23 Comments

The offense will be better and staying healthy will be a key! Salvy is beginning to show how catching many many games over his years may be catching up to him! I am not expecting him to hit almost 50 homers, but 30 would be nice!!!

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I think it’s a pretty safe bet that he’ll be somewhere around 22-27. Here are his home run totals by year:

2016 - 22

2017 - 27

2018 - 27

2019 - Injured

2020 - 11 (in just 37 games)

2021 - 48

2022 - 23

2023 - 23

I think there’s a pretty clear level he’s set. If he hits 30, it’ll be pretty amazing and probably means Fermin is catching a bunch and something went wrong with someone in the outfield because Salvy is DHing a lot.

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So I’m guilty of this too in the thinking that I still have greater optimism for the potential on the offensive side than maybe I should based on last year’s numbers. A lot of people are on the Massey train this springs. That’s great, but I’ve got to see more before I can jump on. Melendez has some post prospect sleeper qualities about him where I “could” see that going in a better direction….but man I have a harder time seeing it now. I think more likely is Melendez and Massey become average major league players. And that’s ok. That still plays. Really, all my optimism is because of Vinny coming back. I have much more faith in that one. About the only thing that could crush that hope is another injury plagued year and we have to start having conversations of if he can stay healthy enough as he isn’t an overly athletic body type.

I do think more things will go right with this group than last year though. I don’t see a top 10 offense like some were predicting in years past. I see a middle of the group offense with some potential for more though. So I’ll take it right now.

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Here’s the thing about MJ. He was great in 2021 in the minors. He was league average (in a way nobody likes, low average, walks and some power) as a rookie in 2022 and then he was terrible for three months and really good for three months. The quality of contact is elite and the pedigree is elite. I really thought he’d be traded but I won’t be the least bit surprised if he’s their third best hitter in 2024.

My optimism for Massey is the power as a second baseman and the defense. Maybe he improves enough that this isn’t true, but him in the bottom third should be good enough if he takes even just a step forward. I also have it on good authority that he’s working with some excellent hitting coaches this winter. That doesn’t always translate but better to be working with that crew than not. I think they can average 4.5 runs per game and that should be enough. That’s below 2023 average but a third of a run per game improvement over 2023.

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Oh yeah, I know what you are saying. But lets put it this way….its still the projections we are looking for and calling for yet. If you had to bet your house on it…..Would you put this offense as a top 10 offense? Are you that confident in the breakouts? I can see it…I can see those scenarios happening but IDK that we can bank on it anymore like we might have been two years ago kind of thing. So the only two things I would be on is BWJ and probably still Vinny yet. That’s all I’m trying to say I guess.

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I mean I didn’t say they would be a top 10 offense. I said they were in September.

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You didn’t your right. I’m not actually sure where I’m going with this anyone. Point is, I’m pretty bullish on this group, but checking my expectations a little bit cause it hasn’t happened yet is all.

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Sure. I think it’s reasonable to not expect what we saw at the end of the season.

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Great reminder about Salvy's hand injury. It seemed clear at the time that he rushed back (as Salvy tends to do) but then he just kept playing and it faded into memory. He still has productive years left in him and hopefully Q can keep his desire to catch every day in check so he has the health to prove me right.

This team is going to score some runs. It's going to be a fun season.

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When Salvy was sitting early in the year, I really thought Q would keep him fresher but then Salvy was Salvy and it was trouble.

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Nicely done. I guess I am amazed about the Royals outfield. It has always seemed that we had at least one stud out there. What happened? Maybe Gentry (hoping), maybe a trade (not sure we have the chips), maybe a real free-agent investment.

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I’m not sure the last time the Royals had a stud in the outfield. Cain, I guess?

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Jeepers, you're probably right. I was letting my old age set in thinking of the guys from the 70's, 80's and 90's. Oh well, another patchwork outfield. Go Royals!

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They have some players who could eventually pop. Velazquez has big power. Melendez has the pedigree and had the second half. It's not all barren.

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I am so darn optimistic about a team coming off of 56 wins, yet, here I am.

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Bringing in eight new players and signing a superstar to a long-term deal is a helluva drug.

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There are a lot of position players that are in the “ok, we’ll give them one more chance” to improve or repeat on a small sample size. Sure hope a few of them do.

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On the plus side, there were a lot of pitchers in that boat last year and we saw how that worked out.

But yeah, we'll see how it goes for these guys.

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At least now, unlike the last few years, there is a plausible case that this team can have a better-than-average offense. It's no longer "we need five or six guys to make a leap" but more of a "we need a couple guys (Massey and Garcia, really) to make a leap and everyone else to do something they have done before." Now, some of those players are on the wrong side of the aging curve, but it doesn't seem impossible for it to happen that way. Probably won't, but it could.

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I think that's dead on. It's more than fine to have a couple of guys who you dream on, but when it's as many as we've seen in past years, it leads to issues. They're still doing plenty of hoping, but at least it's based on history now.

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Have fun in Surprise. Start that kiddo early!

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The reason to be more optimistic about the offense is no Jackie Bradley Jr, Hunter Dozier, or Franmil Reyes who all hit under .200 last April. The depth they brought in is to make certain we win more than 7 games in April.

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That certainly helps. I’m optimistic about the offense, but let’s not forget that Massey, Witt and Melendez were also part of the brutal start. Having actual upside helps, but last April wasn’t just bad veterans.

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