Christmas is right around the corner as 2017 comes winding to an end. With just 7 days left before December 25, the crew here at Royals Farm Report is going to go through some of our Christmas wish lists. Wish lists may include players that we want Kansas City to acquire via trade or free agency, or things we’d like to see from Royals prospects in 2017. Feel free to tweet us @RoyalsFarm on Twitter with your own wish list!

The trade rumors became somewhat relentless during last week’s Winter Meetings, and Danny Duffy couldn’t seem to escape them. Jeffrey Flanagan and Rustin Dodd tweeted out that the Royals had been getting many a phone call regarding the availability of Danny Duffy and Whit Merrifield. Danny Duffy must have seen these rumors too, because he went on something of a tirade on Twitter last week regarding the trade rumors:

Danny Duffy clearly loves Kansas City and the Royals organization. I don’t think anyone would tweet like that to play for a rebuilding ball club if they didn’t love this city. I love Danny Duffy. I bought his jersey earlier this summer. He’s one of my top all-time favorite Royals. Therefore, while I wouldn’t be opposed to a Duffy trade (I’d honestly encourage it), I’m not going to ask for one for Christmas either.

No, for this Christmas wish I’m wishing for a Whit Merrifield trade. I wish that the Kansas City Royals would trade Whit Merrifield in a deal that winds up with Monte Harrison as a Kansas City Royal.

For those of you who don’t know, Monte Harrison is a 22-year old outfielder in the Milwaukee Brewers farm system that hails from Lee’s Summit West High School in Lee’s Summit, MO, not far at all from Kauffman Stadium. Monte was a multi-sport star in high school, with offers to play more than one Division 1 sport. He opted to sign with the Brewers after being selected in the 2nd round back in 2014.

Harrison struggled a bit early on in his professional career, but erased any concerns in 2017 by slashing .272/.350/.481/.832 with 21 HR and 27 SB in 453 AB across Low and High-A. Perhaps the most impressive part about Harrison’s 2017 is that he didn’t miss a step when he advanced levels half way through the season. Harrison moved from Low-A to the High-A Carolina League, known for being rough on hitters, and hit just as well as he had at Low-A.

Monte Harrison is a true 5-tool talent. He can fly on the bases and in CF, he can hit, he can hit for power, he’s got a great arm, and he plays fantastic defense. There’s nothing not to like about the local product. Baseball America recently moved Harrison into the Brewers top 5 prospects for the 2018 season, in an organization that is stacked with talented prospects. He would instantly become the Kansas City Royals top prospect.

Here’s a graphic from my guy Jeremy Frank (@MLBRandomStats on Twitter) detailing Harrison’s elite speed/power combo.

The highlighted players are Monte Harrison and everyone who had a better ISO and speed rating with at least 450 PA’s. There’s 9 players there. That’s pretty, pretty, pretty good.

The Kansas City Royals need to find a trade partner for Whit Merrifield this offseason, and the Brewers could use a second baseman. If Dayton Moore can find a way to get a Monte Harrison return for Whit, I would be more than ecstatic.

Photo Credits: Brynn Anderson – The World Herald