Kansas City Royals: Recent Notable First Round Picks

Kansas City Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas (8) – Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Up until this year, Mike Moustakas was considered a disappointment to the Kansas City Royals organization. He was the king of striking out and not coming through when the Royals needed him. It got to a point where it was difficult to tell if fans were chanting “MOOOOOSE” or “BOOOOO” at Kauffman Stadium. He was even sent to Omaha for a week during the 2014 season.

I remember I was at a game with my dad last season and it was a critical situation where the Royals were trailing and had a guy on third base and two outs. My dad disappointingly said, “Ugh, of course Moustakas is up next”. That shows the lack of confidence fans had in ol’ Moose last season.

The playoffs, however, were when everyone started to appreciate Moose. He slammed five home runs, including a massive one in Game 1 against the Los Angeles Angels to give the Royals the win after 11 innings.

2015 has been a whole new Moose though and it appears he’s finally beaten that silly shift opponents often would put on him. When he was originally put in the second spot in the lineup, fans were not pleased. Once again though, Ned Yost showed us why he’s the manager and we’re not, as Moose has had a breakthrough season. He’s currently (as of mid May) batting .342 and has hit four home runs. He’s also had 26 runs and batted in 15 RBIs.

Fans are definitely on board with the new Mike Moustakas. Let’s hope he sticks around.

Career stats through May 20th, 2015

• Games: 550
• Runs: 207
• Hits: 480
• Doubles: 109
• Triples: 4
• Home Runs: 56
• RBI: 214
• Stolen Bases: 11
• Walks: 136
• Batting Average: .243

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