KC Royals: 3 most overlooked players for the 2020 season

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There are players on the KC Royals roster that are being overlooked. Here are a few players I expect to pleasantly surprise us in 2020.

1. Nick Heath, OF

Nick Heath has been overlooked his entire baseball career. Coming out of Junction City High School he was not considered a Division I prospect and he was certainly not someone the KC Royals had their eyes on. When the head coach at Coffeyville Community College got a position with Northwestern State (Louisiana) he took his 135-pound outfield recruit with him.

Nick would redshirt as a freshman in college. He was on no one’s radar. Then through 155 games in three years of college, he maintained an on-base percentage of .365 and stole 75 bases. It was just enough to get him drafted in the 16th round by the KC Royals.

Nick Heath has now grown into a 6’1 290-pound center fielder that covers everything. He is good enough in centerfield that when he was called up to Omaha last year they moved Brett Phillips to a corner spot in order to allow Heath to stay in center. That is enough to convince me. The video below should instill confidence in his defensive abilities moving forward.

Nick Heath has now had more than 1300 plate appearances in the minor leagues with an on-base base percentage of .348. He has been incredibly consistent throughout his professional career in hitting around .260 and getting on base in more than a third of his plate appearances. And when he gets on base, he steals the next one. Through 323 minor league games, he has stolen 160 bases.

By all accounts, Nick Heath can play centerfield right now for the KC Royals. He strikes out more than you would like to see for center fielder that prioritizes on-base percentage. But, again, his walk rate for Omaha was over seventeen percent. He gets on base. He terrifies pitchers and catchers once he gets on base. And he catches everything in centerfield.

Does he sound a lot like another left-handed-hitting center fielder that once played for the KC Royals? A guy with the last name of Dyson? Yes, he does. Dyson never really got enough of a chance to prove he could be an everyday on-base guy. I, for one, am hoping the kid from Junction City gets his chance. I expect him to surprise some people if he does. And his first opportunity should be early and often this season.

2. Nicky Lopez, IF

Nicky Lopez played in over 100 games for the KC Royals last year. My bet is that we see a different Lopez at the plate this season.

There is no sugar-coating 2019 for Nicky Lopez. He struggled in his first taste of big-league baseball. He struck out over 13 percent of the time. He walked in less than 5 percent of his plate appearances. It was downright brutal, at times.

The good news is that Nicky Lopez has a strong track record of figuring out each level of baseball. Nicky was actually moved up sooner than many expected last season. Mostly because it became clear that he had figured AAA baseball out. Through 88 games in the Pacific Coast League, he had taken 47 walks and only 34 strikeouts.

He walks more than he strikes out. That is almost unheard of in today’s game. I am fairly certain that some people in the KC Royals organization are not even aware that is legal.

Lopez is also an excellent defender. He is a natural shortstop that can cover second-base without any issues. He has quick footwork and a sure glove and is fun to watch play defense. The video below is a good one to get an idea of how Nicky patrols the shortstop position.

The only concern with Nicky is whether he can hit enough to justify playing him at second base. The most home runs Lopez has ever hit in a season is seven. So, he is not going to become a power hitter. But I would expect him to get on base in 2020.

There were some signs that Nicky has begun to figure out how to get on base over the last month of the 2019 season. He hit over .280 and got on base in a third of his plate appearances. That is also the player we have seen work his way through the minors.

The reason Nicky Lopez is being overlooked for 2020 is that his 2019 season was really bad. He struggled to make any kind of decent contact. His hard-hit percentage was barely twenty-five percent. He will have to learn how to barrel up the ball better. Much of that, though, will be just getting used to seeing major league pitching. He has had adjustment periods at other levels. He has always figured out how to stop striking out and start getting on base. I would be surprised if we did not see his numbers turn around for 2020.

1. Richard Lovelady, RP

Richard Lovelady had been a dominant reliever throughout his minor league career. I expect to see that ability translate to the big leagues in 2020.

Richard Lovelady had some genuine struggles during his time at the major league level in 2019. His August was a mess. But there is a reasonable argument to be made that the Royals used Lovelady in such a way, throughout the 2019 season, it was almost designed to hurt his confidence.

In April Lovelady threw only seven innings and allowed four earned runs, but three of those runs all came in one bad outing against Cleveland. In May he threw only six more innings and allowed two earned runs.

In fairness, he was not blowing through lineups, at the time. But his usage was so haphazard it was very difficult to see a plan there, and he was still one of our better relievers.

That 3.6 FIP through the first two months of the season got him demoted for the next two months. As was expected, Lovelady was as dominant in Omaha. He has now thrown 99 innings of Pacific Coast League baseball. Over that time he has 100 strikeouts and only 28 walks. His ERA is under 3.0.

Richard Lovelady is a funky pitcher with an awkward delivery. He may have a bit of an adjustment period to the major leagues. He also has two plus pitches with a 96 MPH fastball and a killer slider that he commands surprisingly well.

To get a true idea of how awkward Lovelady is to face, see the video below. His arm action is unusual and his release point borders on bizarre. He is almost impossible to pick up for left-handed hitters. His fastball comes in even faster than the velocity would suggest. And, when he is pitching with confidence, he locates his slider where he wants it.

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Richard Lovelady is going to become a useful major league reliever. It is one of the safest bets on this young roster. There is nothing left to learn about him at the AAA level. Especially for a team that loses over 100 games, many times by bringing in bullpen arms that walk hitters around the bases. His FIP in Kansas City last season was 4.16. Not bad at all for a rookie trying to find his way. He should have been in Kansas City for all of 2019. And he should certainly be in the big leagues for 2020.

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