What To Expect When You're Expecting...Part Trois

MARCH 17th, 2013-I'm pretty sure "trois" is French for "three". Either way, this isn't a linguistics blog. 

Here's a few more players you may expect to see here in Lexington, taking their hacks and dealing on the mound. This is in no particular order (other than alphabetical), and is a mixed list of hitters and pitchers. I'm not the most organized guy in the world, but bear with me anyway. 


Diego Goris, UT, Idaho Falls Chukars (Rookie, Pioneer League); AZL Royals (Rookie, Arizona League)

Born: 12/8/1990 in Santiago, Dominican Republic

Bats: Right Throws: Right

Ht: 6'2” Wt: 165

Drafted: Obtained in trade with Pittsburgh Pirates, 2012

2012 (combined stats):

58 games, 246 PA, 41 runs, 14 doubles, 4 triples, 13 HR, 51 RBI, 4 BB, 32 K, .333 BA, .942 OPS

Goris showed a lot of pop at Rookie-level Idaho Falls, last year, and was near the top in the league in batting average as well. One of the most glaring problems here is that he's GOT to learn to take a walk, now and then. Four walks in 246 PA is not gonna cut it, especially as he advances to higher levels. He shows a lot of versatility in the field, as he's played second, short, first, third and left field in his five seasons in pro ball. Short is probably not his best position (34 errors in 102 career games), but he's put in the most time there. He's highly projectable at 6'2", 165, and will probably gain more power as he fills out. I see him as a super-utility guy with a little pop and the occasional steal, playing most of his games either as a corner IF or in left, if he makes the majors.

Carlos Garcia, 2B-SS, Idaho Falls Chukars (Rookie, Pioneer League)

Born: 3/18/1992 in Municipio de Diaz, Venezuela

Bats: Right Throws: Right

Ht: 6' Wt: 176

Drafted: Signed as Free Agent

2012:

59 games, 241 PA, 42 runs, 8 doubles, 2 HR, 20 RBI, 10 SB, .273 BA, .347 OBP

Garcia intrigues me a bit. First off, he stole 10 bases last year, which is OK, but it should be noted that he swiped 50 in 2010 for the Royals' Dominican Summer League team. He's probably not ever going to hit for power, but the speed is obviously there. He's shown steady improvement with the glove, as well; from 5 errors in 23 games in 2010 to 8 errors in 57 games last year. However, he made an alarming 16 miscues in 39 games in 2011, which is concerning, but I'm willing to accept those numbers as an aberration. There's some projectability there, physically, but he'll likely not gain much more weight than 5-10 pounds at the most. If he does get much heavier than that, it's going to hurt his speed, and his speed is his best asset. Also worth noting: in 212 career games, his BB/K ration is just a few percentage points below 1/1. That's darn good, at any level.

Cory Hall, RHP, Idaho Falls Chukars (Rookie, Pioneer League)

Born: 5/12/1988 in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

Bats: Right Throws: Right

Ht: 6'2” Wt: 232

Drafted: Obtained in trade with Pittsburgh Pirates, 2012

2012:

2-1, 2.15 ERA in 21 games (29 1/3 IP), 23 hits allowed, 7 ER, 12 BB, 35 K, 5 SV

Hall worked exclusively as a closer in 2012, cutting his ERA by more than 3 full runs but walking just as many as he did in 2011 while throwing 6 fewer innings. He has struck out a batter per inning since his pro debut in 2011 but also has averaged 3.7 BB/9 IP, so there's definitely room for improvement there. Hall was all-conference with Santa Clara University in 2011, pitching 105 innings and posting a 3.26 ERA. He was also all-conference with Taft Community College in 2008. Hall is solidly-built and there's no projectability left there, but he is likely to continue to develop as a strikeout artist in relief once he irons out his mechanical issues. 

Joe Lopez, RHP, Idaho Falls Chukars (Rookie, Pioneer League); AZL Royals (Rookie, Arizona League)

Born: 3/20/1990 in Winkelman, AZ

Bats: Right Throws: Right

Ht: 5'10” Wt: 180

Drafted: Signed as NDFA, 2012

2012 (combined stats):

2-2, 3.66 ERA in 21 games, 8 games finished, 3 SV, 39 1/3 IP, 47 HA, 22 RA, 16 ER, 13 BB, 39 K, 8.9 K/9

Lopez worked as a short reliever out of the 'pen in 2012, recording 10.8 hits/9 IP but mitigating his damage considerably (with a little help from his defense). A smallish pitcher, he is nevertheless solidly built. I don't anticipate his size will limit him at the higher levels. Lopez may be a darkhorse candidate to become a 7th inning specialist as he advances to the upper echelons of the minors. 

Alec Mills, RHP, Idaho Falls Chukars (Rookie, Pioneer League)

Born: 11/30/1991 in Clarksville, TN

Bats: Right Throws: Right

Ht: 6'4” Wt: 185

Drafted: KC Royals, 22nd round, 2012 MLB Draft, from U of Tennessee @ Martin

2012:

1-4, 4.62 ERA, 17 games (7 starts, 4 games finished), 3 SV, 50 2/3 IP, 58 HA, 33 RA, 26 ER, 7 HRA, 17 BB, 50 K, 5 HBP, 9 WP, 2.94 SO/BB ratio

Mills is highly projectible at 6'4", 185, but he appeared to have significant mechanical and/or control problems, last year. I say this because, while he only walked 17 batters, he hit 5 more and also uncorked 9 wild pitches in 50 2/3 innings. He may just need a little time to adjust to the pro game, as last year was his first in the pros. He showed great versatility, starting 7 games and closing out 4 more, while working in middle relief in 6 more. While the ERA is much higher than you'd like to see it, he averaged a K per inning and handled being juggled around, role-wise, about as well as anyone could. Also of note: 3.47 ERA in 23 1/3 innings at the home park, 5.60 in 27 1/3 innings in away games. I'll be watching him closely. 

Sam Selman, LHP, Idaho Falls Chukars (Rookie, Pioneer League)

Born: 11/14/1990 in Austin, TX

Bats: Right Throws: Left

Ht: 6'3” Wt: 165

Drafted: KC Royals, 2nd round, 2012 MLB Draft, from Vanderbilt University

2012:

5-4, 2.09 ERA, 13 games (12 starts), 60 1/3 IP, 45 HA, 21 RA, 14 ER, 22 BB, 89 K, 5 WP

The 2012 Pioneer League Pitcher of The Year, Selman's is a name well-known to many Royals fans, for obvious reasons. In his first year of pro ball, he averaged a monstrous 13.3 K/9 IP while maintaining better than a 4:1 BB/K ratio. A hard-throwing lefty with a lot of room left to grow, he could become a dominant short man or closer in the majors. KC has a great deal of success to look forward to from this young man. Selman may skip Low-A altogether, depending on how his Spring turns out.