BASEBALL
12.23.05
Hope For the Future?
The Kansas City Royals set a team record for futility in 2005, losing 106 games. The team continued its youth movement, sending scores of players
directly from AA to the major leagues. Mike Sweeney and Matt Stairs were the only regulars that were over 30 years old. The bright spot for the
Royals was their relief pitching: several of their young power pitchers pitched well, including Ambiorix Burgos, Andrew Sisco, and Leo Nunez. And,
while the Royals offense was far and away the weakest in the big leagues, there may be some hope for the future. The core of the Royals young hitters
consists of Angel Berroa, David DeJesus, Mark Teahen, and John Buck.
Angel Berroa, the rookie of the year in 2003, had a serious sophmore slump in 2004 which was emphasized by a demotion to AA in the middle of the
year. He bounced back in 2005 and had a decent year:
.270/.305/.375 11 HR 55 RBI
Those numbers are still off his ROY numbers in 2003, but are an improvement on 2004. The encouraging part, however, are Berroa's numbers down
the stretch. Here's what he did in September and October:
.324/.348/.444 3 HR 21 RBI
His on base percentage is still too low due to his refusal to take walks, but he clearly picked up the pace in the last month.
David DeJesus, who had a solid rookie year in 2004 that went largely unnoticed because the Royals were so bad, continued his progress until he was
injured in late August, causing him to miss the final month. Here are his numbers in 2005:
.293/.359/.445 9 HR 56 RBI
DeJesus will probably never hit for power, but he can be a very valuable table setter at the top of the order as long as he keeps hitting and keeps taking
walks.
Mark Teahen was acquired in the 2004 trade of Carlos Beltran to the Astros. Teahen was the centerpiece of that deal for the Royals, although they
had hoped to keep him in the minors for 2005. Unfortunately, an injury to the starting 3B accelerated Teahen's timetable and he began the year as the
Royals starting third baseman. Here are his 2005 numbers:
.246/.309/.376 7 HR 55 RBI
These numbers suggest that Teahen wasn't quite ready for the big leagues. Like Berroa, though, Teahen put up better numbers down the stretch and
the organization is hopeful that he "got it" late in the season and will build on that next year. Here are his September and October numbers:
.303/.355/.505 4 HR 21 RBI
Finally, John Buck, also acquired in the Beltran trade, struggled throughout much of 2005:
.242/.287/.389 12 HR 47 RBI
Buck's .389 slugging percentage is unacceptable. The Royals expect him to become a solid defensive catcher with some pop in his bat. No one
expects him to be Mike Piazza with the bat, but he's going to have to hit for a little more power than he showed to stick in the league. Luckily, his
numbers down the stretch also improved dramatically:
.321/.345/.506 4 HR 15 RBI
These numbers exceed the wildest expectations the Royals could have for Buck and it is unlikely that he could sustain this performance over time, but
they do show that he has the potential to put up solid numbers.
The Royals 2005 season was a disappointing one, but you don't have to look to hard to find some hope for the future. Berroa, Buck, and Teahen all
started to show signs that they would be quality major leaguers and David DeJesus played great until his injury. Also, the Royals main pitching
prospect, Zach Greinke, suffered through a horrible season with a 5.80 ERA, but his September ERA was 3.82. Only time will tell if September was
an aberrition or a turning point for these players, but it provides at least some hope that the 2006 season won't be as bleak as the 2005 season was.