Kansas City Royals: Five Most Pleasant Surprises in 2016

Sep 28, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (13) pours the water cooler on right fielder Paulo Orlando (16) after the game against the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium. Kansas City won 5-2. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports /

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Kansas City Royals third baseman Cheslor Cuthbert (19) – Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

Most Pleasant Surprises in 2016 – Number 4: Cheslor Cuthbert

Early in the season, it was announced that Mike Moustakas would miss the rest of the year due to an ACL tear. The news was devastating to everyone in Kansas City, but to Cheslor Cuthbert, it meant he had to step up and do what Moose did for the team.

Cuthbert went on to prove himself as a starter in the major leagues. He slashed .274/.318/.413 in 475 at bats and appeared in 128 games.

I was not expecting Cuthbert to be much of a factor in the Kansas City Royals’ lineup.

Cuthbert also went on to hit 12 home runs, 28 doubles, and one triple. He cooled off near the end of the season (though he did homer in the series finale), but it was great to see Cheslor batting with power in the absence of Moose.

With Moustakas (hopefully) coming back healthy in 2017, there’s talk that Cuthbert could play second base for the club. He was going to be playing second base during the offseason and if things go according to plan, the Royals could have both his and Moustakas’ bat in the lineup on most days.

I was not expecting Cuthbert to be much of a factor in the Kansas City Royals’ lineup. Once Moose went down, I thought what most people were probably thinking – That as fun as the past two seasons had been, the ride was likely over in 2016.

Cuthbert shredded that type of logic though, with his hot hitting and his good defensive play. It’ll be great to have him on the team in 2017.

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