When I look at what the 2014 Kansas City Royals are going to roll out, I really like what I see.
On the surface, the pitching is average, but when you look at what it will become, it is very solid. Their offense is much improved, though it may not seem like it.
When it comes to what I like about the Royals, I thought it would be the pitching, but two quiet acquisitions I think will allow them to get over the top. Last year, that acquisition was supposed to be James Shields. And while his presence definitely helped, I think the acquisitions of Norichika Aoki and Omar Infante are the keys to getting the Royals over the hump and into the playoffs.
The Royals offense, specifically runs scored and on-base percentage, were middle of the pack in baseball, and yet, amazingly the Kansas City finished 10 games above .500. As a team last year, the Royals had an OBP of .315, the league average was .318, not bad. The Royals as a team last year had scored 648 runs, and the league average runs scored was 675. Again, not bad. But obviously it wasn’t good enough.
The biggest help to improvement is likely to be Aoki, who has a smaller sample size of only two big league seasons, but none the less, Aoki has scored 80 runs in two seasons, and has an OBP of .355. Obviously, the OBP is better than what the Royals had last year.
Omar Infante’s numbers are not as impressive as Aoki’s, however, they are consistent. This will be his 12th big league season, and while Infante has struggled to play through an entire season many times, when he’s been in a good lineup, he is very good. Coming off one of his best year’s as a pro, (.318 average and .345 OPB), I have to think Infante will only build on that in a potent Kansas City lineup.
Now, I’m not mathematician, and I truthfully have no desire to plug numbers and add and subtract, but I think I’ve proven my point, the Royals are better off with Aoki and Infante in this lineup.
If Kansas City is to have any sort of sustained success this year, Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer must step up and play better. The two highly touted talents flew through the Royals minor league system, and in their three seasons in Royal blue, the duo has been vastly disappointing. A lot of people are ready to deem them busts, but I’m not so sure. Moustakas will not turn 26 until September, and Hosmer won’t turn 25 until October. Now, while both careers have been disappointing, they both have done good things thus far. In 2012, Moustakas hit 20 home runs while playing in close to 150 games. Last year, Hosmer appeared to make great strides in his development in hitting .302 on his way to 17 home runs and a career best 79 RBIs.
When it comes to Moustakas, in the minor leagues, he bulky third basemen hit consistently above .280, but in the big leagues, he’s a tick below .250. Moustakas must pick up his average. I like where his power has been, as he cut down on a dismal 124 strikeouts in 2012. He’s making better contact and hopefully that translates into a better average. For Hosmer, he has yet to hit 20 homers in a season. I’d really like to see him break out. He’s always been regarded as an elite power hitter, and now it’s time for him to put it together.
If two power bats can break out this year, the Royals offense could quickly rise up to be one of the top offenses in the league.
One bat that goes almost completely unnoticed in Kansas City is Salvador Perez. The Royals catcher battled injuries in his first full big league season, but last year was a real break out for the All-Star. While the numbers aren’t eye-popping, Perez broke out playing in 138 games and logged nearly 500 at bats. I expect Perez to go for 20 homers this season and could be an 85-100 RBI guy this season and for years to come.
The Royals addressed a major need last year in an established ace pitcher when they received James Shields from the Tampa Bay Rays. While I thought they overpaid, sometimes you have to get something you desperately need.
And while Shields is the highlight of the pitching staff, it gets pretty weak after that. Jason Vargas may be an underrated pick up. Just like every other big acquisition the Angels made last year, it was doomed to fail from the start, including Vargas. After getting moved to Kansas City, I think Vargas is in for a solid year. It’s not crazy to say either. In a market and with a team very similar to the Royals, Vargas flourished in Seattle. While his ERA wasn’t the greatest, Vargas was incredibly efficient. He threw for 200 innings twice, and was eight innings short in 2010. I think Vargas goes back to his old form and gives the Royals a solid number two option behind Shields.
One guy the Royals will throw on the back end of their rotation that I think should be fun to watch round into form is Yordano Ventura. I’ve long been a fan of this undersized kid, and after he got his first taste of big league action last year, Ventura gets a chance to show Royals fans the first part of a three part series of a stellar future rotation. Ventura is going to be a stud pitcher, and it will be soon. The question remains though, how soon? Ventura has the stuff to be an effective pitcher right away, but like most pitchers, sometimes learning how to use your stuff at the big league level can take time. I for one look forward to seeing him learn and develop.
I mentioned Ventura is the first of a three part series Royals fans should get a taste of in the next year or two. The second dose of this trio is Kyle Zimmer. Believe it or not, Zimmer hasn’t been pitching that long. It was only until college the University of San Francisco decided Zimmer it would be a better fit for him to pitch than play the outfield. And while he’s got his share of issues, the more experience Zimmer gets, the better he’s going to get. I fully expect Zimmer to join the Royals at some point this season, and while it’s likely to be later, once he gets there, having Zimmer and Ventura on the team at the same time should give Royals fans a ton of hope for the near future.
I won’t get into too deep of details about the third pitcher in this future rotation. But the Royals stole Sean Manaea out of Indiana State in the draft last year. Manaea was projected to be a top 10 pick, if not better in last year’s draft, but because of injury concerns, he fell to the Royals at 34. The Royals found a real gem in Manaea, and if he can stay healthy, he could be a legit top of the rotation starter, and it could be quick.
If the Royals rotation rounds into form this year, and their offense can produce, the Royals are legitimate candidates to be a Wild Card winner and contender.
You made no mention of Guthrie or Chen. Solid starters and the workhorses without injuries in our rotation. Chen came in for the Davis bust and was his usual form....wins. He led our team in wins for a couple years. Hoz is where he needs to be, it's Moose who is gonna have Valencia to worry about. Heaven forbid you say anything about the gold glove Hoz earned, much less anything about our 3rd baseman turned left fielder who earned 3 gold gloves in a row....Alex Gordon. We hope you're right on Omar, but he's been out of spring training with signs of old age catching up to him. Shields is gone after this year, and there's no way Zimmer, Ventura or Duffy take his place. It will take Guthrie to fill that veteran role or we'll need to pick up a free agent as Hoch is not gonna make it back in a starter role. Your assessment was ok, but seemed like you just read some other's reports and tried to put it in your words. Us fans here in Kansas City are more in tune with the pulse of the team. Check in with us before your next assessment.
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