A Hair Off Square   custom cards

I am excited about Salvador Perez. He looks like he is going be a very solid catcher sometime soon. Defensively he has a cannon and is pretty much ready for the big leagues. Perez is one of the players I am most excited to see on April 2nd at Kauffman Stadium when the Naturals play the Storm Chasers.

Wilson Betemit is a great player for the Royals right now. He is likely not bound to be in Kansas City much longer but his bat is a nice option to have whether he is in the lineup or coming off the bench. He could be playing a lot of third base this year if the Royals decide Chris Getz is not cutting it offensively.  If Getz goes to Omaha, Aviles would shift from third to second and Betemit would start at third, at least until Mike Moustakas is called up.

I like Betemit but I think he will end the year elsewhere. I see the Royals making space for prospects on the roster at the trade deadline this year. I think a couple good players will be moved with marginal returns simply because there won’t be enough room when the prospects get to Kansas City. This list of players to be moved could include: Betemit, Tejada and most importantly Ka’aihue. I also think Clint Robinson could be moved but not before the trade deadline, it could be next offseason.

My prediction is that the following players will be traded by July 31:

Wilson Betemit

Robinson Tejada

Melky Cabrera not Ka’aihue or Francouer.

I think Ka’aihue will stay with the Royals and Hosmer gets moved to right field and Francoeur will simply not have enough value to get much in return, his value will be greater as “clubhouse guy” on what will be a very young team come September. Betemit will be moved as a bench guy for a playoff contender and get a spot start now and then. Tejada will serve a prominent role for a playoff contender as a late inning guy, most likely the Yankees or Red Sox. Cabrera will go the way of Rick Ankiel and be a low risk rental player for an outside contender.

I am cleaning up the bullpen today with my custom cards. Here we have one player out, one player on the bubble and one player in. Tejada was a lock from when camp broke, Sisk was always a long shot. Both of these players already have their fates sealed for opening day. Kanekoa Texeira is a different story. He pitched for Kansas City last year so he has some major league experience. This is my primary reason for giving him the edge in the competition for the 2011 bullpen. I still have a couple bullpen cards left to put up but these are the majority, I am still missing a couple guys that could have some big league cards this year.

Aaron Crow is a local guy for Kansas City. He grew up nearby and went to college nearby at Mizzou. Crow is one of eight bullpen guys left trying to get five spots. The eight players are Kanekoa Texeira, Luis Mendoza, Jeremy Jeffress, Robert Fish, Aaron Crow, Tim Collins, Louis Coleman and Nate Adcock.

I do not think Aaron Crow will make the team. He has pitched well this spring but still won’t make the opening day rosters. He will join fellow hopefuls Mike Montgomery, Everett Teaford, Danny Duffy and others in minor league camp soon. The only evidence I see to go against this is that Crow has now been stretched out to start games which is presumably what he would be doing if he were to go back to the minor leagues.

Of the eight players three will be out, I have singled Crow out as one of my predicted cuts. My other two projected cuts are Robert Fish and Louis Coleman. I think that Fish won’t make the cut because it would be difficult to have two Rule 5 bullpen guys on the same roster. A Rule 5 guy means that you have to keep them on the roster all year. The other Rule 5 pick is Nate Adcock who I believe will make the team and stay on the team. Louis Coleman won’t make the cut simply because he is young and there is no need to rush him to the big leagues.

Jeffress and Collins are locks along with Soria, Tejada and O’Sullivan. The other three predictions and just educated guesses for me. Adcock has been very impressive and will make it unless he takes a major turn for the worse in the next week. Mendoza and Texeira both pitched in Kansas City last year so I believe they will inherit a bullpen role in many ways until they prove they don’t belong there.

Greg Holland was one of the many bullpen candidates. It looked like he was going to be in Kansas City but he was sent down after the rainout along with Montgomery, Pina and Blake Wood. The re-assignments of Holland and Wood are a bit of a surprise. The bullpen candidates are really starting to narrow down now. I will talk about this a little more with my upcoming Aaron Crow post.

I spoke a little about Brayan Peña in my Lucas May post yesterday. May and Peña should start the season in Kansas City but it will be decision time when Jason Kendall is ready to play. Peña can hit but hasn’t really impressed in the time he has spent at the major league level. Hopefully being the opening day starter and getting some consistent playing time will help him come out of his shell. I think he has the potential to be a very dangerous gap hitter. He could be a very good offensive catcher hitting in the bottom third of the lineup.

I was unhappy initially with the picture I found for this card. I usually don’t crop my pictures this tight. I think it may be one of my favorite cards from the set now, it has really grown on me. I especially like cards of catcher in their gear. Peña only has the mask on his head in this shot but it turned out to be a very nice card.

I have completed most of the set I am going to get I think. I believe I am currently at a 45 card set. I do have one glaring omission still. I have yet to make a Joakim Soria card. Soria would be one of the first couple cards you would think but I have had trouble finding a good spring training picture so far. The younger pictures have gotten most of the playing time so far but I’m sure the closer we get to opening day, the more Soria will pitch. Off the subject remark: his nickname will always be the Mexicutioner to me.

Lucas May's actual 2011 topps card.

The Lucas May 2011 Topps custom card I made.

Lucas May should make the opening day roster. This became very clear yesterday when it was announced Jason Kendall would not be ready for the start of the season. It should be Lucas May and Brayan Pena. Pena should get the majority of the playing time. May and Pena can both hit so they have a small advantage over Jason Kendall but Kendall is much better defensively.

I have shown above two Lucas May cards, the one I made and the one Topps put out this year. I did this because they are so similar. It just worked out that way on my end. I found the picture of May I liked and used it. At least there will be no confusion since I put both cards on the site.

Mike Montgomery looks really good. He has performed very well this spring and will spend time in Kansas City this year. He won’t likely make the club out of the gate but he will be on the short list to be called up. I actually hope to see him pitch in the Kansas City futures game on April 2nd in Kauffman Stadium. The NW Arkansas Natural will play the Omaha Storm Chasers and it should be a great show. Three levels of the Royals system will be on the field that day in Kansas City. Montgomery will be involved that day one way or another. It will be a showcase of possibly the most talked about minor league system in baseball history.

Irving Falu is a longshot to spend much time on the Royals in 2011. That being said, the Royals don’t have solid depth behind starting shortstop Alcides Escobar. The depth chart seems to consist of Escobar, Lance Zawadzki and Irving Falu. Zawadzki is listed as a second baseman but has played shortstop this spring. I’m not sure who has more versatility defensively between the two backups but it just means that each guy is one injury away from the big leagues. Jeff Bianchi is also in the mix but seems like less of a candidate to me.

Billy Butler is as much “Mr. Royal” as anybody other than George Brett in my opinion.