KC Royals: New Hitters Flash Power

By John Viril | Mar 6, 2015

KC Royals free-agent hitters Kendrys Morales and Alex Rios enjoyed a hopeful start to the 2015 season on Wednesday afternoon in KC’s 13-2 victory over the Texas Rangers in Surprise. What figures to be the heart of the Kansas City Royals lineup opened spring play with Hosmer, Morales, and Rios each slamming home runs in their first at bat.

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I know it’s spring. But such an outburst was nice to see. Lack of power was the Kansas City Royals biggest weakness in 2014.

The KC Royals opened the game with a walk from Alcides Escobar, and two consecutive singles from Jarrod Dyson and Lorenzo Cain, with Cain driving in Escobar from second base.

Eric Hosmer got things rolling with a 445-foot blast to dead center field that also drove in Jarrod Dyson and Lorenzo Cain. Kendrys Morales followed with a solo shot pulled to right field, and Alex Rios then pulled a home run to left. Click video below to see the fun:

The KC Royals rocked Texas starter Colby Lewis for six runs in the first inning.

Hosmer finished the day 2-3 with 3 RBI’s and 2 runs scored. Morales added a double in the 3rd inning to also go 2-3 with 1 RBI and 2 runs scored. Rios continued the beat with a 2-3 day with 3 RBI’s and 2 runs scored.

Now that’s the production KC Royals general manager Dayton Moore hoped to see from the heart of his lineup after signing Kendrys Morales to a 2-year $17 million deal and Alex Rios for 1-year at $11 million this winter.

Both Morales and Rios struggled in 2014. Seattle tagged the 32-year-old Kendrys Morales with a qualifying offer and he signed late with Minnesota. He never got untracked and hit a miserable .218/.274/338 with only 8 home runs.

Thirty-four year-old Alex Rios suffered an ankle injury then hurt his thumb compensating for his weakened leg. Rios hit a modest .280/.311/.398 last season with only 17 stolen bases following a year in which he swiped 42.

Steamer projects both Morales and Rios to each produce only .5 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) next season.

Both players looked a whole lot better than that projection on Wednesday. We do have to remember the ball does carry in the thin Arizona air. Yet, Surprise isn’t exactly a small stadium. It goes 350 feet down each foul line and 410 to dead center.

However, Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost did tell MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan:

"“You look at ground balls more than home runs because the infield is rock hard and lightning fast,” Yost said. “There was a ground ball hit by [Christian] Colon [on Wednesday] that scooted through that you wouldn’t get during the regular season. That happens a lot here. You pay attention to those things.”"

We can’t make too much of the first spring game, but I can’t help but hope the KC Royals front office knows something Steamer does not after watching them live on Wednesday.

Next: KC Royals Offense Needs A Cornerstone

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