Mike Moustakas might be the most big-league ready of the Royals top prospcts.

Fact: The pundits are in love with the Kansas City Royals minor league system.

But, what does that really mean? Don’t worry, we will get more in depth on the particulars as the 2011 season approaches and when we know exactly where each member of the ridiculously talented prospects will open the 2011 season. But there are normally very few ways to quantify just how talented, or at least highly regarded, baseball talent is. Thanks to the increased coverage of minor league prospects, now we can.

Everyone in baseball widely regards the Royals farm system as the best, but that can mean many things. It can mean, simply, they have the best handful of players in the minor leagues. It can also mean, they are a deep organization, but not one with future stars. Or, it can mean both. To me, the simplest thing to do was to try to give this some type of statistical measure.

So, after receiving my Baseball America Prospect Handbook in the mail yesterday, I’ve completed this basic spreadsheet to illustrate just how highly regarded the Royals top five prospects are. I included the rankings of the five most respected national minor league analysts — Baseball America’s Jim Callis, Will Lingo and John Manuel; ESPN.com’s Keith Law and MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo.

While it’s hard to swallow, or imagine, every one of these prospects I’m about to mention are regarded to be mainstays of the Royals attack for a long time (or, as long as the Royals can afford them…).

(Player, position, average rank)

• Eric Hosmer, 1B, 8.2
• Mike Moustakas, 3B, 10.4
• Wil Myers, OF, 11.8
• Mike Montgomery, LHP, 23.2
• John Lamb, LHP, 30.4

That’s in all of baseball. According to this, the Royals have 5 of baseball’s top 30 prospects. Wow. And, that’s not including LHP Danny Duffy, who was ranked No. 98 by Law and Jake Odorizzi, the crown jewel of the Zack Greinke trade. Mayo ranked Odorizzi as No. 37. And, we don’t know this quite yet, but many experts expect much of this top talent to start the season at Double-A. the first time NWA visits Springfield is a four-game set April 25-28.

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Kansas City Royals farm report 6/13

• Triple-A Omaha beat Nashville 2-1 behind a solid start from LHP Anthony Lerew, who had a night: 7 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 3H, 4 BB, 2 K. Looks like Rick Ankiel is back on a rehab assignment. He was 1-for-3 with a double and in four games, he’s 3-for-13 with no walks and five strikeouts. With Alex Gordon (.359), Kila Ka’aihue (.327), David Lough (.275) and Irving Falu (.297), does Omaha have just as good of an offense as the Houston Astros?

• Double-A Northwest Arkansas beat Midland 5-1, with 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball from RHP Mario Santiago, although he only struck out one batter. His season ERA is now 2.33. CF Derrick Robinson and 2B Johnny Giavotella both had three hits and 1B Clint Robinson had his eighth home run and is hitting .276. Where does he go when Eric Hosmer gets promoted?

• High-A Wilmington had a game with Winston-Salem suspended by rain.

• Low-A Burlington lost to Lansing 3-2, despite a strong start from RHP Bryan Paukovits: 7 IP, 1 ER, 6K, 0 BB, 1 H. On the season, the 6-7, 240-pound 22-year old is 3-3 with a 3.08 ERA over 61 1/3 IP, with 65 Ks and 16 BBs.

St. Louis Cardinals farm report 6/13

• Triple-A Memphis was shut out 4-0 by Iowa and J.R. Mathes. Recently demoted RHP P.J. Walters took the loss despite a quality start: 6 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 4 BB, 4 K. It’s hard for me to believe with four should-be pros Allen Craig, Jon Jay, Joe Mather and Tyler Greene and future pro 2B Daniel Descalso that the Redbirds can be shut out.

• Double-A Springfield beat Arkansas on a walk-off throwing error. LHP Nick Additon threw 7 scoreless innings and struck out 8. CF Adron Chambers continues to heat up, hitting his third HR of the season.

• High-A Palm Beach was off.

• Low-A Quad Cities got two solo HRs to sweep West Michigan 2-1. RHP Michael Blazek threw five scoreless innings, striking out six. Infielders Jason Stidham and Edgar Lara hit solo bombs.

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Kansas City Royals farm report 6/7

• Triple-A Omaha beat Oklahoma City 3-2 in 11 innings, mostly on the strength of offense from two guys putting together wonderful Triple-A seasons. After moonlighting in RF a bit, Alex Gordon was 3-for-5 and propped his average up to .381. His arm might be strong enough for RF. SS Irving Falu has seven multi-hit games in his last 10, boosting his average to .313. He’s a switch hitter and had to be deflated by the Royals’ first-round draft pick from last night.

• Double-A Northwest Arkansas lost 2-1 to Midland, ruining a quality start from Mario Santiago: 6 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. 3B Mike Moustakas had two more hits to raise his average to .368. His line: .368/.441/.724, 13 HR, 49 RBI. Jeez.

• High-A Wilmington beat Kinston 5-0 and all worried parties about RHP Tim Melville should be reassured. His line: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. That’s five consecutive starts where the Wentzville Holt HS alum has allowed 3 ERs or less. Over his last 30 2/3 IP, he has allowed 8 runs (2.35 ERA). 1B Eric Hosmer was 1-for-3, which actually lowered his BA to .360. But, he stole his 9th base, a very deceiving stat.

• Low-A Burlington was off.

St. Louis Cardinals farm report 6/7

• Triple-A Memphis smoked Albuquerque 20-7 with three-hit games from Joe Mather, Daniel Descalso, Tyler Greene and Jon Jay (Disagree they need to be on the big-league club?) Both Mather and Greene homered. Greene is hitting .433 (13-for-30) in June. He’s hitting .335 at Triple-A. And the Cardinals promoted Aaron Miles why?

• Double-A Springfield got one-hit by four San Antonio pitchers in a 3-0 loss. The only good news was that LF Daryl Jones extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a single. He’s hitting .346 (9-for-26) in June and has raised his overall average to .267.

• High-A Palm Beach and RHP Richard Castillo were smoked by Daytona 11-2. So much for Castillo getting promoted soon. He allowed 7 runs in 2 1/3 innings.

• Low-A Quad Cities was off.

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Kansas City Royals farm report 5/24

• Triple-A Omaha beat Colorado Springs 4-1, mostly on the strength of a gem from LHP Anthony Lerew. His line: 7 IP, 9 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K. Beneath the surface is where it gets interesting. The positionless Alex Gordon was 3-for-4 and is now hitting .369 (25-of-69) at Triple-A. He and the recently demoted 1B Kila Ka’aihue should probably be on the big league roster.

• Double-A Northwest Arkansas beat Arkansas 7-3, thanks to a start by Rule V pick LHP Edgar Osuna. His line: 8 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. CF Derrick Robinson had two more hits to raise his average to .316.

• High-A Wilmington beat Frederick 3-1 behind a gritty performance from RHP Alex Caldera. Not sure why the 24-year-old is at High-A, but he’s rebounded after a mediocre start by allowing just one earned run in his last 19 2/3 innings, a span of three starts. He has 54 Ks in 52 2/3 IP. He should be in Double-A as soon as a spot opens up. RHP Patrick Keating pitched a clean ninth for his fifth save.

• Low-A Burlington lost 4-2 to Wisconsin, but it could have been worse. LHP Tyler Sample left after an inning because he got dinged by a line drive. While we wait and see if he’s OK, the good news here is C Wil Myers. One of the top catching prospects in the minors, Myers has raised his line to .272/.381/.476 thanks to a strong May line of .323./.476/.523. He won’t turn 20 until December.

St. Louis Cardinals farm report 5/24

• Triple-A Memphis beat Sacramento 8-1 during RHP Adam Ottavino’s most scrutinized minor league start, to date. After news came out that Kyle Lohse will miss a start, Ottavino has been rumored to take his turn in the rotation, making his MLB debut Saturday in Chicago. Tuesday his line was: 5 IP, 3H, 1 R, 4 BB, 2K, 90 pitches. Not inspiring, but effective. Can the former first-round pick duplicate it at the big-league level, if called upon?

• Double-A Springfield beat Tulsa 5-1 and LHP Ryan Kulik has been nothing short of a miracle for the S-Cards. After losing double-digit games as a punching bag starter last season, he has dug his way out of long relief and SGF has won his last three starts. He’s been good, too, allowing one earned run in three starts, spanning 16 innings. Offensively, IF/OF Andrew Brown has really cooled off since a hot start. He was 3-for-5, but it was his first multihit game since May 4.

• High-A Palm Beach beat Charlotte 4-2. No pitcher did anything spectacular, but there was a Colt Sedbrook sighting on the box score. He was playing 3B and had two hits. He’ll be back in Springfield as soon as Aaron Miles is gone, I imagine. C Tony Cruz had two hits as the DH.

• Low-A Quad Cities beat 8-7 to Peoria, no thanks to RHP and top prospect Shelby Miller. Last year’s first-round pick’s line: 2 IP, 6H, 6R, 2BB, 3Ks. 2B/OF Jason Stidham launched his fourth home run and lifted his average to .301.

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Kansas City Royals farm report 5/23

• Triple-A Omaha beat Salt Lake 2-1 despite only mustering two hits, one of which was a double by OF David Lough. RHP Jorge Campillo made his Omaha debut and pitched 3 perfect innings, striking out two. RHP Federico Castaneda pitched 5 innings, allowing only one run for the victory.

• Double-A Northwest Arkansas lost 11-10 to Arkansas as the whole pitching staff took a beating, including starter RHP Eduardo Paulino (4 IP, 6 R, 3 ER). Still, 3B Mike Moustakas hit his 12th HR and after going 1-for-4, his average dipped to .395. OF Derrick Robinson was 2-for-3 with 3 BBs and a SB (25). Through 155 at-bats this season, he’s .310/.407/.406 with 25 steals, five triples, and five doubles.

• High-A Wilmington beat Myrtle Beach 6-3 behind a good start from LHP Chris Dwyer (6.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K). Despite a 2-for-3 day, OF Patrick Norris is only hitting .167 (13-for-78) in May.

• Low-A Burlington lost 11-2 to Wisconsin, mostly behind a weak Low-A start by RHP SP Keaton Hayenga. Battling back from injury, he lasted 4 1/3 IP in his first start, allowing 9 H, 7 R, 5 ER, 3 BB while striking out 4.

St. Louis Cardinals farm report 5/23

• Triple-A Memphis got pounded 14-3 by Sacramento, thanks to a pitching staff that is likely going to lose another pitcher to the big league roster, assuming Kyle Lohse will be put on the DL. The positionless Allen Craig is on a tear, using a 3-for-4 game to push his average to .311. He’s 12 for his last 26 (.462) and his Triple-A line through 74 at-bats is .311/.373.419.

• Double-A Springfield lost 9-4 to Tulsa after RHP Gary Daley continues his plummet. He allowed 8 runs (7 earned) in 5 innings. He has allowed four or more runs in three of his last five starts. 2B/OF Aaron Luna hit his sixth home run. Expect him to play a ton of second base when (if?) Aaron Miles leaves.

• High-A Palm Beach lost 2-1 to Tampa. RHP Richard Castillo isn’t having the season many MiLB nerds (like myself) anticipated. In the loss, he lasted only 4 2/3 IP, walking 4,  striking out 5 and allowing 2 runs (1 earned). He’s lowered his ERA to 3.47, but he has only 24 Ks in 49 1/3 IP, and his GO/AO ratio is 0.73. Not a favorable mix.

• Low-A Quad Cities lost 6-5  to Peoria, but 3B Niko Vasquez hit his sixth home run. He’s still on track to be an impact prospect, despite a .236 average. He’s walked 42 times and has 123 official at-bats. His line: .236.434/.463.

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Kansas City Royals farm report 5/19

• Triple-A Omaha had the day off.

• Double-A Northwest Arkansas had three pitchers combine for a rain-delay navigated shutout, including RHP Edgar Osuna (5 IP), LHP Everett Teaford (3 IP) and LHP Brandon Sisk (1 IP, save). 3B Mike Moustakas had two more hits to lift his average to .380 (a clean 38-for-100).

• High-A Wilmington got a gem for last week’s Carolina League Pitcher of the Week RHP Alex Caldera. He threw 6 innings, allowing only on unearned run, helping the Blue Rocks beat Lynchburg 8-2. 1B Eric Hosmer had two more hits and OF Patrick Norris hit his first HR.

• Low-A Burlington saw RHP Matt Mitchell have his best start of the season in a 4-1 victory. Coming off Tommy John surgery, Mitchell threw 5 1/3 innings, striking out 9. OF Rene Oriental hit his third HR of the season.

St. Louis Cardinals farm report 5/19

• Triple-A Memphis had an off day.

• Double-A Springfield whipped Arkansas 13-2 in a five-inning game called because of rain. Bad news first, though. RHP Scott Gorgen left with elbow discomfort and is having an MRI today. He’s been SGF’s top pitcher and hadn’t allowed a hit through 3 1/3 innings. The good news? IF Aaron Miles was 3-fr-4 with 3 RBIs, 2B Aaron Luna, 1B Curt Smith and SS Pete Kozma all had two hits. SGF scored all 13 runs in the fourth and fifth innings.

• High-A Palm Beach lost to a walk-off hit by Brevard County. RHP Joel Pichardo allowed the winning run in the ninth. Palm Beach managed just three hits, scoring single runs in the 6th, 7th and 8th. OF Devin Shepherd had an RBI single and an OF assist.

• Low-A Quad Cities lost 4-3 to Cedar Rapids despite a good outing from RHP (phenom?) Shelby Miller. C Ivan Castro had two hits and two RBIs. Since he’s the organization’s top prospect, Miller gets his own line:

5 IP, 3H, 2 R (1ER), 1 BB and 3 Ks.