KC Royals: A Look At The Royals Four All-Stars

The KC Royals put four players on the 2015 American League All-Star team, which is something of a let down after all the hue and cry when eight Kansas City Royals players led voting at their respective positions in mid June.

The four KC Royals to win election are:

LF Alex Gordon

C Salvador Perez

SS Alcides Escobar

CF Lorenzo Cain

The fans selected more KC Royals to start the All-Star game than any other team. Four is also the largest number of Kansas City Royals voted into the All-Star game in franchise history, and the most from any one team since four Red Sox players won starting bids in 2008.

With KC Royals manager Ned Yost also the skipper for the A.L. All-Star team, the A.L. squad will show a definite Kansas City flavor in Cincinnati. Yost is bringing his entire staff as coaches for the All-Star game.

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Once again, we see evidence of Kansas City’s trek from the periphery of the major-league universe into the core. While Kansas City Royals fans had a large part to do with the KC flavor of the A.L. squad, four Royals would not have won election on the strength of major-league baseball’s second smallest metro area alone.

Obviously, the Q factor for Kansas City Royals players has zoomed since the team won the American League pennant in 2014, and have jumped out to a 4.5 game lead in the A.L Central in 2015 with a 46-33 record.

In the following slide show, I will review the season of each KC Royals player that has earned an All-Star nod, and give a little perspective where they are in their careers.

Enjoy KC Royals fans. Who knows when we’ll see this again? If there is anything that 29 years of failure have taught me, it’s to savor success when it comes:

Jul 5, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals left fielder Alex Gordon (4) makes a diving catch against the Minnesota Twins during the ninth inning at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

In his age-31 season, Alex Gordon earns his third straight All-Star bid as well as his first election by fans this season.

Gordon is hitting .262/.380/.431, with 12 doubles, 10 home runs, and 33 RBI’s. Alex Gordon has been a steady stick at the plate in 2015.

However, his true excellence comes in the field. Alex Gordon has won four straight Gold Gloves in a row in left field, and also earned a Platinum Glove in 2014 as the best fielder in all of the American League.

Gordon has continued to entertain fans with spectacular plays in left. He leads all left fielders in major league baseball with a 8.9 Ultimate Zone Rating, ranks third with 4 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), and ranks first in Fangrasphs.com’s DEF rating at 5.6.

Gordon also meets the eye test with plays like this:

Along with his many plays with the glove, Alex Gordon intimidates baserunners with his arm. He leads all of major league baseball with 65 outfield assists since 2011, 15 more than his next highest competitor  Gerardo Parra.

While Gordon only has three outfield assists in 2015, it’s because American League runners have learned not to challenge his arm.

Alex Gordon is in his 9th season in Kansas City, which makes him the longest-tenured player on the roster. He is in the final year of his contract and is eligible for free-agency after the 2015 season.

Enjoy him while you can Royals fans, 2015 might be Alex Gordon’s last year in Kansas City.

Jun 17, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (13) smiles after the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Kauffman Stadium. Kansas City won the game 10-2. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

At 25-years-old, Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez is already a three-time All-Star—as well as the team’s designated post-victory Gatorade dumper.

Perez was selected to the A.L. All-Star team in 2013 and 2014, and now wins election by fan vote for the first time in 2015.

Salvador Perez is having a solid season at the plate, slashing .263/.275/.446, with 12 doubles,13 home runs, and 34 RBI’s.

Yet, like teammate Alex Gordon, Perez’s true excellence comes on defense. He’s a two-time Gold Glove winner and might well earn his third for his work behind the plate this season.

Perez boasts a cannon arm. He has gunned down 35% of baserunners that have attempted to steal against him this season. ESPN also named him one of the best catchers in baseball at managing the game.

Salvador Perez is playing his 5th season for the Kansas City Royals, and will stay in Kansas City through the rest of the decade (his contract expires after the 2019 season).

While Salvy is still needs to work on his patience at the plate, (Perez has drawn only five walks in 284 plate appearances this season), he has discovered his power stroke with a team-leading 13 home runs. What’s scary is his prime seasons likely remain in his future.

As a three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner, Salvador Perez might be the best young catcher in the American League.

Maybe this season, Salvador Perez can lead the Gatorade dump after the American League earns home field advantage in the World Series by winning the All-Star game.

Jul 5, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals base runner Lorenzo Cain (6) celebrates with teammates after scoring the winning run against the Minnesota Twins during the ninth inning at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Lorenzo Cain is one of the breakout stars in all of baseball. He won the MVP trophy for the KC Royals  ALCS victory over the Baltimore Orioles after he hit .533 and tortured the Orioles with play after play in center field.

After putting on a show with acrobatic catches in the 2014 playoffs, many pundits speculated that Lorenzo Cain was due for the dreaded “regression”.

Instead, Cain has shown that his star turn in the 2014 playoffs was no fluke.

Lorenzo Cain has moved into the number three spot in the Kansas City Royals batting order, while hitting .305/.364/.462 with 17 doubles, 4 triples, 6 home runs, 16 stolen bases, and 36 RBIs. His .462 slugging percentage is a career-high for the 29-year-old Cain, who has developed some pop at the plate.

Still, his most jaw dropping plays continue to come on defense. Just take a gander at the video below:

Cain’s defense is simply ridiculous.

Lorenzo Cain ranks 5th among major-league outfielders with a 8.5 Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), just behind teammate Alex Gordon at 4th with 8.9. Cain ranks second in UZR among AL centerfielders behind Tampa Bay’s Kevin Kiermaier.

While Lorenzo Cain did not win a Gold Glove in 2014, and has not won one in his career, he figures to be the favorite to take home the defensive hardware in centerfield in 2015.

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Gold Glove voters did not consider Cain for the award in 2014 because KC manager Ned Yost frequently shifted him to right field in the late innings to accommodate defensive specialist Jarrod Dyson. As a result, Cain did not accumulate enough innings at any one outfield position to qualify for a Gold Glove. Yost has stopped this substitution practice in 2015, in part because it cost Lorenzo Cain a 2014 Gold Glove.

Not only does Lorenzo Cain win games with his bat and glove, he helped the KC Royals to two walkoff wins on July 4 weekend by scoring the winning run on plays at the plate in a pair of 3-2 victories.

Due to his all-around game, Lorenzo Cain ranks 6th among American League position players with 3.6 Wins Above Replacement (fWAR). He is now recognized as a true star in the league.

Though 29-years-old, Lorenzo Cain is just now coming into his prime, probably  due to him not playing the game until he was 15 years old. He is in his fourth season with the Kansas City Royals, and his fifth in major league baseball (he played part of one season for the Brewers before arriving in the Greinke trade).

Cain is in his first arbitration year, with the team holding two more. Lorenzo Cain can become a free agent after the 2018 season.

There you have it, KC Royals fans: your four 2015 All-Stars. Congratulate them. Enjoy them. Celebrate them.

You’re living in a new golden era of Kansas City baseball.

Next: KC Royals Show Why They Can Win The 2015 World Series

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