Royals Projections: The Infield part 1

A quick look at the Royals infield and some of us may get that nauseous feeling...you know...that feeling you get when you jump out of an airplane and realize you forgot to pack your parachute. Maybe you look at the Royals infield and you get a shot of hope...yes, we are all too familiar.

If you followed my first post on catchers here, you see I am projecting the statistics of Royals players. The projection is not bias in any way. I then take my projection, Bill James projection and the Marcel projection and average them out to give a nice round view (and quite argumentative), of what we can expect out of the Royals.

This post covers 1st and 2nd base...

We will start with 1B/DH. Unless one or both of them get hurt, Billy Butler and Kila Ka'aihue will fill these positions for most of the year. We may see Eric Hosmer sometime in September. But for the most part, I envision BB and KK battling out who's gonna play 1st while the other is the DH.

1B/DH  Billy Butler

Easily the best hitter on the team, Billy is still young and still maturing. He has been a doubles machine, and I think that will continue. His power potential will continue to come through line drives to the gaps, and his average will stay high because of it. He's going to make contact and because of his speed, he's going to hit into a lot of double plays. We can argue all day where he is best suited in the lineup, but no matter what, he should get plenty of chances for RBI's. Billy is a hard worker, and will continue to polish his craft. His defense is slowly getting better...like molasses on a cold day...which brings me to his speed. Easily his biggest fault, Billy ain't no burner. Hence, the double plays and one of the reasons the Royals were a station-to-station team last year base running. You don't want him batting in front of a Jarrod Dyson, clogging up the base paths.

                          PA          BA          OBP          SLG          HR          SB

my projections:     600       .313        .376          .483            17           1

Bill James            653       .307        .377          .476            18           0

Marcel                 606        .302       .366          .460            15           2

TOTAL (avg)         620        .307       .373          .473            17           1

Pretty even all the way down. At least we know what we are getting with BB. Hopefully, he stays healthy.

1B/DH Kila Ka'aihue

Everyone who has screamed for the Royals to give Kila his chance can now sit back and watch their dreams come true, or half true...or...He's gotta be better than Jose Guillen, right? All those that think Kila's bat isn't quick enough, or that he won't be able to adjust fast enough, or he's nothing but a 4A player...we will know more by the end of this season, won't we? Barring injury, we should, and I'm hoping for the best.

                          PA          BA          OBP          SLG          HR          SB

my projections:     540       .266        .365           .407           19            1

Bill James             550      .254        .375            .451           22           1

Marcel                  303       .246        .325           .407           10            3

TOTAL (avg)          464       .255        .355           .422           17            2

2B Chris Getz

Talk about a sophomore slump. Chris was an exciting rookie and a hopeful bright spot for the Chicago White Sox. Then the Sox traded him and Josh Fields for some guy named Teahan. Everything about his second year playing and first with the Royals could be summed up with one word..."BLEH!!" He needs to improve on so much to even have a chance to remain on the team. Mike Aviles is going to get pushed out of third when Moose comes up, and he would love the full time gig at second. Chris has to step up or he's done. I wonder how much opportunity Yost and Dayton are willing to give him. Are we talking like "Alex Gordon" type of opportunity or "Kila Ka'aihue". What does he bring to the table? Chris has speed and defense. Which means he's cheap, and very......how to say......Walmart.

                         PA          BA          OBP          SLG          HR          SB

my projections:   350        .250         .314          .315           0             25

Bill James           262       .264         .333          .339           2             13

Marcel                366        .255         .319         .319            3             18

TOTAL (avg)        326        .256         .322         .331            2             19

It looks like everyone agrees that he will not get as many plate appearances as an everyday player should. Injury? Replacement?  

Next up, the rest of the infield.....