Kansas City Royals: The First 2018 Projected Lineup

With the Royals going through a facelift, it was only a matter of time before lineup projections started. While looking at the projections, the emotions and feelings about the 2018 Royals are conflicting.

Earlier this week, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com released an article that gave the projected lineup of the 2018 Kansas City Royals. We all know the Royals are going to be in a rebuild, the extent of the rebuild is still uncertain though. However, knowing that a rebuild of some kind is going to happen we are going to see a very different product on the field. When looking at this projected lineup it is hard not to think about the beginning of the first rebuild in 2011.

Here is what the projected lineup is.

• Salvador Perez (C)
• Brandon Moss (1B)
• Whit Merrifield (2B)
• Cheslor Cuthbert (3B)
• Raul Mondesi (SS)
• Alex Gordon (LF)
• Paulo Orlando (CF)
• Jorge Bonifacio (RF)
• Jorge Soler (DH)

A lot of the players you will find have a high ceiling that may not be fully achieved, while others have shown positive and negative consistency throughout their career. Before making opinions on whether this lineup is good, okay, or bad let’s take a closer look.

The Good:

The Royals do still have some good spots. Having players like Perez and Merrifield are good things for the team.

Merrifield seemingly has shown he can be an everyday second baseman after two years of solid performances. When he was called up in 2016, Merrifield slashed .283/.323/.392 over 81 games. His consistency at the plate only increased in 2017 when he slashed an impressive .288/.324/.460 over 145 games. Combining his 226 games, he has a .286/.324/.437 slash.

More exciting than his consistency is his jump in power. During the offseason, Merrifield spent a lot of time bulking up. In fact, he would eat about nine eggs a day to pack his diet full of protein. In 2016 he hit just two home runs. That number jumped significantly in 2017 when he hit 19 home runs. He also accounted for 32 doubles and six triples. Whether that becomes a number he can replicate is debatable, but the jump is a positive. His ability to steal bases is also a perk. Last year, Merrifield lead the American League with 34 stolen bases.

Perez’s contributions should go without question. His career .272/.301/.442 and 114 home runs are some of the perks of Perez. He has also been named to the All-Star Game five consecutive years and has won the Gold Glove for catchers four times.

He is a player that provides a heartbeat to the team, as well as decent offensive numbers while being elite defensively. The amount of games he plays is worrisome, but when the Royals are clicking on all cylinders Perez is on the front lines pushing the team forward.

The Question Marks (part 1):

The Royals have a lot of questions marks, simply because they have a lot of young, unproven players. Even though we have seen Bonifacio, Mondesi, Soler, Cuthbert, and Orlando play at the major league level they are still seemingly unknown players.

Last year the Royals got the chance to see what Bonifacio could do and for the most part was a nice surprise. He finished the year slashing a decent .255/.320/.432 while hitting 17 home runs and 15 doubles. However, after the Royals made a trade for Melky Cabrera, Bonifacio saw less playing time. Going into the 2018 season, Bonifacio seems to be the clear-cut favorite to be the everyday right-fielder.

Mondesi made the cut, but after two years of trying him out at the big league level, he has shown little to be excited about. However, because of the limited amount of time he has been called up and only being 22-year-old, I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt. While in Triple-A Omaha, Mondesi finished the year hitting .297/.330/.525 with 13 home runs, 20 doubles, and nine triples. He also swiped 21 bases. If that is something close to what Mondesi can produce in the majors then the Royals will be set at shortstop for years to come.

Question Marks (part 2):

Soler is probably the biggest wild card. Royals still do not know where his ceiling is, or what type of hitter he will become. While with the Royals last year he hit .144/.245/.258 and only two home runs. When he was sent back to Triple-A Omaha he did improve. He slashed a better .267/.388/.564 and 24 home runs. The hope is that he will build on his power potential that he started showing in Omaha. He just has to put it together when he gets called up.

Cuthbert is an interesting player. In 2016 he took over third base full time when Mike Moustakas tore his ACL. During that time he hit .274/.318/.413 with 12 home runs and 28 doubles. He seemed to be a potential solution at third base when Moustakas left for free agency. However, 2017 was less than desired. While hitting .231/.275/.322 and spending time in Omaha, doubt started creeping into the heads of fans. The major difference between the two years was the amount of playing time and consecutive days of playing time. In 2016 he played every day, but in 2017 it was more sporadic. So one question comes to mind, who is the real Cuthbert?

To round out the group we will look at Orlando. He has shown to be a great defensive player for the team, being the defensive replacement for Alex Rios during the 2015 World Series run. Orlando also pushed Jarrod Dyson into being the fifth outfielder on the depth chart. Then in 2016, he had a breakout year where he hit .302/.329/.405 over 128 games. Unfortunately, 2017 was a different story. After hitting .198/.225/.302 to start the year he was sent to Omaha, where he ended up breaking his leg. Similar to Cuthbert, we do not really know what type of player Orlando is. Is he a fourth outfielder? Is he more of a 2016 type player or a 2017 type player? Hopefully we can answer that question this year.

Final Thoughts:

When you look, the Royals have a lot more question marks with the team than known commodities. Things could go up, or things could fall really hard. This could all change and be different though depending on how the rest of the offseason goes. With players like Eric Hosmer and Logan Morrison still on the market, the Royals could shuffle the boards at first base and designated hitter.

They could also make a shuffle in-house with players like Hunter Dozier, Frank Schwindel, Erick Mejia, Nicky Lopez. and Ramon Torres if they show success during Spring Training this year.

So what do you think Royals fans? Is this lineup different than what you thought it would be? Do you think another player deserves to be in the lineup? What would your lineup be? Let us know your thoughts!