I grew up with the crappy Royals, which means I’m a fan with no “good old days” to reflect warmly on, and my Royals teams have been the butt of baseball jokes for as long as I’ve been alive.
In that time, there have been a number of “youth movements.” They were all disappointing, to say the least. “Youth movement” became euphemistic for cheapness, empty promises, and lack of direction. But THIS “youth movement” has more to it. The players of this movement have promise beyond some hollow minor league numbers or a trumped-up PR campaign by team leadership who hopes desperately that the fans don’t catch on.
This youth movement is different. We know about how our farm system is historically good. But I had never thought about the second, more macro prong of the Royals prospects: they’re not only younger than the Major Leaguers they’re being primed to replace, they’re younger than everyone they’re stomping on throughout the Minors.
This struck me while looking at this fun list from Baseball America. The Royals farm system is not full of guys who are too old for their level. No, the Royals’ elite prospects are also younger than their league-mates, and are still almost universally better than all of them.
Let’s celebrate some of these youth, in pictures:
MAJOR LEAGUES
Tim "Seabiscuit" Collins
Tim Collins is the very youngest American League player, and the fourth (I think?) youngest in all of the Majors.
Nate Adcock is the 10th youngest player in the AL.
TRIPLE A
Eric Hosmer speaking at Royals FanFest
Eric Hosmer is the youngest of the Storm Chasers, and the fourth-youngest player in the Pacific Coast League. His teammate Mike Montgomery is the 7th-youngest player in the PCL.
DOUBLE A
John Lamb accepting an award at FanFest
Wow, I need more opportunities to photograph prospects, especially John Lamb – who is one of the 10 youngest players in the Texas League. He is joined on that list by teammates Wil Myers and Sal Perez.
It’s encouraging that our players are both better and younger than their peers. It’s just another facet of hope that the Royals can become and remain a powerful baseball team.
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Ron in NM
April 12, 2011 at 2:39 pm (UTC 0) Link to this comment
Great point Minda, these guys still have time to grow and may actually get to grow some in the majors. Ups the excitement level just a little.
Barry in Lenexa
April 12, 2011 at 3:27 pm (UTC 0) Link to this comment
It’s an exciting time to be in the KC area with all this young talent here and in the minor. Alas Tim Collins was surpassed as the youngest player in the AL by Tyler Chatwood who started yesterday for the Angels.
PS–Please send a starting pitcher from Omaha to replace Kyle Davies :)
A bunch of Storm Chasers who have been in the playoffs together » mindahaas.net
September 12, 2011 at 4:58 am (UTC 0) Link to this comment
[…] Montgomery, like Herrera, is awfully young for Triple-A. He was the 7th-youngest player in the PCL at the beginning of the season, and has struggled to some extent for pretty much the whole season. Some of his starts have been […]
Happy Birthday Storm Chasers! » mindahaas.net
November 16, 2011 at 4:16 am (UTC 0) Link to this comment
[…] 11: Celebrating a better Youth Movement I noted how many Royals players, some of whom ended up at Omaha, were among the 10 youngest in […]