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Kansas City Royals: Projecting 2017 Opening Day Lineup

By Scott Dillon

Mar 7, 2016; Mesa, AZ, USA; Kansas City Royals walk to the dugout prior to facing the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 7, 2016; Mesa, AZ, USA; Kansas City Royals walk to the dugout prior to facing the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 23, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (13) hits a double in the second inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
May 23, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (13) hits a double in the second inning against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports /

Batting Seventh: Salvador Perez

Salvador Perez actually has better career stats out of the sixth spot in the lineup than that of the seventh, but he still posts a pretty decent line from the seventh spot in the order.

In his career, Perez has slashed .274/.295/.443 from the seventh spot in the order. While swapping Soler and Perez makes a lot of sense, I still think that Soler offers more in potential power than Perez does.

That being said, Perez has hit career highs in home runs in each of the past two seasons and while everyone says he needs more time off, it never seems to happen so there is a chance he could still be tapping into even more power as he gets older.

While swapping Soler and Perez makes a lot of sense, I still think that Soler offers more in potential power than Perez does.

The biggest reason I dropped Perez to seventh in my lineup is for the days that he does get a day off.

Drew Butera proved to be an excellent backup for Perez last year and even showed flashes with the bat (and on the mound…but that’s another story).

If Butera does need to replace Perez for a day, it would make sense to only shuffle a couple of guys in the order instead of three to four.

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