Royals Review reader Kirk (who you can find kicking around in the comments and on Twitter) asks:Something I’ve heard from time to time is Kennys Vargas Jersey , "Give me a team full of &lt;blank&gt; and I’d win..."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Royals Trade Rumors & Hot StoveRoyals Minor Leagues & ProspectsRoyals Review ClassicRoyals Review Users GuideThe 100 Greatest Royals Of All TimeRoyals Review Laboratory: A team full of Whit MerrifieldsNew,14commentsESTShareTweetShareShareRoyals Review Laboratory: A team full of Whit MerrifieldsRoyals Review reader Kirk (who you can find kicking around in the comments and on Twitter) asks:Something I’ve heard from time to time is, “Give me a team full of <blank> and I’d win championships.” So my question is, what would a team of Whitleys look like? (Besides very white.) I would expect some variation with his defensive value based on the position, but would could we assume his offensive output would remain the same? I look forward to your take on this, and I’ll listen off the air. Jayhawkkirk“Give me a team full of Whit Merrifields and I’d win championships”First off, I’m sure Rex Hudler has said this either on-air or inside his head when watching Merrifield.You may be familiar with an experiment from a few years ago where someone put together a team made solely of Adam Dunns, Dee Gordons, Bartolo Colons, and The Koji Ueharas.As Kirk points out, yes, this team would be whiter than Cool Whit Whip and mayonnaise mixed together and put on white bread in a snowstorm. But more importantly, would this be a good team? Yeah...it probably would be pretty good. There have been teams in the past that featured mostly good and above average players, disregarding the stars and scrubs approach. This years LA Dodgers batting core didn’t feature any one star for most of the season (save for midseason acquisitionManny Machado) and still made it to the World Series. That squad had six batters finish between three and five wins above replacement:Justin Turner (4.5 bWAR)Max Muncy (4.5)Cody Bellinger (4.2)Chris Taylor (4.1)Yasmani Grandal (3.3)Enrique Hernandez (3.3)With Yasiel Puig coming in close at 2.7. Even the “laggards” on the sheet were still average or so, with Joc Pederson (2.3) and Matt Kemp (1.1) filling out the overall lineup card.But what would a team of Merrifields actually look like? Well let’s find nine players, one matching each position (AL rules here so eight and a DH) that are closest in results to Whit’s 2018 season. We are going to narrow it to players since 1973 (the start of the DH rule) and look at single seasons. This could lead to random names who had just one good year filling out our lineup but we’ll defer to guys who had good overall careers if it is close. Now there is going to be some trickiness in the positional adjustment. We’ll call Merrifield roughly a league average at second base. However a league average defending 2B isn’t as good in value to league average SS, just as an average defending right fielder isn’t as good as an average defending center fielder. To adjust for that, FanGraphs has their defensive metrics which take raw run totals and adjust them for a position. For a baseline, here is 2018 Whit Merrifield12 HR45 SB.134 ISO120 wRC+7.4 BsR2.8 DEF5.2 fWARCatcher - 1986 Bob BrenlyOkay so not many catchers steal 40+ bases (John Wathan’s 36 bases stolen in 1982 might be the record for a catcher), so we are going to be automatically working at a disadvantage in finding someone. Still, the best I could find (while trying to match as many criteria as possible) is 1986 Bob Brenly:16 HR10 SB.157 ISO113 wRC+-0.5 BsR1.3 DEF2.8 fWARA little disappointed in that WAR total but we are working with profile boundaries here.First Base - 2014 Todd FrazierAs with catchers, racking up steals as a first baseman isn’t a trait often seen. The same handicap is given for defense as well. Meanwhile 1B is known for power, and Merrifield took a step back in that in 2018. So we’ve got 2014 Todd Frazier.29 HR20 SB.186 ISO122 wRC+4.4 BsR0.9 DEF4.5 WARSecond Base - 2008 Brian RobertsYeah, I suppose we could just use Merrifield here but where is the fun in that? Let’s use Brian Roberts, who actually might be the best criteria fit in this entire thing.9 HR40 SB.154 ISO119 wRC+5.8 BsR1.2 DEF4.7 WARShortstop - 2006 Derek JeterWe are going to hit the heavy over on wRC+ with Jeter but we are going to come in fairly nicely in the other peripherals. Jeter’s defense was always overrated but in 2006 he was putting up near career high hitting numbers and a career high in stolen bases.14 HR34 SB.140 ISO138 wRC+5.2 BsR-1.2 DEF6.1 WARThird Base - 2016 Jose RamirezThe year Ramirez broke out and told the world he was an elite player (he was 23 years old to boot), Ramirez is an excellent base runner who can add value on the bags without racking up gaudy stolen base figures. He’s of course also a good hitter and decent fielder at the hot corner.11 HR22 SB.150 ISO119 wRC+8.6 BsR1.6 DEF4.6 WARRight Field - 1974 Bobby BondsOkay I hope you noticed the year and the first name on a second read. While Barry Bonds is the better half of the father/son duo, Bobby was no slouch. The elder Bonds was worth almost 60 wins in his career, put 300+ home runs and 400+ stolen bases to his name. His 1974 season fits very tightly.21 HR41 SB.178 ISO121 wRC+4.2 BsR0.2 DEF4.4 WARCenter Field - 2000 Johnny DamonHey we found an ex-Royals player! This would be Damon’s final season as a Royals before being shipped off to Oakland (then signing a big deal with the Red Sox), Merrifield actually kinda shares of profile traits with Damon. Bonus points that they are both leadoff hitters.16 HR46 SB.168 ISO115 wRC+5.2 BsR1.4 DEF4.5 WARLeft Field - 2006 Alfonso SorianoOkay we’ve definitely gone off the track in the power department but we’ll pick up some points in other metrics. Soriano had two big years in 2003 and 2004 before going to the Rangers in the Alex Rodriguez trade. There he would be a “disappointment”, being worth about half his value in those two year. Immediately after joining the recently created Washington Nationals, Soriano bounced back with a career high ISO and home run total. Putting up only one of four 40/40 seasons in baseball history.46 HR41 SB.283 ISO129 wRC+3.9 BsR-0.5 DEF5.4 WARDesignated Hitter - 1988 Paul MolitorWe aren’t going to find an above average fielding DH, just by nature of the position and the metric. There were though some above average base running designated hitters. Molitor fits our overall bill mostly, and also checks in with a nice steal total for a DH. Truth be told, Molitor fit our criteria in three different seasons (1988 http://www.twinsfanproshop.com/authentic-max-kepler-jersey , 1992, and 1994) with 1988 probably being the closest fit of them.13 HR41 SB.140 ISO133 wRC+3.8 BsR-3.7 DEF5.3 WAROur lineupWe ended up over on home runs, under on stolen bases, and missed baserunning and difference by ~2.5 runs. I think we hit wRC+ spot on (came in 3% high) and got as reasonably close as we could ask for ISO and WAR.How many games would that team win? It would have to be 90+ at least when the worst hitter in your lineup has a 113 wRC+. If a team made up of replacement level players come in ~45 wins, then adding the Kansas City Merrifields (~47 wins) gets you to92 wins and we haven’t counted pitchers yet. Even a cromulent pitching staff should get you 13-15 wins, so now we are at ~105 wins.This would be a good baseball team, even if we don’t know the pitching staff or the backups to the starting nine. Having a lineup of Merrifields in-and-of itself should make you a contending team.We run into a snag just out of hand. We are comparing players across different eras of baseball. While wRC+ adjusts for that, a home run in the early-2000s isn’t worth the same as a home run today (it’s worth more today). So while the raw totals of home runs, steals, and ISO might be wide, we’ve got an adjustment made in wRC+. That helps a bit and reflects how Soriano can go 40/40 and be worth not that much more than Damon’s 16/46 a half decade earlier.Here is what the real experiment would be, and maybe worth an article down the road: since we know most of the inputs for WAR, we could simply take Merrifield’s offensive and defensive runs above average, adjust them for each different position, add the baserunning/replacement/league adjustments, and then we’d have WAR totals for Merrifield. That takes a little bit of math and elbow grease. It is doable (and I think you would just need to make the positional adjustments but I could be wrong), so we’ll keep it in our pockets for next time. Baseball America writer Kyle Glaser talks about Dodger prospects including Dennis Santana, Jeter Downs and Jeren Kendall"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections 2019 Spring TrainingProspectsCommentaryNews and NotesInterviewsProspectsPart two of interview with Kyle GlaserNew,51commentsBaseball America writer Kyle Glaser talks about Dodger prospects including Dennis Santana, Jeter Downs and Jeren KendallPDTShareTweetShareSharePart two of interview with Kyle GlaserRon Chenoy-USA TODAY SportsHere is the second part of my interview with Baseball America writer Kyle Glaser.In the first part, Glaser talked about prospects Tony Gonsolin and Gavin Lux, the Dodgers farm system and how teams raising the pay to their minor leaguers would make for even better development of their skills.In the second part, Glaser discussed pitching prospects Dennis Santana, Mitch White and Yadier Alvarez, what he hopes to see from infielder Jeter Downs and how Jeren Kendall has to hit better to become a major league outfielder.Two years ago, Yadier Alvarez, Mitch White, Walker Buehler and Dennis Santana were all in the Rancho Cucamonga rotation, what are Glaser’s thoughts on the progress of Alvarez, White and Santana?In the 2019 Dodgers Top 30 prospects, Glaser ranked Dennis Santana seventh and Mitch White ninth.He had them both ranked as starting pitchers.Yadier Alvarez was ranked 14th as a right-handed reliever.Going into the 2017 season, Alvarez was ranked second, Buehler was 11th, White was 19th and Santana was not ranked.“You know Rod Carew Jersey , it’s funny going into that season, everyone was all about Yadier Alvarez and he was considered the guy,” Glaser said,” when I went out there and did some reporting and talked to coaches and managers around the league, every single one of them said, you know, Dennis Santana’s the guy, he’a better than Alvarez.”“So I go, ‘okay,’ so I am curious to see this for myself and then I did see this for myself.” “Dennis Santana has a fastball with movement,” Glaser said, “and no, his command’s not great, he throws it for strikes.”“He has a slider, you know, that is definitely an out pitch against right-handed batters and he knows how to keep it over the plate to make it competitive pitch.”“It was clear even then that was those were two things Yadier Alvarez didn’t have, as much as his fastball had velocity, there is close to zero command of it,” Glaser said, “and his slider as much as there is some break to it, it is a non-competitive pitch at least two out of every five because you can see it out of his hand and it wasn’t going to be anywhere near the strike zone.”“It’s interesting to me that right away, even in A-Ball, people said Santana’s the better of the two of these guys and we’ve seen that.”“Santana’s a big leaguer, obviously health knocked him out last year before he could make his first start, he made his first appearance, supposed to make his first start but it knocked him out”“The changeup has continued to develop,” Glaser said, “depending on how much more it continues to develop, maybe it’s a number four starter.Even if it’s not, that’s a power arm reliever with a upper 90s fastball and a power slider that can get same-sided hitters out.”Mitchell White pitched a career high 105鈪?innings in 2018 but he also missed the first month of the season while staying in extended spring training.The 2016 draft pick has pitched just over 200 innings in his career.“Mitchell White, people have always liked him but again, health,” Glaser said, “and it’s tough to ever be fully convicted on a guy Brian Dozier Jersey , there’s always something that is keeping him off the mound for a month or six weeks every season.”“When he’s right, he has a chance to be the best of them but it’s just been tough for him to quote-unquote be right because he’s rarely ever healthy enough to be right for long stretches of time.”“Alvarez threw hard, he was the least effective actual pitcher of the three and that wasn’t that hard to see,” Glaser said, “maybe Yadier Alvarez if he figures out some fastball command and then the slider takes a step forward, and then the last year in Double-A, they moved him to stretch full-time and it got a lot better.So maybe he can build off of that.”“Dennis Santana has a chance to be an effective starter in the major leagues, Mitchell White, if he’s healthy, has a chance to be an effective starter in the major leagues,” Glaser said, “Yadier Alvarez is a reliever and while relievers are valuable, he’s really not a closer because he doesn’t throw enough competitive pitches and he also doesn’t have the competitive makeup.”“You are kind of looking at a sixth or seventh inning guy who throws hard and might have some control issues. Again, it is better to have that arm and try and work with it then lack any power arms in your system but again it goes Santana, White, Alvarez in the rankings for a reason.”The Dodgers enhanced their depth with the addition of Jeter Downs Jeter Downs was assigned to Rancho Cucamonga where he will begin his first season as a Dodger prospect playing for the Quakes.Downs was the Cincinnati Reds first round pick in 2017 and played in Class-A Midwest League in 2018.“Yeah I mean you are talking about a really impressive athlete, you have seen the speed in terms of stolen bases,” Glaser said,” and even though he might not be shortstop long term, he already didn’t play shortstop primarily last year, he can play second, he can play third and again he didn’t tear the Midwest League up offensively, you saw some ability to control the strike zone.”“Anytime you mix some athleticism with at least on paper and early scouting reports indicate baseball smarts to go on top of that, controlling the strike zone, knowing when to run, he has a chance to be pretty good.”“Now, he’s still young, he’s still a teenager, and the jump from Low-A to High-A is big one, so we’ll see,” Glaser said, “I think it is important to remember he’s a very talented young man, even in terms of coming out of the draft and where he would ranked in the Red’s system, a very good player never seen as superstar franchise type but you see some ingredients you can dream on Justin Morneau Jersey , he’s still young.” “The Dodgers have certainly taken some young guys and had them make big jumps before especially that age 19 into 20 and 20 to 21 seasons.I’ll be curious to see what’s he able to do in Rancho this year but there is no doubt he’s ready for the level and I think at the very least you will see some athleticism and some baseball smarts and an effective player.And then again whatever developments he can make offensively under the Dodger’s watch, you know there’s a chance to be more.”In order to succeed as a major league player, Jeren Kendall has to improve his hittingGlaser wrote back in January in Baseball America that “the average major league reserve or platoon outfielder hit .283/.357/.439 in his minor league career.”Jeren Kendall, the Dodgers first round pick in 2017, has hit .224/.301/.377 in 608 at-bats with 207 strikeouts and 65 walks.I asked Glaser about his article and Jeren Kendall.“It is something that is pretty well established, I mean even the guys in the big leagues you think of as all-glove, no-hit backups,” Glaser said, “they all hit in the minors, you don’t get to the majors hitting .220 against A-ballers, you just don’t, no matter what your defense is, so it is a big year.”Glaser said that there is still hope with Jeren Kendall because you can look back to the summer of 2016 when he played on Team USA at Dodger Stadium and he showed what kind of baseball player he could be.“He was the best player on the field, he was hitting for power,” Glaser said, “he was showing the ability to make contact, play the small game, play the big game. do it all.”“And even at Vanderbilt, when the strikeouts that junior season started to become concerning,” Glaser said, “I could still see a competitive stance and solid quality contacts even though the strikeouts were a little more often than you like.”“What he shown last year with the Dodgers it was just, I wrote this in the Handbook and it was true, it was a non-competitive inanimate stance,” Glaser said, “he was behind everything.”“He just needs to kind of find what it was that made him successful in years past, it’s in there but if he goes through another season like he did last year and the trend has been it gotten a little worst every year,” Glaser said, “in 2016 hey this guy could be a top ten pick, and then in 2017, okay we can’t take him in top ten but we’ll still take him in the first round and now 2018, it’s like man this guy might not get out of Double-A.”“The trend needs to be reversed and I think that in that sense, this is a big year for Jeren Kendall to show he can hit and he can get back to the competitive at-bats he had shown in 2016 and prior.”