Sam Mellinger

Mellinger Minutes For Your Ears: Dayton Moore and top scouts debate Sam’s Royals draft

Kansas City Royals’ Eric Hosmer hugs general manager Dayton Moore after receiving his 2015 World Series ring before Tuesday’s baseball game against the New York Mets on April 5, 2016 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.
Kansas City Royals’ Eric Hosmer hugs general manager Dayton Moore after receiving his 2015 World Series ring before Tuesday’s baseball game against the New York Mets on April 5, 2016 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. jsleezer@kcstar.com

This week’s show features the best interview we’ve had so far, and it’s going to be tough to top. Listen here.

Ryan Lefebvre and I drafted Royals players from this century, which originally was going to be a show. But then I mentioned it to Royals general manager Dayton Moore, asking if he’d choose who had the better team. Moore did more than that. He sent the teams to his analytics department and top scouts, asking their feedback, and his assistant — the tremendous Emily Penning — set up a Zoom call so I could sit in as Moore, senior director of pro scouting Gene Watson and assistant GM for research and development Daniel Mack debated the teams the way they do real-life player acquisitions.

These are hypothetical teams, obviously, but the shape and details of the debate are representative of the Royals’ process. Big thanks to everyone involved for doing this.

New to the show? Here’s what we’re doing:

We are constantly trying to think of new ways to deliver you information, entertainment or something else you won’t get anywhere else. Part of that is evaluating how you and I can connect. My hope is this can be one more way — a podcast you can listen to whenever and wherever you like.

Join us every Friday for behind-the-scenes access to interviews with Kansas City’s coaches, fans and reporters. We’ve talked with Bill Self, Mike Matheny and Mayor Quinton Lucas — and more. You can get all the episodes in one place right here.

Sam Mellinger
The Kansas City Star
Sam Mellinger was a sports columnist for the Kansas City Star. He held various roles from 2000-2022. He has won numerous national and regional awards for coverage of the Chiefs, Royals, colleges, and other sports both national and local.
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