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Transaction Oracle
— A Timely Look at Transactions as They Happen

Saturday, February 21, 2009

2009 ZiPS Projections - Kansas City Royals

Dayton Moore has had a mixed record in Kansas City and while he did a good job turning the Royals from a laughingstock basement-dweller to a respectable, though mediocre, team, it's still a very open question as to whether he's the right man to guide the team towards the next step of becoming a team capable of competing for the playoffs.

So far, I'd have to give a qualified no to the second question. You can't run a poor-to-middling team in the same manner that you would run a truly competitive team. The risks a team in the Royals position should be willing to take are far greater than those that a team like the Red Sox should be willing to take.

The Red Sox or Yankees aren't able to do a whole lot of high-risk plays. Neither can afford to aggressively promote a Kala Kaaihue or a Carlos Rosa or give Ryan Shealy a shot to see where he is. A good team might, if the structure of the team calls for it, need to acquire Mike Jacobs or Coco Crisp or sign Jose Guillen or Kyle Farnsworth or even Horacio Ramirez (I'm not sure even a team in Italy could really justify signing Willie Bloomquist). The Royals are not that team - the value they get from known mediocrity is just about zero. If Tony Pena had merely been bad instead of downright horrible, Mike Aviles probably doesn't get a shot to shine. That's not what poor teams should be doing. The advantage of being in the position of the Royals or Orioles or Rangers is that you can dare to do things that the big dogs can't.

The Royals are unlikely to make a serious run at the division this year. It's not impossible as there are a lot of decent players (though light on stars) and there are no juggernaut teams in the Central, but I think the odds are against it.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HITTERS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name                     P  Age   AVG   OBP   SLG   G  AB   R   H 2B 3B HR RBI  BB   K SB CS   OPS+  

David DeJesus*           cf  29  .287  .359  .428 136 526  80 151 30  7 10  65  49  72  8  5   106 
Alex Gordon*             3b  25  .259  .343  .442 148 525  72 136 36  3 18  64  59 124 11  3   104 
J.R. House               1b  29  .291  .346  .436 145 525  63 153 32  1 14  73  42  64  2  3   104 
Billy Butler             dh  23  .284  .344  .432 160 584  68 166 33  1 17  83  53  78  2  1   102 
Mark Teahen*             rf  27  .272  .341  .432 158 562  79 153 33  6 15  65  58 127  9  3   102 
Kala Kaaihue             1b  24  .258  .345  .432 135 465  58 120 18  0 21  74  61  84  2  2   103 
Mike Jacobs*             1b  28  .262  .313  .485 135 478  67 125 33  1 24  82  36 100  2  1   106 
Ryan Shealy              1b  29  .268  .336  .436 112 358  44  96 18  0 14  53  32  97  2  1   101 
Jose Guillen             rf  33  .272  .321  .448 138 525  66 143 33  1 19  87  27  93  3  1    99 
Mike Aviles              ss  28  .289  .319  .433 154 610  82 176 36  5 14  73  26  71  9  4    95 
Shane Costa*             rf  27  .279  .326  .420  88 305  37  85 20  1  7  31  19  39  6  1    95 
Mark Grudzielanek        2b  39  .288  .334  .392  74 288  37  83 19  1  3  23  15  37  1  1    91 
Tug Hulett*              ss   6  .258  .330  .388 134 477  71 123 26  3 10  48  50  95 14  6    88 
Mitch Maier*             cf  27  .279  .315  .405 143 541  69 151 32  3 10  60  27  86 10  5    88 
Alberto Callaspo#        2b  26  .281  .335  .376  89 303  38  85 14  3  3  27  24  21  3  3    87 
Brayan Pena#             c   27  .280  .326  .392  98 332  36  93 20  1  5  35  21  30  5  4    88 
Esteban German           2b  31  .267  .344  .369  70 195  30  52 11  3  1  21  21  34  6  3    88 
Ross Gload*              1b  33  .286  .325  .393  75 224  27  64 13  1  3  26  13  25  2  2    88 
Coco Crisp#              cf  29  .267  .328  .380 128 434  63 116 22  3  7  49  39  68 20  6    85 
John Buck                c   28  .237  .312  .408 122 397  48  94 24  1 14  55  38  98  1  3    87 
Corey Smith              3b  27  .241  .298  .396 144 535  47 129 27  1 18  65  39 129  8  4    81 
Miguel Olivo             c   30  .252  .277  .427 111 393  43  99 23  2 14  54  10  92  6  2    82 
Willie Bloomquist        2b  31  .268  .332  .316  92 209  34  56  5  1  1  18  18  22 12  3    78 
Tommy Murphy#            cf  29  .252  .303  .353 139 496  66 125 24  4  6  42  35 110 27 10    72 
Mike Moustakas*          3b  20  .246  .284  .383 140 574  60 141 20  1 19  63  28 121  7  6    74 
Matt Tupman*             c   29  .253  .315  .320  89 300  30  76 12  1  2  29  26  42  1  1    68 
Chris Lubanski*          lf  24  .229  .278  .373 125 442  46 101 19  3 13  48  32 134  6  4    69 
Mario Lisson             3b  25  .230  .277  .348 146 535  54 123 25  1 12  59  30 119 27  9    63 
Joseph Dickerson*        cf  22  .253  .299  .326  98 368  34  93 11  2  4  32  20  64 20 16    65 
Jose Duarte              cf  24  .238  .283  .317 141 571  66 136 19  1  8  42  36 105 24 11    55 
Jeffrey Howell           c   26  .223  .266  .319  88 301  22  67 14  0  5  30  16  59  1  3    53 
Jeff Bianchi             ss  22  .222  .248  .334 113 437  46  97 23  1  8  46  15 103 11  5    51 
Tony Pena                ss  28  .234  .258  .309 114 346  39  81 14  3  2  27  10  66  5  4    49 
Luis Hernandez#          ss  25  .235  .268  .284 127 430  41 101 14  2  1  29  19  58  5  5    45 
Derrick Robinson#        cf  21  .215  .255  .257 126 521  53 112 15  2  1  26  28 115 42 16    35 

* - Bats Left
# - Switch Hitter

OFFENSIVE MATRIX

Name               PO        EX      VG      AV      FR      PO              COMP 1               COMP2               COMP3
DeJesusDavid       CF        25%     26%     31%     15%      4%         GreenLenny         DamonJohnny        UhlaenderTed
HouseJ.R.          1B         0%     14%     24%     39%     23%         JacksonRon    CanizaresBarbaro        CervenakMike
GordonAlex         3B        19%     37%     25%     13%      5%          HowellRoy         HattonGrady        GarrettWayne
ButlerBilly        DH         1%     14%     23%     39%     23%        TriandosGus         KonerkoPaul         McMullenKen
JacobsMike         1B        11%     29%     22%     25%     13%       KryhoskiDick      HoffpauirMicah        DaubachBrian
TeahenMark         RF         4%     23%     24%     25%     24%          StoneJohn      KirklandWillie         O'LearyTroy
ShealyRyan         1B         0%      8%     22%     48%     22%        ZauchinNorm         ZuletaJulio       DuncanShelley
KaaihueKila        1B         3%     17%     20%     32%     28%       DelaneyJason          SheldonOle         KreuzerJosh
GuillenJose        RF         5%     15%     17%     22%     41%        JordanBrian          TovarCesar        MartinezDave
CostaShane         RF         1%      9%     15%     24%     52%         SummaHomer      VukovichGeorge          PilarcikAl
AvilesMike         SS        23%     24%     25%     19%      9%          CruzDeivi          WilsonJack         LoganJohnny
GrudzielanekMark   2B         6%     13%     22%     29%     30%         WhiteFrank          GantnerJim         LarkinBarry
CrispCoco          CF         7%     17%     31%     29%     17%       ThomasDerrel      AmezagaAlfredo           ScottTony
MaierMitch         CF         2%      8%     26%     33%     31%           UnserDel       SchumakerSkip          ReedJeremy
GloadRoss          1B         0%      0%      2%     22%     76%      BiittnerLarry         JohnstonDoc         KollowayDon
HulettTug          SS         6%     16%     28%     31%     19%      McAuliffeDick            KellyDon       StillwellKurt
PenaBrayan         C          1%     16%     30%     39%     14%        AlomarSandy         RodgersBuck           HillKoyie
GermanEsteban      2B         1%      6%     22%     42%     30%   StirnweissSnuffy        CarrollJamey       BannisterAlan
CallaspoAlberto    2B         0%      4%     15%     33%     47%    LandestoyRafael     De la CruzChris          HillDonnie
BuckJohn           C          1%     18%     28%     35%     17%            RiceDel         AverillEarl          DuncanDave
OlivoMiguel        C          0%     10%     27%     43%     20%     AlfonzoEliezer          RiveraMike         WidgerChris
SmithCorey         3B         1%      5%     11%     19%     64%       MacriMatthew           ZimmerDon         MitchellLee
MurphyTommy        CF         0%      1%      7%     23%     69%          ScottTony           CarrChuck        SimmonsBrian
BloomquistWillie   2B         0%      1%      3%     12%     85%         AmaralRich       KennedyJunior          MooreEddie
MoustakasMike      3B         0%      2%      6%     12%     80%       DavisLeonard         DewittBlake        HatchAnthony
TupmanMatt         C          0%      0%      1%     13%     87%        OatesJohnny       FabregasJorge          CrouseBuck
LubanskiChris      LF         0%      0%      2%      4%     94%      PeralesDaniel           ButiaMike          ClarkKevin
LissonMario        3B         0%      1%      3%      7%     90%     KlostermanRyan     van KootenJason             PopeVan
DickersonJoseph    RF         0%      0%      0%      0%    100%       BrownDominic        ParraGerardo         MatuliaJohn
DuarteJose         CF         0%      0%      0%      3%     96%    FermaintCharlie     RobinsonTrayvon          GodwinAdam
BianchiJeffrey     2B         0%      0%      0%      0%    100%   MattinglyPreston           NixJayson           CobbLarry
HowellJeffrey      C          0%      0%      0%      1%     99%         PurdomJohn       LunarFernando      MercadoRichard
PenaTony           SS         0%      0%      0%      1%     98%          RivasLuis          NievesJose        MendozaMario
HernandezLuis      SS         0%      0%      0%      0%    100%     SanchezYunesky      OrtizYancarlos       FisherMichael
RobinsonDerrick    CF         0%      0%      0%      0%    100%     JacksonAnthony           WhiteAdam         KeoughShane

DEFENSE

Name               CThr 1b 2b 3b ss lf cf rf 
DeJesus*                            Vg Av    
Gordon*                 Av    Av             
House              Pr   Av                   
Butler                  Fr          Pr       
Teahen*                 Av    Pr    Av    Av 
Kaaihue                 Fr                   
Jacobs*                 Pr                   
Shealy                  Av                   
Guillen                                   Fr 
Aviles                     Vg Vg Vg          
Costa*                              Av Pr Av 
Grudzielanek               Av                
Hulett*                    Vg    Av          
Maier*                              Vg Av Vg 
Callaspo#                  Av Av Fr          
Pena#              Vg   Av    Fr    Fr    Fr 
German                     Fr Fr Fr Fr Fr    
Gload*                  Fr          Fr    Fr 
Crisp#                              Vg Av    
Buck               Av                        
Smith                   Fr    Pr             
Olivo              Av                        
Bloomquist              Av Av Av Av Vg Fr Vg 
Murphy#                             Vg Av Vg 
Moustakas*                    Vg Fr          
Tupman*            Av                        
Lubanski*                           Av       
Lisson                  Vg    Vg Fr          
Dickerson*                          Fr Pr Fr 
Duarte                                 Vg    
Howell             Vg                        
Bianchi                    Av    Fr          
Pena                             Vg          
Hernandez#                 Av    Av          
Robinson#                              Vg  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STARTERS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name                     Age    ERA   W   L   G  GS     INN    H   ER  HR   BB    K  ERA+ 

Zack Greinke              25   4.11  10   9  27  27   168.2  171   77  22   49  145  110 
Gil Meche                 30   4.21  11  11  32  32   194.2  194   91  21   69  158  107 
Carlos Rosa               24   4.34   7   7  23  20   103.2  111   50   9   33   56  104 
Brian Bannister           28   5.24   8  13  27  27   154.2  174   90  23   51   88   86 
Blake Wood                23   5.46   4   8  20  20    97.1  110   59  15   39   54   83 
Kyle Davies               25   5.52   7  14  27  27   135.1  157   83  18   60   81   82 
Brandon Duckworth         33   5.54   5   9  22  17   105.2  122   65  16   45   60   81 
Luke Hochevar             25   5.56   6  11  25  25   142.1  164   88  21   52   82   81 
Lenny Dinardo*            29   5.79   3   7  24  15    87.0  110   56  12   30   45   78 
Dan Cortes                22   5.93   5  10  23  23   107.2  123   71  19   57   63   76 
Julio Caesar Pimentel     23   6.05   5  13  27  25   147.1  183   99  25   54   57   75 
Matt Wright               27   6.25   4  11  26  22   135.1  164   94  25   62   66   72 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RELIEVERS
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name                     Age    ERA   W   L   G  GS     INN    H   ER  HR   BB    K  ERA+ 

Joakim Soria              25   2.26   4   1  64   0    67.2   49   17   5   18   74  199 
Ron Mahay*                38   3.86   3   2  60   0    65.1   62   28   5   32   52  117 
John Bale*                35   4.44   2   3  29   2    46.2   52   23   4   15   33  102 
Tim Hamulack*             32   4.50   1   1  26   0    30.0   29   15   4   13   25  100 
Jimmy Gobble*             27   4.74   2   3  61   0    49.1   51   26   6   25   45   95 
Horacio Ramirez*          29   4.78   2   3  46   0    49.0   57   26   4   16   20   94 
Joel Peralta              33   4.79   2   2  55   0    73.1   77   39  12   20   55   94 
Kyle Farnsworth           33   4.79   2   3  64   0    62.0   64   33  10   27   58   94 
Doug Waechter             28   4.92   3   3  52   0    64.0   74   35   8   19   32   91 
Jamey Wright              34   4.99   5   7  43   6    79.1   89   44   7   32   44   90 
Rob Tejeda                27   5.02   5   7  31  15   100.1   99   56  13   60   76   90 
Yasuhiko Yabuta           36   5.10   4   5  48   0    65.1   71   37   8   33   41   88 
Henry Barrera             23   5.12   1   2  37   0    51.0   56   29   6   23   32   88 
Oscar Villarreal          27   5.22   2   4  48   2    69.0   77   40  11   31   39   86 
Franquelis Osoria         27   5.26   3   6  56   0    75.1   90   44   9   25   35   86 
Greg Atencio              27   5.40   3   6  35   4    86.2   97   52  12   44   52   83 
Heath Phillips*           27   5.73   5  10  36  17   121.0  145   77  18   50   54   79 
Roman Colon               29   5.78   2   5  24   6    67.0   82   43  11   23   32   78 
Devon Lowery              26   5.83   1   2  28   0    41.2   46   27   6   26   28   77 

* - Throws Left

PITCHING MATRIX

Player                PO        TOP     MID     LOW               Comp1                Comp2                Comp3
SoriaJoakim           RP        98%      2%      0%        StreetHuston        NiedenfuerTom        EastwickRawly
MahayRon              RP        40%     46%     14%         OroscoJesse         FrymanWoodie        RemlingerMike
GreinkeZack           SP        51%     42%      8%      SandersonScott              NashJim            BenesAndy
MecheGil              SP        45%     49%      6%             CulpRay          PerezMelido            BenesAndy
RosaCarlos            SP        39%     47%     14%          PavanoCarl     ChristensonLarry        HutchinsonIra
BaleJohn              RP        18%     46%     36%           MurphyRob         MartinMorrie           GroomBuddy
HamulackTim           RP        19%     37%     43%            PooleJim         PainterLance             MahayRon
GobbleJimmy           RP        10%     36%     54%          NanceShane      HernandezWillie          RidgwayJeff
RamirezHoracio        RP         3%     36%     61%            KlinkJoe         MagnanteMike
PeraltaJoel           RP        11%     41%     48%            WilksTed          ReardonJeff          SutterBruce
FarnsworthKyle        RP         8%     36%     56%      Van PoppelTodd            CoreyMark            FieldNate
WaechterDoug          RP         5%     36%     59%        GrangerWayne          CarrollClay
WrightJamey           RP         3%     34%     63%      WickershamDave           LabineClem            MillerBob
TejedaRobinson        RP        12%     48%     40%            BentonAl          BiddleRocky       ThompsonJunior
YabutaYasuhiko        RP         5%     32%     63%           ElstonDon            HenryDoug            LarsenDon
BarreraHenry          RP         5%     27%     67%      GervacioSamuel          RogersBrian            SuzukiMac
VillarrealOscar       RP         3%     28%     70%          RlealSendy          BennettJeff            CoatesJim
BannisterBrian        SP         5%     40%     55%        ValdezIsmael          SanfordFred            BoutonJim
OsoriaFranquelis      RP         3%     27%     70%             ClayKen          WilhiteMatt         LaGrowLerrin
AtencioGreg           RP         1%     22%     77%          EyreWillie             HullEric        NunezVladimir
WoodBlake             SP         6%     33%     61%        StaffordBill              HookJay            GrantMark
DaviesKyle            SP         3%     33%     64%        CaldwellEarl           FloydGavin        WilliamsBrian
DuckworthBrandon      SP         3%     30%     67%           SlatonJim       JeffersonJesse          MorenoJulio
HochevarLuke          SP         2%     31%     67%         BoskieShawn            SlatonJim             RossBuck
PhillipsHeath         RP         0%     10%     90%      Van HekkenAndy         AlvarezOscar             ColeBert
ColonRoman            RP         1%     14%     86%          PopeJustin         ChildersMatt        RoweSchoolboy
DiNardoLenny          SP         2%     20%     78%            OttoDave        BennettDennis          WrightClyde
LoweryDevon           RP         2%     19%     79%         ShaferDavid            MootyJake          ChakalesBob
CortesDaniel          SP         1%     17%     81%          MahomesPat         DrabowskyMoe        TorresSalomon
PimentelJulio Cesar   SP         0%     12%     87%          FosterAlan          DaigleCasey          SanchezJose
WrightMatt            SP         0%      8%     92%        BouknightKip           TalbotFred             MecheGil

---------------------------------------------

ODDIBE (Odds of Important Baseball Events)

OPS+ 140+

Jacobs      7
Gordon      4
Kaaihue     2

OBP .400+

DeJesus     6
Kaaihue     3
Gordon      2

SLG .550+

Jacobs      7
Gordon      3
Guillen     2

BA .325+

Grudzielanek  13
Aviles         7
DeJesus        7

2B 45+

Teahen     33
Gordon     19
Aviles     14

3B 10+

DeJesus    18
Aviles      6
Teahen      5

HR 30+

Jacobs     31
Gordon      8
Kaaihue     8

SB 50+

Robinson   26
Murphy      3
Lisson      1

ERA+ 140+ (Starters)

Greinke     9
Rosa        5
Meche       4

ERA+ 140+ (Relievers)

Soria      93
Mahay      22
Peralta     5

K/9 9+ (Starters)

Greinke    21
Meche       2
Hochevar    2

K/9 9+ (Relievers)

Soria      64
Farnsworth 18
Mahay      16

BB/9 1.5- (Starters)

Greinke     1
Rosa        1

BB/9 1.5- (Relievers)

Peralta     7
Soria       7
Osoria      1

HR/9 0.7- (Starters)

Rosa       49
Meche      19
Davies     12

HR/9 0.7- (Relievers)

Soria      71
JWright    56
Barrera    25

All figures in % based on projection playing time - Min. 300 PA/50 IP for inclusion

Disclaimer:  ZiPS projections are computer-based projections of performance.  
Performances have not been allocated to predicted playing time in the majors - 
many of the players listed above are unlikely to play in the majors at all in 2009.  
ZiPS is projecting equivalent production - a .240 ZiPS projection may end up 
being .280 in AAA or .300 in AA, for example.  Whether or not a player will play 
is one of many non-statistical factors one has to take into account when predicting 
the future.

Players are listed with their most recent teams unless Dan has made a mistake.  
This is very possible as a lot of minor-league signings are generally unreported in
the offseason.  

ZiPS is projecting based on the AL having a 4.44 ERA and the NL having a 4.38 ERA.

Players that are expected to be out due to injury are still projected.  More information
is always better than less information and a computer isn't what should be projecting
the injury status of, for example, a pitcher with Tommy John surgery.

Positional offense is ranked by RC/27 and divided into quintiles based on what the 
most frequent starting players at each position did in 2006-2008.  Excellent is the top
quintile, Very Good the 2nd quintile and so on.  

ZiPS Frequently Asked Questions

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Dan Szymborski Posted: February 21, 2009 at 01:31 PM | 34 comment(s)
  Related News: Kansas CityZIPS

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Page 1 of 1 pages
   1. CFBF: Now With the Dan Werr Seal of Approval  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 02:01 PM (#3082747)
At least Royals fans have Joakim Soria. He's a joy to watch.
   2. The District Attorney  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 02:09 PM (#3082753)
Huh, nice projection for Carlos Rosa. Ummm... who's Carlos Rosa?

If Gordon and Butler put up those seasons, this franchise is in huge trouble.

They have Kala, not Kila, right?

Tug Hulett is 6 years old again.

I think Rany has mentioned this potential House/Pena platoon at C, it would be glorious.
   3. The District Attorney  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 02:10 PM (#3082756)
Sorry, I meant they have Kila, not Kala. I can see how it gets confusing ;)
   4. Crispix Attacks is in the best shape of his life.  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 02:10 PM (#3082757)
no, they have Kila.
   5. snapper  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 02:20 PM (#3082763)
Really like the new format!
   6. Walt Davis  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 02:33 PM (#3082766)
Tug Hulett will always be 6 years old! But an 88 OPS+ at 6 sets off even my roid radar.

Nice to see TPJ has a 1% chance of not sucking.

Where's the defense in the new format? And I miss the "average" lines for the pitchers. I haven't decided if I miss the positional sort enough to whine about it.

I agree about the comments on Moore. Many odd moves for a franchise where they are.
   7. jfish26101  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 02:44 PM (#3082773)
Greinke isn't even close to what I expected.

Robinson Tejeda?
   8. jfish26101  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 02:45 PM (#3082774)
Scratch the Tejeda comment, I see him now.
   9. Dan Szymborski  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 02:53 PM (#3082778)
Greinke isn't even close to what I expected.

Greinke's still got downside risk - CHONE has him just slightly better.
   10. jfish26101  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 03:15 PM (#3082787)
Sure he has downside risk, so does Peavy or Santana or any other pitch. Greinke certainly isn't on par with them yet but he was pretty filthy last year with very good numbers two years in a row and was a top prospect in the minors. I'm just surprised to see him project out to be basically an average 3 when he pitched pretty close to what you expect out of ace of your staff the last season in a half. You can see progression in his numbers since 2005, I'm just surprised you are projecting regression...and a good bit of regression at that. I'll admit I'm biased having just completed a deal not long ago to bring Greinke to my team but I really expected something close to Kazmir like projection with less Ks and BBs. Just very surprised the last 300+ innings he has pitched isn't good enough after struggling as a 22 year old in 2005...can you tell I'm surprised? :D
   11. The District Attorney  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 03:18 PM (#3082789)
Best comps:

David DeJesus: Johnny Damon. They wish!

Mark Grudzielanek: Frank White. They wish!

Tug Hulett: Dick McAuliffe. Only if he actually is six years old.

Willie Bloomquist: Rich Amaral. I can totally see this (even if Amaral did get more than one extra-base hit per year.)

Tony Pena Jr.: Mario Mendoza. Bullseye!

Carlos Rosa: Carl Pavano. Well, cancel the excitement then.

Joel Peralta: Two guys who combined for 667 saves. Hmm.

Brian Bannister: The obvious comparison is his fellow intellectual Jim Bouton, but I like Fred Sanford. He's comin', 'Lizbeth! He's comin'!!
   12. Dayton Moore is a Big Fat Idiot (AG#1F)  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 04:34 PM (#3082821)
Pitching projections seem awfully pessimistic. I'll be quite surprised if Greinke puts up an ERA over 4.00, or if Hochevar or Davies are quite that awful. Then again, this defense is going to be pretty terrible, at least at all positions other than left and centerfield.

Really surprised Gordon is "average" defensively. Most metrics I've seen have him as quite terrible.

JR House projection is interesting. Too bad he won't get a single at bat in KC, while Buck and Olivo combine for a .300 OBA for about $6 million combined.

Tony Pena couldn't hold Mario Mendoza's jock.
   13. devil_fingers  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 05:03 PM (#3082830)
Dan -- love the new matrices. I have other comments at the Royals Review thread that I don't want to bore people with here.
   14. Greg K : President of the Shooty Fanclub  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 05:16 PM (#3082834)
You probably see about 100 more Royals games a year than me, but in the 5 or 6 times I've seen Gordon he looked ok out there.

For what it's worth UZR has Gordon at +2.3 runs/150 over 2300 innings.
   15. Dan Szymborski  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 05:17 PM (#3082835)
Dan -- love the new matrices. I have other comments at the Royals Review thread that I don't want to bore people with here.

It's always a struggle finding the ideal report format - it's hard to strike a balance between information and brevity. I'm hoping this format proves less confusing. Comps aren't too meaningful since I use damned large groups, but they're fun and there's nothing wrong with a little fun.
   16. Dan Szymborski  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 05:22 PM (#3082837)
As Greg notes, UZR has him about average and using LWZR (Dial), I get him at about 5 under the last 2 years. I was extremely close to giving him a FR and one can make an argument with Smith having him lower. Scouting doesn't seem to provide much help as there's a wide range of belief from him being good to him being poor.
   17. Walt Davis  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 07:27 PM (#3082878)
I should say I like the new format overall. I'd recommend adding age to the offensive matrix -- helps put those comps into better perspective (Grudz = Larkin! :-)
   18. Dayton Moore is a Big Fat Idiot (AG#1F)  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 08:20 PM (#3082894)
Uh Dan, Coco Crisp says he's going to steal 40 bases this year, so you may want to up his "caught stealing" total.
   19. Pops Freshenmeyer  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 08:28 PM (#3082897)
Dan, I think this format is the winner.

The cause for pessism on Grienke is that home run rate. It's a higher rate than any season since his rookie year (excluding his six inning 2006) and the walls at Kaufman have moved back since that season. That's rather curious.
   20. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Griffin (Vlad)  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 09:00 PM (#3082905)
I like the new format a lot.
   21. thinkmaui  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 09:40 PM (#3082916)
PECOTA has Greinke with the 15th best projection in baseball among SP's for 2009, and there really isn't that big a difference between ZIPS and PECOTA. PECOTA is giving him three more starts and around 24 more IP, and has Greinke giving up a few less total earned runs. The two projections are actually very similar, it's just that PECOTA's is a little easier on the eyes I suppose.

I'll take the over on Greinke. I like his chances to beat both projections. He's a better pitcher than Kazmir too, if for no other reason than he actually gets to the 6th inning without having thrown 100+ pitches. For what it's worth, Alex Fernandez and Kevin Appier are among his comparables via the PECOTA system.

Great format by the way. I'm on board...
   22. Exploring Leftist Conservatism since 2008 (ark..)  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 09:43 PM (#3082918)
The first six hitters on Dan's list are essentially the same hitter. Kinda interesting.

The Red Sox or Yankees aren't able to do a whole lot of high-risk plays.
Except that, of course they are. It's just that on their budgets, they're different kinds of high risks.

I agree about the comments on Moore. Many odd moves for a franchise where they are.
I don't think those moves are odd, simply because I think management is perfectly content to threaten to break .500 once in a while. That's their division title: an 82-80 record, a couple of times a decade. I suspect the Royals FO equates risk with "OMG, what if we fail and go 50-112?" And it's clear enough they don't have the smarts to be able to motor along at 70 wins while stockpiling young talent that might all break out at the same time.
   23. Mike Webber  Posted: February 21, 2009 at 10:06 PM (#3082927)
Dan,
Count me among the admirers of the new format!
Give me the over on Crip and I'll parlay that with the under on JR House. What's the payout on that 9 to 5 right?
   24. frannyzoo  Posted: February 22, 2009 at 09:45 AM (#3083056)
Agreed on the format. It's a right purty format for a right ugly team there. And I'll take the under on the Meche ERA+, mostly out of M's fan spite, I admit.
   25. Jason Kendall's #6,530,420,771 fan (AS)  Posted: February 22, 2009 at 10:34 AM (#3083078)
Very much agreed on new format.
   26. thetailor  Posted: February 22, 2009 at 09:52 PM (#3083372)
What happened to Billy Butler's upside?
   27. Dayton Moore is a Big Fat Idiot (AG#1F)  Posted: February 23, 2009 at 09:50 AM (#3083547)
What happened to Billy Butler's upside?

Donuts are delicious.
   28. Dan  Posted: February 23, 2009 at 10:07 AM (#3083562)
Love the new format.

It's amazing that a team that's had high draft picks for so long hasn't really developed a "star" level talent since Beltran. Just a thoroughly mediocre team.
   29. villageidiom  Posted: February 23, 2009 at 05:17 PM (#3084097)
The Red Sox or Yankees aren't able to do a whole lot of high-risk plays.

Except that, of course they are. It's just that on their budgets, they're different kinds of high risks.
I was about to disagree, but mostly on semantics. You're right.

I think Dan is saying the Red Sox can't afford to carry on their roster all year long a player about whom they're unclear whether he's high upside or crap. (In this sense, as in most, risk=variance.) They need to be reasonably certain of what they're getting, even if it's mediocrity. The Royals, however, can put a high-risk prospect on the MLB roster to see what they've got. There's no sense blocking him with a veteran mediocrity this year, because they'll have the same question about their prospect next year and be no closer to getting their answer.

Boston's high-risk players are generally high-risk with regard to health (and thus playing time), not quality. For that reason they've stockpiled a bunch of such starting pitchers, with the hopes that any five of them will be active at a given time. The starting pitchers they seek, while high-risk for health, are generally low-risk for quality. Again, they can't take a high risk on quality.
   30. Slinger Francisco Barrios (Dr. Memory)  Posted: February 24, 2009 at 11:13 AM (#3084623)
What happened to Billy Butler's upside?

Donuts are delicious.


I guess that would also explain his backside.
   31. NBarnes  Posted: February 25, 2009 at 01:43 PM (#3086129)
Boston's high-risk players are generally high-risk with regard to health (and thus playing time), not quality. For that reason they've stockpiled a bunch of such starting pitchers, with the hopes that any five of them will be active at a given time. The starting pitchers they seek, while high-risk for health, are generally low-risk for quality. Again, they can't take a high risk on quality.


Thus; J.D. Drew, Penny, Smoltz, Shilling, and to a lesser extent, Beckett. This is why the Wily Mo Pena trade was a little weird by Boston's standards. Also, sometimes it doesn't work; see also, Gagne, Eric.
   32. Der Komminsk-sar  Posted: February 26, 2009 at 10:22 AM (#3086950)
Hey Dan? You know how I periodically request a projection for some semi-to-really obscure guy, preferably one who's primarily played in some non-domestic leagues?
Would you consider doing one for RHP Federico Castaneda? He's a deep, deep, deep sleeper to make the Royals pen who's put up decent numbers in Mexico (has yet to play in the states, likely to open in AA).
   33. Dan Szymborski  Posted: February 26, 2009 at 10:33 AM (#3086963)
Would you consider doing one for RHP Federico Castaneda? He's a deep, deep, deep sleeper to make the Royals pen who's put up decent numbers in Mexico (has yet to play in the states, likely to open in AA).


I'll project him, but I'll still shout curses of your name that will shake the very foundations of Asgard.
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