Talkin Royals

Kansas City so far in 2022 has had a disappointing season; however, this shouldn't be too surprising with many young players still developing in the big leagues and in the minors. Despite the poor season, the team still has some bright spots on the team including Andrew Benintendi. The Royals acquired Benintendi from the Red Sox in a three team trade involving the Mets in 2021. The outfielder had two great seasons in Kansas City. While with the boys in blue, Benintendi posted a .276 batting average and a .321 batting average after struggling with Boston in 2020. While with the Royals, the outfielder turned his career around in 2021 and definitely in 2022, so much so he was selected to the All-Star game. The Royals on July 27th struck a deal with the Yankees to send Benintendi to New York for a trio of pitching prospects. The pitchers New York sent back to Kansas City include two top 30 prospects from their farm system. The three arms heading back to Kansas City are left...

The Royals World Series championship team from 2015 was made up of many players that Kansas City acquired for top prospects; however, some trades the team got for a bargain. Kansas City made a trade with Cincinnati on July 26, 2015 sending three pitching prospects to Cincy that, unfortunately for the Reds, never got their footing in the big leagues. Cincinnati had plenty of trade interest from multiple teams for Johnny Cueto before Kansas City and Cincinnati struck an agreement to send the right hander to the Midwest. The Reds return for the right hander ended up being a steal for the Royals. Cincinnati acquired pitchers Brandon Finnegan, Cody Reed, and John Lamb.  Finnegan's time with the Reds turned out to be a big disappointment for him and the team. The left-hander was full of disappointment due to his two injuries to his shoulder. The Texas Christian graduate began his 2019 campaign with the Chattanooga Outlooks in Double-A. The Reds pitcher unfortunately struggled...

Kansas City had many up and coming stars from their 2004 team that had successful careers after leaving Kansas City from Carlos Beltran to Jose Bautista. The Royals also had a good pitcher from time to time including current Royals pitcher Zack Greinke. Greinke was selected in the first round of the MLB draft in 2002 by the Royals out of Apopka High School. The right hander didn't spend too much time in the Royals minor league system. After only two seasons in the minors, Greinke made his big league debut on May 22, 2004 against the Oakland Athletics, making him the youngest player in the majors at the age of 20 to potentially pick up a win in the big leagues. Unfortunately for Greinke, the team's closer Jeremy Affeldt blew Greinke's chances of earning his first Royals win after giving up the lead in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Royals lost the game against the Athletics in extra innings by the final score of 5-4. Greinke recorded his first big league win...

The 2004 Kansas City Royals had many well known players that had successful careers after leaving Kansas City; however, players like Carlos Beltran and Johnny Damon had great starts to their careers with the Royals. Damon was drafted by the Royals in the first round of the 1992 MLB draft; and in fact, Damon was a local product, born on November 5, 1973 in Fort Riley, Kansas. However, the outfielder moved multiple times during his childhood from Thailand to Japan and other bases with his father serving in the US Army. Damon early in his baseball career returned to Wichita and the Kansas City area. The outfielder began his professional baseball career in Wichita, KS with the Royals Double-A affiliate, Wichita Wranglers. Damon was promoted to the big leagues after spending time in Wichita on August 12, 1995. The up and coming super star on August 12 made his big league debut against the Seattle Mariners at Kauffman Stadium that evening. Damon's career unfortunately didn...

Kansas City had a roster that had many future superstars in the early 2000's from Jermaine Dye to Johnny Damon and Carlos Beltran. Unfortunately, like the 2015 World Series team, Kansas City was unable to keep these super stars in the Midwest long-term due to being a small market team and the team's unwillingness to spend big on one player. The Royals in 1995 drafted future Hall of Famer Carlos Beltran out of Fernando Callejo High School (Puerto Rico) in the second round. Beltran made his big league debut on Monday, September 14, 1998 against the Oakland Athletics at Kauffman Stadium. Unlike most players, Beltran never played in Triple-A before reaching the big leagues. Beltran made his major league debut that evening with over 12,000 in attendance. Unfortunately for Beltran and the Royals, the team was struggling to reach the postseason during his time with the team. Despite the team's failure to make the playoffs during Beltran's time in Kansas City, he de...

Kansas City baseball has had multiple ups and downs throughout the 2022 season. Their record is just one of many; however, there are some positive spots from time to time. Following Eric Hosmer's departure for San Diego in 2018, the Royals have searched far and near for his replacement by bringing up Ryan O'Hearn and others. The past few seasons of Kansas City baseball have been pretty frustrating to watch; however; there have been some bright spots from Brady Singer to Bobby Witt Jr reaching the big leagues along with others. Many fans have been waiting to see Bobby Witt Jr, Brady Singer and others be in the majors all at the same time. Kansas City's #2 rated prospect will be joining the top prospect in all of  baseball in Toronto after the team's lack of players able to enter the Canadian border due to the COVID-19 protocols in Canada. Kansas City drafted Nick Pratto in the 2017 MLB Draft out of high school from Huntington Beach, CA. Pratto began his profe...

Heading into the 2022 season, the Royals were looking to put a competitive team on the field. Unfortunately for the team, that hasn't worked out this season. Kansas City, at this point in the season, has continued to struggle to win ball games pushing KC to be sellers as we near the trade deadline. The Royals, back in June, completed their first trade with the Seattle Mariners for a pair of pitchers for veteran first baseman Carlos Santana. The Royals will continue to make deals as the trade deadline nears; and on July 11, the team struck a deal with Atlanta. Kansas City acquired a pair of prospects including outfielder Drew Water, third baseman CJ Alexander and pitcher Andrew Hoffmann for their Competitive Balance Pick ( number 35 overall). According to many Royals sources, outfielder Drew Waters is the centerpiece heading back to Kansas City. Waters, at one point, was viewed as a top prospect in the Braves organization. Unfortunately for Atlanta, Waters has been unabl...

Hunter Dozier and the Royals agreed on a four year contract extension worth $25 million back in 2021 following a great start to Dozier’s career. The Royals decision to sign Dozier to the extension has proven to be mixed. Dozier has done fairly well offensively, but his defensive skills unfortunately hold him back from being a good allround player like Salvador Perez and Whit Merrifield. The 29-year old in recent years has played multiple positions for the Royals from third base to the outfield and even some first base as of late. Royals manager Mike Matheny continues to put Dozier into the starting nine on a daily basis, but who can blame him for doing so with Dozier's great offensive boost to the lineup. Unfortunately, the Royals have been punished by Dozier's lack of defensive skills, especially at first base. Before Dozier started playing first base on a daily basis, the team relied on veteran first baseman Carlos Santana to play first everyday before being trade...

The 2022 season for the Royals has been a dumpster fire beginning with the starting rotation and the bullpen which has led the rest of the team to struggle. Kansas City has one of the youngest rotations in the game today from Brady Singer to Brad Keller. This year's Royals team in fact is full of youthful players from the rotation to the starting nine. However, the team does have some veteran presence on the roster including former six time all-star Zack Greinke and Andrew Benintendi. The Royals and the 38-year old Greinke go back a long way. The Royals drafted Greinke back in 2002 in a blockbuster trade that helped lead the Royals win a World Series in 2015. Former General Manager and current President of Baseball Operations Dayton Moore traded Greinke to the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder Lorenzo Cain, shortstop Alcides Escobar, infielder Yuniesky Betancourt, pitchers Jeremy Jeffress and Jake Odorizzi. Now, a little over eleven years later, Greinke could be shipped ...