KC Royals: Whit Merrifield Could Be The Next Ben Zobrist

The KC Royals roster is becoming more clear and Whit Merrifield is doing all he can to earn a spot. Could he be the next Ben Zobrist?

The KC Royals have maybe two roster spots left to fill out the 25-man roster on opening day. They cut Travis Snider yesterday which leaves Chien-Ming Wang, Whit Merrifield, Cody Decker, and Terrance Gore in a fight for one of maybe two spots.

Wang has looked really good for the Royals this Spring Training and could turn into Dayton Moore’s latest reclamation project success story. Ned Yost has said that he likes what Terrance Gore has to offer on the base paths, but he’s really a one trick pony. Cody Decker is an interesting utility option as well, but isn’t quite as versatile as Merrifield.

That leaves them with a decision to make on jack of all trades but master of none: Whit Merrifield.

Whit Merrifield is hitting the ball extremely well this Spring Training as he’s slashing .386/.429/.727 and has nine extra hits. He also has three stolen bases and has played all over the diamond on defense.

Because of his ability to play virtually anywhere on the baseball field, it’s easy for people to draw comparisons to Ben Zobrist.

But just how similar are these two super utility players?

Merrifield has been groomed as a utility player ever since he was drafted out of the South Carolina in the ninth round of the 2010 draft. His ability to play multiple positions and come through in the clutch are probably two of the things that made him so appealing. He did deliver a walk-off championship clinching hit in the 2010 college World Series so he’s no stranger to postseason pressure.

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Aside from their ability to play defense just about anywhere in the field, there are actually quite a few similarities between Ben Zobrist and Whit Merrifield.

Ben Zobrist did make it to the Major League Level at age 25 but was bounced between the Minor Leagues and Major Leagues until his age 28 season. Whit Merrifield is now just 27 years old and may be starting to play his best baseball. Some players just develop more slowly than others, a la Lorenzo Cain.

Ben Zobrist has over 100 home runs in the Major Leagues, but only hit 23 dingers during his time in the Minors. Whit Merrifield has 35 of them, though admittedly over several more at-bats. Zobrist averaged an extra base hit in every 10.67 at-bats during his minor league career and Merrifiled is averaging 11.9 at-bats between extra base hits.

That’s not too terribly different. It’s also a sign that Merrifield’s power may still be developing, though playing in Kauffman stadium likely won’t help deliver an increase in home runs.

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Here’s where things start to get a little different. Zobrist slashed .318/.428/.456 in the Minor Leagues while Merrifield is currently slashing .273/.334/.395. His two seasons at Triple-A have yielded a slash line of .292/.338/.405 which is better, but still far apart from Zobrist’s numbers.

Perhaps the biggest difference between these two players is their plate discipline. Zobrist drew nearly 40 more walks that Merrifield has and Merrifield has over 1,000 more plate appearances than Zobrist had. He also strikes out at a rate of 15.1 percent which isn’t great, but it doesn’t stack up to Zobrist’s whiff percentage of 11.1.

Merrifield does have quite a few more steals than Zobrist did at 122 compared to 58, but he also gets caught over 40 percent of the time. Zobrist only got caught stealing 35 percent of the time.

While it’s too early to start drawing comparisons to Ben Zobrist, he certainly could develop into that caliber a player. He’s not going to be a guy that hits 20 home runs in a season but he could make consistent contact and have gap power that’s appealing. He does have 150 two-baggers in his Minor League career and the rate in which he hits them is in-line with Zobrist.

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So, could Whit Merrifield turn into Ben Zobrist? Sure, but it’s not likely. While he could develop into a Ben Zobrist-like player, he’s probably more of a Willie Bloomquist than a Ben Zobrist. That’s not necessarily a bad thing either. Bloomquist did put together a 14-year career in the Major Leagues and provided teams with plenty of depth.

So what do you think KC Royals’ fans? Do you want to see Whit Merrifield on the roster? Will he ever play up to Ben Zobrist’s potential? Is there someone else you’d like to see the Royals give a shot to when it comes time to make the final cuts. Let me know your thoughts in the comments’ section below.