KC Royals Fantasy: Week 8 Roster Review

May 18, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals center fielder Lorenzo Cain (6) looks up after he hits a RBI single in the eighth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Kauffman Stadium. Boston won 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
May 18, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals center fielder Lorenzo Cain (6) looks up after he hits a RBI single in the eighth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Kauffman Stadium. Boston won 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
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Position Players: Start’em

ERIC HOSMER is pretty much an automatic start at this point. Yeah he’s gone 0-fer his last two games. Don’t worry about it. Hosmer is a mature player who is coming into his own. His strike zone recognition has vastly improved this season, allowing him to drive the ball for more power that ever before.

Righties, lefies, day, night, don’t think about it. With a .312/.370/.529 triple slash and 8 home runs, he’s going to start on all but the deepest rosters.

LORENZO CAIN has overcome a poor April to slash .314/.347/.486 in May with 3 doubles, 4 home runs, 14 RBIs, and 3 stolen bases.

Yeah, he had a bit of tough week before going 2-3 against Chicago on Saturday which included a solo home run. Cain is a good fantasy player, but because defense largely doesn’t matter in most fantasy leagues, he’s not the force he is in a real lineup.

Position Players: Sit’em 

Pretty much the rest of the Kansas City Royals roster. Yeah, that’s harsh. But when you look at the team’s numbers you see very few of their guys are viable fantasy players. Yeah, Salvador Perez can contribute for a catcher. But he’s a fringe starter in a 10 to 12 team league.

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Alcides Escobar makes his bones on defense. He’s only playable in leagues that give big points for stolen bases, and even then he’s marginal. Omar Infante? If you’re seriously thinking of playing Omar on a fantasy baseball team, it’s time to give up.

Paulo Orlando is smoking hot hitting .368, but with Chris Sale the only left-hander the KC Royals will face this week, he doesn’t figure to get much playing time. Manager Ned Yost will probably give him a start against a righty at least one game this week to keep him sharp, but Orlando is unlikely to play enough to activate him.

Alex Gordon and Kendrys Morales are both running so bad right now, I’d sit them if I have even halfway decent substitutes on my bench.

As for Mike Moustakas, I’d generally start him because I think he’s in the midst of a breakout season. However, he just came off the disabled list on Saturday after sitting for two weeks. I’d like to see him produce before inserting him into my lineup. He went 0-4 with 3 strikeouts on Saturday. While this performance doesn’t worry me, he could need to shake off some rust.

Dyson is going to have to hit better than .250/.296/.329 for me to recommend putting him in the lineup, even in a league that prizes stolen bases. Pretty much the only way he’s playable is if you are in a traditional rotisserie scoring league and have a great lineup that needs stolen bases.

Next: Pitchers

Schedule