5 Most Important Kansas City Royals in 2013

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (13) Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

4- SALVADOR PEREZ: The Royals may just have the best all around catcher in the American League. Playing in 136 ball games, Salvador Perez had a very productive season. Not only is he a terrific defensive player, but he is a team leader. He has the respect and attention of his pitchers, including the much more experienced pitchers like James Shields, Ervin Santana, and Jeremy Guthrie.

Offensively, Perez has been better on the major league level than anyone could have hoped. In 2013, with 526 plate appearances, Perez had a terrific slash for a 23-year old catcher – .292/.323/.433/.757. He produced 13 home runs, 25 doubles, and 3 triples.

He also drove in 79 runs and scored 48 times. Yost actually did a good job resting Perez throughout the season, keeping him strong.

Perez was an incredible cog in the Royals success in 2013, and fans have to be excited to see if he can maintain that offensive production, or even improve on it has he adds experience to his resume.  He is one of the most fun players to watch because of the obvious joy he has for the game of baseball.