Kansas City Royals: Evaluating the 2017 Payroll
By Joel Wagler
The Kansas City Royals Possible Outfield
The area is maybe the most easily predicted. Most of the spots are claimed unless there is a big trade or the team gets sentimental and retains Dyson.
- Alex Gordon – LF – $16 million
- Paulo Orlando – CF – $514,250
- Lorenzo Cain – RF – $11 million
- Billy Burns – OF – $512,500
- Daniel Nava – OF/DH – $2 million (estimate)
- Total – $30 million (estimate)
The team could save some dollars by going with someone within the organization like Hunter Dozier or Jorge Bonifacio or try to find a better option than Nava.
One word of warning here. Paulo Orlando is a great feel good story. He earned his playing time in 2016. Don’t raise your expectations too much, though. While he hit an impressive .302, he has almost no power, almost never walks, isn’t much of a run producer, and strikes out a lot.
There are two key stats that should dampen your expectations. His Batting Average on Balls in Play was an unsustainable .380 (historic MLB average is approximately .300), and he struck out in 21.7 percent of his plate appearances. For someone who hit just five home runs and had only 43 Runs Batted In, that is a crazy high percentage.
If the Royals are planning on Orlando being the everyday centerfielder in 2017, expect a major regression. Which will make it will be tough for this offense to be much better.