The following article appeared in the Topeka Capital-Journal on June 1 – you can read it by clicking here.
The Major League Baseball annual amateur draft kicks off Monday, and the Kansas City Royals have the mixed blessing of having the second selection. They got that dubious honor by posting a miserable 58-104 record in 2018, but at least they are in position to draft an elite talent to build around.
Should things go as expected, the Royals will wind up with high school shortstop Bobby Witt, Jr., the son of a 16-year big leaguer. That is, if the Orioles don’t unexpectedly pass on college catcher Adley Rutschman, who has long been considered the top prospect this year.
Either way, the Royals are in need of a star to give their rebuild some rocket fuel. Since the days when Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Salvador Perez and pals climbed the ladder to the majors, the farm system has lacked star power.
But some unexpected developments at the top of the organization may provide a needed jump start. Three first round draft choices who were viewed with disappointment, if not written off altogether, may just pay dividends after all.
If over the past couple of years you paid attention to the Royals’ prospect rankings, you would not have found the names of Bubba Starling, Kyle Zimmer and Hunter Dozier. Those three dropped like stones off the prospect lists, until they were eventually disregarded. A gaping hole in the system resulted as the Royals got no benefit from three consecutive top picks.
Starling was considered a project when the Royals selected him with the fifth pick in 2011. He had a glittering three-sport resume, but unpolished tools. When he struggled to hit, and to stay healthy, he slid quickly off the prospect lists. The organization stressed its patience with Starling, but by 2017, he appeared headed for “bust” status.
Holding the fifth pick again in 2012, the Royals took Zimmer, a coveted college pitcher. But strange injuries dogged him, causing him to miss nearly all of 2014 and 2016, and all of 2018. No longer able to retain a player who was never healthy, the Royals released him prior to the 2018 season.
Next up was Dozier. Yes, the same Dozier who is raking in the major leagues in 2019. Taken with the eighth pick in 2013, his perseverance has turned him into a building block for the future. But it wasn’t long ago he was lumped in with Starling and Zimmer as disappointments. Drafted out of college, Dozier’s slow, unspectacular climb through the minors and a season lost to injury, could have been discouraging to him.
“No matter who you are, or where you’re picked, you want to get up here as quick as you can,” Dozier said. “But every guy’s story is different. You have guys like Mike Trout or Bryce Harper that are just phenoms and they get up here at 19. But for me, it took me four years to get up here, and then three full seasons to really get established.”
Dozier learned the hard way how to navigate failure, injury and self-doubt. He said the pressure is greater on high draft picks.
“You can’t put more pressure on yourself just because you’re a first rounder,” said the 27-year-old. “I think once you get drafted, you’re the same as everyone else. You’ve got to prove yourself, and you’ve got to work hard so that you deserve to get moved up from level to level.
“If you don’t play well at a level, then you’ll be stuck there. That’s just how it is. But you can’t put added pressure on yourself. You just have to work hard, do the best you can, and enjoy every level of the process. That makes it that much sweeter when you get up here.”
Zimmer tasted a bit of that sweetness recently. After releasing him in the spring of 2018, the Royals resigned him to a minor league contract, but expectations of his return were dim. Rather than work out with the team, he disappeared to a little-known (at the time) training facility called Driveline Baseball in Washington. He regained his health and rediscovered his dazzling ability. Out of nowhere, he so impressed in spring training that the Royals took him to Kansas City when they broke camp.
Zimmer’s story is still being written. After struggling the first few weeks of the big league season, he was sent to Triple-A for polish. But it’s safe to assume he’ll be back in Kansas City eventually, and he may yet prove a valuable commodity.
“Zimmer getting up here, that’s a great story…all that he went through,” Dozier said. “If he doesn’t get hurt in 2014, he would have been up here four years ago. He’s just got that kind of unbelievable talent.
“He can’t help the injuries he’s faced. It shows what kind of guy he is, to have worked as hard as he has to get back throwing again and competing again. You see how good he is now, and he’ll be back up here soon.”
And now just waiting for a call from Kansas City is Starling. Seemingly unable to hit at any level, his physical gifts appeared they might be wasted. The Royals tried everything to keep him moving up the minor league ladder. But when they were finally poised to promote him to the bigs sometime in 2018, Starling was beset once again by freak injuries. It just didn’t appear to be in the cards for him.
But the breakthrough Kansas City had hoped for Starling may have finally come. He’s stayed healthy thus far in 2019, and is finally making the kind of contact with the bat that will merit a promotion.
“Bubba has had to go over his own hurdles, and I’m sure it hasn’t been exactly like he had planned when he got drafted,” Dozier said. “But each guy has his own story. Bubba has the talent to get up here and do well. He’s got unbelievable talent. He’s playing well right now and if he can show consistency, he’ll be up here soon.”
Recent forecasts of the Royals’ return to competitiveness by 2021 didn’t put much stock in Dozier, and expected nothing from Zimmer and Starling. Suddenly finding them producing is like acquiring three new prospects to the system. If those three former top picks can finally realize their potential, the rebuild will get an unexpected and much needed jump start.