Is the infield fine? or what?

Kansas City Royals
Team Analysis Part III
Infield

Good defense can win games and bad defense can lose games. It’s as simple as that. You botch a routine grounder with 2 outs and the bases loaded, bam it’s all tied up. Then the opposing teams big hitter comes to the plate with the bases loaded. Pitcher is still thinking how he should be in the dugout and grooves a fastball. One fountain ball later you’re down 4 runs. I think you get the point. Another thing the infield has to do beside play defense is offence. There are more infielders then outfielders so produce they must. Whether it be getting on base or coming up with a key RBI, your infielders are very important to becoming a winning franchise.
The Royals `07 infield has a few new options this year as compared to last. They have added hitters, kept a gold glove winner and maybe even brought up a future gold glove winner.


Catcher

John Buck
Buck was another acquisition in the Beltran trade and has been somewhat of a disappointment so far. Last year was his first full season in the majors and ended up with disappointing results. Although his batting average did improve, it still sits at a paltry .245 with only 12 homers. Now those numbers would be alright if he were a better catcher. He does a decent job of blocking balls and throwing out runners, but his flaw is calling a game. Some believe he does a good job, but I don’t think the Royals do and they brought in competition in Jason LaRue and I think LaRue will end up with the starting job. For Buck to improve the Royals must solidify the pitching staff…he has caught to many pitchers to count in last year and a half…and Buck must become better at calling pitches and not be so predictable in pitch selection.

Jason LaRue
It is of my opinion that LaRue will become the starting catcher for the Royals thins year. He has more experience and I think Buck could learn a lot from him and then takeover the starting duties next year or the year after. LaRue and Buck are essentially the same offensive player, but LaRue is supposed to call a better game and I think that is what the Royals are looking for with this pitching staff, better to not give up runs the create runs.

First Base

Ryan Shealy
Finally, playing time for Shealy. The Royals acquired Shealy last season in a trade with the Rockies. While in Colorado Shealy was trapped behind perennial All-Star Todd Helton and was destined to be in AAA purgatory for ever and ever. After coming over to the Royals Shealy displayed good fielding to go along with his excellent bat. First base is not only a power hitting position, Shealy shows that winning a homerun title in AAA, but also an important fielding position. The player at first must save errors on bad throws and Shealy showed that he is quite capable of going up for balls and digging balls out of the dirt. This year Shealy must improve his power, 7HR in 52 games, and continue bailing out his infield brethren with good defense.

Second Base

Mark Grudzielanek
Last year’s gold glove winner at second base is destined to start this season on the disabled list. He hurt his knee during spring training, but should be back at second around mid-April. Grud was a consistent performer last year and has his position wrapped up. His handles his bat very well, hitting .297 last season, and as the gold glove shows, his defense at second is second to none. Grud is a great veteran to have on a team as young as the Royals. He leads by example and works hard every day.

Third Base

Alex Gordon
Gordon is the can’t miss prospect. The Royals are so confident in Gordon’s ability to play third and hit for power and average in the majors, they moved last years Royals Player of the Year and starting third baseman, Mark Teahen, to the outfield. Gordon was the 2nd overall player drafted in the 2005 amateur baseball draft. Last season he was the consensus Minor League Player of the Year. Last year he decimated AA pitching to the tune of .324 with 29HR. He came into spring training with third as his job to lose and has done nothing that says he should start anywhere other then the Majors. It will be fun to watch this kid grow up and hopefully become at least George Brett or better. I just hope that he makes the transition to the majors well, but don’t be surprised if he struggles in his first few months, but also don’t be surprised if he wins rookie of the year.

Shortstop

Angel Berroa
By far the most aggravating player on the Royals roster. Berroa was the worst everyday player in the major leagues last year. He is a shell of the player who won rookie of the year in 2003. His errors are up and his batting in sliding down faster then if you slip on Mt. Everest. He loses concentration and makes terrible decisions on the base paths. That being said short is still his job to lose, but expect the Royals to keep him on a short leash with Andres Blanco available in the wings until another prospect from down on the farm is ready. If Berroa continues to botch routine ground balls and swing at pitches low and away the Royals will pull him and relegate him to backup duty.

Utility

Esteban German
One word. Hitter. That is all it takes to get everyday playing time in the majors and German is that, a hitter. German will be the starting second baseman until Grud returns and then after that German will be the backup at every position except catcher. That’s what being a hitter gets you. Reports are that he is a below average fielder, but counterbalance that against his on-base-percentage and you break even. Last season he led the Royals in on-base-percentage. The only problem is finding him a spot everyday and letting the hitter hit.

The Royals infield is a good mix of young talent, veterans and an aggravating shortstop. If the infield balances out the way it should, the Royals can and should expect a jump in the number of runs created per game. The defense should be solid, depending on Berroa, so hopefully the unearned runs will decrease. I expect the infield to play well, but still have some young player mistakes. They should play well in `07, but even better in `08 and `09.

Coming up next…the outfield.

Royals Fact: George Brett leads the Royals in all time errors with 292, but also leads the Royals with all time hits, 3,154.

-b

“Royals Baseball in on the Air.”