Spring Surprise: Derrick Robinson

After going 0-2 today, Derrick Robinson is hitting .357 for the Royals this spring.

Unless you are really up on your Royals prospects, the first question you probably asked yourself after reading the above is; who?

Derrick Robinson is a 21 year old CF prospect that spent 2008 playing for the Royals Hi-A affiliate in Wilmington. He was drafted in the 4th round of the 2006 draft out of P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School in Gainesville, Florida. The Royals lured him away from his football scholarship at the University of Florida with a sizeable signing bonus of $850,000.

Baseball America’s 2009 Prospect Handbook has him ranked as the Royals 16th best prospect. He has already stolen 117 bases in his 3 year minor league career, including 62 last year. Defensively, his is considered major league ready, but his offense has a long way to go. His .245/.316/.322 stat line in 2008 is almost identical to his career line of .244/.314/.315. All of that makes his 5/14 performance even more surprising and intriguing.

Obviously he isn’t going to make the major league club out of Spring Training this year, but his performance is another small reason to be truly excited about the Royals long-term future.

Honorable Mention Surprise:

Soon to be 24 year old, Chris Lubanski sporting a .500/.533/.857 line this spring in 14 ABs.