Kansas City Royals Prospect Review: Hot Hitters in April

Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

With the success, and the generally excitement, circling the Kansas City Royals this season, it may be easy to forget about the minor leagues. After all, given the Royals pugilistic exploits, strange magnetism to hurled spheroids and the best run differential in the majors, the Royals have certainly kept our attention.

It is certainly a far cry from the days when the Royals and their fanbase looked towards the minors waiting for their baseball saviors to appear. Instead of an often misplaced hope in tomorrow, that success is truly here. Now, the performance of each top prospect is not a matter of life or death – it is just a matter of having those next pieces to supplement the major league roster or to find the next young stud to build with.

Now that April has concluded, there have been a number of excellent performances throughout the Kansas City Royals farm system. Former top prospects are looking as though they are finally breaking out. Unheralded minor league players are putting up excellent performances. And through it all, we are seeing what has come to be known as Royals Baseball throughout the minor leagues.

So, let us take a look through the minors at five players who were truly impressive during the month of April. Today, we will focus on the offensive side of the ball, with a look at pitching coming in the next day or two. Any statistics given are accurate as of the writing of this post, so up until April 30th.

Next: An on base machine

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4. Carlos Garcia

The Kansas City Royals receive a lot of attention for their exploits on the basepaths, and with good reason. Jarrod Dyson is one of the fastest men in the majors. Terrance Gore reprised the Herb Washington role of years past. Given the Royals belief in speed, defense and putting pressure on the opposition, it just makes sense that there would be a number of speedsters in the system.

However, one player that has not received a lot of attention is second baseman Carlos Garcia. Garcia, who stole 31 bases last season to place fourth in the Royals system, is burning up the basepaths to start the year. Thus far, in 17 games, Garcia has stolen eleven of twelve bases. Second in the Royals system is Gore, with a mere six swipes.

Carlos Garcia is doing a lot more than just stealing bases this season. He has produced a solid .305/.397/.339 batting line, fueled by a 47.1% ground ball rate and a .360 batting average on balls in play. While he is not a power threat, with all of six home runs in his seven year minor league career, Garcia definitely looks like the type of slap hitter who could use his speed to terrorize the opposition.

Garcia’s future may be as a utility infielder if he reaches the major leagues, but his speed appears able to play at any level. This solid start in Lexington may lead to a promotion if he can continue that torrid pace on the basepaths.

Next: A truly powerful start

Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

3. Brett Eibner

Doesn’t it seem as though we were saying the same thing last year about Brett Eibner? He started off the season hot, then came back to Earth to post an overall decent season. His numbers may not have been anything to write home about, but Eibner continued to show his power potential and stole a career best eight bases in only 87 games.

This season, Eibner is starting off white hot. He has produced a .302/.400/.651 batting line, hitting four home runs. Eibner’s 1.051 OPS is the best of any Royals minor leaguer with twenty or more plate appearances, and he leads the system with 14 RBI. While Eibner only has yet to steal a base, he is certainly more than making up for that with his power thus far.

Brett Eibner has also had a slightly strange season based on the percentages. Despite a .346 batting average on balls in play, Eibner only has a 16.7% line drive rate, just below the league average of 20.2%. Meanwhile, he has hit a popup in the infield in 10% of his plate appearances, and has a fly ball rate that is 14.2% higher than the leave average. Of course, it helps that a third of Eibner’s fly balls have left the yard.

If Eibner can continue to hit for this type of power and add in that speed he has displayed last season, he certainly becomes a lot more interesting. While he may currently be blocked at the majors, Eibner is starting to look like more than a career minor league player.

Next: The former top prospect

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2. Bubba Starling

Bubba Starling, in the course of two seasons, had gone from being a former top prospect to a player that was beginning to earn the label of being a bust. Yes, Starling had all of the tools, but it did not seem as though he was going to put them together. The 2015 season was shaping up to be a very important year for Starling.

Thus far, he has met the challenge. After a hot start beginning his second season with the Wilmington Blue Rocks, Starling was promoted to Northwest Arkansas. Overall in the month of April, split across both levels, Starling has posted a .328/.414/.508 batting line, hitting two home runs while stealing two bases.

However, not everything is perfect with Bubba Starling. At the start of the year, he was 6-19, but had struck out twelve times. Since being promoted to AA, Starling has struggled once again, posting a .176/.263/.235 batting line with one extra base hit. Yes, it is a small sample size, and he still needs to adjust to the competition at Northwest Arkansas, but his slow start is something to keep in mind.

Nonetheless, it is great to see something out of Starling. Thus far, it seems that he is showing the capability that the Kansas City Royals had expected when they drafted him fifth overall.

Next: Definitely not a one hit wonder

Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

1. Whit Merrifield

Whit Merrifield truly broke through last season for the Kansas City Royals. While he was decent in Northwest Arkansas, Merrifield caught fire once he was promoted to Omaha, posting a .340/.373/.474 batting line. In 76 games, Merrifield hit 28 doubles, stole eleven bases and exploded onto the scene.

That hot performance carried over through Spring Training, where Merrifield posted the third highest batting average of any Royal with fifteen or more at bats, putting himself into the conversation for the Royals fifth outfielder spot. Even though he was sent to Omaha, Merrifield has continued to hit, posting a .316/.373/.447 batting line and putting together a thirteen game hitting streak.

That hot start may be completely sustainable. While Whit Merrifield has a rather high .350 batting average on balls in play, his balls in play rates are just about league average. In fact, since Merrifield has hit a line drive on only 16.4% of the balls he has put in play, below the league average of 20.2%, there is a chance that Merrifield’s numbers could improve.

With his strong performance since being brought up to Omaha, Merrifield has been a player that a lot of Kansas City Royals fans have wanted to see get a chance at the major league level. If he continues to perform like this, that chance could come in the somewhat near future.

Next: Royals Week Three Review: Who's Hot, Who's Not