Prospect Report

Over the next week or two, I'm going to try to give my thoughts on the top prospects in KC's farm system. We'll take a look at the top 10, starting at the bottom and working up to #1 (not that there's any real surprise who that'll be).

NUMBER 10: Mitch Maier - OF

Maier is a left-handed hitting 24 year old former first round pick (taken in 2003) out of The University of Toledo. He's coming off a good overall season in 2006, though he got off to a rocky start. Maier played for AA Wichita, where he made up for a rocky start by finishing the season on a hot streak. He ended up batting .306 in 138 games for Wichita - including 35 doubles, 7 triples and 14 homers. Maier ended up with an OBP of .357 and SLG of .473, which combined for an OPS of .830.

Past reports on Maier show that he's athletic and has decent speed....he stole 13 bases for Wichita in '06 (although he was also caught stealing 12 times). Defensively, he's improved greatly in the outfield - Maier was initially drafted as a catcher and moved to 3B for settling in the outfield - at the major league level, he most likely projects to play a corner outfield spot (although he plays center as well, the Royals already have David DeJesus in that position).

Judging from stats and reading various scouting reports, Maier looks to be a guy who can hit for average and has power to the gaps, but not much home run pop. He could be a threat as a base runner as well, assuming he can cut down on the amount of times he's caught stealing (which will come with experience and coaching).

PROJECTION:

I personally see Maier as a possible starter, but most likely a really solid fourth outfielder for the Royals. The perfect situation would see the KC outfield in 2008 looking something like this: DeJesus, Mark Teahen, and Billy Butler....with Maier backing up all three and probably getting a lot of playing time, since Butler will could end up as a DH often. Maier should be a solid big leaguer, putting up good numbers in 300+ AB's as a part-time player.

Maier will most likely start 2007 in Omaha, but will probably make his way back up to KC at some point this year (maybe sooner rather than later, should Dayton Moore make a move with Reggie Sanders or Emil Brown).

Stay tuned for Prospect #9..........