Wilmington Blue Rocks 2014 Preview

Defense

LF - Terrance Gore*

CF - Bubba Starling*

RF - Daniel Rockett*

3B - Hunter Dozier*

SS - Raul A. Mondesi*

2B - Jack Lopez

1B - Cody Stubbs*

C - Zane Evans*

Rotation

Miguel Almonte*

Christian Binford*

Sean Manaea*

Daniel Stumpf*

Jonathon Dziedzic*

Bench

C - Cam Gallagher*, C - Beau Maggi*, 1B - Mark Donato*, IF - Kenny Diekroeger, OF - Tyler Chism,      OF - Johermyn Chavez*

Bullpen

Mark Peterson, Kyle Bartsch*, John Walter*, Glenn Sparkman*, Matt Murray*, Yender Caramo*,  Aroni Nina*, Zeb Sneed*, Ali Williams

Notes

• A prospect-heavy team, the Blue Rocks will be the affiliate to watch every day to begin the 2014 season.  Not only will this team be fun to watch, the roster is practically a fresh start for the Frawley Stadium faithful in Wilmington, Delaware.
• Of the 28 players dawning the Blue Rocks uniform, 23 of them will be doing so for the very first time.
• The rotation will consist of 5 brand new starters, including 3 in the Royals' Top 10 prospects according to Baseball America.  Miguel Almonte, ranked #5, joins the Blue Rocks after a stellar 2013 campaign with Lexington.  From various scouts/media, Almonte is considered far more advanced than most of the pitchers in the organization.  He showcases excellent command and possesses secondary pitches, including the best changeup in the Royals system, that assistant GM J.J. Picollo describes as "more advanced than Yordano Ventura at this stage".  Almonte could have made the jump to Double-A with no issues, but the Royals decided to give him some innings in the Carolina League before heading to Springdale, Arkansas.
• Sean Manaea, ranked #6, will make his professional debut with Wilmington after being selected in the Supplemental Round of the 2013 MLB Draft.  Widely considered as one of the top players to go off the board early, some teams were worried about his health as he recovered from a torn labrum in his hip over the off-season, but good fortune was on the Royals side as they were able to take not only Manaea, but Hunter Dozier, as well.  Needless to say, the Royals drafted well.  For a detailed report on the 22 year old, here are some notes from Baseball Prospectus writer Jason Parks.
• If having Almonte and Manaea in the rotation wasn't good enough, Christian Binford, ranked #10, will also join Wilmington for his 3rd professional season.  The 21 year old from Hagerstown, Maryland stands at 6 foot 6 inches, which helps give him a great downward plane to the plate and throws at a 3/4 arm slot.  Although his fastball sits in the very low 90's, there's time for his body to fill out more and possibly gain a little more velocity on his fastball.  Binford is ranked by Baseball America as having the best control in the system for the '14 season, which has been backed up by astounding BB/9 rates in his first 2 seasons (0.90 and 1.67, respectively).  His height, along with the movement of his pitches allow him to keep batted balls on the ground (49.2% last season), will only be to his advantage this year in the Carolina League.  
• The left side of the infield looks down right nasty.  Those who visit Frawley Stadium better enjoy it while they're around.  Manning 3B and SS for the Blue Rocks will be Hunter Dozier (B.A. #7 ranking) and Raul A. Mondesi (B.A. #4 ranking).  In 313 plate appearances split between Idaho Falls and Lexington stints, Dozier already has a career line of .312/.403/.502 and is considered to have the best contact and strike-zone discipline in the system.  The 22 year old will show off an excellent arm and quick first step at third base, but is said to have enough athleticism to make a move to a corner OF spot, if the move is necessary.  Depending on Moustakas in Kansas City...who knows.  
• Dozier's neighbor on the diamond, Mondesi, will open 2014 as the youngest player in the Carolina League at just 18 years old.  Raul, the son of former Major League OF Raul Mondesi, Sr., bats from both sides of the plate and is considered to have better plate appearances as a lefty.  After hitting .261 with 7 HR and 47 RBI, the offensive output will only get better down the road, as he's facing pitchers 4-6 years older than himself.  At shortstop, Mondesi has an outstanding glove with exceptional range thanks to his speed, along with a strong arm.  Nathan Stoltz did a nice piece on Mondesi last November that offers a more in-depth evaluation of the future Royal.
• Two of the organization's top catching prospects will both be in Wilmington for 2014.  Cam Gallagher (B.A. #23 ranking) and Zane Evans (B.A. #24 ranking) will split time behind the plate as they enter their 4th and 2nd seasons, respectively.  

Wilmington Blue Rocks Preview

Projected Lineup

2B - Justin Trapp

SS - Jack Lopez

3B - Cheslor Cuthbert

RF - Jorge Bonifacio

CF - Lane Adams

1B - Murray Watts

DH - Daniel Mateo

LF - Tim Ferguson

C - Parker Morin

Rotation

Kyle Zimmer

Sam Selman

Kyle Smith

John Lamb

Angel Baez

Bench

C Kenny Swab, IF Kenneth Diekroger, IF Nick DelGuidice, OF Geulin Beltre, OF Chris Elder

Bullpen

Antonio Cruz, Robinson Yambati, Aaron Brooks, Malcom Culver, Cody Fassold, Kellen Moen, 

Spencer Patton, Andrew Tiggs

Notes on the 2013 Blue Rocks:

•  The middle of the lineup will be one of the more popular topics regarding Wilmington to start this season off.  Cuthbert is looking for a bounce back year, after hitting .240/.296/.322 with an ISO of .082.  Cheslor's GB% was 46.7 while his BB% was 7.2.  Although his K% was well below the Carolina League average, if he can work on a line-drive swing and being a little more patient at the plate, Cuthbert we'll get back on track in no time.
• Jorge Bonifacio, the 19 year old "not so athletic younger brother of Emilio" and #5 on our 2013 Prospect List, held his own for sure at the plate in Kane County last season, hitting .282 with 10 HR and 61 RBI, not as pretty as Twins top prospect Miguel Sano (28 HR 100 RBI), but still very promising for the time being and his age.  The C.L. is known for being a "pitcher's league" so hopefully Bonifacio can keep up the pace from his Kane County days.
• Jason Adam, 23, has sort of slipped off our radar, but still remains a prospect for now.  Last season, starting off with Kane County, was a solid bounce back from an ugly 2011 season.  Once joining the Blue Rocks, his batting average fell nearly 60 points compared to his K.C. appearances.  If Jason wants to remain in the organization, he'll need to get it going in Wilmington before it's too late.

• Murray Watts, 27, is definitely on the scolding hot seat at this point.  Last year he compiled a line of .221/.299/.394 in 30 games for the Blue Rocks, hitting only 4 HR with an ISO of .173.  The problem with Murray is he doesn't make contact well at all and doesn't have good patience at the plate, striking out 35.9% of the time while walking only 10.3% of his ABs.  This will most likely be the final year for Murray in the Royals organization if he doesn't show signs of improvement.

• The rotation will definitely be the highlight of Wilmington to kick off the season this Thursday, April 4th.  With four of our own Top 15 prospects in the rotation alone, Royals fans will want to keep tabs on the Blue Rocks for a while.  Kyle Zimmer headlines the staff, as he comes off an exciting rookie season in Kane County.  A workhorse who will give you lots of innings, like former Blue Rock Jason Adam, should split time between Wilmington and Northwest Arkansas, if all goes to plan.  Sam Selman and Kyle Smith join Zimmer in their quest, alongside rehabbing John Lamb, who is back to full health, but needs some time to regain some of his velocity.  

• Another guy to look after his reliever Robinson Yambati.  At 22, he has a three quarter arm delivery, a low 90's fastball, and an incredible GB% of 65.6, thanks to his ability to keep the ball low in the strike zone.  If he continues his success from 2012, he'll be in Northwest Arkansas before too long, and possibly even Omaha before season's end.

Wilmington Blue Rocks Preview

This is the final preview for the full season clubs. Wilmington should have a stacked rotation, but the position prospects aren't on the same level as they are at Northwest Arkansas or Omaha.

Rotation:

• Noel Arguelles- Arguelles will be one of the most closely monitor players in the system in 2011. He makes he organization debut on April 11. He is on the 40 man, and with one season already lost he should be pushed along quickly, while the Royals keep an eye on his workload.


• Justin Marks- Marks came over in the DeJesus trade, he needs to rebuild his stock for the trade to be a win for the Royals.


• Tim Melville- When a system breaks out like the Royals' did in 2010, some guys will be pushed out of the limelight. Melville is one of those guys. His stuff is still strong and his numbers suggest some bad luck in 2010. I expect Melville's breakout to come this year.


• Jake Odorizzi- Odorizzi came over in the Greinke trade and for this reason there will be an enormous pressure on him to perform. Hopefully the talent in the organization can alleviate some of that this season.


• Elisaul Pimentel- Pimentel posted some impressive strikeout numbers a year ago in the Midwest League, let's see if he can carry that success to Carolina.


• Tyler Sample- I am going to include him here, but I expect he will be moved to the bullpen at some point this season. Sample needs to repeat his delivery and improve on his control.

Bullpen:

• Manuaris Baez- Baez has been an organizational warrior for Kansas City and he's a good guy to have on a young Blue Rock staff.


• Kevin Chapman- Chapman has a big time, and has future lefty set up man written all over him.


• Ryan Dennick- Looks like a filler to me.


• Glenn Gibson- Never heard of him. Edit: Will begin season on DL.


• Kelvin Herrera- Love his arm, need to see him stay healthy. Rumors out of camp are that his fastball is touching 97 from the pen.


• Brendan Lafferty- Great moustache.


• Michael Mariott- Could get some time in the rotation for Wilmington, was the ace of the Nebraska staff a year ago and pitched well in his first year in professional ball.


• Bryan Paukovitis- Awesome last name, big frame but doesn't throw as hard as you would expect. He is even farther removed from Tommy John so maybe his velocity will be up a bit, especially out of the pen.


• Julio Cesar Pimentel- Has pitched in 9 innings in the last two seasons, hopefully a move to the pen can salvage his career. Edit: Will primarily serve as mentor to Arguelles.

Catchers:

• Jose Bonilla- Bonilla used to be a decent prospect for the Royals, but he hasn't hit at all in full season ball. He'll get a promotion to Wilmington this season and hopefully he can take a page out of Salvador Perez's book.


• Juan Graterol- At one point in time I elected to rate Graterol ahead of Perez and Bonilla on my prospect list. I am ashamed. However, in my defense I hadn't been able to read much about their defense and Graterol had at least put up a solid batting average as a pro.

Infielders:

• Deivy Batista- As many suspected Batista's power in 2009 was a mirage.


• Adam Frost- Frost does it all, great utility guy for a low level club.


• Joey Lewis-Lewis displayed good power during his collegiate career and with the look of Wilmington's office he needs to do more with the bat.


• Alex McClure- McClure has a good glove but like the rest of the offense he has to pick up his offense for Wilmington to be competitive.


• Rey Navarro- Good glove shortstop, but hasn't hit nearly enough to be taken seriously.


• John Whittleman- Royals needed a body to play first in Wilmington and wound up with former Texas Leaguer John Whittleman.

Outfielders:

• Tim Ferguson- Ferguson averaged over a K per game last season in Idaho Falls. He'll need to vastly improve on this aspect of his game to be a solid prospect.


• Nicholas Francis- Francis best impact bat for the Blue Rocks in 2011. He needs another big year for the Blue Rocks offense to have any punch.


• Whit Merrifield- Thanks to Greg Schaum's reports I know that many in the orgaization view Merrifield as a future big league utility man. For this reason he should get time in the infield about once per week.


• Adrian Ortiz- Speedy outfielder, if he can improve his plate discipline he would be a much stronger prospect. Edit: Will begin season on DL.


• Carlo Testa- Testa was one of the few bright spots for the Burlington Bees last season when he put up a Lough-esque extra base line of 24 doubles, 14 triples, and 12 homers.