- Draft Prep Tiers: C | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | OF | SP | RP
- Heath's Sleepers | Breakouts | Busts
- Scott's Top 100 prospects | Sleepers | Breakouts | Busts | Dynasty Top 100
- More: Mike Axisa previews the Royals
Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.
It's never good news when a player gets suspended for half of the season. But the suspension of Jorge Bonifacio has me feeling much more comfortable with another Jorge, Jorge Soler.
The Royals still have a log jam of mediocre sleepers, including Jon Jay, Paulo Orlando, Raul Mondesi and Hunter Dozier. But Soler is the one with big power upside and the absence of Bonifaco makes it more likely the Royals give him a long look in April and May.
Soler still has prodigious power and he's one of the most likely Royals to take a walk. This spring he's been a true three-outcome player with more than 60 percent of his plate appearances resulting in a walk, a home run, or a strikeout. He still needs to reduce the quantity of the latter, but he should get a chance to do just that at the big league level. Last year he only struck out 25 percent of the time in Triple-A and slugged 24 home runs in just 327 plate appearances.
Does that make him draftable in a standard 12-team league? Not in points, but he's absolutely worth a reserve-round flier in Rotisserie. It should not surprise anyone if he hits 30 home runs this season.
| Player Name | Roto Rank | H2H Rank | Roto Pos Rank | H2H Pos Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #55 | #80 | #5 | #7 | |
| #109 | #94 | #5 | #7 | |
| #163 | #170 | #17 | #16 | |
| #174 | #156 | #16 | #16 | |
| #220 | #198 | #48 | #51 | |
| #281 | NR | #75 | #82 | |
| #296 | #299 | #30 | #32 |
Players in Scott's Top 100 Prospects
None. In fact, there aren't a lot of prospects who could make an impact for the Royals in 2018. This is a system that is light on talent, and what talent it does have is at the lower levels.
Things to Know
- Duffy, Ian Kennedy and Jason Hammel are the only sure things in the Royals rotation right now. Expect a spring training battle for the No. 4 and No. 5 spots between Jake Junis, Nathan Karns and Trevor Oaks.
- Kelvin Herrera is still a risky proposition as your closer. Yes, he has top-10 potential. But there are real reasons to question if he'll be a Royal all season, and if it's dealt to a contender it seems likely he'll be a setup man.
Lineup & Rotation
| Batting order | ||
| 1 | Jon Jay | RF |
| 2 | Whit Merrifield | 2B |
| 3 | Mike Moustakas | 3B |
| 4 | Salvador Perez | C |
| 5 | Lucas Duda | 1B |
| 6 | Jorge Soler | DH |
| 7 | Alex Goron | LF |
| 8 | Paulo Orlando | CF |
| 9 | Alcides Escobar | SS |
| Pitchers | ||
| SP | Danny Duffy | |
| SP | Ian Kennedy | |
| SP | Jason Hammel | |
| SP | Jake Junis | |
| SP | Nathan Karns | |
| CL | Kelvin Herrera | |
| RP | Burch Smith | |
| RP | Brandon Maurer | |