KC Royals: Whit Merrifield Starts Over Raul Mondesi Jr
By Charles Lam
The Kansas City Royals need consistent offense. The team inserted Whit Merrifield in the lineup late last night. He started a huge seven run ninth inning to lead the Royals to victory. He starts today over Raul Mondesi. Will he stay?
The KC Royals made the right move by sitting Raul Mondesi Jr. in favor of Whit Merrifield. Mondesi wasn’t getting it done offensively. In fact, he’s a liability on offense. The 21-year-old slashed .179/.227/.268 in 36 big league games.
Mondesi played in 43 minor league games this season. He got suspended for 50 games for testing positive for a performance enhancing drug he accidentally took in a cold medication. This limited his time to develop in the minor leagues and to build a large enough sample size on offense.
Mondesi played 29 games at Northwest Arkansas this season. While there, he slashed .259/.331/.448. He got called up to AAA Omaha Storm Chasers shortly after. He flashed the bat in Omaha and slashed .304/.328/.536 in 14 games.
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Merrifield lost his job to Mondesi because he struggled to adjust to major league pitching after his hot start. The 27-year-old slashed .356/.356/.467 in May but dropped off mightily in July when he slashed a miserable .170/.241/.245.
After the demotion in July, Merrifield picked up his game in Omaha. He amassed 34 hits since July 27 to August 31. Mondesi continued to struggle on offense forcing Ned Yost to pull him from the lineup in favor of Merrifield.
Whit Merrifield has three hits in the past three days. He’s also added two walks and a run batted in. He’s looking more and more confident at the plate this time up for the Kansas City Royals. He can get the job done on defense and on the base paths as well.
Here’s tonight’s starting lineup with “2HitWhit” added.
The Wednesday lineup: pic.twitter.com/c6xQH5hWAQ
— Rustin Dodd (@rustindodd) September 7, 2016
I think Ned has the best possible lineup he can have from an offensive stand point right now. Salvador Perez and Lorenzo Cain are both battling wrist injuries and could be out a few more games.
Ned Yost said Salvador Perez had a more extensive X-ray done today. Confirmed no fracture. He's hoping Perez returns Friday in Chicago.
— Rustin Dodd (@rustindodd) September 7, 2016
Cain’s timetable is a little bit more up in the air at this time.
Just talked to Lorenzo Cain after a workout. Still has some pain. May or may not swing off a tee today. Adamant will return but not ready
— Joel Goldberg (@goldbergkc) September 5, 2016
Both guys are vital for a playoff push for the Kansas City Royals. Kansas City sits 3.5 games back of the final Wild Card spot heading into tonight’s game vs. the Minnesota Twins on the road. The KC Royals must jump in front of: New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers and the Baltimore Orioles to seize the final spot in the last 20 plus games.
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Hopefully, Whit Merrifield can add a much-needed spark to this offense and help the team get more wins. He did it back in May, maybe he’ll do it again.