Sickels: Top 20 Kansas City Royals Prospects for 2010

Is this batch Goodenough? Time will tell.

1) Mike Montgomery, LHP, Grade B+: Looks like the best combination of projection and performance in the organization.
2) Mike Moustakas, 3B, Grade B+: Trying to decide between a Grade B+ and a straight B for this one. I’m willing to cut him some slack for one more season. He could do much better out of Wilmington.
3) Aaron Crow, RHP, Grade B: Want to see some actual pro data before going higher with the grade, but I like him a lot and he shouldn’t need a lot of development time.
4) Tim Melville, RHP, Grade B: Needs to sharpen up his command a bit, but projects as a number two starter if everything comes together and he stays healthy.
5) Danny Duffy, LHP, Grade B: I like him a lot, too, although I don’t think he has quite as much projection as Melville. Crow, Melville, and Duffy could rank 3-4-5 in any order.
6) Wil Myers, C, Grade B: Love the bat, not sure about the defense. Need more pro data before going higher with the grade.
7) Eric Hosmer, 1B, Grade B-: A difficult grade. Will the lasik surgery fix whatever was bothering him in ‘09?  If so, could vault back to the top of the list.
8) Carlos Rosa, RHP, Grade B-: His numbers at Omaha are better than they look, and he has the arm strength to be a solid reliever.
9) David Lough, OF, Grade B-: Borderline C+. Good tools, started to put things together this year, but turns 24 in January and I wish he walked more.
10) Jordan Parraz, OF, Grade B-: Borderline C+. Good tools, really exploded this year, but injury problems and age (now 25) limit his grade.

...Things are much different on the hitting side. Moustakas and Hosmer were big disappointments this year. Both of them are still young, and both of them had some possibly-extenuating circumstances. But the fact remains that both of them are corner players who didn’t hit as well as expected and have a lot to prove in 2010. I cut Moustakas some slack on the grade because he did hit well in 2008, but graded Hosmer a bit more roughly because he hasn’t done much at all in pro ball yet.