Draft Reviews: Kansas City Royals
2008 Draft Slot: Third overall
Top Pick: Eric Hosmer, 1B, Florida high school
Best Pick: Eric Hosmer
Keep an Eye On: Tim Melville, RHP, Missouri high school (Fourth round)
Notes: Tim Melville has yet to appear in a pro game but the fourth-round pick from last year had first-round talent and teams were scared off by his murky signability. The Royals organization spent a lot of money on this draft and it could end up with a lot to show for it, as supplemental first round pick Mike Montgomery had a dazzling debut in 2008 but the team is being cautious with the prep pick and he will open 2009 in short-season ball. First baseman Eric Hosmer has had a bit of a slow start this season but he should be an absolute offensive beast.
2007 Draft Slot: Second overall
Top Pick: Mike Moustakas, SS/3B, California high school
Best Pick: Mike Moustakas
Worst Pick: Sam Runion, RHP, North Carolina high school (Second round)
Notes: Sam Runion, now in his third season, has a career 5.38 ERA, and his FIP is not much better. Fellow prep pick Dan Duffy, selected in the third round, has a chance to make up for that pick, though. Mike Moustakas looks like a solid choice with the second overall pick, although Matt Wieters (Fifth overall, Baltimore) and Madison Bumgarner (10th, San Francisco) look pretty good too, in retrospect.
2006 Draft Slot: First overall
Top Pick: Luke Hochevar, RHP, Independent baseball
Best Pick: Luke Hochevar
Worst Pick: Jason Taylor, IF, Virginia high school (second round)
Notes: Jason Taylor has been a frustrating pick. Even though he has flashed some real talent, the former second-round pick missed all of 2007 for disciplinary reasons and he has yet to appear in a game this season. Luke Hochevar has made it to the Majors, but he certainly hasn’t been the staff ace that you would be hoping for from a No. 1 overall selection.
2009 Draft Slot: 12th overall
Draft Preference (2006-08): Best overall player, and the club has invested heavily in prep players the last two years.
MLB Club Need: Pitching, Shortstop, Third base, Catcher
Organizational Need: Corner outfield, Shortstop, Left-handed pitching
Organizational Strength: Right-handed pitching, Center field, First base
Notes: For the first time in quite a few years, the Royals organization will not have one of the top five picks, so it will be interesting to see what approach is taken – and how good of a pick the club can make.
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Why is 3B an MLB club need? Yeah, Gordon is hurt, but he did have a 110 OPS+ last year, including a dramatic increase in walk rake/plate discipline..and he clearly has good power potential and is still only 25 years old. Not that he’s going to live up to the ridiculous “next George Brett” hype, but I see no reason why he can’t be an above average hitter for a long time.
Wow, 2006 must have really been a bad year if their best pick was using the #1 overall on a signability guy with a low ceiling.
might should have taken evan longoria.
Hochevar’s ceiling wasn’t as high as, say, Lincecum’s, but let’s not act like it was extremely low. And he wasn’t a signability guy, either. Royals could’ve taken Lincecum or Longoria with the benefit of hindsight, but at the time no one in baseball would’ve done that…Lincecum’s delivery still scared people, and Longoria was NOT that highly regarded at all – best bat in what was supposed to be a weak class. Now, obviously, Royals wish they could have a do-over, but then again, so does every team 1-9 who passed on Lincecum (except maybe the Rays).
Jason Taylor was suspended 50 games for testing positive for a drug of abuse:
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=2074