Kansas City Royals organizational review
A 20-year playoff drought is certainly reason for Kansas City Royals fans to be disheartened. And even the promise of up-and-coming talent can't generate too much optimism, as homegrown players like Carlos Beltran and Johnny Damon have come and gone in years past with nothing to show for it. But recent changes in the Royals' player development and scouting departments have yielded encouraging results over the past couple drafts, and the loot of cost-cutting trades (Justin Huber, Denny Bautista and Mark Teahen) is starting to pay dividends as well.
The club's first of three 2004 first-round picks, Billy Butler, was perhaps the best under-20 hitter in all of Minor League Baseball in 2005, hitting .340 with 30 homers and 110 RBIs at Class A and Double-A. And the third of those three players, left-hander J.P. Howell, reached the big league squad less than one year after being drafted.
Then there's the 2005 draft class, led by the No. 2 overall pick, Alex Gordon, who was considered one of the most Major League-ready players in the draft. And high school hitters Jeff Bianchi and Joe Dickerson came out swinging in their first professional campaigns, establishing themselves as two of the top prospects in the Arizona Rookie League.
| 2005 Organizational Record | ||||||
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LEVEL AAA AA A (Adv) A R R |
LEAGUE PCL TEX CAL MID PIO AZL |
TEAM Omaha Wichita High Desert Burlington Idaho Falls Royals TOTAL: |
W 72 68 75 65 34 34 348 |
L 72 72 65 75 42 22 348 |
PCT .500 .486 .536 .464 .447 .607 .500 |
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| 2005 Organizational Leaders | ||||||
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Average Home Runs RBIs Stolen Bases ERA Wins Strikeouts Saves |
.340 30 116 34 3.04 13 152 20 |
Billy Butler Four players tied Chris Lubanski Irving Falu Brent Fisher John Gragg III Billy Buckner Chris Demaria |
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Complete MiLB statistics | |
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At the start of the season, MLB.com identified five prospects to keep an eye on. Here's how they fared in 2005:
Chris Lubanski, OF
The Royals were anticipating a breakout year for their 2003 first-round pick, and while a stat line of .301/.349/.554 with 28 homers, 116 RBIs and 16 stolen bases probably met all but the loftiest expectations, Lubanski's struggles away from High Desert's launching pad means he'll need to prove himself again at the Double-A level next year. Sure, almost every hitter takes advantage of the Mavericks' home stadium, but not quite to the extent that the former fifth overall pick did in '05. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound outfielder hit .359 with 19 homers and 71 RBIs at home compared to .245 with nine homers and 45 RBIs on the road. Plus, five of those nine road homers were at the league's other notoriously hitter-friendly park, in Lancaster. One thing Mavericks Stadium didn't affect, though, was Lubanski's improvement on the basepaths, where he swiped 14 out of 15 after being nabbed 21 times in 25 attempts in his first two seasons. Defensively, he threw out more runners (12) than all but five Cal League outfielders, but also made more errors (eight) than all but three while manning center field for the Mavs.
Audio: Lubanski hits a three-run homer
Audio: Lubanski talks Cal League playoffs
Denny Bautista, RHP
The 2005 season started with such promise for the Royals' top pitching prospect, as he shut down the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in his first start, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out eight over eight innings. He got roughed up in his next couple outings, but then looked good in his final two April starts before struggling in May. Bautista left his May 11 start against Toronto with pain in his pitching shoulder, never to return to the Royals rotation. Kansas City was patient with their prized right-hander's recovery, giving him just six short starts with Triple-A Omaha before sending him to the instructional league to continue his rehab. The 6-foot-5 Dominican logged only 13 innings in those six Minor League starts, allowing just four runs on eight hits while walking six and fanning 13. He should be ready to rejoin the big league rotation in '06.
Mark Teahen, 3B
One-third of the trio that the Royals received as part of the Carlos Beltran trade in 2004, Teahen opened the season as Kansas City's starting third baseman, becoming just the third Royals players in history to make his Major League debut in the starting lineup. The former first-round pick (39th overall in 2002) of the Athletics played just four games before being shut down with a lower back injury that kept him out for nearly a month and hampered him periodically throughout the season. Overall, he hit .246/.309/.376 with seven homers and 55 RBIs in 130 games.
Audio: Teahen ropes a double
Ambiorix Burgos, RHP
Throw out one tough outing, and Burgos was essentially unhittable with Double-A Wichita in April, yielding just two hits in 25 at-bats (.080) while striking out 17 and earning a promotion to Kansas City, where then-manager Tony Pena planned to use him as the team's closer. There weren't a lot of saves to come by in K.C., but the 21-year-old flame-thrower picked up the first of his big league career on May 1, then got his first Major League win one week later with four strikeouts over 2 2/3 perfect innings against Baltimore. Unfortunately for the 6-foot-3 right-hander, he gave up eight runs on seven hits over his next two innings and then picked up only one more save the rest of the season after Mike MacDougal settled nicely into the closer role. Burgos missed nearly a month with a strained rotator cuff in the middle of the season, but overall his rookie season was a success, posting a 3-5 mark with a 3.98 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 63 1/3 innings. His control remains an issue, though, as he walked 31 batters and unleashed a team-high eight wild pitches.
Justin Huber, 1B
The Royals got the Australian catcher as part of the three-team midseason trade that sent Kris Benson to the Mets in 2004, but they didn't get to see him until '05 because Huber tore cartilage in his knee during his final game before the swap. And when they finally did see him, they liked what they saw. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder moved from behind the plate to first base and was one of the most deadly hitters in the Texas League, batting .343/.432/.570 with 16 homers and 74 RBIs in 88 games for Wichita, while also walking nearly as many times (51) as he struck out (70). Huber made his Major League debut on June 21, just over a week after representing the World team in the All-Star Futures Game. He went back up to stay on Sept. 1, garnering regular playing time while hitting .274 over the final month of the season. His power didn't show at the big league level, though, as he managed just three doubles and six RBIs in 78 at-bats.
Video: Huber doubles in two in Futures Game
Cinderella Story
Mat Tupman, C
A jump from .223 to .300 between 2003 and 2004 earned Tupman his Cinderella tab, but a step up to Double-A meant a step back down statistically for the defensive-minded backstop. The 25-year-old left-handed hitter looked good for the first half of the season, and a .372 mark in June had his average as high as .320. But he really stumbled from there, hitting just .199 the rest of the way, managing two homers, 20 extra-base hits and 32 RBIs in 365 at-bats. His low power numbers and high walk total (46) resulted in his on-base percentage (.355) being higher than his slugging percentage (.334). Defensively, Tupman was sound, as usual, gunning down 56 of 138 (41 percent) runners -- more than all but one Texas League catcher. He was sent to the Arizona Fall League, where, through the first three weeks, he was hitting .296 with a homer and four RBIs in a stacked Surprise Scorpions lineup.
Breakout year
Kila Kaaihue
After three seasons in which he posted a .362 on-base percentage but just a .245 batting average with average pop, Kaaihue's average jumped to .304 with High Desert in 2005, and his power numbers ramped up, too (31 doubles and 20 home runs). And before attributing too much of the credit to the hitter-friendly conditions in Adelanto, note that the 21-year-old first baseman was one of only a handful of Mavericks hitters to put up better numbers on the road (.318-10-42 with 20 doubles) than at home (.290-10-48 with 11 doubles). The 6-foot-3 Hawaiian set career highs in nearly every offensive category, including walks (97) and on-base percentage (.428), both of which led the Cal League. Curiously, the left-handed hitter handled southpaws much better than he did right-handers in '05. He hit .366 and slugged .552 against his own kind, while batting .281 and slugging .476 vs. righties. Defensively, there's still a lot of work to be done, as Kaaihue made 19 errors -- most among all Minor League first baseman.
Audio: Kaaihue doubles in a run
Luis Cota
Cota's primary numbers -- 5-8 with a 4.01 ERA -- don't scream "breakout," but a closer inspection reveals that he was much more effective in 2005 than he was in his first professional season in '04, and at a higher level. Just 19 years old for most the season, the 6-foot-1 right-hander struck out 137 batters in 148 innings while holding opponents to a .253 average. He struggled in June and to a lesser extent in August, but otherwise was very good for Class A Burlington. His control remains a bit of a concern, as his 63 walks tied for fifth-most in the Midwest League and he also accumulated a team-high 17 wild pitches.
Audio: Cota whiffs nine for Burlington
Jonah Bayliss, RHP
After 65 Minor League starts, including a no-hitter for Burlington in 2003, Bayliss was transformed into a reliever at Wichita in 2005 and ended getting his first taste of the big leagues because of it. The 6-foot-2 right-hander was a non-roster invitee to Spring Training, but was hampered by a hamstring injury and had to wait until June to show the Royals what he had in earnest, replacing Ambiorix Burgos in Kansas City's bullpen when Burgos went down with a rotator cuff injury. His first stint went swimmingly, as the 2002 seventh-round pick allowed just a single in four appearances, despite the fact that manager Buddy Bell joked that the only thing he knew about his new pitcher was how to spell his name. He was recalled again in August, but found less success, allowing six runs in 8 1/3 innings (6.48 ERA). With just one season of relief under his belt, Bayliss could use some fine-tuning in the bullpen, and is getting just that in the Arizona Fall League, where he got off to a fast start, going 3-0 with a 2.79 ERA and 10 strikeouts in his first 9 2/3 innings.
2005 draft recap
1. Alex Gordon, 3B/1B
The Royals used the second overall pick in June's draft to nab the player that many considered the best college hitter in the nation. A two-time All-American at Nebraska, Gordon signed a $4 million deal with the Royals, but not until the end of September, meaning that his first professional action was delayed until the Arizona Fall League. Gordon, like the Royals' 2004 first-round pick, Billy Butler, was drafted as a third baseman with the distinct possibility of being moved. In his first four games in the AFL, the 6-foot-1 left-handed hitter played two games at first base and two as the team's designated hitter. He was slated to start at Double-A Wichita if he'd signed on time and will likely cut his teeth there in '06 after a trip to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. Audio: Gordon discusses his signing
Audio: Gordon on the Royals organization
2. Jeff Bianchi, SS
To say Bianchi enjoyed the month of June would be an understatement. Still just 18 years old at the time, the five-tool shortstop led Lampeter-Strasburg High School (Pa.) to a state title before being drafted in the second-round by Kansas City and agreeing to a contract with a $690,000 signing bonus, bypassing a scholarship to North Carolina State. He then went to the Royals' Arizona Rookie League team and hit .586 with three homers and 12 RBIs in his first eight games before the calendar turned to July. The 6-foot, 175-pounder hit .408/.484/.745 with seven doubles, four triples, six homers, 30 RBIs and five stolen bases in 28 games before having his dream season come to a nightmarish end due to a stress fracture in his back. Though his ceiling is limited in comparison, some scouts rated Bianchi a better hitter than No. 1 overall selection, and fellow high school shortstop, Justin Upton.
3. Chris Nicoll, RHP
Kansas City's third-round pick didn't sign until mid-July and only got in seven starts with Idaho Falls in the Pioneer League. Nicoll was sound, though, despite his 0-3 record, holding batters to a .250 average while walking nine batters and striking out 34 in 27 1/3 innings. The 21-year-old right-hander also posted a respectable 3.62 ERA. Despite striking out 10 over four innings in his last start, Nicoll is known more for his command than his power and shouldn't be expected to maintain the strikeout-per-inning ratio he had this year as he moves up the ladder and faces more experienced hitters. Listen to Nicoll rack up double-digit Ks
4. Joe Dickerson, OF
Dickerson teamed up with fellow high school draftee Jeff Bianchi to form perhaps the most lethal 1-2 combination in the Arizona Rookie League in '05. Lauded largely because of his speed, the 6-foot-1 outfielder from Yorba Linda, Calif., opened eyes in the AZL with his bat as much as with his legs, leading the circuit with 40 RBIs in 56 games. The left-handed swinger also led the league with nine triples and finished second in extra-base hits (25), third in hits (63) and fourth in slugging percentage (.491). He also swiped nine bases, but was caught a dozen times. A quarter million dollars talked him out of going to the University of Texas, and so far it looks like money well spent.
5. Shawn Hayes, SS
Hayes, a 6-foot-4 left-handed shortstop out of Franklin Pierce (N.H.) College, struggled in 17 games at Idaho Falls, hitting just .214 with four doubles and eight RBIs. He didn't notch a multiple-hit game and struck out 21 times in 56 at-bats. He hit .353 (6-for-17) against fellow left-handers, but just .154 (6-for-39) against right-handers. Hayes' rookie season was cut short when he was injured on July 11. He returned to play just three games in August, going 2-for-8 with five strikeouts.
2004 draft recap
How the top three from 2004 fared in their first full season of pro ball.
1. Billy Butler, 3B/OF
Widely regarded as the best hitter in the Royals system, Butler did nothing but improve his stock in 2005, terrorizing California League pitching (.348/.416/.636 with 25 HR and 91 RBIs in 92 games) before moving up to Double-A Wichita and continuing his hit parade. In 29 games, the 2004 14th overall pick hit .312 with nine doubles, five homers and 19 RBIs, giving him season totals of .340/.404/.611 with 39 doubles, 30 homers and 110 RBIs -- all of this at the age of 19. And what's more, the Florida native missed a full month with a hand injury. He's making up for that lost time with a stint in the Arizona Fall League, batting third in a lineup that consists of such rising stars as Howie Kendrick, Brandon Wood and Kendry Morales. That assignment should also give Butler some time to work on his one glaring weakness -- his defense (or lack thereof). He was shifted to the outfield after making 18 errors in 41 games at High Desert, and didn't wow anyone out on the grass, either. But with a .352 average in his first two seasons, Butler's bat should soon find its way into the Major Leagues soon.
Audio: Butler blasts a grand slam for High Desert
2. Matt Campbell, LHP
Of the Royals' three first-round picks from 2004, the former South Carolina ace easily had the toughest season in 2005, going 1-5 with a 4.66 ERA for Burlington before having season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum. Batters tagged him for a .291 average and drew 37 walks in 63 2/3 innings. Campbell also missed a few starts in June when he rolled an ankle during a start against Beloit.
3. J.P. Howell, LHP
Howell blew right through the Royals system in 2005, from Class A all the way to the big club, stopping just briefly at each step along the way. The former Texas Longhorns ace was a combined 8-2 with a 2.83 ERA between High Desert, Wichita and Omaha, with his numbers dropping off slightly as he ascended the ranks. As a 22-year-old with just 22 career Minor League starts, Howell was clearly in over his head at the Major League level, going 3-5 with a 6.19 ERA and 1.54 WHIP. But his last two outings were good ones, starting with a five-inning no-hit effort against Minnesota on Sept. 26, in which he struck out seven. He then held Toronto to just four hits and four unearned runs over 6 1/3 innings on Oct. 1.