Kansas City Royals: Five Players to Watch Vs Los Angeles Angels

RAUL MONDESI JR.

I’m putting Raul Mondesi Jr. on my watch list for the simple fact that he isn’t impressing anyone. His Wednesday night performance was a nice sight, as he hit his first home run of the season, but Mondesi coming up to the plate doesn’t instill fear in the opposing team at all.

When Mondesi got the second base job to start the year, we knew there’d be growing pains. That meant that the Royals planned to likely grind it out as Mondesi worked on his plate discipline and technique.

Now, however, with Strahm being demoted, could the same be in store for Mondesi? If he doesn’t start hitting, the Kansas City Royals could opt to bring up Whit Merrifield to fill in. Merrifield was a hitting machine when originally called up last year and has the ability to play nearly anywhere on the field. I can’t believe he’s not on the team as I’m writing this to be honest.

Mondesi is someone to keep an eye on because if he doesn’t start to become a clutch hitter, he might be going back to Omaha. The Royals proved with sending Strahm to Triple-A that they’re not going to sit back and let young guys work it out in the majors. This year is too important for this team and they might not be as patient with Mondesi as they’d like to.