Personnel
Scouting Director Sam Christensen – ML Excellent | MiL, Int, Ama Outstanding | Favors Tools
DSL Glass Manager Jorge De Leon
DSL Glass Pitching Coach Jin-hyuk Kim
DSL Stewart Pitching Coach Dylan Lesko
Awards
It was quite a quite awards season for the Royals as Jimmy Goodman was named AL Great Glove at RF for the 4th time but no Kansas City players earned Platinum Sticks – in fact, RF Ben Blaze was the only World Series player to earn that distinction.
Banmei Kataoka was runner up in the AL Reliever of the Year Award to the reliever that got away, Pat Black.
The big news was Curt Bogans winning his second Cy Young Award in a row for the Royals while Luis Moreno did the same with the NL MVP, his third overall.
AL Great Glove RF
Jimmy Goodman (4)
NL Great Glove
AL Platinum Stick
NL Platinum Stick
AL Manager of the Year Eric Binder TB
NL Manager of the Year Generoso Gonzalez LAD
AL Reliever of the Year Pat Black (2) TB
NL Reliever of the Year Tim Webber NYM
AL Rookie of the Year Kuon Kitamura TEX
NL Rookie of the Year Joe Upmeyer MIL
AL Cy Young Curt Bogans (2) KC
NL Cy Young Prince Faulcon WAS
AL MVP Juan Jaramillo CLE
NL MVP Luis Moreno (3) CIN
Pre-Arbitration Extensions & Trades
Wednesday, November 2nd , 2039
Executed the contract year option of CL Banmei Kataoka.
Executed the contract year option of RF Jimmy Goodman.
Voided the team option year(s) of SS Jeremy Rogerson for a buyout of $1,600,000.
Sunday, November 6th , 2039
Signed 1B Bobby Witt Jr. to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $1,500,000.
Signed 3B Marquis Foggie to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $3,150,000.
Signed LF Mike Connelly to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $4,150,000.
Monday, November 7th , 2039
Signed SP Ethan Chafin to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $5,000,000.
Monday, November 21st , 2039
Signed LF Enny Mijhail Van Dyke to a 3-year contract extension worth a total of $31,500,000.
Signed RP Alfredo Cadena to a 1-year contract extension worth a total of $1,000,000.
Arbitration & Qualifying Offers
Wednesday, November 23rd , 2039
RP Brad Demarest was not offered arbitration, becomes a free agent.
Friday, November 25th , 2039
CF Drew Burress becomes a free-agent.
RP Eric Cook becomes a free-agent.
International Amateurs
We just completed our monthly private practice with many young international amateur free agents who we hope can aid our club in the coming years. It was great to meet the players in-person and get to know them better, and I was able to improve my scouting assessment on all invitees.
In fact some of the players impressed me, since they showcased a higher potential than I had previously expected from them:
Jorge Rivera, 16 year-old 3B out of Dominican Republic
Lean and athletic, Jorge Rivera hails from El Factor, Dominican Republic. He has well above average contact potential. He has a plus power ceiling. He has the potential for average strike zone recognition. Rivera looks like a potential regular in a key role at the big league level.
Esteban Aguirre, 16 year-old SS out of Dominican Republic
Lean and athletic, Esteban Aguirre hails from Samana, Dominican Republic. He has outstanding range. He is a young player with above average power potential. At maturity he should be an average contact hitter with a .220 batting average. Aguirre has the talent to flourish as a shortstop.
However, a few invitees left me disappointed as they did not appear to match my previous assessment, although they may still end up being future stars:
David Maldonado, 16 year-old SS out of Cuba
David Maldonado is a long, lean athletic shortstop who was born in San José de las Lajas, Cuba. He is a plus contact potential. He has an above average power ceiling. As he matures he is expected to provide above average defensive value. Maldonado is an above average, everyday big league player.
Luis Archuleta, 16 year-old CF out of Venezuela
Lean and athletic, Luis Archuleta hails from Villa del Rosario, Venezuela. He has a ceiling of a pull hitter with plus power. He projects to have above average contact ability. Archuleta can be a second division starter at center fielder.
And other players that I was able to further assess were:
Andres Castro, 16 year-old SS out of Dominican Republic
Juan Carmona, 16 year-old 3B out of Dominican Republic
Juan Mendoza, 17 year-old 2B out of Dominican Republic
Juan Bernal, 16 year-old SS out of Venezuela
Khai Choe, 16 year-old SS out of Australia
Andres Morales, 16 year-old SS out of Venezuela
Around the League
Retirements
Arizona Diamondbacks: RF Ronald Acuna Jr. retired from professional baseball.
Tampa Bay Rays: SS Masyn Winn retired from professional baseball.
New York Yankees: RP Sang-jun Kim retired from professional baseball.
New York Yankees: CF Jasson Dominguez retired from professional baseball.
Baltimore Orioles: SP Chase Petty retired from professional baseball.
Milwaukee Brewers: SP Dylan Lesko retired from professional baseball.
Los Angeles Dodgers: CF Druw Jones retired from professional baseball.
Pittsburgh Pirates: 2B Termarr Johnson retired from professional baseball.
Philadelphia Phillies: SS Zach Neto retired from professional baseball.
Atlanta Braves: C Leonardo Bernal retired from professional baseball.
Baltimore Orioles: 2B Dylan O'Rae retired from professional baseball.
Atlanta Braves: Retired #13 in honor of Ronald Acuna Jr..