What do you have to offer Royals and A's?

In this 2^nd installment of Shark Sweepstakes we take a look at two more teams that could use Jeff Samardzija for a playoff run and what they have to offer…

 

Royals

 

Kyle Zimmer: He is the guy you get if you deal with the Royals.  Why you may ask? Well he is a top 25 prospect in baseball even with his lat injury this year and he has an Ace upside that is impossible to ignore.  He is at risk because of the recent arm issues but so far he does not require Tommy John surgery that we have seen so many pitchers fall to this year.  The other reason he is on this list mainly because of this scouting report bybaseballprospectnation in 2012.

 

Yordano Ventura: Some will argue he is off limits because he is currently helping the big club win and you are probably correct.  But if you are going to get Jeff Samardzija you have to pay.  End of story!  The Royals will have to give up Zimmer or Ventura in a deal for Shark.  That is unless of course they go nuts and trade Alex Gordon.  But enough about them.  Ventura is the guy the Cubs should target if Zimmer is off limits.  Just check out this nice fangraphs write up on him here.

 

Notes: The Cubs need one of these pitchers (or Alex Gordon) to make a deal with the Royals work.  I believe this will be quality over quantity.  There are two other nice prospects I see the Cubs take a look at as a secondary piece like P Sean Manaea and/or OF Jorge Bonifacio.  Both top 10 prospects in the Royals farm system. 

 

 

Athletics

 

Michael Ynoa:  Once thought of the prize of the A’s farm system the guys just cannot stay healthy.  Scouts cannot place whether he will be a great #2 starter, #4 starter, power closer, or complete bust.  At only 22 years old this guy could still become something special.  The issue is whether he is worth the gamble as a headliner in a Shark deal. On his own I am not so sure.  You can see his numbershere.

 

Raul Alcantara: Now the prize arm of the Oakland A’s; he would be so high on my list of all prospects if he had not just went down with Tommy John surgery.  We have seen Theo and Jed take a gamble before with players with injury issues and he is definitely worth the gamble.  Here is what John Sickles had to say about him before the start of the year. Grade B-: Borderline B. Secondary pitches went from non-existent to solid last year and he already had a good fastball, resulting in dramatically improved performance and big spike in strikeout rate. I want to see if he sustains it, but could be a number three starter.

 

 

Note: The A’s really have a nice farm but the problem is I do not believe any of their current available prospects are what Theo and Jed want.  The main issue is the age of the prospects.  Almost any impact prospect they have is either in the majors (which they will not trade) or below AA or injured.  They are still on the list because the A’s could still put a nice package together for Shark and plus they have been directly linked to him in the past.  And those of your pining for Addison Russell can keep dreaming.  The guys is going nowhere!

 

 

On the next post we will be taking a look at the Giants and Braves… Until Next Time..