Royals Position Players

by Bart41 on Aug 5, 2009 1:28 PM EDT

Since this year is a lost cause, we need to start building next year's team. Really, I believe the question is, Are the "Core Players" good enough?

Just to get the obvious out of the way, the pitching is clearly good enough. A rotation of Meche, Greinke, Banny, Hochevar, and Davies (or other #5) is championship caliber. Soria's a clear top-line closer. The bullpen guys suck this year and really, everyone's expendable and likely to change significantly year over year, so any analysis is just as big a waste as this bullpen is. I believe if you add a couple quality pen arms and if a couple guys turn it around, the pitching doesn't need much more work.

Our offense sucks. This has haunted the Royals since the Dye-Beltran-Damon OF was broken up and we've had a below average offense ever since. Using players currently in our organization here's what a lineup could be next season:

C Pena

1B Butler

2B Callaspo

SS Betancourt

3B Gordon

LF DDJ

RF Teahen

DH Guillen

CF Anderson/Maier

Can the Royals be a winning team with Butler, Gordon, DDJ, and Teahen in the lineup everyday? I don't believe so. Not in the American League. Not when we have to score 4-6 runs a game. Unless this team gets serious about putting premier players at the corner positions, we're in trouble offensively.

The only answer I see is signing a power hitting LF and moving DDJ to CF along with getting serious production from the DH. The last non-laughable everyday DH the Royals have had since Hal McRae was Mike Sweeney in 2005 and Chili Davis in 1997 which in and of itself is laughable. Our history of DH's is pathetic at best. An American League championship level offense cannot have replacement level production out of LF and DH.

DDJ, Gordon, Butler, and Teahen are nice, above-average players, but they can't carry our offense to where we need to go. Even if Gordon and Butler take a step forward into the 20-30 HR level, we're still looking at a below average offense because of the lack of production from LF and DH. If we depend on what we have currently as the cornerstones for next year's lineup, we're in serious trouble again.

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20-30?

He’s got to hit # 2 first. Billy is coming around but Gordon is just taking up space. Put Teahen at third and stop waiting and hoping Gordon will produce

by KCBucksFan on Aug 5, 2009 1:53 PM EDT reply actions

While I agree that we need more pieces,

I have to say there is still a reasonable chance that Butler develops into a perennial 900 OPS guy.

Too optimistic? Well, maybe. I guess I should also point out that if this occurs, it still may be 2011 or 2012 before he really starts to rake.

What’s the reason for my optimism? Twofold: He is 23, and he has an outside chance at hitting 50 doubles this season. I read somewhere (sorry, don’t remember where) that there have been only 7 guys hit 50+ doubles at age 23 or younger, and EVERY ONE of them turned into a hall of famer. Sounds like signature significance, right? Even if he is the worst of this bunch, it surely means he can eventually be a legit #3 or #4 hitter on a good offense, at the least, doesn’t it? I guess the explanation would be that hitting that many doubles at a young age, combined with the fact that most guys that age have not fully matured physically, especially with their power, is a great precursor for some of those doubles to turn into homers.

I would love to see somebody do a study on his doubles this year. What I would be interested to see is theoretical data along the lines of “what would happen if he added 5% more distance to his hits?” Just off the top of my head, it sure seems like he has missed more than a few homers by less than 10 feet, for example. Increasing his distance by a mere 5% would add about 20 feet to a typical double in the gaps, so how much homerun power could he reasonably develop?

Mr Glass, this is a pro sports team, not a retail store - run it like one!

by loyal2sdad on Aug 5, 2009 1:59 PM EDT reply actions

more on Billy

he is on pace for 17 homers and 49 doubles this year. Turn that into 30 homers and 36 doubles eventually, and he gets about a 50 point spike in OPS from that alone. Not too much of a stretch to think that the additional 50 points could come from a combination of increased walks and a small bump in batting average. Seriously, the guy is capable of hitting 310 or 320, instead of the 290ish season he is headed for now.

I was probably more excited about Greinke 4 years ago, despite his troubles than just about any other Royals fan I knew – and I’m almost as excited about Butler, and have been since his debut. It’s just a matter of time before he explodes into a star.

Mr Glass, this is a pro sports team, not a retail store - run it like one!

by loyal2sdad on Aug 5, 2009 2:06 PM EDT up reply actions

I actually agree on Billy...

he could be a big bat. But even if he develops into a Morneau-type hitter, he can’t carry this team out of our offensive morass by himself which was really my point. Even if Billy hits his upside, we’re currently so bad offensively that we’d still need 2 more bats.

by Bart41 on Aug 5, 2009 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions

agreed, and maybe 3 more bats....and some speed

but no more grit, tired of trying to win with grit

soon to change name to, "The Not So Curious Case of Benjamin Bratt"

by MarioVanPeebles Republic of China on Aug 5, 2009 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions

speed=grit

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by Matt Klaassen on Aug 5, 2009 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Billy needs to put down the Baconators

and pick up some weights and work out some more. He is an exciting player to watch as his power develops.

by AxDxMx on Aug 5, 2009 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Totally agree on Billy

I think the kids got a lot of potential and he is going to be what the Royals expected, that is unless this year is just a fluke which I don’t see it being. He got into much better shape and lost some weight and hit the weights and look what it did for him. I’d say he will head into this offseason thinking, holy sh!t, I hit the ball a lot better when I stop eating twinkies and playing xbox and hit the weights, and he’ll just get better. As for his doubles. I see quite a few of those being turned into home runs if he just gets a little more loft on the ball. Billy hits line drives that practically stick into the outfield wall. If he could just get a little more lift in his swing he’s going to be hitting 30 a year without a doubt.

by KCBucksFan on Aug 5, 2009 2:13 PM EDT reply actions