Kansas City Royals: 5 Hopes for the Royals 2019 Season

Hope 1: Veterans contribute in a positive manner

While this seems logical, the Kansas City Royals haven’t been so fortunate as of late to have this come true. With veterans like Brandon Maurer, Justin Grimm, and Blain Boyer being more of a hindrance than a positive contribution to the team, the Royals need to try and avoid those types of situations by simply not signing many free agents.

This year the Royals are hoping to fall on some better luck. Chris Owings may have struggled in 2018 with the Diamondbacks, his 2016/2017 campaign showed that he does have the ability to be a productive contributor to his team. Hitting a combined .273/.308/.428 over 216 games, if the Royals can get him to produce something similar then they should easily be able to flip in come June/July.

Brad Boxberger was recently signed by the Royals, and he is the perfect veteran for the team.

After being rumored to be looking for a veteran arm to add to the bullpen, the Kansas City Royals were able to get a potential diamond in the rough for only $2.2 million. After posting a rough 4.39 ERA in 2018 over 53.1 innings, the former All-Star has shown the ability to be a lockdown closer.

In 2015, Boxberger posted a 3.71 ERA over 63.0 innings and collecting 41 saves, Boxberger has shown the ability to anchor a bullpen. Which, to start the 2019 season he seemingly continued his 2015 campaign as being a shutdown closer.

Over the first half of the 2018 season, Boxberger posted an impressive 3.06 ERA over 35.1 innings and 38 appearances. He also logged 24 saves and 49 strikeouts compared to 18 walks. However, he seemed to wear down as the year went on, posting a 7.00 ERA over 18.0 innings and 22 appearances. He only logged 8 saves and 22 strikeouts compared to 14 walks.

If Boxberger can avoid a second-half collapse as he had in 2018, the trade value of him come June and July will be relatively high. While the Royals won’t get a teams Top-10 prospect, the notion of getting a Top-30 prospect isn’t out of the equation.

The concept that we applied to Boxberger also applies to Billy Hamilton. The speedy center fielder has been someone the Royals have had on their radar for a while due to valuing speed and defense. The hope is that Hamilton can improve his offensive numbers in the large outfields of Kauffman Stadium, increasing his trade value.

At the end of the day, the Royals are most likely going to try and trade their three veteran players. However, if they don’t produce the way they hope for, they aren’t paying them a significant amount of money, so they aren’t breaking the bank on them.

Hope 2: Hunter Dozier picks up where he left off

We all have an opinion as to what type of player Hunter Dozier is going to be or already is. While he didn’t give the Kansas City Royals much to be excited about after joining the Royals to start the year, he ended the year with a lot of promise.

Posting a less than desired .209/.269/.331 over the first 51 games of the season, Dozier brought some serious doubt to the minds of fans. However, he finished the year better. While I’m using that loosely, hitting .247/.287/.453 the final 51 games of the year is an improvement.

Once Mike Moustakas was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers and Dozier moved to third base, a different player seemed to appear at the plate. He slowly became more confident at the plate and his defense seemed to increase. His power drastically increased, hitting 12 extra-base hits in the first half and then 22 extra-base hits during the second half, Dozier started producing numbers the organization hoped for after his 2016 season when he hit .296/.366/.533 with 41 doubles and 23 home runs.

Dozier doesn’t need to hit as he did in 2016. However, if he could increase his 2018 second half numbers just a little, hitting .255-.260, and adding power to his at-bats, then the desire to get a third baseman quickly will start to dissipate. This year seems to be very much a “make or break” year for Dozier on the Royals.

Hope 3: The young core continues to develop

Whether you want to believe it or not, the Kansas City Royals have actually developed a nice farm system the last few years. After striking out on many first-round draft picks since Eric Hosmer was drafted in 2008, the Royals seem to be back on track.

The Royals didn’t have a first-round pick in 2016, but with the 14th pick in 2017 the Royals took Nick Pratto, and in 2018 the Royals seemingly stole three pitchers in the first round: Brady Singer

(18th), Jackson Kowar (33rd), and Daniel Lynch (34th). Other standouts in the last three drafts are outfielder Khalil Lee, shortstop Nicky Lopez, pitcher Richard Lovelady, catch MJ Melendez, outfielder Michael Gigliotti, and outfielder Kyle Isbel.

These are a lot of the guys who are projected to be the next wave. And while watching them they are developing at a rate that will allow for the Royals to be competitive again around 2020-2021. Both Pratto and Melendez have broken into the rankings of Top-10 prospects in their positions, Pratto being the No. 6 first baseman and Melendez being the No. 9 catcher.

Lopez is considered close to being MLB ready and Lovelady is wildly considered to be ready now by many MLB GMs. All the Royals need is for Singer, Kowar, Lynch, and Lee to continue developing the way the organization believes they can, and for Isbel and Gigliotti to show that they can build on previous success.

The 2019 MLB Draft is a critical one for the Royals. If they can have similar success like they have had the last couple years then the new wave of Royals prospects is going to help the team compete sooner, rather than later.

Hope 4: The Kansas City Royals get Bobby Witt Jr. #2 overall

Coming into the 2019 season, Bobby Witt Jr is considered to be the No. 2 prospect going into the draft. The high school standout has shown the ability to be a potential top-end player in the MLB with his defense, power, and speed. Here is a section from his draft projections according to MLB Pipeline.

The right-handed hitter shows good barrel control and some willingness to use the entire field, so he could hit for average if he modifies his aggressive approach. His raw power and speed are both plus tools, which, combined with his baserunning instincts, could make him a 20-20 player. Witt covers plenty of ground at shortstop, has quick hands and possesses the arm strength to make all the necessary throws — as well as pump mid-90s fastballs from the mound. His love for the game is evident, and scouts praise his makeup as much as his physical ability.

To be fair, they also brought some caution along with Witt Jr. In the same clip, the MLB Pipeline also stated the following.

A rare potential five-tool shortstop, Witt comes with some concerns about his bat, because he didn’t always make consistent contact on the showcase circuit last summer.

The biggest question is whether or not Witt will be there at No. 2 though. With the Baltimore Orioles picking No. 1 overall, they could decide to take Witt, which after they Orioles hired his uncle as a pro scout it wouldn’t be a surprise. However, many MLB writers and mock drafts have the Orioles taking Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman.

If the Orioles were to take Rutschman and the Royals do get Witt, anticipate them moving the high school shortstop to third base. Adding Witt to the Royals future infield could provide them with one of the best infields in baseball when the rest of the core makes the jump to the big league level. But time will tell on how Witt continues to develop in high school and if anyone else makes a big jump that impresses the Royals.

Hope 5: The Kansas City Royals call up young players throughout the season

In order to really know what the Royals have when it comes to their future, they will need to start moving players to the big league level. As of right now, Nicky Lopez and Richard Lovelady are two prospects that we hope to see by July. In order for those two to make the jump before roster expansion in September, the Royals will need Billy Hamilton and Brad Boxberger to produce to a level that allows the Royals to trade them.

However, Lopez and Lovelady shouldn’t be the only prospects the Royals look at this year.

Depending on how Kyle Zimmer does during Spring Training, if he doesn’t start the year with the team then by July he should be with the team. His velocity has begun to return after spending the last year with Driveline Baseball. 2019 has to be the year where the Royals finally see what he can do at the big league level.

And speaking of 2019 being the year where you have to see what a player can do. The mythical creature known as Bubba Starling has re-signed with the Royals after being outrighted in 2018. The Royals might be thinking of Starling similarly as they do Zimmer. “We would rather him fail with us than succeed with someone else” which might indicate that this year might be the year. If the Royals go another year without seeing Starling in the big leagues then it might be time to officially move one.

Lastly, this player is ones that I want to see get a chance. Frank Schwindel has done everything right throughout his career with the Royals and then some. Since 2016 he has never hit below .270 and has had 20 doubles and 20 homeruns every year since. In fact, he’s had 101 doubles and 67 homeruns during that stretch. Also, he has never struck out 100 times in a season or gone over 90 strikeouts in a season. If not a first baseman for the Royals, at least trying him out as a designated hitter.

The Kansas City Royals have plenty of other minor league options that could be called up throughout the year due to injuries or necessity, but these are a few that I believe should be at the front of the line.

Final Thoughts

The 2019 season is going to be a lot to follow. A lot of attention should be focused on the minor league systems this year so that we can monitor the development of the Royals future core. If the future core continues to have success and develop like they have shown they can, the Royals will be competitive sooner rather than later. If they stall or struggle, then we can anticipate the rebuild taking a bit longer.

This year should be better overall than 2018, or at least we all hope it will be. The team as a whole has a lot more areas where they can improve, and everyone has different “hopes” when it comes to the 2019 season. However, in order for the turn around to be quick, the Royals are going to need these five hopes to turn into a reality.

What do you think Kansas City Royals fans? What are your hopes? Do you agree with these five, or do you think they are off? What would you change? Let us know below!