Mound Talk

1. Mike Moustakas, SS, Rk. Taken with the second pick overall in the 2007 draft, Moustakas was able to get in 41 at-bats in the Pioneer League this season. Moustakas hit 24 home runs in 97 at-bats his senior year of high school (2007) en route to setting the Caifornia Prep record. He projects to hit for average and power and has a strong arm. However, he is not very fast and doesn’t have great range. A move to second or third may be in his future.
2. Luke Hochevar, RHSP, MLB. Taken first overall in 2006, Hochevar has been fairly successful in his two minor league seasons. He threw 94 innings of Double-A ball this year recording 94 strikeouts and walking 26. When he moved up to Triple-A, he struggled. In 58 innings he struck out just 44 and walked 21. At both levels he was hittable and particularly susceptible to the long ball. It is possible that he will be moved out of the starting rotation.
3. Dan Cortes, RHSP, A+. A former seventh round pick by the Chicago White Sox, Cortes came to the Royals in the Mike MacDougal trade. He threw 123 innings in High-A this year striking out 120 while walking 45. He keeps the ball in the park but induces a lot of fly balls.
4. Billy Buckner, RHP. Buckner was taken in the second round of the 2004 draft by the Kansas Cit Royals. He spent time in AA, AAA and MLB this year. Of his 158 innings, 104.2 were spent in Triple-A where he struck out 83 and walked 26. He was hittable (108 hits allowed) and gave up 11 home runs. His future is probably in the bullpen.
5. Blake Wood, RHSP, A+. The Royals third round pick in the 2006 draft had a successful, shortened season. With stops in Rookie-ball, Low-A, High-A and finally Hawaii, Wood made the most of his shortened season. He suffered a back injury that kept him out of the first half of the season but quickly made up for lost time. Wood should be able to strike out more batters than he did this year. His stuff indicates that he’ll be able to strikeout at least a quarter of his opponents but so far, he has had some troubles doing so. His future is as a late inning reliever but will remain a starter for the moment.
6. Sam Runion, RHSP, Rk. Runion was the Royals second round pick in 2007 and was sent to the Arizona Royals for 51 innings of work. He struck out 51 and walked 17 but also allowed 4 home runs.
7. Danny Duffy, LHSP, Rk. Duffy was taken in the third round of the 2007 draft and spent 37.1 innings with the Arizona Royals. He struck out 63 and walked 17. His fastball is in the mid-90s which is great for a lefty and has a good curveball and average change.
8. Julio Pimentel, RHP, A+. Pimentel has spent three years in High-A, which is concerning. However, in 2007, Pimentel saw his pitching drastically change. He struck out less batters, walked less batters and induced more groundballs. All this combined for a much better overall season. Rating him this highly may be a bit aggressive and he will face a very difficult task at the next level but his 2007 goes a long way in support of him.
9. Carlos Rosa, RHSP, AA. In 97 Double-A innings Rosa struck out 70 and walked 43. He gave up eight home runs and 101 hits. These numbers aren’t very encouraging but the 23-year old pitcher has a big time power arm and a very good slider.
10. Mitch Maier, COF, MLB. Maier has run the gamut of positions. Starting five years ago as a pitcher, the Royals moved him to catcher when they acquired him and then moved him to third. He’s bounced between third, left and right field over the last few seasons. Maier has some power, some speed and a decent approach at the plate.
Flier. Adrian Ortiz, OF, Rk. Drafted at age 20 out of Pepperdine in the fifth round of the 2007 draft, Ortiz had a pretty good debut for Idaho Falls of the Pioneer League. He hit .326/.348/.367 with 10 extra base hits in 264 at-bats. Clearly Ortiz did not show any power, and he doesn’t project to add power, but he looks like a decent fourth outfielder. He plays good defense and should be able to get on base more frequently. He has decent speed stealing 34 bases in 44 tries in college.

The Royals are full of right handed pitchers. There isn’t a ton of talent in this system but some guys, like Rosa and Ortiz could surprise. Some of the upper guys, like Cortes and Wood could become household names (amongst common prospect followers) next season. With the graduation of Bill Butler and Alex Gordon, the Royals are certainly short on elite upper minors prospects but their knack for consistently finishing at the bottom of the league has made sure they have no shortage of high ceiling prospects.

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