Kansas City Royals Kendrys Morales May Be Back to Form

Heading into this offseason, the biggest weakness for the Kansas City Royals was their glaring lack of power. With this in mind, Dayton Moore went out and signed Kendrys Morales and Alex Rios to add some needed pop to the lineup. Both players were coming off down seasons, with Rios’ subpar 2014 being explainable due to injury.

In the case of Morales, Moore and the Royals were hoping that his dismal 2014 season, when Morales produced a .218/.274/.338 batting line with eight home runs in 401 plate appearances were an aberration. After all, Morales had missed the first two months of the season after being unsigned due to the qualifying offer he was given, which may have hampered his ability to perform. He essentially had to play his way back into baseball shape, and do so in the middle of the year.

The hope was that with a full offseason to train, and a full slate of Spring Training games, that the Royals would get the Kendrys Morales from 2009 through 2013. In those four seasons, including the curtailed 2010 campaign, Morales produced a .286/.339/.484 batting line with an average of 22 home runs a season.

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Through the first week, that gamble is paying off for the Royals. Morales has been one of the more pleasant surprises on the last undefeated team in baseball, producing a .414/.500/.724 batting line. His power appears to be back, as Morales has hit three doubles and two home runs in 34 plate appearances. For a team that desperately needed power in the middle of the lineup, Morales has certainly been what the Royals hoped for.

In fact, Kendrys Morales may be even more than the Kansas City Royals have expected. Morales has never been known for his patience, as his career 6.9% walk rate throughout his career would attest to, but that has not been the case this season. In those 34 plate appearances, Morales has drawn five walks, giving him a rather lofty 14.7% walk rate. While it is unreasonable to assume that would continue throughout the season, Morales may have developed a bit more patience as well, at least in the early going.

As of right now, Kendrys Morales has been everything the Kansas City Royals wanted, and more. Hopefully, he can continue to recapture that form from the previous four seasons and be that power bat the Royals needed. If the first week is any indication, Morales appears to truly be back to form.

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