A Look Back at the Royals Top 31 Prospects: #24 Mike Antonio

Another young shortstop graced Baseball America‘s top 31 prospects for the Kansas City Royals heading into the 2012 season. Mike Antonio came in at number 25.

Antonio was considered to be the best player to come out of George Washington High School in New York since Manny Ramirez when he was drafted by the Royals in 2010 (third round). BA believes that he may outgrow shortstop and with the Royals abundance of up-the-middle prospects, a move to third base may be a good thing.

Problem is, he makes a TON of errors wherever you play him. In 233 chances at third base in 2012, Antonio made 29 errors. He added two more at shortstop in seven games and one error in two chances in right field while playing at Low-A Kane County.

On offense, Antonio has a long swing which has both power potential and strikeout potential. This past season, he only hit five homeruns in 464 at-bats and struck out 79 times.

After being named the Midwest League’s Player of the Week in the middle of May (he hit .294 in the month of May), Antonio struggled dramatically at the plate. He picked up just 48 hits over his final 268 at-bats (a .179 average) of the season.

With his struggles at the plate in 2012 and Cheslor Cuthbert ahead of him at third base, Antonio will most likely make a return trip to Low-A to start the 2013 season. He is currently participating in Instructional League in Surprise, Arizona.

To learn more about Antonio, you can check out an interview with Pine Tar Press and This One’s for Nick.