16. Jeremy Affeldt LHP- "He's a projectible 6-5 left hander."
Affeldt was a promising young starter for the Royals in 2003. However, chronic blister problems forced him to the pen, where he spent the rest of his career. Affeldt is currently a member of the Giants pen and earned a World Series ring in 2010. He has a career era+ of 110 and a career WAR of 6.7. In his five seasons with the Royals he contributed 4.1 wins above replacement.
17. Orber Moreno RHP- "Moreno will have to show he's healthy before being projected as the club's closer of the future again."
Moreno had already tasted the big leagues for a brief period in 1999, however Tommy John forced him to go back to the minors to prove himself again. He eventually resurfaced for the New York Mets in 2003 and 2004. But has since toiled away in the Minor Leagues. He finished with a career era of 4.44 and a career WAR of -0.1.
18. Junior Guerrero RHP- "a pitcher can't live on velocity alone."
Guerrero never reached the Majors. In his minor league career he pitched for 5 seasons, before pitching 4 years for an Independent League team. It's true you can't get by on velocity alone.
19. Scott Mullen LHP- "He pitched well in 11 outings with the Royals, especially against lefthanders, whom he limited to a .143 average."
For 60 innings, Mullen was a decent bullpen option for Kansas City. Especially in 2002 when he posted an era of 3.15 in 40 innings. However, after an awful 7.1 innings in 2003 Mullen lost his job in the Big Leagues and never returned. So it goes. He had a career WAR of 0.6.
20. Mike Curry OF- "Curry is all about speed, which isn't surprising considering that his mother Irene was a U.S. Olympic track athlete."
In 2000, Curry hit .289 and led the Texas League with 52 steals as a twenty-three year old. This reminds me a bit of Derrick Robinson's season a year ago when he hit .286 with 50 steals in the Texas League. Curry never reached the Majors and he finished his minor league career with a .274/.371/.357 line.
21. Robbie Morrizon RHP- "He can help the Kansas City bullpen in the near future."
Morrison played three more seasons of minor league baseball, but was never able to help the Kansas City bullpen. He finished his professional career with an era of 3.03.
22. Jeremy Dodson OF- "Dodson has intriguing tools- above average bat speed and power, average foot speed and an outfield arm that has been rated the Texas League's best for tow years running- but his confidence and possibly his career have been damaged by the way he has been handled."
After an impressive pro debut that saw Dodson post a .943 OPS the Royals skipped him two levels to double A. The next year they invited him to big league camp and he spent all Spring there only receiving 17 at bats. After that he was never able to translate those tools to success. Chalk this one up as a development fail.
23. Paul Phillips C- "Named the Northwest's League No. 1 prospect... Like Dodson, Phillips was jumped two levels to Double A."
Phillips is currently a triple A catcher for the Cleveland Indians. He has played in 91 games at the big league level, including 58 as a Royal. His career WAR is -0.4.
24. Tony Cogan LHP- "His ceiling isn't as high as the average Staford pro product, but the Royals just may have something in Cogan."
Entering 2001, Cogan had pitched in just 2 innings in the upper levels of the minors. In 2001, he pitched in 23.1 innings for the big club. Once there he posted a 5.84 era, a -0.2 WAR and never returned to the highest level of competition.
25. Jason Kaanoi RHP- "High school righthanders that can touch 96 mph don't usually last until the seventh round."
I suspect that Kaanoi's career ended due to arm troubles, because in 2004 he was dominate as a reliever, and then in 2005 he struggled in limited time at High Desert before hanging up the cleats. His career minor league era was 4.61.
26. Scott Walter C- "he'll definitely need to make more contact and show more patience at the plate."
Walter never really did either of those things. He posted a career .254 batting average with a career .311 on base percentage in six seasons of minor league baseball, never reaching the Majors.
27. Wes Obermueller RHP- "(when drafted) he had limited milage on his arm and was less of an injury risk."
Ironically Obermueller batted injures in his first two professional seasons. Obermueller eventuall reached the Majors though where he was awful posting a 5.82 era across 5 seasons. His career WAR was -2.0.
28. Ryan Baerlocher RHP- "He led the South Atlantic League in ERA and ranked second in the minors in strikeouts"
This basically sums up Baerlocher's career. He never had overpowering stuff and as a result he was enver granted a Major League opportunity despite good results throughout his minor league career. He pitched for 9 seasons and finished with a career record of 67-47 with an era of 3.90.
29. Byron Gettis OF- "His power potential and arm strength are intriguing."
Gettis debuted for the Kansas City Royals on May 27, 2004. He stayed with the big club for 21 games and posted an OPS+ of 59, and a WAR of -0.4. He was never given another shot at the Major League level.
30. Jonathan Guzman OF- "Guzman is a potential five-tool player."
It is amazing how much that phrase gets thrown around. Here you have the thirtieth ranked prospect in a mediocre farm system and the writer throws out these words. Guzman never reached the Majors but let's look at his minor league numbers. Hit tool: .230 career average. Power tool: 25 career home runs in 297 games played. Speed tool: 62 steals in 82 attempts. Arm tool: 34 career outfield assists. Fielding tool: career 1.97 range factor per game.
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