What should the Royals do at Second Base?

After the expected non-tender of Chris Getz, the Royals look to move on to a new second baseman in 2014. As of right now, the Royals have Emilio Bonifacio, Johnny Giovatella, and Christian Colon as guys who you could argue as major league players who could conceivably man the position in 2014. The other option would be to find a new player in free agency or via trade. Unfortunately, we won’t be seeing David Glass shelling out $240 million for Cano, which is err, surprising.

What would be the best avenue for the Royals to take? I don’t know, but let’s dig a little deeper on some of the options they have. Keep in mind I am considering Kansas City as a team that wants to be a World Series contender in 2014 within the limitations of their payroll. Given that they seem willing to give Carlos Beltran a 3yr/ 48 million dollar contract (which may or may not be true) I will at the very least assume they are willing to sign a mid-level free agent or two during this offseason.

1. Trust Emilio Bonifacio: I liked the move to acquire Bonifacio last season, as he has shown the ability to help major league teams due to his flexibility and speed. While there is little defensive value from Bonifacio at short or in center field, defensive metrics seem to like him at 2B, 3B or a corner outfield spot. His offense is not great, with his .279 wOBA last season, though he does switch hit. He is basically a no power speedster with below average on base skills. Fangraphs put him at 0.6 WAR in 420 at bats. For a playoff contender Bonifacio is a solid reserve and a bad starter, and I would guess that is how the Royals see him also.

2. Give Giavotella another chance: I am going ahead and discarding Giavotella as a realistic alternative. He was a fan favorite a few years ago as a no defense all hit second baseman, but he just simply hasn’t hit and there is no way to trust him as second division starter in the major leagues. He is a nice organization depth piece that can play in the case of an injury; but his clock is ticking to show something before he is not even a consideration to keep on a 40 man roster.

3. Roll the dice with Christian Colon: It seems to me that I like Colon more than most. The shine has worn off, as the former top prospect has yet to make a single at bat in the major leagues, and next year will be his age 25 season. That being said, he does look to have a skillset that would make him a viable bench bat in the major leagues in 2014. He can back-up at shortstop and second base with a decent enough glove and a decent hit tool. Last season he had a .325 wOBA in AAA which included 12 home runs and an impressive 9.9% K rate.

We know that the Royals do love them some low strikeout players and Colon seems to fill a hole in their 25 man roster as back up middle infielder. Like Bonifacio, though, his value is better served with limited at-bats, and the consistent rule applies that a playoff team can’t trust an average prospect with no major league experience to start for them in 2014. In my opinion, the Royals will be looking to add someone outside the organization to start at second in 2014.

4. Sign Omar Infante: Omar Infante was good last year. In fact, he’s been a valuable player for the last four years. He is a plus fielder and a plus at the plate, compiling 3.1 WAR in 2013 according to Fangraphs. The problem with Infante is price. The Yankees have been said to already have a contract offer on the table and it looks like he could demand a contract similar to the one Jhonny Peralta received earlier this offseason. This seems a little out of the Royals price range.

5. Trade for Brandon Phillips: Brandon Phillips generally gets called overrated by SABR folks but I think that his large RBI totals and mainstream media love makes people forget that Phillips is a very good player from an analytical standpoint also, even if he has declined each of the last two years. 2013 was the first year since 2006 that Phillips did not have a WAR over 3.0. Even banged up, he played in 151 games last year, and has hit 18 home runs for the past four seasons, all but guaranteeing we will see the same total in 2014. His offense has dropped significantly from his monster 2011 season, seeing his wOBA drop to .307 and an ever increasing K%.

Phillips has 4 years and 50 million dollars left on his contract. It would probably take some combination of outfielder/ prospect and relief arm to acquire Phillips, with the Reds conceivably eating somewhere between 10-20 million dollars of his contract. I was hypothesizing a Cain for Phillips swap or maybe a Dyson/ Crow for Phillips swap. This would give the Royals Phillips around the same price Infante will get this offseason, but with an extra fourth year on his contract.

The Reds seem to be wavering on whether or not they actually want to trade Phillips, but my guess is that they would have no problem seeing him go for the right price. While this certainly should be a consideration for the Royals, having to deal pieces for an arguably overpaid veteran on the decline could work out very poorly for them moving forward.

6. Sign Mark Ellis: This is one of my two favorite options for the Royals. Mark Ellis had his 5.75 million dollar option declined by the Dodgers, which seems pretty backwards to me since they were willing to shell out $10 million to Brian Wilson, but I guess Cuban defector Alex Guerrero makes Ellis as expendable. Ellis compiled 433 at bats last year and contributed 1.8 WAR. He has been an elite fielder his entire career and while this skill has declined over time, there is no reason to expect his won’t be the case moving forward.

Ellis isn’t a complete loss at the plate, either, as a guy who does a little but not much of everything. He had an OPS of just .674 and a wOBA of .300 last year. But that is not why you are signing Mark Ellis. I think the Royals could easily lure Ellis to KC given the playing time he could receive. I would have no problem giving him a multi-year deal worth 4-5 million per year to obtain him. That would be a huge upgrade over last year for a fraction of the cost it would take to get a slightly better player in Infante or Phillips. The Royals look to agree with me, as it looks like themselves along with the Dodgers and Rays have already expressed interest in the veteran according to Ken Rosenthal.

7. Trade for Nick Franklin: The Mariners are weird. Not only are they weird but they also just signed Robinson Cano to a reported 10 year, 240 million dollar contract, and now have a bit of a middle infield logjam with both Brad Miller and Nick Franklin already on the roster. After years of knowing that Franklin would have to move off of short, they finally did so once he reached the major league level in 2013, and he probably projects as an average at best second baseman defensively. He does have several years of control being that he didn’t get a call to the big leagues until midseason last year.

Franklin’s minor league track record and major league cup of tea suggest that he is going to have problems striking out at the big league level, but he has always shown a very good ability to draw a walk and has also shown a plus hit tool over his minor league career. Franklin did struggle at the major league level, so there is risk here, but there is reason to believe he will improve given what the scouts have said about him, along with the numbers he has put up.

Again, and I can’t stress this enough, the Mariners are weird. It is hard to say what they would want in return for a trade. It does seem like a position of weakness for the Mariners (the bullpen) is a position of strength for the Royals, who have already expressed some interest in moving a guy like Aaron Crow for the right return.

I think the Mariners are more likely to add Franklin as a piece of a bigger trade (David Price?), but if that doesn’t work out the Royals could make a good trade partner for the talented middle infielder. Of course, there are other options out there, but I think these are all realistic options as to what we could see the Royals front office doing.

The market on Mark Ellis seems relatively thin, so unless the Dodgers get scared of their newly acquired Cuban defector playing second every day and offer Ellis an overpay of a contract (which is realistic), I think the Royals could be a prime candidate to acquire him. He wouldn’t be as big of a splash as other free agent/ trade options, but he is a solid major league starter that would allow the Royals to put middle infielders they have in the bench roles they should probably be in.

A "Nice" Platoon

According to Ned Yost, with the Royals latest acquisition the Royals will have a nice platoon at second base. Let's take a quick second to take a look at what a platoon of Chris Getz and Jamey Carroll might bring to the table for the remainder of the season.

So far in 2013, the Royals have faced a left handed starter in 29.5% of their games. If this holds and the Royals go with a true platoon over the remainder of the schedule this leaves 14 starts versus lefties and 33 versus right handers. So far Royals hitters are averaging 4.17 plate appearances per contest. Obviously, this number would be smaller if the Royals new monster platoon hits 8th or 9th, but let's leave it at this. We all know that Yost is going to feature this platoon at the top of the order on occasion.

Using Carroll and Getz's 2013 numbers, here is our breakdown:

• Getz in 138 plate appearances versus righties .189/.261/.270
• Carroll in 59 plate appearances versus lefties .326/.370/.372
• Platoon of Carroll and Getz in 197 plate appearances .231/.294/.302

Basically, a platoon of Chris Getz and Jamey Carroll will provide the Royals with an almost nonexistent upgrade at second base assuming their 2013 stats hold true. On the season, Royals second basemen are hitting .228/.277/.299, so a platoon would only add about .020 points to the OPS. Basically, despite having found a nice platoon half against lefties, the line is dragged down by 70% of the plate appearances going to Chris Getz, who is actually slightly worse against right handed pitching than southpaws.

Small sample? Yes. Let's conduct this same exercise but with career stats. here is what we wind up with...

• Getz in 138 plate appearances versus righties .246/.303/.310
• Carroll in 59 plate appearances versus lefties .296/.361/.371
• Platoon of Carroll and Getz in 197 plate appearances .261/.320/.328

Basically, if Getz and Carroll can perform at their career levels, the platoon offers a .072 OPS upgrade for the remainder of the season. This isn't bad, but it is reliant on Chris Getz getting back to his paltry career levels. Either way, the Royals would be much better served if they could find a more quality right handed hitting half of the platoon. 

It is too bad there isn't one lying in the system some... wait a second... I think I just found one. It just fell out of the second baseman tree. 

Over the past three seasons, Irving Falu has hit .302/.360/.407 against minor league right handers. In his brief Major League stint he has hit .322/.355/.441 against them. Obviously, Irving Falue isn't a .322 hitter in the Majors. He probably isn't even a .302 hitter. All he really needs to do is get on base more than 31 or 32% of the time and he would be a better platoon partner than Chris Getz.

I didn't realize it at the time of the acquisition, but Jamey Carroll's platoon splits can make him a piece with marginal value. This isn't an indictment, as his ability against left handed pitchers is better than anyone alternative. What the Royals should be doing is instead of simply accepting the minor upgrade and pairing him with Getz, they should be seeking out a platoon partner. At least 30% of a second baseman is more than the Royals did have.

Giavotella Optioned to Omaha

Just a little before 11 this morning, it was announced that the Royals optioned 2B candidate Johnny Giavotella to Omaha.  In 21 games during Spring Training, Giavotella hit a meager .267 with 1 HR and 11 RBI, collecting 12 hits in 45 at-bats, only 3 of which were XBH.

The other candidate, Chris Getz, pretty much sealed the deal at second base.  He is currently hitting .372 with 16 hits in 43 at bats, adding a HR and 6 RBI.  Comparing the two infielders, there is one difference that sets apart Getz from Gio: Getz has 4 BB and only 5 SO during the Spring, while Gio hasn't taken a walk and has struck out 8 times.

Johnny simply hasn't had the best of luck behind him the past 2 seasons in Kansas City.  His average line is .242/.271/.340.  I'm still a Giavotella fan, I always have been.  It was fun watching him rise up the minor league ladder, but since coming up to the big show, he hasn't given us much to cheer for.  He could very well be the "Kila Ka'aihue" of second base, meaning he's definitely proved himself in Omaha, hitting .338 in 2011 and hitting .323 last season, but those numbers significantly took a plunge upon arrival in Kansas City.  I think it's only fair right now to say he's a Quadruple-A player because..that's all he has proven to be.

I haven't given up hope yet.  He's still 25.  Hey, Alex Gordon was sent down to Omaha to figure it out and look what happened.  But how many times will it take Johnny?  Hopefully it's in the near future, otherwise he's going to be out of the mix sooner than he thinks.

The Future of Second Base

When the Royals selected Christian Colon with the fourth overall pick of the 2010 Amateur Draft, it looked as though they had filled the hole that was shortstop of the future. Several months later the Royals netted Alcides Escobar in the Zack Greinke trade and it appeared that Colon would eventually shift to second and the Royals infield would be set.

But then Colon struggled. In his first full season of professional baseball he hit just .257/.325/.342 in the hitter's paradise known as Arvest Ballpark. Meanwhile, fellow second base prospect Johnny Giavotella was doing his best to ensure that he would not be overlooked. One year after hitting .322/.395/.460, Giavotella blistered the Pacific Coast League by hitting .338/.390/.481. Entering 2012, it appeared that the Royals second baseman of the future wasn't Colon, but instead Giavotella, at least in the short term.

However, Giavotella played poorly in Spring Training, and while his counterpart Chris Getz didn't play much better he did enough to win the job. Giavotella responded by getting off to a slow start in Omaha, and then eventually heating up and raising his line to .331/.408/.504.

Down in Northwest Arkansas, Colon has also been doing his best to raise his stock. So far in 2012, Colon is hitting .311/.383/.449. Many believe Colon is finally getting his feet under him in professional baseball. Although, I should note that his 2012 line drive percentage of 14.6% is lower than his 2011 mark of 16.3%. With his 2012 success, it seems that Colon has re-positioned himself as Kansas City's long term answer.

As for the short term, the Royals have filled the position with a platoon of the aforementioned Giavotella and minor league warrior Irving Falu. Falu, who boasts a career minor league OPS of .694, is off to a fast start in Kansas City hitting .359.

Falu is an excellent story and it is hard to fault the Royals for playing the hot hand. I also think that Falu could wind up being a valuable asset as a cheap utility options for the next several seasons. Thanks to his defensive versatility, contact skills, and cost that's a valuable asset. However, I don't see why the Royals would call up Giavotella to platoon and pinch hit.

At this point, I get the vibe that Kansas City doesn't view Giavotella as a regular. Look at how the Royals have developed their prospects, the guys they view as long term staples of the ball club. They have repeatedly made it clear that you don't bring up prospects to bat sparingly. But yet all of the sudden they revert to the Justin Huber style of development for Johnny Giavotella? I have a hard time buying that.

I hope I'm wrong. The guy has already proven himself repeatedly in AAA. Maybe the organization doesn't see value in him playing everyday there anymore, but are you really giving him the best opportunity to succeed by giving him sparse at bats? Keep Irving Falu at utility, like I said he has value there.

Play Giavotella everyday. If you do so he'll have at least a season to establish some value. If Colon is knocking on the door, you have a good problem on your hands and have created a commodity. But don't treat Giavotella and Falu as placeholders, there's no benefit in that in the short or the long term.

Royals Call up Giavotella, Why?

So Giavotella is back in Kansas City. At first, I was thrilled to hear the news, but then on second thought it didn't make sense. Yes, Giavotella was killing it in Omaha. Yes, Giavotella should have been the starter at second from day 1. But with Getz performing why make the move now?

It just doesn't make sense. Are the Royals going to platoon Giavotella and Getz? If so, I'm not a fan. I don't think that is the ideal way to break a guy like Giavotella into the Majors. Don't get me wrong I don't believe in any way I am more knowledgeable at player development than the Royals front office. But I am left wondering what the benefit is for bringing Giavotella up right now. The timing is strange.

There's no way Giavotella is all of the sudden going to start over Chris Getz and at the moment I don't believe he should. At the risk of ostracizing myself from the Royals blogosphere, I think that Chris Getz deserves to hang on to the starting job at least a little longer. His strong start is very likely a small sample size error. However, he clearly did adjust his stance at the plate and in 2012 has posted a LD% of 33.9. Now I don't expect Getz to continue at that pace but if he can even come close to that his numbers are sustainable.

I'm a huge Johnny Giavotella fan, but if you were told the over/under for his 2012 OPS was .805, I think most of us would have taken the under. Well right now that's the OPS Chris Getz has posted. While I think Chris Getz's defense is a bit overrated it is pretty clear that he has superior range to Giavotella and that it is at least average. So if Getz can continue to hit as he has, and play the defense he has proven to be capable of, how good would Giavotella have to be to be more valuable? Is it realistic for Giavotella to hit that well?

I'm not suggesting that Getz has now found a power stroke and it is here to stay, but I'm merely saying at the moment it is clear the Royals won't be handing Giavotella the starting gig (as they shouldn't). So if the Royals aren't bringing Giavotella up to start, why is he in Kansas City?

This Just Isn't Working

I'm a huge Johnny Giavotella fan. However, when the Royals elected to option him to Triple-A this spring I understood the rationale of their decision. Entering camp Giavotella was in a competition with Chris Getz to win the second base job. At the time of the promotion, Chris Getz had outperformed Giavotella.

One tweeter commented that maybe Giavotella should already have been given the job. I can't disagree with this and had he already been given the job, like Moustakas, it would have made me outraged should the Royals have sent him down. Instead two players were competing for a spot, and Chris Getz performed better. I could understand why the team elected to open the season with Chris Getz at second. Unfortunately, one week into the season Chris Getz isn't our second baseman either.

We all hated the Yuniesky Betancourt acquisition. Even the defendants of the signing made comments like "well he's just a utility guy," and "he's only going to get 250 at bats." Let me tell you now, when your primary defense of an acquisition is the fact the guy won't play much, you shouldn't be defending the acquisition.

Robert Ford, whose opinion I respect very much, repeatedly defended the Betancourt acquisition and commented how much better he was at second base and how there was no way he would open the season as the regular second baseman. Seven games into the season, and Yuniesky Betancourt has started more games at second than any other Royal.

Granted, Betancourt is off to a nice start with the bat. He's hitting .357, but has already emphatically shown that he is in fact no better at short stop than he was at second base. Let me just be blunt, I believed that Betancourt would be solid defensively at second base. I was wrong. 


If Betancourt continues to hit .350, I'll put up with his defensive shortcomings. But if Betancourt settles back into his career averages, he'll be hurting this team twofold. When Chris Getz becomes your better option at second, you don't belong on the field. However, at least Getz could help the pitching staff with his glove. (Of course, the ideal solution would be to admit the mistake and recall Johnny Giavotella from Omaha.)

I still think Betancourt could still be a decent piece in the role the Royals allegedly signed him for. As a utility infielder he could back up every spot on the infield and provide some pop. However, as a starter we know what Betancourt brings to the table, do we really want to put ourselves through that again?

Getz Drives the Ball with Authority

"Getz is showing, at least in the early days of camp, an improved ability to drive the ball." -Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. You can read the full article here. 

I wonder if this is Dutton's opinion or the sentiment of the organization. Either way we are about a week into camp. Getz hasn't even taking a Spring Training at bat and is taking his swings in the Arizona air. My guess is that at age 28, Chris Getz hasn't developed a new found gap power stroke.

I continue to believe that while the organization bills Giavotella as the favorite for the starting second base job, the pressure is actually on him to win the position. If both players struggle, Getz opens the season as the second baseman. If Getz does drive some doubles in the Cactus League and hits as well as Giavotella, then Gio will open in Omaha.

Let's just hope that if Getz does knock the ball around a bit this Spring, the Royals don't forget the density of the Arizona air.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/27/3455700/giavotella-favored-over-getz-to.html#storylink=cpy

Giavotella Undergoes Surgery

"I had arthroscopic surgery to repair a small tear in the labrum of my hip.. bothered me during the season so glad I made it to the offseason." -Johnny Giavotella

Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star reports that the surgery will keep Giavotella out of action for 10-12, but he should be back in plenty of time for Spring Training.

Personally, I don't think I am alone in having had no idea that Giavotella was playing through an injury during the closing weeks of the season. However, it could account for at least part of his late season struggles. After all hip injuries can play a critical role in affecting a player's swing. When the goal is as difficult to square up a round ball with a round bat, even small affects can cause enormous results.

Giavotella of course struggled at the plate for most of his time in Kansas City. I am not suggesting here that this was solely because of a hip injury, although adjusting to Major League pitchers is already an extremely difficult task even when the player is totally healthy, let alone when he is suffering from an ailing hip injury.

Truth is Giavotella probably just sealed Chris Getz' fate. Everyone knows how gritty a player has to be to play through pain. Jason Kendall would be proud of Giavotella's late season accomplishment. If Chris Getz' can't lay claim for being the gritty player what does he have left?

For those of us that have ever watched Giavotella over an extended amount of time, this doesn't come as a shock. For a guy that plays the game as hard as he does injuries are going to happen. Also, if there is a guy that is going to not only fight through an injury, but also make sure that the general public doesn't find out, it would be Giavotella.

The guy is an absolute gamer. I am sure he was well aware of the opportunity that presented itself this summer for him. I respect that he was unwilling to take a seat in order to fix an ailing injury. It goes without being said that Yost would have loved the opportunity to sit him more in favor of getting Getz a few more at bats.

I don't want to overemphasize or read to much into this injury, but when it comes to Giavotella it just reinforces my strong opinion of Giavotella's intangibles. Obviously I can't know how much of a factor it played into his success (or lack there of) at the big league level, but I do believe the second base job is as of now his to lose.

Front Office Leak? Royals Interested in Fielder

About 4 hours ago Royals Review's Jack Marsh published this little bit of whatever you want to call it:

"My friend, whose father may or may not be in the Royals FO (He has oddly hinted at it before), suggested to me a very strange idea for the Royals off-season. He suggested that the Royals may end up targeting Prince Fielder and trading Billy Butler and Chris Getz for a second baseman, as well as addressing their pitching needs this off-season. I thought he was messing with me at first, but he seemed to act like this was some sort of official info from the Royals FO. When I told him that the Royals must really expect to contend in 2012 if this is the case, and that I wasn't surprised that the FO didn't let this bit of info out, he says: "Why would the Royals FO leak this? That would be a terrible publicity issue." I then asked him if he or if any of his friends or family members was connected to the FO, he said: "Possibly". So, Prince Fielder. If this is actually happening, then, whoa. "

I'm sure that a certain group of Royals fans will take this bit of information and run with it, but there are definitely a few holes in this story.

Primarily though if the Royals needed a second baseman why would they trade Billy Butler and Chris Getz for him? If you were going to acquire a second baseman for these guys they better be ELITE. Let me rephrase that if you were going to trade Butler for a second baseman he better be elite.

Chris Getz presence in this quotation only hurts the validity of the entire thing. This reminds me so much of classic message board material, if we trade the scrap with player x, we can get player y because we have to fill this position! Just stop.

If I squint I could see a scenario where the Royals use Butler as trade bait and then make a move for a new designated hitter. But if that was the case Butler would have to be moved for starting pitching. If he was moved for something else and Fielder was signed to DH, how would the Royals fill their biggest offseason need? There wouldn't be any much money left for free agents, and you will have already traded the most logical commodity.

I'm not saying that a series of moves like this is impossible. I'd also hope that the Royals are discussing scenarios such as this considering their cash position. However, this looks to much like someone fabricating a story, pretending to know someone to give it validity just to drum up some excitement.

In my next post I plan on talking about how my uncle, who may or may not be named Dayton Moore, mentioned to me that the Royals were toying with the idea of luring George Brett from retirement.

What are we waiting for?

Bob Dutton made some noise on the Royals blogosphere and twitterverse last night when he released a story stating that the "goal" of Dayton Moore and the front office was to get Johnny Giavotella 100-150 Major League at bats this season.

So what would it take for the Royals to meet that goal? Well there are twenty-five games in September and considering that Yost is planning on starting Giavotella everyday he could get close to the lower end of that goal should he be called up on September 1.

More likely though Giavotella will need to be called up in mid-August and handed the everyday duty the rest of the season in order to comfortably fall into that 100-150 at bat range. So my question is this: if you are already virtually naming him the starter for the last month or month and a half of the season why not bring him up now?

Perhaps, there are service time issues that the Royals can benefit from should they wait until mid-August? Well, unless the Royals wait until several weeks into the 2012 season Giavotella will be a free agent after the 2017 season. The same time as Moustakas, Hosmer, Duffy, and the bevy of relievers. Also, the Royals are way past the Super Two cutoff so that is no concern either. So obviously service time isn't the reason he is still in Omaha.

I guess maybe the Royals feel like he isn't quite Major League ready. That would be a great reason for Giavotella to still be in Omaha, except for it is obviously not true. In fact Giavotella has proven himself more in Omaha than any rookie on the Major League roster not named Eric Hosmer.

Gio currently is hitting .339/.391/.482 in Omaha and since the all star break his line has been .392/.427/.581. In the last two months he has posted an OPS over 1.000. No, it is pretty clear the bat is Major League ready. So that leaves just one reason why Giavotella isn't in the Majors.

Obviously Giavotella is blocked by a superior player. Wait... What? The player blocking Giavotella is Chris Getz? The guy that has set a record for Royals at bats without a home run? The guy that is hitting .259/.317/.288 for the season?

So obviously there is no good reason for Giavotella still being in Triple-A. My guess is that one more cold streak by Getz will result in a move. Obviously the Royals would like to try and flip Getz for something useful, but I can't see why a team would give anything up for him.

Getz does have options remaining, but he will be arbitration eligible for the first time this winter making him more expensive. (Although I can't imagine him making seven figures.) He could go back to Omaha and be a back up guy should Giavotella fail miserably or get hurt in 2012. This is the solution I would take with Getz. Control inventory and take advantage of depth.

The Royals have already made it clear that they want Giavotella to be the starter for at least the final month of the season. So why wait? I realize that if they bring him up now they will probably net him close to 200 Major League at bats. But seriously, since when is it bad to exceed a goal? Giavotella has warranted a promtoion and is ready to go. Give him the rest of the at bats as the starting second sacker for the rest of the season and he should be ready to hit the ground running in 2012.

Giavotella isn't the only player deserving of a Major League spot. There is also the issue for Lorenzo Cain. Considering the current shape of the roster I'd prefer to keep Cain in Omaha for the next month allowing him to play everyday. Once the Omaha season ends bring him up and do your best to rotate him in and out of the lineup.

Also deserving are David Lough and Clint Robinson are also on the 40 man roster. Both have also done plenty to warrant promotions in September. There won't be enough playing time to go around to truly benefit them from a skills development standpoint. But I'd like to see them both called up to give them a taste of the Big Leagues, while rewarding them for their hard work and quality performances over the past few seasons.

Salvador Perez and Kelvin Herrera also have gotten call ups to the Triple-A recently. Both are Rule 5 eligible this winter so, should an opportunity present itself, both should be given September call ups as well. This could give them each about five weeks of playing time in Omaha that would include a playoff run (hopefully). Plus a few weeks in the Majors allowing them an opportunity to experience what Major League life is like.

The Royals are the youngest team in the Majors. But don't think the youth movement is done. We can only hope that Moustakas and Hosmer were the initial outburst from a consistent pipeline of talent.

Halfway There. Living on a Prayer.

Just like that we are halfway through the Major League baseball season. Of course most people split the season into two halfs around the all star break, but for the purpose of this post we are going to use the 81 game mark. The reason? All we have to do is multiply by two and we can see some projected totals for Royal players.

Let's start with the catchers. Brayan Pena is on pace for 230 at bats this season, a number that would shatter his previous career high of 165. Of course that number could really jump should the Royals trade Matt Traenor and allow Pena to catch full time in the second half of the season.

Oh and speaking of Matt Treanor. Have you noticed how much he is walking this year? He is currently on pace for 58 walks, while playing in 104 games. He also has an on base percentage of .354. Those 58 walks would be a career high, in fact he has already set a career high when he walked for the 23rd time this season. Matt has also never played more than eighty-two games in a single season.

Over at first base Kila Ka'aihue likely won't be given an opportunity to double his numbers, and since Eric Hosmer didn't play the entire first half it renders this drill pointless for him as well so we'll move on to the "other firstbaseman" Billy Butler.

Butler is currently on pace for some monster numbers for a middle of the order hitter with 12 home runs and 68 rbi. These would be his lowest totals since his rookie season when he posted 11-55 in just 124 games. I should also add that he is on pace for 92 walks which would be the highest single season mark for a Royal since 1989 when Kevin Seitzer walked 102 times and it would shatter the previous Dayton Moore era record of 69 that Butler set in 2010.

Of course over at second base Chris Getz hot streak has really strengthened his projected numbers for the year. Getz who is batting .343 in his last 19 games is now on pace to get 128 hits which would be a career high, while stealing 28 bases which would also be a career high.

When we shift to the other side of the bag we find another middle infielder whose recent hot streak has moved his numbers out of abysmal territory. Alcides Escobar is also on pace for a few career highs: hits (140), doubles (24), rbi (42), and steals (24).

Wilson Betemit playing in part time duty once again, is on pace for 30 doubles and the highest single season WAR of his career at 1.8. His home run power has taken a severe drop and he is only on pace for 4 home runs this season, 9 less than last season despite being on pace for 100 more at bats.

Melky Cabrera is having more pop in his bat this season than any other and if he continues at his current pace will post career highs in home runs (18), doubles (36), and slugging percentage (.428). Despite playing the worst defense of his career he is still on pace for a career high 2.2 WAR.

Jeff Francoeur of course is doing exactly what Dayton Moore brough him in to do. Currently he projects to hit 22 homers, the highest total since his sophomore season when he hit 29. He also figures to finish with 94 rbis and 36 doubles. Not to mention that he would finish with a career high 26 steals. his previous high was 8. He is also on pace for 38 walks, just 5 more than his 162 game average.

Mitch Maier has starred in bench duty. He is having the best season of his career based on the stats that start with a decimal point. However, he is also only on pace for 86 at bats which would be the lowest figure for his career when you remove his 13 at bat 2006 season.

Finally we get to Alex Gordon whose season is easily the best of his career. He is on pace for 186 hits and while he has totally change his approach at the plate, he is also on pace to tie his career high in walks at 66. He also projects to hit 48 doubles, 8 triples, 18 home runs, and score 90 runs. All of these would be career highs. He projects to post a 5.6 WAR.

On the pitching side of things it has been much more grim. Hochevar may be having the best season of his young career. He is on pace to wipe out his previous 0.5 WAR when he finished the year with a 0.6 mark. He is on pace to post career high marks in walks and home runs allowed, while only tying his career high mark in strikeouts. He has been an innings eater (on pace for 210 innings) which is something that shouldn't be taken forgranted with the young pen.

Jeff Francis's era of 4.79 is in line with his career figure of 4.77. He is on pace to eclipse the 200 inning mark for the first time since 2007. But his strikeouts per 9 innings are down to 4.0, from his previous career low of 5.8.

Kyle Davies continues to epically suck. While Bruce Chen continues to drink from the fountain of youth. His 3.46 era would be his best mark since 2004 when he pitched in 8 games for the Baltimore Orioles.

The bullpen is young and has been very strong. But since most are rookies there isn't much to compare their numbers too, exceopt for the closer Joakim Soria. Soria having the worst year of his career. He is on pace to give up the most home runs and walks in his career while recording the fewest strikeouts despite pitching in the most innings since his rookie season.

As a team the Royals are on pace for 66 wins which would place them right in between the 2009 and 2010 win totals. 696 runs scored the most since Dayton Moore's first full season when the team scored 706 times. Finaly they are on pace for 794 runs allowed the lowest since 2008 when the team gave up 781.

The Take Sign

Last night Yost caused a bit of discussion when he immediately through Eric Hosmer under the bus talking about how he should have known to take on the first pitch in his final at bat. It is true that Hosmer should have known that with Dyson on first, the first pitch should be took in order to get the winning run into scoring position, but I have one question. How long does it take to flash the take sign?

I am not blaming Yost for Hosmer's decision to swing when he clearly shouldn't have, however I do have a problem with Yost immediately putting the entire thing on Hosmer and accepting no responsibility. Isn't it the manager's job to manage?

I mean using the argument of Hosmer's should have known, then why even give signs in certain situations? Seriously, how long does it take to give the rookie the take sign? You know just to be sure that the ROOKIE is on the right page and understands.

I just don't buy into the argument that because Hosmer should have known, there is no reason to tell him. I think it is lazy and I think it is a cop out for defenders of Yost and Yost himself. At the very least if you are going to assume the rookie should know and he doesnt, keep the issue internal and use it as a learning tool. Don't immediately put it on the rookie when your job description is to manage the team.

Whether or not it was Hosmer's fault or not, it still wasn't even the first mistake made in the 9th last night. The first came when Chris Getz decided it was a good decision to steal third with two outs. Yes he made it to second. But if you are going to steal third in that situation, you better make it without a throw or at least be there with ease.

Little things ladies and gentlemen. Little things.

Time to get Frustrated?

Here we go again… It is June 20th and once again our beloved Royals find themselves in the cellar of not just the Central but also the entire American League. Of course now is the time for fans to flip out and complain about what little progress this team has made.


Fans have been told wait for next year for too long, and they are beginning to grow tired of it. I don’t blame them. But for those that are suggesting that the Royals could have prevented this in the offseason, they need to stop and consider reason.

You can’t in one breath complain about Lorenzo Cain being blocked in center by a free agent stop gap, and then in the next breath complain that the Royals didn’t sign a player to man second base. You have to chose one way or another or else you are someone who is going to complain regardless.

Either the Royals should have signed the stopgaps and stick with them until the deadline, while they keep the seat warm for the prospects in Omaha. Or the Royals shouldn’t have messed with either. What isn’t fair is to complain about the Royals being in last place because they didn’t sign free agents and then go off and bash the Jeff Francis or Jose Guillen signing.

Obviously there were other guys available this offseason, but there was no reason at all for the Royals to drop boatloads of cash on an aging veteran. Thankfully it seems they have learned from that mistake when they signed Jose Guillen to a three year thirty-six million dollar deal.

People are glad that the Royals aren’t blocking their own prospects, but some are also complaining that they should have added veterans to some of the positions that aren’t playing up to snuff, particularly second base. The thing that has to be remembered is that literally every position on the roster besides catcher could have a prospect emerge as major league ready this season.

No matter where the Royals spent the money they ran the risk of blocking a prospect, unless that money was spent on one or even two year deals for catcher or the rotation. One year deals aren’t the issue here though, because they are so easy to flip at the deadline and they involve very little commitment by the team.

So if fans are wanting the Royals to add more serious players to make them contenders this year, it is just ludicrous to think that it could have been done without shelling out multi-year deals and huge bucks. I mean what pitcher could the Royals have added without doing that? Carl Pavano? I’ll take Jeff Francis and Bruce Chen.

A local radio host openly complained today about how the Royals went into the season with Chris Getz and Mike Aviles competing for the job at second base. First off it didn’t seem that ridiculous in the offseason that one of the two could be a solid contributor. Secondly, Giavotella is waiting in the wings and after tearing through the second half of last season and the Arizona Fall League was knocking at the door. Finally, I question anyone’s baseball understanding if they really believe that the Royals could have became contenders in 2011 if they would have just spent a few million for a second baseman.

The same show host, then went on to talk about the rotation holes and how the Royals should have spent big bucks this offseason in that area. But my question is who should they have signed? What pitcher on the market could the Royals have brought in that could have made them contenders in 2011 and would have fit into their long term plans?

Also, we shouldn’t forget that heading into the season the Royals had four of the top starting pitching prospects in baseball, all of which could have been ready for their debuts within a year’s time. When you add in Aaron Crow and a couple of the lower tier guys, then it is easy to see why the Royals proffered the stop gaps in the rotation for this year anyway.

What the Royals didn’t foresee was Montgomery and Dwyer both struggling immensely and John Lamb having to undergo season ending Tommy John surgery.

It is much wiser for the Royals to wait out this season and feel for what they have before making the moves on the market. Next offseason the Royals will have had another year of evaluating their prospects, some even at the highest level. Not to mention that the starting pitching class for this offseason is much more impressive than last.

The Royals will have money to spend and should they play it right in the offseason, could very easily position themselves as favorites for the AL Central entering 2012. It is frustrating that once again we find ourselves in last place. But sometimes one must take a small step back in order to take a giant leap forward.

Where can we Upgrade?

So with the Royals surprise start, I have began to think about what it means in terms of the prospects. What should the Royals do if they stay in contention? Stick with the Major Leaguers? Promote players that could help now? Trade them? Or not let the state of the Major League team affect the plan?

I don't want to get into that discussion right now, but I do want to think what positions the Royals could upgrade by promotions from within. So let's look at the weaknesses of the Major League roster.

1. Catcher

Unfortunately I see know potential solutions at the catcher position right now. No prospects are going to be ready midseason, although at some point Jason Kendall will return from injury. This would probably mean that Pena is the odd man out and the Royals would lose all offensive potential at the position.

2. First Base

Kila Ka'aihue at this point is not getting it done. Through the first fifteen games he's hitting .174/.304/.283 and with Hosmer tearing it up in Omaha an upgrade is readily available. I believe Ka'aihue will have until early June to get something going, but if he hasn't by then it will likely be Eric Hosmer's time to shine.

3. Second Base

Should Getz falter with the bat second base is another production that could be upgraded as the season progresses. This could occur in one of two ways. The most likely probably involves a Mike Moustakas promotion and Mike Aviles sliding over across the diamond. But the other solution involves the promotion of Johnny Giavotella. Giavotella's defense is much improved and after tearing up both the Texas League and the Arizona Fall League a season ago he is off to a hot start in Omaha.

4. Third Base

In case you haven't heard the Royals have the top third base prospect in all of baseball. He is in triple-A now and a year ago he led minor league baseball in home runs. He also recorded more extra base hits than strikeouts. Mike Moustakas could provide a big boost to the middle of the order should he hit the ground running on his promotion.

5. Centerfield

Right now most fans and Kansas City media treat Melky Cabrerra like he is off to a good start. Personally I'm not a fan of sub .300 on base percentages. Most fans would suggest Lorenzo Cain as an upgrade but I'd also like to throw David Lough's name into the mix. He has a great blend of tools and if he can outproduce Cain over the next couple of months then I'd like to see him granted the first opportunity.

6. Rotation

Here is where the Royals could receive the biggest boost this season. Right now the Royals have three rotation spots that have produced consistently but they could look to bolster the rotation by promoting Mike Montgomery and/or Danny Duffy. If Davies can get it going and be a servicable back end guy then the Royals could add one of the aforementioned prospects and have a decent unit. If they added both and they both perform as they could the rotation could have two of the top young starters in baseball.

The Royals have shocked baseball with their quick start much like they did in 2003. However, unlike that season the Royals could have enough bullets in the minor league gun to reload for a Central title run. Hopefully they can continue to overachieve long enough to find out.