I have decided to give the Royals an All-Star Break grade card. These are just my opinions based on performances, expectations, and observations from watching at least parts of almost all the Royals’ games this season.
Catcher – B-. I was expecting nothing from this position and Matt Treanor and Bryan Pena have played surprisingly well. Neither gives many at bats away and they both battle hard at the plate. Pena has improved visibly on defense and both are stone walls when it comes to blocking the plate. The Royals outfield would not have thrown 17 runners out at home plate without these two doing a terrific job. If Pena continues to improve on defense, I could see him becoming more of an everyday catcher in the future.
1B – C. Kila Ka’aihue gets an F. I wanted the Royals to give him a chance and I saw all I needed to. Eric Hosmer still has a lot of maturing to do as a major leaguer but I am confident he will be a corner piece for this organization for years to come. His defense has not been mistake free but I see a lot I like.
2B – C-. Mike Aviles hit poorly and fielded even worse. I’m not sure how much of a future he has in this organization. I like the grittiness Chris Getz brings. He handles the bat adequately and is one of the better bunters Kansas City has had in several decades. He runs well and I can live with his average. He has been disappointing to me defensively, making errors on some routine plays and he sometimes botches the turn on double plays. I’m not sure if I’m sold on him being the second baseman of the future. If the brass thinks Johnny Giavotella can be a productive, every day starter, then he should be brought up immediately.
SS – A-. After watching Alcides Escobar play the field. I really don’t care what he bats. He is better than I expected with the glove and not as good as I had hoped with the bat. We have seen much improvement at the plate over the last five weeks and I still think he can be productive. He needs to not give away his at bats as often as he does and he needs to not hit as many weak grounders as he does but I see improvement and I love his glove.
3B – C. Mike Aviles and Wilson Betemit were not good defensively. Betemit can rake and I can’t believe there isn’t a market for him, especially from a NL team. Mike Moustakus is the future but he still needs to get through the natural growing pains and make the necessary adjustments he needs to become a legitimate run producer. He is better in the field than I expected but I don’t think any Gold Gloves are headed his way any time soon.
OF – A. I do not need to break down the outfield by position for three different grades. The Royals have three everyday players out there for the first time in years. Alex Gordon looks to have finally turned a corner offensively and has really grown as a left fielder. He leads all AL left fielders in several offensive categories and in fielding percentage and outfield assists. Melky Cabrera has been a stalwart. He has been very steady and consistent at the plate all season and he is a better glove man than I anticipated. His come up with big hits all year. He isn’t the most fleet center fielder around but he is steady and shown a good arm. Jeff Franceour has shown why he was a top prospect a few years ago. He still free swings a bit much but he has been a very good run producer all year. He sets up defensively to throw the ball as well as anyone I’ve watched and his arm is magnificent. He doesn’t break back on balls particularly well but he is an above average right fielder. These three guys have 32 assists so far. ‘Nuff said! Mitch Maier has down whatever the Royals have asked, including sitting on the bench for long stretches at a time. He has hit well with limited chances and has been a perfect 4th outfielder. Franceour and Cabrera are both trade candidates but at their ages, if the front office thinks their first half performances are for real, maybe Kansas City should consider them our outfielders for the future and work at tying them up. If not, we will see Lorenzo Cain and maybe David Lough within the next three weeks.
DH – B-. Billy Butler has been just all right. I expect more from him. I wish he would elevate his swing a bit more. I tire of him driving the ball into the ground as much as he does and he doesn’t seem to be very clutch. I do love the way he takes outside pitches to the opposite field. I have started to read rumors about him sulking about DHing and not playing much in NL parks during interleague play. He does have a legitimate beef but as a team leader, he can’t vocalize it.
Bullpen – A. With a bullpen with six rookies for much of the season thus far, what was expected? Nothing, really. The kids have been brilliant. All bullpens have their bad days but for the most part the bullpen has performed well. Joakim Soria had me worried for a while but appears to have righted the ship. I have no complaints about the pen.
Rotation – F-, F-, F-! Kyle Davies should never be allowed to throw another pitch for the Royals. I am quickly losing faith that Luke Hochevar is more than a talented head case. At times, he has been dominating but he turns right around, often in the next inning, and looks awful. That is his head and not his arm. In my opinion, he has 3 months to fix it or move on. Jeff Francis has been about what I expected. Sean O’Sullivan and Vin Mazarro have been total and utter disasters. Dayton Moore traded legitimate major leaguers for those chumps. Bruce Chen has continued to surprise me and Felipe Paulino looks like he may have a chance to be a decent pitcher. Only time will tell with him. Danny Duffy has shown improvement of late but he really needs to work on his control and consistency. The emphatic grade I gave this bunch is because of the combined awfulness of Davies, Hochevar, O’Sullivan, and Mazurro.
Coaches – B-. Yost has done as well as any manager would do. He does some things I don’t agree with. Some of his line-up changes seem to be arbitrary at times but I doubt anyone else could have done better. I love what Doug Sisson has done with the running game. The Royals have been much more aggressive and haven’t made near as many bone headed base running errors as they have in past seasons. I am starting to lose faith in Bob McClure. He has three months to fix Luke Hochevar. If he can’t, I think he should be replaced.
Front Office – C. It is hard for me to continue to trust Dayton Moore as long as Kyle Davies is on this roster. I just can’t. He finally made the right signings with Frenchy and Melky, plus bringing in Francis and bringing back Chen have been decent decisions. I think Escobar was worth Greinke by himself, and if Cain and Jake Odorizzi pan out, that will have been a great trade. Going into the season with Mike Aviles as the starting third baseman was a big mistake, though. Moore does deserve credit, though, for Hoss and Moose, plus all those young guns in the bullpen.
Overall – B-. This may have been the hardest grade to assign. How can I give the Royals a B- with the record? Well, what did you expect of this team? They are right where I expected them to be. I hoped they would be improved, and they are, every where but the starting rotation, which may be even worse than anticipated. The offense, defense, base running, and bullpen are all better than I thought. Only the rotation has been terrible.
All of this has been fun but it means nothing. I just hope the right moves are made to make this team a much better team in 2012.
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