Kevin Goldstein, the must-read minor league guru for Baseball Prospectus, has finally released his Top 11 Kansas Citiy Royals Prospects list for the publication and there are several familiar names as well as some new ones in his 2011 edition. The good news for the Royals is that Goldstein says, "Despite graduating five players from last year's Top 11 to create one of the most exciting young teams in the majors, this system remains among the best." That's what Royals fans want to hear.
To start, Goldstein loves two guys in particular, Will Myers and KC's newest signing of Bubba Starling. Myers is called a five-star prospect and says that he'll at least be an average corner outfielder with an above-average arm. However, his bat will likely take him further and Goldstein says, "He could be a star-level corner outfielder."
For Starling, Goldstein praises every aspect of his game, saying he has the best all-around tools of any player in the entire minor leagues. However, no matter how impressive raw tools can be, they're still a risky proposition. Thus he concludes that, "In a perfect world, every tool actualizes and Starling becomes the best player in baseball. That's highly unlikely to happen."
The rest of the list is still impressive as Goldstein believes in several of the Royals top prospects. Jake Odorizzi, who came over in the Brewers trade for Zach Greinke, comes in at third and is the first pitcher on the list. Chelsor Cuthbert, a third baseman, is fourth, and John Lamb, who had Tommy John surgery, is fifth as long as he can rebound back to form.
The rest of the list can be found in the following:
1. Will Myers
2. Bubba Starling
3. Jake Odorizzi
4. Chelsor Cuthbert
5. John Lamb
6. Mike Montgomery
7. Yordano Ventura
8. Jorge Bonifacio
9. Kelvin Herrera
10. Jason Adam
11. Chris Dwyer