September Callups
The Royals have some interesting players on the 40-man roster and at AAA who probably deserve a look. September is a good time to find out minor league players who aren't really prospects are AAAA players or potential contributors. Here's a look at some players who should get a September callup:
Justin Huber:
With Sweeney's injury and Stairs not competely healed, Huber will likely get the call. Huber had a pretty good major league debut, going 3 for 12 with a double and 3 RBIs. Hopefully, Huber can be a solid producer next year and eventually become a Sweeney-type hitter.
Matt Diaz:
Diaz is having a very good season at AAA, hitting .379/.408/.649. While AAA stats don't translate into major league stats, he's young enough to warrant a look. I'd rather the Royals didn't spend $3 million on a 4th outfielder next year if they already have a couple (and spend it on pitching).
Calvin Pickering:
Pickering has rebounded nicely after a very slow start. Pickering has hit 21 HRs in 309 ABs and has drawn 53 walks. Pickering would give the Royals a decent bat off the bench, or at least one more menacing than Joe McEwing or Denny Hocking.
Ruben Gotay:
If the Royals are serious about signing a free agent second basemen this offseason, they might as well see what Gotay can do before they write him off. At the very least, it would keep Hocking and McEwing out of the lineup, which is worth it. Ideally, the Royals should have signed a second basemen this offseason who could have let Gotay and Murphy develop. While they had Graffanino, he really isn't fit to be an everyday 2nd basemen.
Dennis Tankersley:
Tankersley has pitched well after a slow start. The Royals could try him as a starter or as a reliever. But, he's having a pretty good season and has good stuff.
Kyle Snyder:
The Royals might as well find out what Snyder can do. It can't hurt to have an extra arm in the bullpen to keep the burden off our top young arms.
posted by SoonerRoyal @ 2:45 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
The Royals, if they wanted to, would need all of September plus next Spring in order to figure out whether Huber or Pickering could help the club more in 2006.
But I bet both (if both actually do come up) end up having fewer at-bats than they should because of ab's at 1B or DH given to players like Stairs and McEwing.
Agree on Diaz, but there just has to be something the Royals don't like about him to have him running a 1050 OPS and not calling him up. His defense is horrible, sure, but then Emil Brown's isn't appreciably better, so what's the problem?
Murphy's injury could change things a bit, but it sure seems like carrying Hocking and McEwing on the roster into September in lieu of Gotay would send a strong message -- we ain't seein' Gotay for a while.
Didn't you hear? The Royals have a new-found love of players who have the "right approach" at the plate, and Diaz certainly does not. Of course, neither do Berroa, Teahen, Buck, Brown, McEwing or even Sweeney, but let's not let the facts get in the way of a perfectly good corporate mission statement. Better to have Joe McEwing's positive influence on the bench (and these days, on the field every bleeping day) than have players who can actually hit on the team.
The Royals preach all kinds of BS, then constantly undermine themselves by letting players like Joe McEwing - who does NOTHING right except apparently brainwash fellow players into believing he's somehow an indispensible sage of baseball wisdom - play practically every day.
Jeff Franceour has 3 BBs to 31K -- but the guy can RAKE, so Atlanta pays no nevermind. He'd still be in AAA in favor of Denny Hocking if he were with the Royals. Sorry, make that AA.
Diaz was called up today and Bayliss was sent down. I imagine Bayliss will be called up pretty soon. Wouldn't you rather send down Shawn Camp though? He's a lot worse than Bayliss and certainly not a part of the "youth movement", if we can even call it that anymore.
Shawn Camp's performance seems pretty typical of middle relief - solid one season, horrible the next. I don't know why the Royals would keep him instead of Bayliss; maybe it has to do with roster options more than performance (maybe Camp is running out of options?) The more important thing is that Diaz is finally up, so we'll get to see if he's a AAAA player like AAAAaron Guiel (I stole that from someone else, full disclosure).
I for one am glad that Diaz is finally up with the team again. Now, whether or not that turns into ABs is something else, although Terrence did leave today's game with an injury which could open up a hole.
I still think Gotay could be an above average 2B. He is only 22 years old and he had a pretty nice 04 in Wichita. Put him back there to start in 04 and if he does well promote him to AAA and see how he does.
Let's actually have a player go to AAA before rushing them to the majors. It seems like Huber is one of the few players that has ever been an Omaha Royal before being a KC Royal.
Post a Comment
<< Home