Tyler Sample Interview

Royals pitching prospect Tyler Sample recently gave me an interview. Here it is:


ME: What’s the biggest difference between your 1st and 2nd year of pro ball?

TS: There is a lot of difference! My first year I was somewhat out of shape, I wasn't very strong and my mechanics needed some work. All of these lead to some control issues! This year I worked really hard though the offseason and all through spring training and extended to work on these issues and really learned and better understand how to pitch.

ME: What kind of work specifically have you been doing to improve your weaknesses?

TS: Well I stayed in Surprise AZ during the offseason, working out at the facility. As far as making my mechanics better I have just been going through them with some of our pitching coaches watching and also doing dry pitches in the mirror so I can see and feel what I am doing.

ME: I see. What do you feel your strengths are as a pitcher at this point in time?

TS: My stuff is my strength... I have good stuff; I am just working hard at harnessing it at this point.

ME: What are your best pitches in your opinion?

TS:My fastball is my best without a doubt, then my curveball and my change-up has made a lot of progress I am really happy with it at this point. My curve ball is my second best.

ME: What pitcher current or past would you compare yourself or your style of pitching to?

TS: Well I like to think that compare to Josh Johnson... We have a similar body type... similar pitching style. So that is who I would most like to model my game after.

ME: What pitchers did you look up to as kid?

TS: I looked up to mostly the power guys! Guys like Nolan Ryan, Rodger Clemens. Also Roy Halladay being that he is from Colorado.

ME: What team did you root for? I'm guessing the Rockies?

TS: Actually no... I mean I never really had a "team" growing up but I always liked the Yankees.

ME: Not the Yankees! Ha just kidding. So back to your playing career, what was draft day like for you last year?

TS: It was definitely nerve racking, exciting, suspenseful just a whole lot of emotions all in one day.

ME: Where did you think you would go and what did the Royals say to you after they picked you?

TS: I didn't know where I was going to go, but I did think I was going to go earlier. After the Royals picked me they just said congratulations and welcome to the Royals.

ME: Did they lay out any kind of path to the big leagues that they expected you to take? If not, when do you hope to be up?

TS: No they never laid out a path... I knew they drafted me as a project so its up to me and how fast I progress. That is gonna be how quickly they move me up the minors. My goal to making the Majors is 4 years.

ME: What other goals do you have for your baseball career?

TS: I am just trying to be as effective as I can with my pitches and progress as much as I can at this point.

ME: Thanks for the interview!

TS: Your Welcome

Now on another note I'd like to apologize to Billy Butler. I've bashed him on here before, but that was just me being frustrated with the team losing. He's been one of the few bright spots for the major league club this year.

Long Awaited Update

It's been a while since I updated on here, but I'll try to do better. But lets address the state of the Royals.

1B: Billy has really been a disappointment, hes gotten better at first but to this point has been a singles hitting 1st baseman who has little power. He has to get some power if he's going to be valuable. Jacobs is what we thought he was.

Fix: If Moore really wants to shake things up he'd trade Butler and call up Ka'aihue. What can you get for Butler at this point though. That said I can't blame DM if he just waits on Butler.

2B: I like Callaspo, but his range really hurts the team. If the team is going to win it will be with pitching and defense. That means Bert is expendable.

3B: Waiting for Gordon to come back so I can quit watching Teahen miss (or rather not get to) everything more than a step away from him.

SS: Aviles has been a bust. I'd honestly play TPJ even once he comes back.

C: I like Buck better, but not too fond of him. I'd like to see if B. Pena can become a decent catcher. If not him maybe JR House?

CF: Coco will be fine once he gets healthy. I'd look at an extension for him. 3 years @ 5M per?

RF: I don't like Guillen even when he's "hitting". He doesn't play defense and he's too streaky

LF: DDJ is going to be fine but really he's expendable.

Trades To Try:

DDJ, Rosa and/or Farnsworth for Brandon Wood and Reggie Willtis (I know I spelled that wrong.

Guillen and his salary for the rest of this year for Jeff Francouer

C Buck/Olivo/Pena
1B Butler
2B Callaspo
3B Gordon (when he comes back)
SS Wood
LF Willtis/Teahen/Maier
RF Francouer/Teahen/Maier
CF Crisp/Maier

I know the infield is really bad, but I'm unsure what to do there...

Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey Goodbye Gload

Ross Gload was traded with cash for a player to be named later today. I for one am furious. How will the Royals replace his massive production though? I mean can you really find another .272/.318/.348 player? Especially at the first base position who else give you these numbers? He also smashed 3 HR's in his rein of terror on pitchers. This is also coupled with his ability to play a corner outfield position at a less than average level. How do you let this type of player go? I mean can Shealy, Ka'iahue, Butler, or Jacobs match that? They all pale in comparison to Ross Gload. Who won't miss his clutch ground outs? Actually in all seriousness this is amazing. Gload constantly brought this club down. His production for a first baseman was putrid and he can't really play anywhere else. Good Riddance! Although Trey may shed a tear when he goes to put down Gload on the card and is forced to play a legit 1B. It'll be okay Trey!

My Apologies Luke Hochevar!

HOW DID LUKE HOCHEVAR NOT WIN THE #4 SPOT IN THE STARTING ROTATION? HOW DID HE NOT LAND A SPOT IN THE ROTATION! Luke Hochevar despite outpitching every Royal's starter this spring except Kyle Davies will not be in the rotation at the beginning of the rotation. The last time Ramirez was a starter his ERA was above 7, but that was 2007 right? It's unfair to judge him off that time right? So lets look at his Spring Training stats.

Ramirez 19IP 9.00ERA 19ER 26R 6SO 4BB
Hochevar 16.1IP 3.83 ERA 7ER 7R 8SO 4BB

Now at the beginning of spring there was supposed to be a competition between Ramirez, Bannister and Hochevar for the last 2 spots. Now in what way does Ramirez beat Hochevar if this is a competition? Both are ground ball pitchers, so you can't say Ramirez plays better with the defense. Whats the reason? Hochevar beats HoRam in every category. He's 5 runs better in ERA and thats with HoRam getting lucky and having 7 unearned. Now you can say he had bad defense behind him, but don't good pitchers get out of jams on their own? And didn't Luke Hochevar have for the most part the same defense? It's fine if they want to put Ponson in the rotation even though he's proven nothing and hasn't been any good since possibly ever, but even he hasn't performed better than Hochevar. He wasn't going to be with a team in camp if he hadn't looked decent in the WBC. So how is Hochevar who had a brilliant spring and a solid last year not going to be starting over a crappy lefty, and some jerk who wasn't even in camp all spring? Lets hope Hochevar doesn't get a bad attitude though.... we'll need him to bail us out when HoRam or Ponson get yanked from the rotation.

Position by Position: Outfielders Part 2

David Dejesus- has been a good player his entire career. He's the typical .290 avg guy that can be a guy on a playoff team, but not THE guy. The comparisons of him being baby Beltran when he first came up were too much, but he's another player who is what he is which is good in this case but not great. Last year he managed to hit over .300 combined with a good walk rate and a RISP near .400 . This year he will move to left field where he profiles better as a defender. The only downsides to him are he isn't a power or steal threat .295/.370/.430 w/12HR as a projection.

Coco Crisp- the best name in baseball arguably is a Royal now after a swap with Boston for Ramon Ramirez. Coco began his career as a speedy outfielder who could hit. He then moved onto Boston and struggled with his hitting while battling injuries. Coco has never really been an OBP guy with his highest being in the .34o's. He has shown improved plate patience though this spring as hes leading the Cactus League in walks. His strengths are a decent contact swing, exceptional speed, and good defense. Last year his defense suffered, but most consider this a result of his injuries. His weaknesses are no power, and a weak arm. Overall though he'll greatly improve the Royals' outfield defense. My projections are .280/.355/.395 with 5HR and 35 SB.

Position By Position: Outfield Part 1

Jose Guillen- When a team declines an 8M dollar option on a player, its probably not wise to give him 12M per on a 3 year deal. This is especially true when that player is in his mid 30s and due for a huge decline. Such is the case however with Jose Guillen. Guillen had 20HR's and 90+ rbi's last year, but his stats are decieving. He hit cleanup the whole year, thus giving him more chances to drive in runs. His homers came in bunches though meaning he was a force for probably 6 weeks of the season and useless for the rest. He combined his slightly above average power last year with horrible on base skills, bad fielding, an attitude problem, and a lack of hustle. But he does have a good throwing arm and he stayed at a Holiday Inn Express! Hopefully KC can dump Guillen before his contract ends and his skills erode further. Also I'd bet anything he starts getting hurt this year. As for projections .260/.290/.470 with 17HR's if he stays healthy.

Mark Teahen- The talented Mr. Teahen has been a source of much mystery to Royals fans. Does he suck? Where did his power go? What position is he? Teahen was the biggest part of the Beltran trade, so he'll always be linked to Beltran which is a hard guy to be compared to. Teahen initially was disappointing, then after being sent down to AAA in his 2nd season came back and raked and popped 18HR's before having season ending surgery. The next year the batting average was ok, but the power was gone, and both took steps back last season. This year in spring though the snubbing of the St. Mary's Gaels has evoked the wrath of Mark Teahen on spring leagues. In the end we just have to hope Kevin Seitzer can right the Teahen ship. As is he's a guy who can play all the corner positions semi-okay, and can hit semi-okay and has an above average eye. His strengths and weaknesses all hing upon his potential. That's what makes him an okay utility guy or an above average regular. His projection is tough but I'll go .280/.350/.450 with 15HR. That may be optimistic or pessimistic depending on who you talk to.

P.S. An added bonus of Teahen is he makes Gload superfluous and expendable.

Mitch Maier- He's a 4th OF who hit okay in limited duty last year. He's solid in the field and a little light with the bat. I admire him though b/c he got hit in the face with a pitch and was back later that year. He'll likely spend most of the year in AAA, but injuries could see him in KC before September. Projections for full playing time would be .270/.310/.400 with 7HR.

Shane Costa- He's a AAAA player who can't hit in the majors. Some say he hasn't gotten a full opportunity and it seems like an okay argument. The problem is nobody has the patience to watch him flail away in the bigs for more than a few games. Projection is .285/.330/.420 with 10HR with full PT.

Chris Lubanski- The former top pick is changing my mind on him every time I think. One minute I write him off as a bust, the next I think he could still turn out okay. He was a high pick in the draft who went from speedy CF to bulky LF and traded his speed for power. He's struggled initially at each level before hitting and may do the same at AAA. He also has shown improving plate discipline. If the Royals have another Mike Aviles breakout candidate its this 24 year old OF. In a full playing time role I predict he would go .220/.290/.450 with 15 HR. He could do much better though, and with injuries or trades could see KC before September.

Position by Position:3rd Base

Alex Gordon- So much to say about Alex Gordon. He was primed for greatness from the start. He was a 2-time Gatorade High School Player of the Year. He then went to Nebraska then and began his Blitzkrieg assault. When the smoke cleared Alex was standing as the Golden Spikes Award Winner and tabbed as the number 2 overall pick by the Royals. He was also given a then club record bonus. Alex then began beating up minor league pitchers like they broke in at 3 in the morning en route to becoming minor league player of the year. Alex was starting to draw comparisons to another KC Royals 3B named Brett. He then made the club after only one year in the minors. In his first AB the stage was primed as he stood in against Curt Schilling with the bases loaded and... The Mighty Alex struck out. This was the tone for the first half of his rookie year as he disapointed most all pundits as he was near consensus preseason rookie of the year. He did show some improvement in the 2nd half though. His 2nd year was supposed to be his breakout year and it was to an extent, as Gordon raised his OBP by 40 points and showed the 2nd half splits of the player he was expected to be. Still to this point in his career he's been overshadowed by Ryan Zimmerman and even more so by Evan Longoria. Gordon seems to have lost his crown as the top young 3B in the game. This year is a crossroads for Gordon. Down one road is the path ESPN expects him to take. This path is to go on having an above average career as a .350-.360 obp 15HR guy since "all the unrealistic expectations are gone". The other path leads to becoming an elite 3rd baseman and claiming his place in the sun as one of the game's best. As a Royals fan, if its not the latter this team doesn't have any chance of contending for a World Series until Moustakas and Hosmer arrive. The reason to hope with Gordon is that he never saw AAA pitching so he may be slowly adjusting because of that. Hopefully this means Moose and Hosmer will see AAA. Alex's strengths are his ablility to hit for power, average, run the bases well, draw a walk and he even has the potential to be a good 3B with his solid range and laser rocket arm. His weakness is that he's often too patient at the plate as he set an MLB record for most called strike 3's last season. He also regressed some on defense. Alex could be the next big thing and I think he will. He could very well anchor a lineup like another 3B Dayton Moore may know named Chipper Jones. This year I predict Gordon hits .310/.410/.530 with 34HR's. Evan who?