Kansas City Royals: Five First Half MVP Candidates
By Alec Tilson
Kansas City Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas (8) – Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
- bWAR: 2.7
- fWAR: 2.1
- Offense: .301/.357/.436
- Defense: Silver
Mike Moustakas is living right these days. His 87 hits led the Royals (and was good for Top 15 in the AL) before being placed on the bereavement list, and he’s been a centerpiece of the offense since starting the season batting second in the lineup.
We forget that it takes some prospects several years to display staying-power at the Major League level, and Moose is a great reminder of that.
His walk-up song is still “Crossroads” by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and he recently hit a hole-in-one on the (in)famous 17th hole at Pebble Beach: 140 yards out, wedge. Just a routine off-day on the west coast (Source of link: MLB.com).
Moose is spraying the ball more (63 singles in 75 games) and he’s still driving it when he can (16 doubles, 7 homers). That’s the approach of a much better hitter than the one who hit .212/.271/.361 last season.
All-Star selection or not, Moustakas has been invaluable to the Royals this season. Are there better AL defensive third basemen? Yes… Machado. Are there better AL hitting third baseman? Yes… Donaldson. Is there a guy who appears to love the 162-game grind and who is solely about winning more than Moose? Maybe not.
We forget that it takes some prospects several years to display staying-power at the Major League level, and Moose is a great reminder of that.
Grade: 9 out of 10
Next: The Undertaker