Kansas City Royals: Profiling the nineteen 2019 Non-Roster Invitees

Outfielders

To finish off the profiles of the nineteen non-roster invitees to Spring Training, we have the outfielders.

Elier Hernandez

Elier Hernandez is a 24 year old from the Dominican Republic. He most often resides in right field. In 2018, he spent time with both the Naturals and the Storm Chasers, 91 and 40 games, respectively. His overall slash on the year was .285/.330/.374.

In his career, which began in the minors in 2012, he has a slash of .264/.309/.372. From a fielding perspective, he has played in all three outfield spots. Overall, his fielding percentage is in the outfield is .960.

Erick Mejia

Next up on the outfield list is Erick Mejia. He is a 24 year old also from the Domincan Republic. He started in 2012 in the Domincan Summer League. In 2018, he was with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. The outfielder slashed .263/.318/.367 on the season.

In his career in the minor leagues, he has a slash of .275/.339/.379. He has tallied 536 total hits and 189 RBI’s. In the field, he has played center in just 14 games. Most of his career, up until 2018, was spent n the infield, particularly the middle infield. It seems he has transitioned to the outfield entirely, but it will be interesting to see how that pans out in the 2019 season for Mejia.

Bubba Starling

The last player who has been invited to Spring Training is Bubba Starling. His injury-ridden career has made him sort of a controversial name in the Kansas City Royals organization. He was a first round draft pick in 2011, but he has not seen any major league time yet. In 2018, he played in a mere 20 games, and nine of them were on rehab assignments with Idaho Falls and in the Arizona League.

His overall career slash is .236/.312/.386. He has made the rounds in the outfield, but he is a frequent flyer in center. He has played 536 games there throughout his eight year career. In the outfield, he has a .986 fielding percentage. If he can stay healthy, it’s fairly likely he will see time with the Royals in the 2019 season.