Baseball America: Top 10 Prospects: Kansas City Royals

Tipping the clinkscales in K.C…

That hope is tied to a restructured player-development system and draft philosophy modeled after one of baseball’s most successful franchises, the Braves. It’s no coincidence, seeing as general manager Dayton Moore and farm director J.J. Picollo worked for Atlanta before coming to Kansas City. Senior advisor Art Stewart, who has been with the franchise since its inception, said the team’s renewed efforts to build from within under Moore reminded him of the Royals’ early days, when they swiftly assembled a contender through shrewd trades and homegrown talent.

“The most important thing we have done is staff our front office and development departments with good people and a full staff,” said Moore, who noted that when scouting director Deric Ladnier arrived (also from the Braves) in 2000, he had just two crosscheckers on his staff. “Certainly, scouting and player development are the most important things we can do, and it doesn’t matter if it is in a small or large market.”