Kansas City Royals Hoping for More from Terrance Gore

Last year, the Kansas City Royals essentially turned the playoffs into their own personal track meet. Seemingly everyone on the Royals were running wild; even Billy Butler stole a base in the ALDS! Yet, the Royals two biggest speed merchants, Jarrod Dyson and Terrance Gore, were not even starters, waiting on the bench to make their presence felt late in the game when the Royals needed a critical run.

Gore specifically was essentially the Kansas City Royals answer to Herb Washington. He never had a plate appearance in the playoffs, yet played in six games, stole three bases and scored two runs. This was a continuation of Gore’s performance in the regular season, where he had two plate appearances, reaching once after being hit by a pitch. However, Gore scored five runs and stole five bases in this eleven major league games.

The question is whether or not Terrance Gore can ever be more than that. While the comparisons to Dyson are inevitable, the fact remains that Dyson showed more promise offensively than Gore has thus far in the minors. Over this minor league career, Gore has produced a .237/.343/.271 batting line, stealing 168 bases in 185 attempts. However, Gore has also produced all of 28 extra base hits, with zero home runs, in his four minor league seasons.

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While the lack of home runs may be expected given that Gore is quite the speed merchant, his lack of extra base hits is a bit surprising. Even though Gore has a mere 11.6% line drive rate in his minor league campaign, one would expect that with his speed, a ball hit down the line or into a gap someplace would automatically result in extra bases. Likewise, with his 54.9% ground ball rate, one would expect Gore to have a better batting average on balls in play that his .315 mark in his career.

It is not as though Terrance Gore strikes out a lot more than normal. His 21.1% strikeout rate for his career is not that far removed from the league averages. While he has displayed a solid batting eye, with an excellent 10.8% walk rate, Gore just has not hit the ball solidly enough to warrant the expectation that he can be another Jarrod Dyson for the Royals.

Perhaps that perception will change this season. After spending most of last year with the Wilmington Blue Rocks, Gore is likely to start the season with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, where he will hopefully be able to take another step forward with the bat.

Terrance Gore will be remembered fondly as an unlikely weapon in the Kansas City Royals march through the postseason. Hopefully, he can become more than just a footnote in Royals postseason history.

Next: Andy Ferguson's Quietly Excellent 2014 Season

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