Is this finally the year the Royals become relevant again?
For half a decade or so now we’ve heard about the young talent coming up through the Royals system. We’ve heard that they are finally going to turn the corner. Yet, they haven’t. We’ve seen Zach Greinke come and go, we’ve seen promising spells turn into the same old, same old at Kauffman Stadium, and last season was no different. The Royals went 71-91, their 16th losing season in 17 years. During that spell they have gone a woeful .423 in over 2700 games. Talk about a sustained period of futility. Could things, however, genuinely be about to change?
Youngsters like Hosmer and Moustakas are breaking through and performed admirably last season, while Billy Butler and Alex Gordon are the veterans with pop and Jeff Francouer seems to have re-discovered his ability after a 20 HR season, his first since 2006, although Melky Cabrera was traded for pitching help in Jonathan Sanchez. The pitching staff has some genuine threats too, Joakim Soria and Jonathan Broxton will make a formidable late innings duo, yet there is a lack of genuine Major League talent that could spell another losing season in Kansas City.
IN : Yuniesky Betancourt (INF – Milwaukee), Jonathan Broxton (RP – L.A. Dodgers), Greg Golson (OF – N.Y. Yankees), Juan Gutierrez (RP – Arizona), Tommy Hottovy (RP – Boston), Kevin Kouzmanoff (INF – Colorado), Jose Mijares (RP – Minnesota), Jonathan Sanchez (SP – San Francisco), Ryan Verdugo (RP – San Francisco)
OUT : Melky Cabrera (OF – San Francisco), Jeff Francis (SP – Cincinnati), Jason Kendall (C), Aaron Laffey (RP – Toronto), Yamaico Navarro (INF – Pittsburgh), Robinson Tejeda (RP – Cleveland)
Catchers : Brayan Pena has the most experience following the departure of veteran Jason Kendall. Pena struggled somewhat at the plate last year in his 72 appearances and will be hoping he can sustain health and ability for an entire season. However he is in a real fight with 21 year old phenom Salvador Perez for the starting job. The youngster hit .331 in a 39 game rookie season. Manny Pina is some way behind those two, with just four MLB appearances.
Infielders : The Royals have a great young infield led by second year lefties Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas. Hosmer hit .278 and 19 homers after being called up early in the season, while Moustakas, the 2nd overall pick in the 2007 draft, hit .263 but shared time at third with both Betemit and Aviles, who have left the club. Yuniesky Betancourt returns to Kauffman after a season at the Brewers and will be a super utility back-up. At 30 years old, he is the elder statesman of the infield corps. Alcides Escobar is a speedster and a defensive specialist, while Jonny Giovatella could claim second base ahead of Chris Getz, another super utility veteran who has just two homers in nearly 1000 career at-bats. Clint Robinson is clearly the last man in the pecking order, and has yet to make his major league debut, but having hit .335 and .326 in his last two Minor League seasons, a call-up may not be far away. Kevin Kouzmanoff is a non-roster invitee that can add depth and experience to a young infield.
Outfielders : Alex Gordon returns after a breakout season where he hit .303 and a team high 23 homers. Both stats are career highs and manager Ned Yost will be hoping for a repeat performance. Jeff Francouer had something of a renaissance last year, his first in Kansas City, following an up and down couple of years. The trade of Melky Cabrera means that Lorenzo Cain and Mitch Maier are to fight it out for the remaining outfield spot, though Maier is more likely to be given the role of utility reserve. In fact, Maier is such a utility player that he even pitched a scoreless inning in a game last year against Boston. Cain had just 22 at-bats last year for the Royals, but is a base stealing threat. Diminutive lefty Jarrod Dyson stole eleven bases but had just nine hits last season so could be utilised as a pinch runner and defensive replacement late in games, while David Lough and Derrick Robinson are waiting in the wings. Will Myers is a hot prospect and a non-roster invitee, while Greg Golson is the sole invitee with MLB experience but will struggle to break into a strong outfield.
Designated Hitter : Billy Butler is the star of this team, and will likely be the DH, although he is more than capable of playing first base, the position in which he is officially listed. Entering his fifth season as an everyday player, Butler has missed no more than four games in each of the last three years, batting .303 in that spell.
Starting Pitchers : Not the strongest part of the Royals roster, with veteran Panamanian pitcher Bruce Chen the only starter to record a sub 4.10 ERA last season. Luke Hochevar had a career year but still went only 11-11 with a 4.68 ERA in 31 starts. If he is to fulfil his potential then this year could be a crucial one for the 28 year old. Jonathan Sanchez arrived in a trade from San Francisco, yet is merely more of the same, as his 4.26 career ERA suggests. There will be a fight for the remaining two starting slots, with Felipe Paulino favourite to land one. His 4.11 ERA in 20 starts showed consistency but it was far and away the best year of a career that has seen him go 10-31. Luis Mendoza pitched just two games last year, but a 1.23 ERA will buy him a further look in Spring Training. Although a 27.00 ERA in equally limited time during the previous two seasons suggests an alarming inconsistency at this level. Danny Duffy is another with a genuine chance, but a 5.64 ERA in his rookie year last season clearly needs improving upon. Sean O’Sullivan, Nathan Adcock and the slight Everett Teaford are further down the depth chart and, with an outstanding Spring Training, could give the front office something to think about.
Relief Pitchers : Joakim Soria appears to be holding on to his closers role, despite a poor season by his standards in 2011. Despite recording 28 saves on a losing team, he blew seven saves and recorded a 4.03 ERA that was almost double his career mark. A return to the 1.78 ERA form of the previous season is a must. Jonathan Broxton is the other alternative at closer, having arrived from the Dodgers. The 300lbs righty can be somewhat erratic, but does have 84 career saves. The rest of the bullpen has potential. Tim Collins is a 22 year old coming off a debut 68 appearance season, a team high, where he recorded a 3.63 ERA. He could form a lefty tandem with Jose Mijares, who will be looking to rebound following a poor season with Minnesota. Aaron Crow, Blake Wood, Louis Coleman and Greg Holland are all inexperienced pitchers that had impressive seasons last year and will all be relied on heavily this time round too. Indeed, Crow and Coleman were rookies, whilst Wood and Holland were only second year pitchers themselves. Vin Mazzaro and Kelvin Herrera are in with a shot at the roster despite horrendous campaigns last year, although Mazzaro’s numbers were somewhat inflated by a 14 run, 2.2 inning debacle against Cleveland. New signings Tommy Hottovy, Juan Gutierrez and Ryan Verdugo have outside chances of making the roster, while veteran Zach Miner is a non-roster invitee. Jeremy Jeffress has MLB experience and will be hoping to prove his worth during March.
PREDICTION : Clearly the key issue with the Royals is pitching. Chen had a career year, but can he repeat? The rest of the rotation is pretty poor and the bullpen, other than the 8th and 9th inning duo of Soria and Broxton, is young and inexperienced. They have a decent line-up that can score runs, but the worry is that they will give up too many runs on too many occasions to have any kind of shot at the post-season. I see them being the wrong side of .500 again, but think they will finish above the White Sox in fourth place.
