KC Royals: Raul Mondesi Needs to Start Season in Omaha
Despite a hot start in spring training for the KC Royals, Raul Mondesi Jr. shouldn’t be seeing time on the big league roster. He should be spending the early part of the 2017 season in Triple-A Omaha.
Whenever a young member of the Kansas City Royals starts raking during spring training, everyone starts to get giddy with joy. In the past it’s been guys like Bubba Starling, who still has yet to even come close to appearing in a game with the Royals, and recently it’s been Peter O’Brien and Raul Mondesi Jr.
It’s hard not to get excited about Mondesi. He’s more than likely going to be the future at the shortstop position after this season and the kid is fast as hell.
Defensively, he looked just fine at the second base position in 2016. If Mondesi did get to the majors in 2017, second base is where the Royals would put him on the field.
The talent is there for Raul Mondesi Jr., but the best thing for him and for the Kansas City Royals is to put him in Omaha.
While that job is up for grabs to pretty much anymore, I don’t think the Royals should rush the “Raul Mondesi Experiment” at all. In fact, the kid should be playing in Omaha for several months before bringing him up to the big leagues is even an option.
The biggest reason for this is that Mondesi was horrendous at the plate last year. Sure, his .450 batting average in eight spring training games so far is a beautiful sight, but come on. It’s spring training, guys.
Players almost always show up big in spring training. It’s easier to mash the baseball when it’s in a desert, not to mention the fact that there’s a lot less pressure for guys before the regular season begins.
The fact of the matter is that Raul Mondesi wasn’t good with the bat in 2016 and that can be improved for sure. It’s not a knock on Mondesi at all, as he’s only 21 years old and has shown a lot of potential to be a future Kansas City great.
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Mondesi’s call-up last season was due to a slew of injuries and also to spark the fanbase after a lackluster followup to the KC Royals’ World Series title in 2015. It was exciting to watch a young prospect come up to the big leagues, but Mondesi proved he wasn’t ready to play on that stage.
He was the first player to ever make their MLB debut in a World Series game, striking out in Game 3 against the Mets. That wasn’t shocking considering the moment the Royals decided to put him in.
In his first regular season as a MLB player, Mondesi appeared in 47 games, had 135 at bats, and made 149 plate appearances. He finished his rookie year with a slash line of .185/.231/.281, which is awful.
Mondesi struck out 48 times, which is something he’s going to need to work on in the minors. He did see some success though, plating 13 RBI, getting walked six times, stealing nine bases, hitting three triples, and smashing two home runs.
The talent is there for Raul Mondesi Jr., but the best thing for him and for the Kansas City Royals is to put him in Omaha and let him work on his discipline at the plate. He needs to strike out less and walk more.
If Mondesi can perfect his craft at the plate, there’s no stopping this kid from being a future Royals great.