KC Royals: Reymond Fuentes Should Be Starting In Right Field

The KC Royals have a bit of a gap in right field. Could Reymond Fuentes be the answer until Jarrod Dyson gets back?

What a world. Going into Spring Training, the Kansas City Royals had, for the most part, just one major position battle on their hands with an opening in right field (I prefer to write as little as possible about Omar Infante).

Alex Rios is gone, and he’s not coming back. No major offseason signings occurred for guys who could end up out there, and the KC Royals are stacked with AAA guys ready to get a shot in the show. Nothing was set in stone.

Jarrod Dyson was the favorite, and I wrote a few weeks back about how excited fans should be that, at age 31, he was finally getting a shot to start for a major league ball club (let alone the World Champion Royals). He then promptly strained his oblique.

While the rehab has been going considerably faster than expected and Dyson could miss as little as two weeks of the regular season, a decision must be made about a position that was already going to be filled with (in some people’s mind) a questionable platoon.

Last year, Fuentes, who is also a lefty, actually hit better against left-handed pitching, batting .342 in 120 at-bats, albeit with less power (one home run compared to eight against righties).

Enter Reymond Fuentes.

As it stands, Brett Eibner and Jose Martinez have since been sent back down to the minors, and Whit Merrifield, if he makes the cut, will most likely be more of a Zobrist-like super-utility guy.

Right now, Paulo Orlando is still assumed to start Opening Day, and at least in games against left-handed pitchers.

However, in my mind, Fuentes should not only make the team to platoon with Orlando, but he should be the Royals starting right fielder, every day, at least until Dyson is back.

Frankly, I don’t think this is that ridiculous of an idea.

Fuentes is 25, was a former first-round pick and has yet to hit his prime. The time is now to figure out what he’s got, and if he doesn’t have it, there are four other guys who can immediately fill in.

First of all, Fuentes has had a ridiculous Spring Training. I know, I know – SPRING TRAINING STATS DON’T MATTER.

This is largely true, especially for veterans or anyone focusing on something specific, but the man is fighting for a spot on the roster and is currently leading the Royals in hits (21 as of 3/29), batting .412, and has an on-base percentage close to .500.

Meanwhile, Paulo Orlando is batting .189, which to his credit, is better than Drew Butera and Tony Cruz. I’ve never understood why Paulo was such a lock to be Dyson’s platoon this year in the first place.

His defense is solid; his arm is okay, he’s fast, but he simply did not hit well last year.

He batted .249 with a .269 on-base percentage (contact hitter!), which ranks him 302/318 in on-base percentage for players with at least 240 at-bats. For those wondering, Infante ranked 316.

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Last year, Fuentes, who is also a lefty, actually hit better against left-handed pitching, batting .342 in 120 at-bats, albeit with less power (one home run compared to eight against righties). But hey, at least, the word ‘power’ is part of the conversation with him.

Worst case scenario? He stinks for two weeks, and we go back to the planned Dylando (Dyson and Orlando if you didn’t pick up on that) after all.

Granted, Paulo did contribute at some key moments in 2015 and a decision like this could be construed as a slap in the face (one in which I doubt Yost is willing to make), but on paper, it looks like a no-brainer to me.

While it also wouldn’t be “fair” for Dyson to lose his spot to Fuentes, if Jarrod can’t handle the starting role, after all, we’ll have a better idea if there’s an ample replacement right behind him for down the road.

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While I’m not the one who has to go out there each day and face the critics, I hope management sees the numbers on this one. To ignore a low-risk opportunity like this would be something that happened in the KC Royals’ past, but in a post-Process world, I have hope. Here’s to seeing you on the other side, Rey.

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