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KC Royals: Omar Infante Or Christian Colon At Second Base

By Phillip Irwin

Aug 30, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Kansas City Royals second baseman Omar Infante (14) at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 30, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Kansas City Royals second baseman Omar Infante (14) at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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Second base has been a huge hole for the KC Royals over the past three years and beyond.

Back in the dark ages, before Chris Getz became a Starbucks barista, he was the Royals’ everyday second baseman. I don’t want to go over the statistics for Getz because I watched him for one season and I’m a believer in the eye test in some circumstances.

I can understand why the Royals used him. He was an above average defender but what got him in trouble was his lack of production with the bat. Getz turned into an easy out and the Royals offense suffered.

In 2014, the Royals signed Omar Infante to way too much money. He was coming off a season where he hit .318 for the Tigers.

Naturally, Omar has done his best Getz impression since then slashing .252/.295/.337 in 2014 and .220/.234/,318 in 2015. Omar could be Getz’s twin. This has raised the question to many people such as myself. What other options do the Royals have at second base?

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Christian Colon, Raul Mondesi, and Ramon Torres represent the three best options at second base for the Royals aside from Omar.

Mondesi is the Royals top prospect and has a speed/defense combo with a lot of upside. He is not quite ‘there’ yet according to reports from scouts. They seem to agree that his bat hasn’t developed yet, but his quick advancement through the system may have something to do with that.

This is why I think the best course of action is to allow him to grow in the minor leagues.The consistent at-bats against good competition is the only way Mondesi will work through his struggles and possibly find ways to better his swing.

Torres is not as high level a prospect but is a more natural second baseman. Torres had a good run in the Arizona Fall League and performed decently in the minors last season. Regardless, if they are not going to use trial by fire with their top prospect, I doubt they would promote a lesser prospect instead.

That brings us to Christian Colon, who has served as a utility infielder. That role has meant he has seen limited at-bats and no one has gotten much of a chance to see Colon.

That being said, every Royals’ fan could tell you about two moments in Colon’s career.

I watched just about every Royals’ game over the past three years and I can hardly remember ever seeing Colon. That being said, every Royals’ fan could tell you about two moments in Colon’s career.

He drove in Eric Hosmer to tie the game and later scored the winning run off of Perez’s beautiful double past Donaldson in the 2014 wild card game. He came up big for the Royals in one of the most clutch scenarios in Royals history.

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Game 5 of the 2015 World Series, the Royals were out of players and they turned to Colon with Dyson in scoring position. Colon, who hadn’t turned in a major league at-bat in nearly a month, promptly responded with a line drive single to left field.

As much of the baseball world likes to use October/November  as the beginning and end of a player’s resume it is impossible to say how good Colon is based off a couple plays. Still, a player who can come in to a pressure situation and do exactly what is asked of him is a player who deserves an extended look. Colon will get his chance this spring of that I am sure. What happens next will be history.

Next: Which Player Will Start Vs. The Mets?

What do you think KC Royals’ fans? Who will win the second base job out of camp? Is Omar Infante going to earn the opening day start? Has Christian Colon done enough to work his way into the lineup? Let me know in the comments’ section below.

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