Why I Cannot Trust The Process

There is a welcome wave of optimism regarding the talent brewing in the Royals minor league system. Royals fans, always looking for any shard of hope to cling to, seem to be ever so slightly allowing themselves to imagine a not-too distant future with a roster bursting with home grown players competing for an AL Central crown. And I share in the hope.

But...I can't believe in a rational way. In Dayton's words, “Our goal... is to have the majority of our 25-man roster be homegrown players.” Sounds good. The problem - if DM is still calling the major league shots - is the other 10, 11, 12 spots. The free agent and trade acquisitions. Even a team that scouts and drafts better than most cannot afford a GM who makes the kinds of decisions at the big league level that DM has made.

Even if a handful of his draft picks turn into top quality players, I don't trust that he'll be able to fill out the rest of the roster competently. For the Royals to compete, they'll need a GM who excels in all areas, not just one. If Moore's strength lies in finding and developing raw talent, then great - let him work in scouting, drafting and development. But we're going to need someone a lot more forward-thinking when it comes to filling a complete big-league roster before I'll start believing. I hope I'm wrong and all of Dayton's kids are stars, and the Royals don't need savvy decision-making in free agency or trades to complete the picture. I'm just not holding my breath.
 

(6/9 update: Wow, the great Rob Neyer and I were sharing a wavelength. Neyer has a new post up titled "Are the Royals looking good in 2012?" in which he says if the Royals are to get over the top, "That's going to take a little extra oomph, in the form of a brilliant trade or a particularly canny free-agent signing. And this organization hasn't demonstrated any propensity for those things since the 1970s.")
 
(6/10 update: Be sure to check out this great rebuttal to my above post by "kcemigre" over on Royals Review.)