KC Royals: Five Key Offensive Players For 2015 Season
By Joel Wagler
Kansas City Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar – Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
2) Alcides Escobar, SS
Like Lorenzo Cain, who came to the KC Royals in the same trade, Alcides Escobar impressed Ned Yost with his hitting in September and November. Like Cain and the number three slot, Escobar being moved to lead-off coincided with the Royals getting hot down the stretch.
Now the question remains. Has Escobar turned the corner offensively, or is him batting lead-off on a regular basis a recipe for disaster?
There is little doubt that Escobar had one of the better seasons of his career in 2014. Still, it wasn’t as good as his 2012. His slash for the two seasons: 2012 – .293/.331/.390/.721; for 2014 – .285/.317/.377/.694 – are not the numbers of an effective lead-off hitter.
The season sandwiched between them is even less so – .234/.259/.300/.559. The Kansas City Royals are hoping against hope that Escobar strays from the trend of an off-year followed by a good year, followed by an off-year, he has so far followed.
Yost announced that Escobar will lead-off to start the season, according to the Royals’ MLB.com page. Escobar tends to hit better than normal for him batting first. His career numbers in that slot are surprisingly acceptable, as he sports a solid slash – .296/.339/.380/.719 in 25 games.
In an even smaller sample size, his 2014 slash while leading off was downright terrific, albeit in just 16 games – .362/.397/.478/.876. This also highlights how awful he was leading off the other nine games he did so in his career.
Escobar’s Slash Stats As A Royal
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | PA | AB | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 24 | KCR | AL | 158 | 598 | 548 | .254 | .290 | .343 | .633 |
| 2012 | 25 | KCR | AL | 155 | 648 | 605 | .293 | .331 | .390 | .721 |
| 2013 | 26 | KCR | AL | 158 | 642 | 607 | .234 | .259 | .300 | .559 |
| 2014 | 27 | KCR | AL | 162 | 620 | 579 | .285 | .317 | .377 | .694 |
| 7 Yrs | 825 | 3198 | 2974 | .263 | .299 | .349 | .648 | |||
| KCR (4 yrs) | 633 | 2508 | 2339 | .266 | .299 | .352 | .652 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
During the 15 post season games, Escobar more resembled his career lead-off numbers, except his On Base Percentage was rather paltry, at .303.
Escobar needs to set the table for whomever bats behind him. He needs to get on base, whether by line drive, infield hit, or base on balls. In the last four seasons, Escobar has 89 infield hits, and just 96 walks, according to FanGraphs. It would be terrific if he could be more selective at the plate.
Yost could be flirting with disaster by placing Alcides Escobar at the top of the batting order. Or maybe, Escobar has matured as a hitter, and will turn the corner for good. The Royals certainly need the latter to be true.
If the KC Royals are going to improve on offense, they need Escobar to be close the hitter he was down the stretch. Hey, he’s not going to hit .362 over the long haul, but if he can get his average around .300, and can push is OBP closer to .350, that will be a success.
His speed, which disappeared in the post season (one steal, and that in the Wild Card game against Oakland), is a big part of his game. If can get on, that speed will result in more fastballs for whomever is batting behind him. That speed will help him get around the bases, and hopefully lead to more runs.
Escobar can be successful as a lead-off hitter; just don’t be shocked if he isn’t.
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