Kansas City Royals: Don’t count Adalberto Mondesi out yet

When looking at this, it is hard for me to say “we know what he can do”.

Over his career, Mondesi has been on the big league roster for 121 days and played in 72 games. But this is a prime example of how you need to look further into what the numbers mean, rather than taking them for face value.

When you look at what he has done with consistent playing time he looks significantly better. Granted it has only happened in Triple-A, but he is showing that he can be more than what his MLB playing time shows.

While at Omaha, he hit .297/.330/.525 with a .855 OPS and 42 extra-base hits over 89 games in 2017. He also had a wRC+ of 119 during that time. In 2018 he has hit .250/.295/.492 with a .786 OPS and 16 extra-base hits over 29 games. His wRC+ is 97, which is just below league average.

His low numbers this year can probably be attributed to the fact that he’s hit .231/.298/.423 with

a .721 OPS over his last 13 games. If he wants the be called up, he has to play better than this. However, of the 12 hits, six are extra-base hits. So he is showing some power during his slump.

I’ll leave you with this little bit.

I don’t know many people who can get comfortable with their job when they are doing it as consistently. Especially when you’re going against some of the best athletes of the game. We have seen what consistent at-bats can do for a player. Just look at Hunter Dozier, Jorge Bonifacio, and Jorge Soler.

Here is a quote from Dayton Moore back in 2016 during FanFest about Mondesi.

"I’m not saying (Raul) Mondesi can be our Lindor, or our Correa in some aspect in 2016, but he’s certainly talented enough. He does have five tools. He does have to be more consistent offensively. At times, I think he gets a little bored with the level (he’s at). His mind is very advanced as a baseball player. His athleticism is very advanced for his age. He’s got a great heart to play, but sometimes you’d like to see him a little more enthusiastic. He grew up in a big league clubhouse. He’s not in awe of anything. He will shine in the Major Leagues. He will play better in the Major Leagues than he did in the Minor Leagues. Similar to what you saw from Lindor. Raul Mondesi has star quality."

I understand that is from 2016…

But this is also him talking about a 19-year-old at the time. We have established that his 72 games don’t portray what he has done accurately because he hasn’t had the chance to show what he can do with consistency. And as Moore said, Francisco Lindor hit .284/.350/.402 in Triple-A before being called up in 2015.

When Lindor was first called up, he played every day from start to finish and hit .211/.258/.281 over 15 games. But, just like everyone starting a new job, you figure it out the more time you’re consistently there. From that month on Lindor hit .327/.366/.512 while playing nearly every day.

With a player that has the abilities Moore explained, the Royals did him a disservice playing him as sporadically as they did. The fact that he played less than 50% of the time, and if you factor in the number of games he started and finished he consistently played in just 69% of games and 41% of the days he was called up.

Next: Bonifacio's Return

If the Royals really want to know what Mondesi can do, they need to play him every day for a full game. I understand protecting his service time to keep him under the thumb of the Royals longer. However, I personally would rather see now if he truly can be that type of player Moore suggested back in 2016, rather than wait and hope he’s that kind of player.

What do you think Royals fans? Have the Royals given Mondesi a fair shake? Should we finally see what Mondesi can do? Is holding him in Omaha helping him? Let us know below!