Kansas City Royals: Ryan O’Hearn’s role moving forward
The Kansas City Royals called up Ryan O’Hearn a few weeks ago and he’s shown signs of potential so far. What will the team decide to do with him in the coming years?
For Kansas City Royals fans, we all know this season and next season are a wash. 2020 will provide the first year in which the team MIGHT be competitive, but even then, playoff hopes should be tapered.
One intriguing prospect for that next wave, at least in my opinion, is Ryan O’Hearn, who the Royals drafted in the eighth round in 2014. O’Hearn is finally getting an opportunity to prove himself this year and he’s shown up big time so far.
As of Friday morning, O’Hearn’s slash line is at .200/.314/.500, but the three home runs and eight RBI is what fans should be excited about. This kid is mashing pitches so far and it’s great to see that from a rookie.
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The problem with O’Hearn moving forward is where will the Royals play him at? He’s struggling to get playing time even now with a team nearly 50 games under .500 because Ned Yost thinks Lucas Duda needs to be playing all the time.
As of now, O’Hearn has started just nine games and has only played first base in four of them. He was the designated hitter in the other five. O’Hearn deserves playing time at first base this season unless the Royals decide to move him around the diamond a bit.
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The latter could make sense, as Nick Pratto, the Royals’ first round draft pick last year, will hopefully be the team’s first baseman during the next wave of contention. If Pratto does pan out (fingers crossed PLEASE), then O’Hearn will obviously have to be moved elsewhere.
It’s worth noting that Pratto is only 19 years old and has a few years before he makes his Major League call-up, but once that does happen, where does O’Hearn go? Would he be the designated hitter at that point? Would the Royals opt to have him play elsewhere?
Nicky Lopez and Adalberto Mondesi will have second base and shortstop locked up and the outfield honestly looks pretty set at the moment with the emergence of Brett Phillips, Jorge Soler, and Jorge Bonifacio. Not to mention Rosell Herrera and Brian Goodwin, both of whom are impressive young players. Soler could even be the designated hitter moving forward, which means it could be tough to find a permanent spot for Ryan O’Hearn.
Having too much young talent isn’t a bad thing, but the Kansas City Royals need to decide what route they’d like to take when it comes to Ryan O’Hearn in the future. Obviously if he’s a good player, the Royals will find a place for him, but where will it be? We’ll have to wait and see.