KC Royals - Offseason

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40 Man Roster Review - Jeff Francoeur

In 2008, Jeff Francoeur went from budding superstar to a guy who hit .239/.294/.359. From that point forward, it became something of a running joke that it was only a matter of time before Frenchy became a Kansas City Royal.

When Francoeur actually did re-unite with Dayton Moore prior to the 2011 season (signing for a modest $2.5 million coming off a .249/.300./383 season), the deal was mocked, ridiculed and generally lambasted by pretty much anyone and everyone not getting a paycheck with a big crown in the lefthand corner. This was, as many said, just another sign that the Royals don’t really get it. For the previous three years, Francoeur had been a cumulative +0.1 WAR. He had never been a good on-base guy and now had become a flailing free swinger who didn’t even hit for power. Even his once Gold Glove level fielding seemed to be in decline.

Personally, I was sort of ambivalent about the signing. After all, who exactly was going to play in right field? Keep in mind, Frenchy came on board before Melky Cabrera and before the Greinke trade. All things considered and with all the young prospects not expected to be in Kansas City until late in the year at the earliest, it seemed to be a low risk deal: albeit one with little chance of success. Even with the goofy mutual option tagged on it was still better than Jose Guillen for three years.

Oh, Dayton Moore, you glorious…..

Royals Roll With What They Got: Pitching Outlook

“We’re kind of set with what we have.”-GM Dayton Moore

Dayton obviously knows at this point the team is more than one starting pitcher away from winning the division. It recently became a little more clear that it would be an even tougher task this season with Prince Fielder going to the Tigers. He also said that the teams next step was to get some of our young starting pitching to the major leagues. I like the approach of waiting to see what young talent we have sitting in our farm system before dumping it all off. Losing a prospect or two this year for one arm like Latos or Gio Gonzo would have satisfied many fans for sure. I can write this and say without a doubt I think the right decisions were made this off-season in holding strong. Our starting rotation for this season looks strikingly close to the same rotation that produced the 2nd highest American league ERA last season (4.82).

So you think we got a few games with Albert Pujols off the schedule with him moving to the Angels? Think again and add some more pain as a new signing makes it even worse. With the signing of Fielder to Detroit and Albert Pujols to the Angels Royals pitchers will face the two sluggers in 27 games this year. Detroit took the division by 15 games last year and have now cemented themselves as the big favorite to repeat as the AL Central champs. Making a push against the Tigers this year means that Royals starting pitching will really need to perform above expectations. That starts with Luke Hochevar and his 5.29 career ERA. Luke has only gotten 3 wins in a month 3 times in his career and always seems to fall off the wagon after a decent game. In my mind this is his year and I’ll tell you why I think this, and why you might think I’m crazy. Or it might not be his year it all depends on a few key stats. These will hold true to the success of both Luke and Felipe Paulino. Last season Luke had his lowest WHIP in the last 4 years by a long shot at 1.28 and his ground out % rose considerably. Along with the most important stat of all the FIRST PITCH STRIKE. I believe based on his pitching tendencies from last season and the increased numbers and percentages in these categories he has finally arrived. It also doesn’t hurt that Hoch had the 2nd best rated slider per 100 pitches in baseball right behind Cliff Lee and in front of Clayton Kershaw. He doesn’t really have another option but to perform at this point. This is going to be the final year for him to secure a spot as the Royals will surely move forward without him if he falters this season.

[SubGod22]

The Royals And A Prince.

The State of the Royals as a franchise has oscillated over the last two weeks, through no fault of their own. Twelve days ago Victor Martinez blew out his knee, costing the Detroit Tigers the services of their second-best hitter (and third-most highly paid player) for probably all of 2012. Then five days ago the Tigers responded to their one-year problem with a nine-year solution, guaranteeing Prince Fielder $214 million to bash home runs and take out some justifiable anger at his father by usurping his status as the best Fielder in Tigers history. Or something like that.

It’s best to evaluate these two events together, because in tandem the impact of each event is muted. Martinez’s injury immediately improved the Royals’ odds of winning the division in 2012; Fielder’s contract returned the Royals back to square one and then some.

Given a few days to ponder the implications of Fielder signing in Detroit, I hold a pair of contradictory but not mutually exclusive opinions. I think – as most people do – that Fielder’s contract is a bad thing for the Tigers in the long term. But I also think it’s a bad thing for the Royals in the short term. But maybe not as bad as it looks on the surface.

Prince Fielder is a fantastic hitter, one of the best in baseball. He hit .299/.415/.566 last season, and he’s averaged .285/.399/.553 over the last five years. Much as he and Ryan Braun made up arguably the best 3-4 duo in the game last season, pairing Fielder up with Miguel Cabrera gives the Tigers the most imposing pair of hitters in any team’s lineup to start the season.

But…that kind of sums up Fielder’s contributions. He’s terrible defensively, even by the remedial standards of first baseman – he cost the Brewers something like 8 runs a season with his glove. (Per Baseball Info Solutions, Fielder ranks as the worst defensive first baseman in baseball over the last five years.) He’s an incredibly slow runner, enough to cost the Brewers about 5 runs a season with his legs. If he mashes the way he did last year, he’s still an elite player – but if he has a season like he did in 2010, when he hit .261/.401/.471, he’s not nearly as valuable as his reputation suggests. Last year was just the second season of his career when he was worth at least 4 bWAR, which is the standard for a well-above-average player.

40 Man Roster Review - Luke Hochevar

If you sort the qualified American League starting pitchers by ground ball rate, this is the list you end up with:

1. Trevor Cahill
2. Justin Masterson
3. Fausto Carmona (His fake name is too cool to stop using it)
4. Ricky Romero
5. Ivan Nova
6. Rick Porcello
7. Carl Pavano
8. Jon Lester
9. Felix Hernandez
10. Luke Hochevar

It’s not exactly a who’s who of AL aces, but it’s a list of some pretty solid pitchers. For the most part, guys that nearly any team would love to have on their staff. Our own Luke Hochevar makes the list along with a couple of elite pitchers. So why is it that Hochevar ranks 8th on the list in ERA and 7th on the list in xFIP? We all know that Hochevar is good at inducing ground balls, but he isn’t utilizing that skill to help him become a more elite pitcher. What makes him different from the guys on that list who are putting it all together.

One thing that jumps to mind is that he might be walking too many guys. While Luke isn’t exactly the stingiest with his walks, on this list he ranks 5th. Right in the middle. Sure he’s below Felix Hernandez, but he’s just below Justin Masterson and well above Jon Lester. It’s something I’d like to see Hochevar improve upon, but it isn’t absolutely critical.

[SubGod22]

In Good Position, Part One

Ranking the first basemen around the big leagues has me in the ranking mindset, so I thought today I’d take a look at how what the Royals best position is historically. In order to determine who was part of the group, I went to one of the biggest time suck websites out there, Baseball Reference and went to their page that includes the players in franchise history with the most starts at a given position. My original thought was to only include players who have started 400 games or more anywhere, but I like the idea of going five deep at every position, so we’ll use that system. Be forewarned, when we get to the shortstop position it gets ugly. I’ll list the players in the top five as well as their games played and slash stats with the Royals.

[SubGod22]

40 Man Roster Review - Chris Getz

As much as sabermetricians and the “old-school” like to see their work in the starkness of black and white, they’re both wrong. Everything is gray.

My task today is to write about Chris Getz. I can’t think of any player more polarizing than Getzie. Some fans (and managers) love the guy because he plays the game the right way. Other’s loathe him because the numbers paint the picture of a player who is well below league average.

It’s funny to listen to the self-proclaimed “Old Schoolers” insist that what makes Getz so great doesn’t show up in the numbers. I’m going to put on my wizard hat, warm up a Hot Pocket and prove that there are numbers out there that support the theory that there are things that Getzie does does well.

In Good Position, Part Two

Yesterday I began my look at the Royals best position historically and looked at catchers, first basemen, second basemen and third basemen. There’s some rich history in the Royals organization in the outfield, but you may remember that I stopped before the weakest position the Royals have in their organization by far, the shortstop position. It gets ugly there, but don’t worry folks, things get better, especially when we get into center field. Let’s get to it.

[SubGod22]

Solar panels to help power Kauffman Stadium

KANSAS CITY -- It might not make a difference in their home run totals or the speed of their pitches, but the Royals are going to be powered by the sun this year at Kauffman Stadium.

The Royals and Kansas City Power & Light on Tuesday announced a solar energy partnership and unveiled what they called the largest in-stadium solar array in Major League Baseball.

A string of 120 solar panels, 60 on each of side of the CrownVision board, have been installed atop the canopy of Kauffman Stadium's Outfield Experience. They will provide part of the electrical energy required to operate the stadium.

Butler humbled, thankful for Hutch Award

SEATTLE -- Billy Butler was the first to admit that he isn't very experienced as a public speaker, so when the Kansas City Royals slugger strode to the podium at Safeco Field on Wednesday to accept the 47th annual Hutch Award for outstanding community service, he helped himself out with a prop.

It was a typical Del Monte can of corn, and it served as a reminder to Butler and his wife, Katie, that their life's work stretches far, far beyond the baseball field.

"I have learned from my charity back in Kansas City that there are many people who cannot afford to buy even a can of corn," Butler said. "My family has been very blessed, and Katie and I feel very strongly that we teach our daughter to give back."

Butler's strength of spirit and his family's work with the needy families of Kansas City has placed him in rarified air. The Hutch Award, a national honor presented yearly by the Seattle-based Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, has been given annually since 1965 in honor of Major League player and manager Fred Hutchinson, who died of cancer a year earlier at the age of 45, and its list of honorees reads like a Hall of Fame roster.

Winners have included Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax, Carl Yastrzemski, Pete Rose, Joe Torre, Willie McCovey, Willie Stargell, Lou Brock, George Brett and Johnny Bench.

Sisk Royals' latest non-roster invitee

KANSAS CITY -- Make it 17 non-roster players headed for Royals camp, with the addition of left-handed pitcher Brandon Sisk on Thursday.

Sisk becomes the eighth pitcher added to the 22 arms on the 40-man roster, giving new pitching coach Dave Eiland 30 prospects for the staff. The first official workout will be on Feb. 21 in Surprise, Ariz.

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40 Man Roster Review - Mitch Maier

Mitch Maier has done everything the Royals have asked.

As an outfielder, he’s played all three positions. While he doesn’t exactly play any one of those positions with distinction, the defense doesn’t notably suffer when he’s in the field. He passes the: “Oh My God, That’s Mitch Maier In The Outfield!” test because you’ve never actually spoken those words with an inflection of disgust. Let’s call him solid.

Of course, my favorite Maier moment of the last three years came on July 26 when he pitched a scoreless eighth inning against the Red Sox in Fenway. His fastball and his change averaged 75 mph. Yet he insists he threw both. I’ve shown this chart before, but I really like it, so I’m bringing it back for an encore… Here’s Maier’s velocity from his appearance:



That’s Our Mitch… Doing anything to help the team.

[SubGod22]

Hudler, Frazier finalists for TV analyst role

KANSAS CITY -- Two former players with long broadcasting backgrounds, Rex Hudler and George Frazier, are the two candidates to replace Frank White as the Royals' television analyst on FOX Sports Kansas City.

Hudler, 51, was a Major League infielder from 1984 to 1998 with six teams, primarily the St. Louis Cardinals and the California Angels. He was the Angels' TV analyst until 2009 and recently has been doing radio programs in Los Angeles.

Frazier, 57, was a relief pitcher from 1978, when he broke in with the Cardinals, until 1987. He also had three-year stints with the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs. The last 14 years he's been a TV analyst for the Colorado Rockies.

I think I'd rather have Hudler.