KC Royals: Five Key Offensive Players For 2015 Season

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Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez – Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The KC Royals obviously have other offensive players that will be important to the team’s success this season.

Alex Gordon is a consistent performer who can be counted on year-in, and year-out.

Salvador Perez is a phenomenally gifted player who needs to learn plate discipline quickly. According to Fangraphs, last season, Perez walked only 3.6% of the time (10% is a good number), and struck out 14% of the time (again, anything over 10% is too high).

The problem is that players with nearly 1,600 plate appearances under their belt at the Major League level seldom reverse these numbers significantly. We may have already seen the best Perez has to offer offensively.

The Royals brought in veteran Alex Rios for one year. The right fielder is a placeholder until farm hands Jorge Bonifacio and Lane Adams are ready to take over. Rios only hit four home runs last season, but should outproduce those numbers this year. Heck, he already has three homers this spring.

Second base is still a bit murky. Omar Infante has arm issues, and Christian Colon is untested. Between the two, maybe some solid production can emerge from his position.

The Royals also have speedster Jarrod Dyson on the roster, to help in the outfield, and to provide a solid option off the bench.

All of these players will have big roles in 2014. All will need to improve just a bit to help this offense become a force in the American League.

The KC Royals can’t be satisfied with their improbable post season run last year. They have to develop and improve so another playoff run will be expected, and not improbable. There is room for incredible upside, but a lot of things need to go right for the Kansas City Royals to have an offense that is feared for more than their speed.

These are the players to do it.

Next: Top Ten Catchers In Royals' History

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