Building the Kansas City Royals

Here's how the current 25-man roster of the American League Champion 2014 Kansas City Royals was built by Dayton Moore and his staff.

REGULAR LINEUP

Salvador Perez, C: Signed by the Royals in 2006 from Venezuela.

Eric Hosmer, 1B: Drafted by the Royals in the first round in 2008, third-overall, out of high school in Plantation, Florida.

Omar Infante, 2B: Signed by the Royals as a major league free agent in December, 2013. Was originally signed by the Detroit Tigers in 1999 as a free agent from Venezuela.

Mike Moustakas, 3B: Drafted by the Royals in the first round in 2007, second-overall, from high school in Chatsworth, California.

Alcides Escobar, SS: Acquired by the Royals in the December 2010 Zack Greinke trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. Was originally signed by the Brewers as a free agent from Venezuela in 2003.

Alex Gordon, OF: Drafted by the Royals in the first round in 2005, second-overall, from the University of Nebraska. This choice was made by the previous Allard Baird administration.

Alex Gordon, photo by H. Darr Beiser, USA Today Sports

Lorenzo Cain, OF: Acquired in the December 2010 Zack Greinke trade. Was originally drafted by the Brewers in the 17th round in 2004, from high school in Madison, Florida. He did not sign immediately, but attended Tallahassee Community College then signed with the Brewers as a "draft and follow" choice in the spring of 2005.

Nori Aoki, OF: Acquired from the Brewers in December 2013 for pitcher Will Smith. Aoki was signed by Milwaukee out of Japan in January 2012 after playing eight seasons for the Yakult Swallows.

Billy Butler, DH: Drafted by the Royals in the first round in 2004, 14th overall, from high school in Jacksonville, Florida. This choice was made by the Baird Administration.

BENCH

Eric Kratz, C: Acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays in July 2014 in exchange for Danny Valencia. Was originally drafted by the Blue Jays in the 29th round in 2002 from Eastern Mennonite University.

Christian Colon, INF: Drafted by the Royals in the first round in 2010, fourth overall, from Cal State Fullerton.

Terrance Gore, OF: Drafted by the Royals in the 20th round in 2011, from Gulf Coast Community College in Florida.

Jarrod Dyson, OF: Drafted by the Royals in the 50th round in 2006, from Southwest Mississippi Community College.

Jarrod Dyson, photo by Kansas City Star, via Getty Images

Josh Willingham, DH: Acquired from the Minnesota Twins in August 2014 for pitching prospect Jason Adam. Willingham was originally drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 17th round in 2000.

PITCHING STAFF

Tim Collins, LHP: Collins was acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Braves in July of 2010. He was originally signed by the Toronto Blue Jays as an undrafted free agent in 2007, from high school in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Wade Davis. RHP: Acquired in trade with the Tampa Bay Rays in the huge December, 2012 James Shields/Wil Myers/Jake Odorizzi deal.  The Rays had drafted him in the third round in 2004 from high school in Lake Wales, Florida.

Danny Duffy, LHP: Drafted by the Royals in the third round in 2007 from high school in Lompoc, California.

Brandon Finnegan, LHP: Drafted by the Royals in the first round, 17th overall, in 2014, from Texas Christian University.

Brandon Finnegan, photo by Ed Zurga, Getty Images

Jason Frasor, RHP: Acquired in July 2014 from the Texas Rangers in exchange for pitching prospect Spencer Patton. Frasor was originally drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 1999, a 33rd round pick from Southern Illinois University.

Kelvin Herrera, RHP: Signed by the Royals in 2006 out of the Dominican Republic.

Greg Holland, RHP: Drafted by the Royals in the 10th round in 2007, from Western Carolina University.

James Shields, RHP: Acquired from the Rays in the blockbuster 2012 trade. Was originally drafted by Tampa in the 16th round in 2000, from Santa Clarita, California.

Jason Vargas, LHP: Signed by the Royals as a major league free agent in the fall of 2013. Originally drafted by the Marlins in the second round in 2004, from Long Beach State University.

Yordano Ventura, RHP: Signed by the Royals in 2008 from the Dominican Republic.

Yordano Ventura, photo by Kansas City Star, via Getty Images

SUMMARY: Of the 25 players on the Royals World Series roster, 13 were originally signed by the Royals, either as draftees or Latin American free agents. Two were signed as major league free agents. The remaining 10 were acquired in trades, with key players James Shields, Wade Davis, Alcides Escobar, and Lorenzo Cain being components of the two big blockbuster trades of Dayton Moore's tenure. It should be noted that the blockbusters involved farm system products Wil Myers and Zack Greinke, the latter a holdover (along with Alex Gordon and Billy Butler) from the Allard Baird era.

Drawing any broad conclusions from a one-year sample from one team is dumb, but here are a few observations.

***Note the relative lack of first-rounders on the pitching staff: only Finnegan, who was just drafted this year, was a first round pick. Indeed, stalwarts like Shields, closer Greg Holland, and Yordano Ventura (who signed for just $28,000) were not considered outstanding prospects when they entered pro ball.

***In contrast, the starting lineup includes past first round picks Gordon, Mike Moustakas, Eric Hosmer, and Billy Butler. Three of those guys (along with Christian Colon) were very early picks in the first round.

***At least in this case, early picks expended on hitters (two from the Moore era, two from the Baird) got results, while the pitching staff saw a great deal of impact from later picks.

***Note the relative bias in favor of high schoolers, three players from Venezuela, as well as three different junior college outfielders with raw tools who turned into useful talents.

We will look at the San Francisco Giants later today and see how they compare.