I was disappointed to see this little nugget role across my Twitter feed.  By the way, I just signed up for Twitter a few days ago to get all those breaking stories.  I think this is my feed.

I was really hoping KC would take a shot on Loux.  I know he needs the shoulder cleaned out and he may never come back, but I thought he was worth up to $500K.  And to see him sign for nearly $200K less than that is disappointing.  Well, we’ll see what happens with him in the Rangers organization.  I’ll watch to see how he does with their long toss program.

That purpose?  To delay the arbitration clock of Royals top prospect Mike Moustakas.  That’s right.  This is Chris Truby and Mark Teahan all over again.  Except Wilson Betemit is already in house.

On November 10, 2004, the Royals signed the aforementioned Chris Truby for $360,000 to protect 3B prospect Mark Teahan  and to keep him from starting the season in the Majors.  Well, Truby broke his leg in spring training and Teahan was the opening day starter.   The arbitration clock started.

In the case of Moustakas, if the Royals can delay his Super Two status by not allowing him to come up until June, they’ll earn an extra year of team control and save a little more cash.  And this will keep the core of the future together perhaps one season longer.  It’s a great deal for the Royals, but for Mike Moustakas and the Player’s Agency, it delays his arbitration and costs him more money in the long run.  This is one of those gray areas that teams dabble in all the time but never admit too.

With Wilson’s success, the Royals will be able to offer a good explanation as to why Betemit plays April and May at 3B before being sat down for the future of the franchise.   When Moustakas gets called up, he might never go back down.  And if he doesn’t get called up until after early June, Super Two doesn’t apply to him.  Congratulations Wilson, you are now the savior for the savior.  Wear that title proudly!

And who knows?  Perhaps Betemit will start out on fire like when he started playing last year.

The first thing you noticed was how calm Starling was on the field at the start of this game.  It was the biggest thing to happen to Gardner, Kansas in maybe forever.  This was a rivalry game so you’d expect things to get chippy at some point if not right away.  But Starling was quiet and calm even after scoring a TD.  This tells the pro baseball guys who are breaking down his life that he can handle pressure.

The second thing you noticed was the speed.  The announcers talked about a 4.36 Datroniks 40 time and I think it might have been an off day for the 6’5″ Starling.  He is fast.  And big.  And strong.

The third thing I noticed was Starling patting guys on the back and helmet telling them good job.  He praised his blockers, he praised his RBs, he praised his WRs, and he praised the guys who were lucky enough to tackle him.  This tells the pro scouts that he is a guy who will share the spotlight and that Starling has some very good leadership qualities.

The fourth thing you noticed was that he handed the ball to the referee after every play.  This shows a certain amount of respect for authority.

The fifth thing you noticed was when he took a late hit he didn’t respond except to tell the referee about it.  But the very next play, after he handed the ball off and a kid blatantly hit him late in the lower back while he was watching his teammate fight for yards 25 yards away, you could tell he was angry.  I think the blow knocked the wind out of him, but he got up ready to blow someone away.  But rather than wanting to fight, he decided he was going to beat you on the field.  After Gardner-Edgerton scored later in the drive, he made a point to let the guy who hit him late to check the scoreboard by pointing to it as they crossed paths.  Whether it was warranted or not, it shows you that he will respond when needed in a way that is more appropriate than fighting.  Even though he drew the 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty, his point had been made.  The Blazers then proceeded to run up the score a little but not one mention of the scoreboard or taunting from Starling was seen again in the game.

What can you take away from a game where you are watching Starling play a different sport than you’re wanting him to play for you?  You get vital information on his athletic makeup.  In this instance you saw maturity, respect of authority, the ability to work under pressure, leadership, wisdom in decisions, passion, fire, a desire to share the spotlight, and a competitive drive to get back at someone on the field rather than get into a fight, but the willingness to fight if warranted.  You saw a kid who is mature enough to handle the big contract numbers that will be thrown at him if he is drafted by the Royals with the 5th pick.  That is, if he is available.

Oh, and you saw a very fast kid make a heck of a throw as well.   I’m sold.

CF Aaron Hicks strikes out way to much.  But that is his only downfall.  Hicks is labeled as a great competitor and a guy that will do what it takes.  Aaron is a potential 5 tool players but he has to improve his pitch recognition.  It’s not that he can’t hit the offspeed, he just doesn’t recognize it in time.  Hicks is a premium defender in CF and has above average speed.  Hicks has a solid arm and takes fairly decent routes to the ball.  He is the best player the Twins currently have on the position player side of things.

CF  Ben Revere has been compared to Denard Span.  But they are not quite the same player as Revere really struggles with power.  Ben is a pure hitter with plus speed.  The Twins thought he would develop some power in 2010 but that didn’t prove to be the case with only 1 home run in over 350 ABs.  In fact, he has exactly 4 home runs in 4 years of minor league baseball.  I would make a Jarrod Dyson comparison here on the power equation except Jarrod already has a big league homer.  Ben has hit over .300 at every stop along the way and projects to be a solid leadoff type of hitter with plus speed and a line drive swing.  Revere does a good job with taking walks and does not strike out as often as Hicks.  The biggest knocks on Revere are power, a below average arm, and some poor route running that he overcomes with pure speed.

3B  Miguel Sano is a big, strong kid from the Dominican Republic.  He’s already outgrown the SS position and some fear that he’ll end up in RF because he’ll outgrow 3B also.  But Sano has the athleticism to stay at 3B long term.  Sano will hit for a good average and good power.  Baseball America described him as having thunder in his hands when talking about his power potential.  Miguel was the top talent available in 2009 on the international market and signed a $3 M bonus.  He is young, but has already had success at the rookie ball level and will probably be assigned to either the Midwest League or the Appalachian League.  He is a very good future player.

OF  Oswaldo Arcia was the biggest riser on this list in the last year.  He was a 2007 international signee who blossomed last season hitting a combined .375.  The biggest knock on him is his plate discipline but that comes with generating more power.  It’s a skill you have to learn after you start putting up power numbers most of the time.

OF  Max Kepler has a long last name with a hyphen so I’ll stick to Kepler.  Max is an international signing from Germany where there isn’t much competition in baseball, but exhibited enough for the Twins to give him a large bonus and a shot in the States.  Max did okay in rookie ball as a 17 year old but has a long way to go.  He’s very athletic coming from an athletic family.  It’ll take some more time to see what he’s made of, but a very interesting kid to watch.

OF  Joe Benson put up good power numbers at AA but also put up high strike out numbers as well.  Benson is a player to watch in the future but not someone that would be a major trading chip for Zack.

OF  Angel Morales  is another one of the Twins international signings that has potential.  He is considered a high risk and high reward type of guy putting up a lot of Ks but having good potential the rest of the way around.  Baseball America labeled him as a 4 tool potential last year.

The Twins system is a strong mix of athletic and toolsy outfielders.  In order to get Zack, I think it would take Hicks or Revere added to the pitchers and possibly another high upside type of guy.  That is a lot to give for one player, but when you look at what the Twins are going to be next year without needing many of their young guys, it’s definitely worth it in the long run.

John Sickels just came out with his top 22 Twins Prospects.  John is one of the industries best when it comes to ranking and grading prospects.  Sickels has a lot of contacts and they seem to be very knowledgeable.  You can check out his thoughts on a lot of things at http://www.minorleagueball.com

The Twins really have worked on improving their International Signings it appears.  They’ve got quite a few different countries represented in the 2011 Top Prospects list.  Some common countries like the Domincan Republic, Venuzuela, and Puerto Rico are topped off by the Netherlands and Australia.  They also signed some pretty recognizable July 2^nd names the last few years.

Let’s talk about their pitchers first.  The Twins want guys who limit walks and attack hitters with a fastball first mentality.  I love their approach to pitching and wish the Royals would adopt more of the same approach.  The Twins have taken a few chances but it always seems to work out for them.  I’m not sure if this is the definition of luck or if it’s just really good scouting, but I would guess it’s a combination of both, the latter being more influential.  The top 2 pitching prospects for them are both college guys they drafted in the first round the last two years.

Minnesota is a RH dominate system featuring only a few LHPs here and there.  One guy not to forget about is Matt Bashore.  Bashore only threw a smattering of innings this season suggesting some serious injury.  I don’t know what it was but I’ll look into it.  The other LHP to take note of is 2010 3^rd rounder Pat Dean.  Dean featured a 37:1 KK:BB ratio this year in low A.  I would expect him to start in A ball next year and be solid with a very good change and solid 88-92 fastball.  Deans throws a fringe slider and fringe curve.  He probably needs to scrap one and concentrate solely on the better of the two as the pitches tend to mix over time.

RHP  Kyle Gibson is a Mizzou alum.  Gibson had an outstanding career at Mizzou but his draft stock dropped as he suffered a stress fracture in his arm shortly before the draft.  The Twins took a chance after having their doctors check him out.  Gibson is a 90-94 type of guy with very good command.  Kyle is able to make the fastball sink and uses a lot of two-seamers matched up against a really good slider and fading change combination.  Gibson has a very easy delivery and moved very well in his first full season with the Twins.  Kyle started the year in high A before a quick promotion to AA where he spent most of the year.  After putting up great starting numbers he finished the year with 3 great AAA starts and is a candidate to fill a rotation spot for the Twins next year although he’ll probably start in AAA.  Gibson threw 150 innings last season and will probably be bumped to around 175 this coming year.  Gibson had a low batting average against (BAA) and over a 2:1 ratio on groundouts to air outs.

RHP  Alex Wimmers is from the Ohio State University.  He’s known as a cold weather guy and comes from a strong baseball high school in Ohio.  Wimmers throws a good fastball between 90 and 94.  Scouts on the Cape said he had the best pitching arsenal in the League, and this is quite high praise if you know the caliber of player on the Cape.  Wimmers has a fairly easy delivery and throws his breaking ball for strikes.  One area scout, according to Baseball America, said that Wimmers had the best change up he’d ever seen from an amateur pitcher.  Wimmers only threw 15 innings as a pro, but they were an impressive 15 innings.  Alex allowed 11 baserunners compared to 23 strikeouts and posted a 0.57 ERA in the Florida State League.  He will open either in high A or AA.  I can see him moving rather quickly as his stuff seems to be underrated by a lot of people.  With a solid year, he could easily be in AAA to finish the season.  I don’t think he’ll be a September call up candidate as the Twins will want to monitor his innings in his first full pro season after throwing only 85 innings between Ohio State and high A ball.  I’d imagine he’d take the Gibson route this year but with fewer starts.

RHP  Liam Hendriks is a 21 year old from Australia.  He had a very good year at A and high A.  Liam had a lot of Ks and a few walks, in fact, a nearly 9:1 ratio.  I would imagine he’d start in AA next season as there is not much to prove in high A for him.  Opponents hit under .200 against him on the season and he also generated a lot more GBs than FBs.  I don’t know anything on his stuff.  I’ll do some more digging but he’s an interesting guy who definitely is a solid option going forward.

RHP  Adrian Salcedo is a tall and skinny kid from the Domincan Republic.  At only 19 years old, he has a lot of projection left in his lanky body.  Adrian pitched in low A and high A filling in a rotation spot as an injury replacement.  He struggled at the higher level, but still has a lot of potential.  Salcedo is another guy with good command posting a better than 4:1 K:BB ratio.

RHP  David Bromberg is a potential 5^th starter candidate for the MLB team next season as well.  I would imagine he would pitch most if not all of the year at AAA though.  I’m not sure but he might be a rule 5 potential guy this year.  I need to check.  David has thrown 150 innings each of the past 3 seasons so I would imagine they bump him up next season.  Bromberg is currently in the Arizona Fall League probably so the Twins can gauge what they have in him before they make a decision on his future.  David has a good K:BB ratio but has seen his GO/AO ratio diminish each of the past 3 years.  He may do well pitching in a big park, but it is a concerning factor in the long run.

RHP  Carlos Gutierrez has really come on this fall.  Keith Law and Connor Glassey both had him in the mid 90s with a hard sinker.  Carlos could be a guy that comes in late in a ball game and shuts down an opponent getting a GB getting by solely on a good downward movement.  Gutierrez also features a sharp slider.  With this mix in the bottom third of the zone, Carlos would be nearly impossible to lift the ball against.  He is in the Arizona Fall League working to improve his command and refine his pitches.

RHP  Billy Bullock was a 2^nd rounder in 2009.  Bullock pitched as a closer for the Twins high A and AA teams.  Bullock stands tall around 6’ 6” and drives a mid 90s fastball downhill and features a slider.  He is a power pitcher who projects to do well out of the bullpen.  Inconsistency has been a problem in the past and the Twins hope it stays that way.  Bullock had a lot of Ks but his ERA crept up suggesting he might struggle with guys on base.  After checking his splits, it seems hitters bat under .200 with runners on, but over .330 with the bases empty.  Bullock is a guy that really needs to concentrate and bear down with the bases empty.

I think that if the Twins are going to deal for Greinke, either Kyle Gibson or Alex Wimmers will have to be included.  Gibson is closer to the bigs and a local product so I think the Royals would ask for him.  Wimmers was drafted this season so he would have to be a PTBNL as you can’t be traded for one year after being drafted.  I think the Twins would also have to include Carlos Gutierrez or Brian Bullock.  Both are fairly close to being big league ready although Gutierrez’s stats don’t really suggest that.  With his stuff, I think the Royals would ask for Gutierrez over Bullock although both are very intriguing.

ZG needs to be moved.  I like Zack, but he will help the franchise out in the long term more by being traded rather than staying.  We owe ZG $27 M for the next 2 years.  That money can be saved and reinvested immediately on the draft, international signings, scouting, and filler players for our 110 loss season next year.  And maybe in 2012 as well.

Cliff Lee is the marquise name this off season with all the recent success he has had.  Once Lee is off the market, ZG is unequivocally the next best pitcher.  After that are Jorge de la Rosa who is working on an extension with the Rockies and Ted Lilly who re-signed last night with the Dodgers.  I think GMDM has played this one perfectly so far.  The team that picks up ZG will get two years of his service and it will be at a bargain for the players and salary they give up.  However, for Kansas City, this is going to mark the legacy of Dayton and his staff.  The scouts cannot miss on this one.  We must take the best players available and not worry about positions of need.  This cannot be a Beltran trade where we say I want this position, this position, and one of this position and two of that position.  It must be the best players available.

There have been several teams that match up with the Royals in terms of speculation.  The asking price is believed to be two MLB ready players and another top of the line prospect.  Over the next few days we’ll venture into what each team can give the Royals.

The strongest candidates according to Buster Olney at ESPN are:  Twins, Rockies, Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies, Braves, Cubs, Reds, Rangers, and the Cardinals.

Greg Schaum and I have been doing a Royals Prospects only draft against each other.  It’s been a lot of fun so far and I have a few more players to add.  I need a 2B and a CF still as well as a final starter and a few bullpen guys.

I still can’t believe that Karsten Whitson didn’t sign.  And instead of going to a JuCo, he will be attending the University of Florida.

The Arkansas  Razorbacks have the #8 recruiting class in the nation.  I might be traveling down to NW Ark to watch a few of the Arkansas kids this spring including RHP Ryne Staneck.  I’ll have to get more into Razorback baseball if the Royals are going to keep drafting kids out of the SEC.

I’m looking very much to the pitching matchups of the NLCS.  Lincecum and Halladay.  What a game one!

I should write something out on Lincecum as he doesn’t really have that “odd” of a delivery when you consider the absolutes in pitching.

Base on Balls KILL.  Just ask the Rangers relief core.  I also think the Rangers should have Holland starting and not coming out of the pen in this series.

Evidently Alex felt he needed to produce for more power after he was drafted by the Royals.  I’m not sure if this was something Alex was told by a member of the Royals personnel or if it’s something he decided he needed to do in order to live up to the Future Cornerstone name he received.  Either way, when a player starts trying to produce more power he tends to fall into bad habits.  And this is exactly the habit that Alex has fallen into.  I’m sure the pressure for Alex was enormous and this continued to push him into the uppercut mode.

The upper cut type of swing is not really a recommended style, but it’s one that has become somewhat popular these days.  If the upper cut is not at to much of an angle, the ball will still have backspin coming off the bat if it is centered properly.  But when a batter gets to much angle into his swing, there tends to be a lot of top spin which actually makes the ball drop faster and not travel as far.  This is a fine line to tread.  Many times, a batter who has to much upper cut makes great contact generating great backspin, only to see the ball go 250 feet for a high fly out to one of the outfielders.  This is something I think Alex has struggled with for several years.

I stumbled across some old You Tube footage of Alex Gordon while he was at the University of Nebraska.  I wanted to search to see when Alex developed this overly aggressive upper cut.  The swings that I saw at Nebraska were much better than his swing currently with the Royals.  It was shorter, flatter, and in the long run, may have generated better results.  And it’s a swing I hope he can get back too.  Comparing the swing then and now, you can definitely see how Alex has tried to generate more power into his swing.  I think this is one of the reasons he’s had a propensity to strike out frequently and is unable to handle ball up in the strike zone.  You see, with the upper cut approach, a batter’s hands dip quite severely.  Once your hands get below the baseball, you have an incredibly hard time matching the velocity of the pitch with your bat, allowing you to make good contact.  Many times you end up swinging underneath the pitch because you are late to the contact point.  If the velocity from your swing had been high enough to meet a ball at the proper contact point, it would have been crushed.  But it’s hard to generate the amount of bat speed needed because you have to go up to the ball and your eye’s perception is slightly behind.  A batter needs to keep his hands above the ball until the contact point.  This is, of course, easier said than done.  In the case of an upper cut swinger, they hit the pitch middle of the thigh and down best because their hands stay on top of the ball the best.  But when the pitcher’s velocity isn’t quite as good and they can get the bat through the zone and to the contact point on a pitch up, watch out because it’s going to go.

The swing I would like to see Alex implement is fairly similar to the one he has now.  The exception would be to keep the hips flatter allowing the back hip to drive through the ball.  This would allow the hands to stay above the ball until contact, the knob to stay between the belly button and the ball, and generate great backspin.  The change would improve his power production, his batting average, and cut down on strikeouts because his contact would be better.

Alex’s uppercut got better throughout the season but is still not quite fixed.  I’m sure that Kevin Seitzer will work hard with Alex this offseason to help fix this mechanical issue.  It’s not an easy one to fix and will take a lot of hard work and a long time.  But I promise you the results will be better for Alex and the Royals if he and Kevin can get this fixed.  And once they get this fixed and his swing back to the shorter, quicker, flatter version that I saw at the University of Nebraska, watch out American League Central because you’ll get blasted.