a 2 year shot at winning a weak division.  The Rays, who can’t draw a crowd and can’t ever hope to spend the kind of money that other teams in their division do have to rely on smart moves in order to compete and this is one of them.  The Royals have an incredibly deep farm system but giving up what some people consider to be baseball’s best prospect for an outside chance at a championship is risky but it does send a message.  The Royals want to win and they want to win now.  They haven’t been to the post season since they won the World Series in 1985 and they want that to change.

Early in the season they hold a winning record but their hopes of making the playoffs are probably tied to beating the Tigers.  Their offensive core will remain in Kansas City for the time being but the pitching that they have literally bet the farm for will not.  The silver lining here is that the Royals fans finally have something to be excited about, that is unless Wil Myers turns out to be an annual MVP candidate.  If that turns out to be the case, nothing short of a World Series will be worth the cost.

For several years now the Kansas City Royals have had one of the better farm systems in Major League Baseball.  Most teams should be so lucky.  The Royals haven’t been able to translate this advantage into success on the field and there would seem to be one very good reason for this.

You can’t win the World Series with the AAA Storm Chasers.  It takes time to scout and develop major league talent.  While developing young talent can be exciting, it usually comes with long periods of growing pains while the fans wait for the team to assemble all of the necessary pieces to win consistently.  And if you’re a mid-market team like the Royals, then you hope that you have enough players developed each year to keep costs down.

But the patience may be paying off for Royals fans as they are now getting a glimpse at what a winning, home-grown baseball team looks like in Kansas City.  Mike Moustakas, who was a 1^st round draft pick in 2007, had 20 home runs and 73 RBIs last year in 560+ at bats.  Despite having a slow start in April, Moustakas has shown signs that his bat is coming alive hitting 3 home runs in the last week.  Moustakas isn’t available for arbitration until 2015 and doesn’t become a free agent until 2018.  Moustakas is still far from the player the Royals want him to be though.  He drew only 39 walks and struck out 124 times last year.  However, if Moustakas can learn some discipline at the plate he is sure to be the guy holding down the hot corner for years to come at Kauffman stadium.

There is cause for optimism for Moustakas as his first year stats are not all that dissimilar to the numbers that outfielder Alex Gordon put up in his debut year.  Gordon, another 1^st round pick from 2005 also struck out in excess of 130 times with only 41 walks.  You won’t hear anyone complaining about Alex Gordon though as the Royals have developed him into a player that turns in a 300 plus batting average every year.  Now hitting in the 3^rd spot in the lineup, he is currently batting over .320 this year and already has 6 home runs to go with that average.  Gordon is signed through 2015 with a club option for the 2016 season.

Gordon’s breakout is exactly what the Royal’s front office is hoping will happen for Eric Hosmer this year.  Hosmer, yet another first round pick from 2008 broke into the league in 2011 with 19 home runs and a .293 average.  As with other rookies, the walk rate could have been better but this was certainly a better rookie season than most expected.  Unfortunately it was followed up by a lack luster year in 2012 as his average dipped 60 points.  His average on balls in play (BABIP) for 2012 was a head hanging 255.  Hosmer is still incredibly young and should be able to correct his issues from last year.  Balls in play for 2013 are already up to 326.  Hosmer is available for arbitration next year so this season he is the player to watch as the Royals have been pretty open about how much they expect from him.  In fact, they probably expect him to be Billy Butler…at least by the numbers.

Billy Butler, if you’re keeping track, is also a 1^st round draft pick, consistently hits for average and power.  In his 7^th year playing for the Royals he has racked up 107 home runs and over 500 RBIs and will probably get his 1,000^th career hit before you finish reading this page.  This is the type of production the Royals want from Hosmer and it’s also why Butler’s 2015 option is starting to look like either the window for a home grown championship team or the year the Royals break out the check book and pay up.

While Butler is the type of player that all teams hope to develop, possibly the most important and likely the most overlooked piece to this young organization is Salvador Perez.  At 23 years old, Perez already holds the Royals franchise pick-off record for a single season.  The Royals believe that he will become one of the game’s best defensive catchers in years to come, something that no championship team can be without.  And the kid can hit as well.  In over 140 career games, Perez is hanging onto a 300 plus average.  The Royals feel so good about Perez that despite his apparent lack of experience, they have him signed through 2016 with options all the way through 2019.

In a weak division, this offensive core might be enough to keep the Royals out of the basement for the foreseeable future but to be yearly contenders we’re still missing something.

Check back tomorrow for a look at the pitching staff.

Another year is in the books for the Kansas City Royals.

They had ups and downs, highs and lows, and many, many growing pains.

2011 was judged a success from many within the organization, and more outside of the organization. Having a record of 71-91 isn’t normally looked at as a good thing. However, the progress made by the young players on this squad is more than anyone could have hoped for at the beginning of the year.

With that being said, it’s time to hand out some awards:

Best Player
The award for Best Player isn’t an easy one to give out for the 2011 Royals. Several players had stellar seasons, especially the top 5 hitters in the Royals lineup (Alex Gordon, Melky Cabrera, Billy Butler, Eric Hosmer, and Jeff Franceour). Each of those players had at least 18 Homeruns, 78 RBI’s, a .285 average, and a .799 On-Base Plus Slugging (OPS). With the exception of Hosmer, who was called up a month into the season, they all had at least 44 doubles.

At the end of the day, I have to give the award to Alex Gordon. He said he was going to “dominate” after the 2010 season, and he did not disappoint.

Gordon put up career highs in HR’s (23), Doubles (45), RBI’s (87), Runs Scored (101), and Batting Average (.303). He did all of this from the leadoff position for most of the year, which was a brand new spot for him in the batting order.

Not only did Gordon have a career year with his bat, he also got it done with his glove. This was the first full season of playing Left Field for Gordon in his career, but you would have never known with how smoothly he did it.

He recorded an MLB-best 20 outfield assists, which also set the Royals’ franchise record. He only committed 3 errors all season and his .991 fielding percentage was tops for American League Left Fielders.

Overall, Gordon’s numbers on both offense and defense were too much to ignore when selecting the Royals’ Best Player. He should also be considered for a Gold Glove this year and perhaps the A.L. Comeback Player of the year.

Honorable Mentions: 2)Hosmer 3)Butler 4)Cabrera 5)Francoeur

Best Pitcher
A lot of people will surely disagree with my choice for the Best Pitcher on the 2011 Royals: Luke Hochevar.

Of course, Bruce Chen was the fan favorite and had the Royals’ best win total (12) and ERA (3.77) among starting pitchers. He also battled injuries early in the season. Joakim Soria had a decent year notching 28 but he also had 7 blown saves. Aaron Crow was the Royals’ representative at the All-Star Game, but faded after the break. Greg Holland turned out to be the best bullpen arm and was the guy who the Royals used as their “fireman” throughout the season. However, I had to go with Hochevar for a couple different reasons.

Hochevar’s numbers weren’t anything special, but his Post-All Star Break numbers showed that he finally figured something out. He improved greatly throughout the season and gave Royals fans a look at a good Number 3 (maybe a Number 2) starter in the rotation.

Before the break, Hochevar went 5-8 with a 5.46 ERA. After the break, he was 6-3 with a 3.52 ERA. His numbers in all aspects were much better after the break and he rarely had the “big inning” that fans were accustomed to seeing at the beginning of the year. Also, he lasted 6 innings or more 11 times in his 12 starts post-break.

When Ned Yost gave Hochevar the ball for Opening Day, he showed a ton of confidence in the 27-(now 28)-year-old. He wanted Hoch to be the leader of the rotation and, in my mind, he was for the entire year. If you wanted somebody to give you the absolute best chance to win, with the best “stuff,” it had to be Hochevar.

Honorable Mentions: 2)Chen 3)Holland 4)Felipe Paulino 5)Soria

Rookie of the Year
I’m going to go ahead and rename this one as “Rookie of the Year-Not Named Eric Hosmer.” Obviously, Hosmer wins this award for the Royals. Hands-down. No vote needed. He is one of the top candidates to win A.L. Rookie of the year, and should in the minds of every Royals fan out there.

Hosmer’s final numbers look like this: 19 HR’s, 27 Doubles, 78 RBI’s, 66 Runs Scored, 11 Stolen Bases, .293 Batting Average, and .799 (OPS).

Stud. Absolute stud. Everybody knows about him and how good he his, so let’s get to the “Rookie of the Year-Not Named Eric Hosmer.”

For this award, I have to go with Greg Holland.

There were a lot of good choices for this award just like all the others. Mike Moustakas’ last couple months were what fans were ready to see when he was called up in early June. His power finally came around in the last month of the season, but it wasn’t quite enough to give him this award.

Aaron Crow’s ridiculous start to the season was overshadowed by his struggles after the All-Star break. Tim Collins and Louis Coleman were good, but inconsistent throughout the season. Johnny Giavotella and Salvador Perez made an instant impact when they were called up, but they didn’t play enough to solidify themselves as candidates for this award. (Although Perez’s offense and defense were much better than expected).

In the end, it had to be Greg Holland. If there was one pitcher you had to pick to get one out this year, it would have to be Holland. When any other young bullpen arm would come into the game, most fans had to be at least a little nervous that run might be given up. Not with Holland. I felt more comfortable every time he was on the mound than any other reliever.

He finished with a 1.80 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 60 innings pitched. If he can keep this up next year, he could become an even more important of the pitching staff.

Honorable Mentions: 2)Moustakas 3)Crow 4)Perez 5)Giavotella

Play of the Year

Jeff Francoeur, Jeff Francoeur, Jeff Francoeur. Right?

When you think of the Royals’ top plays this year, you think of Francoeur. His cannon of an arm was second to none in the Majors this year.

However, with all of Frenchy’s awesome defensive plays, Alcides Escobar has been greatly overshadowed. Maybe it’s because we were spoiled all year by Escobar’s unreal defensive prowess. Maybe it’s because of Frenchy’s constant smile that makes him look like a 10-year-old playing in Little League.

Those two guys would be the main attraction in the Royals Top 10 plays of the year.

For the best of the best, I have to give this award to FrencHy Gunning down Jhonny Peralta of the Detroit Tigers at 3^rd base on August 7^th. On this play,l Francoeur had to run to his left, field a base hit, square up his body towards 3^rd and make the throw. He did all of those things and the throw was on a line right to Mike Moustakas’ glove. The Royals were up 4 to 3 and instead of having runners at 1^st and 3^rd with one out, the Tigers then had a runner at 1^st with two outs. Unreal.

Honorable Mentions:

2)Alcides Escobar’s diving stop and throw on former Royal Alberto Callaspo on June 1^st. Escobar robbed Callaspo with a dive deep in the hole between 3^rd and short. He got up, made the throw, and Hosmer made an incredible scoop on a double hop. The score was 0-0 in the top of the 8^th with 2 outs and the bases loaded.

3)Francoeur makes the rare 9-3 putout against the A’s on September 7^th.

4)Francoeur robs Dustin Ackley of a homerun on September 9^th. Frenchy climbed the wall, and made the catch with his back towards homeplate.

5)Giavotella to Escobar to Hosmer for the double play against the A’s on September 5^th. Gio dove to his left, caught the ball on one hop, threw it to Escobar who caught it bare handed, and made the throw to hosmer for the 4-6-3 double play.

Game of the Year
Again, there are a ton of choices for this award. At the beginning of the year, it seemed like the Royals’ first 20 wins came on walk-offs. During the middle of the year, the team was struggling but still fighting back to win games. At the end of the year, the Royals had their 2012 lineup in full effect and showed flashes of greatness.

My Game of the Year Award goes to Royals vs. Rays on July 23^rd 2011.

The Royals fought back from a 2-0 and 4-2 deficit to win the game 5-4 in 10 innings.

This game was Mike Moustakas’ breakout game as he went 2-3 with a double and 3 of the Royals’ 5 RBI’s.

Down 4-3 in the bottom of the 9^th, the Royals were facing Kyle Farnsworth. Farnsworth pitched for the Royals the previous two years and was not loved by fans, to say the least. Down to their last out, the Royals had Alex Gordon coming up to the plate with Alcides Escobar on 1^st. Gordon doubled to deep right center to score Escobar and hand Farnsworth his 4^th blown save. It was really nice for fans to watch Farnsworth melt down like he did so many times for the Royals.

Then came the top of the 10^th. Aaron Crow came in, walked two batters, and was pulled from the game. Soria came in and gave up a single to load the bases. With no outs, everyone in Kauffman Stadium was nervous about what would happen next.

Soria, who was shaky all season, got a comebacker and two strikeouts to get out of the jam. The score was still 4-4 going into the bottom of the 10^th.

With Mike Aviles on first base, Eric Hosmer smacked a double to deep left center. Aviles got on his horse and scored all the way from first.

This game was the game of the year because of:

A)Rallying back from 2-0 and 4-2 deficits

B)Alex Gordon with the game-tying double with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9^th against Kyle Farnsworth

C)Soria getting out of a no-out bases-loaded jam

D)Hosmer with the walk-off double in extras

Honorable Mentions:

2) Royals 2, Angels 0 June 1^st

Butler with a walk-off HR, Escobar saves the game with his glove in the 8^th

3) Royals 7, White Sox 6 September 16^th

Bullpen blows 3-run lead, Hosmer walk-off double

4) Royals 2, Twins 1 July 15^th

Hosmer game-winning 2-run HR in the top of the 9^th

5) Royals 3, Red Sox 1 (F/14) July 25^th

Great pitching all night from 6 Royals pitchers, Mike Aviles with the botched squeeze bunt over Adrian Gonzalez’s head to score Hosmer in the 14^th

That does it for this year’s awards. Each one of these was difficult to pick and an argument can be made for each pick.

The best thing about these awards is that there were so many great players, plays, and games this year. In past years, awards would be much easier to hand out because of the lack of talent and passion that has plagued the Royals before.

2011 was the start to a new era in Royals baseball. The entire organization has taken a step forward so look forward to next year’s awards being even tougher to pick.

Please share your thoughts and let us know who your awards would go to.

After their toughest stretch of the season (against the Yankees and Red Sox), the Royals hit the road for an easier slate of games (Blue Jays, Indians, Tigers). The road trip went okay, as they finished 5-5, but it easily could have went excellent as every loss was by one run.

They came back to Kansas City last weekend for a quick three-game series against the Indians and the first game of the series produced the same result: a one-run loss.

Going 5-6 in 11 straight games seems like something the Royals have been doing for the majority of the year. However, having all six losses come down to one run is extremely tough to take for the team and the fans.

Of the Royals’ 83 losses so far this year, 31 of them have been by one run.

Yep… 31.

They have grown accustomed to building an early lead and losing it, or counting on their offense to make a comeback in the last few innings.

As disheartening as these losses can be, there is light to be shed on the situation.

First off, the Royals’ Runs Scored(RS)-Runs Allowed(RA) Differential is sitting at -53 after 142 games. This isn’t a great number by any means, but it is definitely surprising considering their record is 59-83.

Last year, they were at a -172 RS-RA Differential after 142 games, with a 58-84 record.

This means two things: 1) The 2011 Royals are one game better in the standings than the 2010 Royals and 2) The 2011 Royals are much, much more competitive than the 2010 Royals.

With the plethora of rookies on the current roster, there is no doubt in my mind that the improvement is going to continue into 2012.

This year, the Royals have been experiencing a ton of growing pains. Whether it’s the rookies in the bullpen blowing leads or the rookie hitters going through 0-20 slumps, 2011 has been more of a learning episode than anything.

Next year, look for the bullpen to hold onto more of the one or two run leads. Look for Mike Moustakas to go on a 15-game hitting streak filled with doubles and home runs rather than singles through the hole at 1^st and 2^nd. Look for Johnny Giavotella to be kept in the game during the 9^th inning because he has improved his defense.

One-run losses are very frustrating when they are happening over and over. Nobody likes to lose, especially in that type of fashion.

Improvement has to start somewhere and being closer and more competitive in individual games is a great start.

As hard as these losses are to swallow this year, just know that they are actually stepping stones into much greater success in 2012.

Once again I have several thoughts on the Royals, but none of them amount to an entire article. So here it goes:

The Logo: This has been on my mind for a while. Can we go back the crown logo with the R instead of the current crown logo with the KC? I have no real reason except nostalgia. Maybe we can start a twitter movement. Stranger things have happened over a #countrybreakfast.

Classic Royals Logo

The Gangs All Here: With the call up of Johnny Giavotella and Salvador Perez the Royals have placed a player making their MLB debut in 2011 as starters in all of the infield positions. The only one who didn’t get a hit in their first game was Eric Hosmer. He seems to be making up for that. I’m a little worried about Mike Moustakas inability to get over the Mendoza Line. He just looks lost at the plate.

The Royals are now the youngest team in the majors. Remember, sink or swim, this is the youth movement we’ve been waiting for. There will be growing pains. We need to remember that, including myself, when they make boneheaded plays. Especially plays that cost games.

Happy Trails: Many Royals fans have long said as long as Kyle Davies is in the rotation that the front office wasn’t serious about contending. Kyle Davies was released this week. This needs no other explanation. However, I have two questions. Who are the other teams interested in signing or trading for Kyle Davies? I hope one of them was the Wichita Wingnuts. Secondly, As Royals fans who will be our new Wipping Boy? Because…

Hochocinco to Cool Hand Luke: I’ll be honest. Luke Hochevar is not my favorite Royal. I’m not sure why. I would like think it was his holdout, signing bonus, and then subsequent sucktitude in the majors. But that hardly makes him unique to major leaguers. I have more favorable feelings for players that have had similar contract negotiations. At the beginning of the season I vowed that I would call Luke Hochevar, Hochocinco as long as his ERA remained above 5.00, or cinco. Since the All-Star Break Luke Hochevar has pitched like the ace he’s supposed to be. Lowering his ERA to 4.79. Hopefully this will continue. The Royals need as much starting pitching as they can get if they’re going to be competitive in 2012 and open their playoff window. But if it doesn’t, take notice Royals Fan Wipping Boy is currently an unfilled position.

Joakim Soira Ain’t Right: I know, you’re probably thinking, “thanks Captain Obvious.” You don’t have to be a Stathead to know that closers in baseball are like running backs in the NFL. The have short shelf lives. They have a two or three year window of absolute dominance and then they fall back to the pack. Not that they can’t get guys out anymore, but they can’t do it with enough consistency to hold the closers role. I fear we’ve reached that point with Soria. My logical response to this would be to elevate Crow to that position. But do you do that instead of making him a starter. Either way, I hope the front office is looking for another long term closer.

It’s August: And I’m still watching Royals games with interest. It’s the young guys. If you’re going to be a terrible baseball team, you might as well be terrible, young, and interesting. I’ll probably keep this interest up the rest of the season, except when the Chiefs are playing. One game a week verse six takes some precedents…and they’ve already opened their play off window.