A New Core Emerging:

Kansas City Royals

By: Michael A. Chase Jr.

8/12/2019

       The Kansas City Royals are 5 years removed from their last World Series Championship in 2014. During that magical run the Royals were led by a talented core of players that were drafted and developed within their organization. With names like Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, and Salvador Perez the Royals built a core that brought them great success. The problem is this core over just a couple of seasons quickly disbanded. As players like Hosmer, Cain, and several others were traded, signed with other teams, or suffered major injury. Now the past 2 years have put Kansas City amid a rebuild, leaving fans to wonder who can form the next great Royals core. This piece will look to describe a few players that have a chance to form the next young core Kansas City can build with toward a sustained stretch of success.

            The players that have emerged to possibly form the next core for the Royals provide a glimpse of a brighter future for Kansas City baseball. This group includes Hunter Dozier, Adalberto Mondesi, Bubba Starling, Jorge Soler, Nicky Lopez, and Whit Merrifield.

 This group is interesting because Merrifield and Dozier fall under the late bloomer category as far as their major league careers. Merrifield did not make his major league debut until the 2016 season, his age 26 season. While not becoming an everyday player for Kansas City until the 2017 year, which was his age 27 season. He has since become a staple on their club, putting up great offensive numbers. He displayed versatility offensively, being a .297 career hitter, with decent power, and is a legit stolen base threat. As a defender he can play a bevy of positions giving his manager the option to play him all over the diamond. He can play all four infield spots and all three outfield spots with a career .985 fielding percentage. Merrifield at 30 years old is the oldest position player of this group. He is though in his prime with plenty of productive years left for Kansas City. For Hunter Dozier as a former 2013 first round pick, he took longer than many in the organization expected to make a major league impact. Now he has begun to cement himself in the Royals plan, which seemed questionable during the early years of his career. Dozier this season has taken a huge step in his development. Making the All-Star team, and currently hitting .285, with 22 homers and 66 rbi’s ranking second on the club in all three categories. He has also adjusted well to playing both third base and right field, settling in comfortably at both positions. Dozier after a subpar showing in 2018, hitting just .229 with 11 homers in 102 games has established himself as a solid major leaguer. Now the Royals need both Dozier and Merrifield to lead the Royals next wave.

            Middle infielders Adalberto Mondesi and Nick Lopez are the youngsters Kansas City hopes to anchor their middle infield for years to come. The 24-year Lopez possess great speed and instincts on the bases. While he has potential to be a good average and on base percentage hitter. It has not translated to the big leagues yet shown by his .221 average and .261 on base percentage in 280 at-bats. His minor league numbers show a .296 career average and .378 on-base, with theses stats having improved each season. Proving time is needed for him to adjust to big league pitching. He also plays a solid second base, with his quickness allowing for more expansive range at the position. Lopez with consistent opportunities will grow firmly into a solid major league second baseman. In Mondesi the Royals may have their shortstop for the next 7 to 10 years. He is currently on the injured list, but in 82 games this year he is hitting .266 with 7 homers and 52 rbi’s. He also has 31 stolen bases and 9 triples both numbers tying for the major league lead in those categories. As his speed and power has meshed well and been on full display this season. He does need to get healthy and finish the season strong, but he is on the path to stardom. Both Lopez and Mondesi have the chance to form a speedy middle infield combination. A combo that could also be a two-headed monster at the top of their batting order for the foreseeable future.

            The last two player to mention are the outfielders of this group in Bubba Starling and Jorge Soler. Soler and Starling both fall under the late bloomer category for Kansas City as well. In Soler’s case he never really put it together in his 3 years for the Chicago Cubs. Nor did his first 2 season in Kansas City go well, due a multitude of factors. Now with Soler fully healthy and confident in his game he has blossomed into a legit power threat in the Royals lineup. He has hit 35 homers and has 87 rbi’s so far in 2019. These two-number place him tied for 5th in baseball in homers and 8th in RBI’s. Which is a major jump in production for a player whose previous career high were 10 homers and 47 rbi’s. Thanks to good health and an improved approach at the plate Soler is finally displaying the power potential that made him a wanted international signee. Now at just 27 years old Soler is in the prime of his career and this type of production may just be the beginning of sustained level of excellence for this Outfielder. For Bubba Starling like Hunter Dozier he was a former first round pick that has taken a while to make an impact at the big-league level. Starling who was picked back in 2011, has in 24 games thus far has hit .238 with 2 homers and 7 rbi’s. Not eye-popping numbers, but he has had his moments of brilliance including 3 multi-hit games and 2 in his last 9 games. The Royals will need to be patient with Starling for him to become the solid starter he can be. As his minor league numbers showed it was not until the past 3 years that he began to produce at a high level. Showing the need for Kansas City to stay committed, for him to stick in the majors. Starling and Soler are perfect examples of young players who reward their organization for remaining patient with their development. The Royals hope they will go onto further reap the benefits of these two young men for a long time.

The Kansas Royals certainly have young talent that they can build with to get back to the top of mountain in baseball. It will take further development of these young group along with other young players coming up through the organization to get the Royals rebuild rolling. The Kansas City fanbase must stay patient and believe these young men will be a part of the solution. The good thing is the signs are already showing this season that the Royals rebuild has a decent starting foundation to work with.