Billy Butler?

[don_kessinger_was_good]

Tangentially, what's the news with how Gordon's glove is going to play? If he stays at 3rd would they move Teahen to 1B with Shealy going to LF?

Gordon is gonna stay at third. Hell he is better defensively than Teahan right now. I would imaigne Mark learns to play a little bit of 2b and becomes pretty valueable. What the heck where the Dbacks thinking? If they would have picked Gordon instead of Upton they would have some kind of team for next year.

 

What I've heard is they have no intention of trying Teahan at 2B (though I think they should try), they are targeting him for corner OF. There was an article in the Star about the imminent Gordon/Teahan situation last week. Gordon will be the 3B, period.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

DKWG, I've read of a few scouting comparing Butler to Hafner (just based on his offense).

[illiniguy]

DKWG, I've read of a few scouting comparing Butler to Hafner (just based on his offense).

That is a fair comparison. I don't see the Beltran one at all. I think he is a better hitter for average already than Carlos. His power will probablybe in Beltran's neighborhood. He will neversniff Carlos is basebrunning or defense though.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Alex Gordon was named BA's Minor League Player of the Year.

[illiniguy]

Alex Gordon was named BA's Minor League Player of the Year.

Raisin, in your opinion do you think he is better than Ryan Zimmerman? I think he is head and shoulders better, perhaps not as good defensively, but is far superior offensively. I don't see how KC has kept him down all year. Oh yeah I am leaving to go see him play in an hour. Go Wichita beat those darn Astors.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Alex Gordon was named BA's Minor League Player of the Year.

Raisin, in your opinion do you think he is better than Ryan Zimmerman? I think he is head and shoulders better, perhaps not as good defensively, but is far superior offensively. I don't see how KC has kept him down all year. Oh yeah I am leaving to go see him play in an hour. Go Wichita beat those darn Astors.

 

Yeah, he's much better than Zimmerman. Better power, more discipline, Gordon's bat is just much better than Zimmerman's. (And Zimmerman is a heck of a player: .285/.352/.466/.818 in his first full big league season and probably one of, if not the best third baseman defensively in the game).

 

I like what KC did, especially since Gordon was struggling in June. I can see why they wouldn't want to bring him up in August-September in regards to starting his arby clock and also, they're giving him some minor league playoff experience.

 

Here's the writeup from BA: http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/news/262429.html

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Stuff related to this thread in the BA chat on the Minor League POY:

 

Q: Mick from Chicago asks:

I'll ask the same question everyone else will. Now that Mark Teahan looks or at least has lent us to believe, he is better than an average 3rd baseman, please don't tell me the Royals will do the same as the Mets did a couple seasons ago with Reyes at second instead of SS. Putting Gordon in the outfield is driving that same Ferrari 20 mph. The White Sox are doing the same to Josh Fields.

 

A: John Manuel: When the Royals drafted Gordon, they mentioned his athletic ability was such he could move to an outfield corner, and if his doing so makes the big league club better, then why would any Royals fan not want that? If he's a better LF or RF than, say, Shane Costa, wouldn't you want him in the lineup? I would. I've never been on Joey Gathright, he can't hit, and I'd rather have Gordon in LF or RF next year than Gathright. Teahen was the Royals' best player for a long stretch of the season, he really got it together and showed impressive aptitude for a player his age, to go back to Triple-A, work on his swing and figure it out. The Royals have a good problem--two good 3Bs. Eventually, I believe one of them will move to 1B or LF, but having a 3-4-5 with some combination of Gordon-Butler-Teahen looks good for the next 3-5 years.

 

Q: Steve Balboni from KC, MO asks:

How good is the Gordon-Butler combination now, and how good can they be in the future? Do they profile as perennial All-Stars? What pair of position prospects from the past are they comparable to? Mauer-Morneau? Teixeira-Blalock? Thome-Ramirez?

 

A: John Manuel: An honor, Mr. Balboni . . . great question. Both those guys are all-star caliber hitters. That's pretty good. Butler's also gotten better defensively, and Gordon isn't just a masher, he's got some all-around game. That's one of the things I like most about Gordon. As for prospects from the past . . . that's a great part of this Q. You know, McCann-Francoeur is a pretty nice tandem, particularly because they are roommates. I'd also throw out Austin Kearns and Adam Dunn, the Reds 1st-and 2nd-rounders in 1998. The one with a lot of hype that hasn't panned out, I'm sorry to say, was the Angels trio of Kotchman-Mathis-McPherson. Injuries havent' helped, and Mathis' bat hasn't kept pace, but two years ago, when they all started at Double-A Arkansas, we thought very, very highly of that group.

 

Q: Brian from Chicago asks:

I'm assuming Gordon will go into next season as the #1 prospect in baseball, but will Butler be a top 5 prospect? Also, if KC has three elite prospects (i'm including Hochevar), why do you always rank them near the bottom of MLB farm systems? Shouldn't elite talent be more important than a lot of middle-tier talent?

 

A: John Manuel: Butler probably isn't quite top 5 because he's just not as well rounded as, say, Cam Maybin. Most of his value is in his bat, though he does have a plus arm and has improved defensively in the outfield. But I agree with your second point; elite prospects matter more than "a lot of middle tier talent." It's particularly nice when the elite prospects are in Double-A. The Royals have that in Hochevar, Lumsden and then Gordon and Butler. They have some hope; that's more than you could have said at this time last year, or even moreso, last May, pre-drafting Gordon.

[NCCubFan]

Stuff related to this thread in the BA chat on the Minor League POY:

Q: Steve Balboni from KC, MO asks:

How good is the Gordon-Butler combination now, and how good can they be in the future? Do they profile as perennial All-Stars? What pair of position prospects from the past are they comparable to? Mauer-Morneau? Teixeira-Blalock? Thome-Ramirez?

I wonder if that's the real Steve Balboni that player for the Royals several years ago.

[illiniguy]

Just got back from wichita. Alex Gordon ws in a good mood tonight and signed autos for everyone there and even talked with the fans a little. He was 0-1 with 3 walks. Dusty says it is obvious that is why he isn't a big leaguer. Butler was 2-4. Got his auto on a mini helmet. I have both him and Gordon on Royals mini helmets. I didn't see Hochevar or Patton for the Astros cause they were flown ahead.

[NCCubFan]

Just got back from wichita. Alex Gordon ws in a good mood tonight and signed autos for everyone there and even talked with the fans a little. He was 0-1 with 3 walks. Dusty says it is obvious that is why he isn't a big leaguer.

Yep, too much base clogging.