Kansas City Royals: Cam Gallagher finally has chance to prove himself
The Kansas City Royals know who their starting catcher is for the next several years, but backup catcher Cam Gallagher finally has an opportunity to get some quality starts in 2019.
Over the last few years, Salvador Perez has been the main man at catcher for the Kansas City Royals with Drew Butera as his backup. After Butera was traded to the Rockies during the deadline last summer, Cam Gallagher‘s time as the predominant backup began.
Gallagher saw his first glimpse of Major League action in 2017, slashing .250/.333/.417 with one home run and five RBI in limited appearances. He had 27 plate appearances that season.
In 2018, Gallagher was on the Opening Day roster due to Perez being banged up, but his overall offensive production wasn’t great. He saw 69 plate appearances while slashing .206/.250/.302 with one home run and seven RBI.
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This year, Gallagher will finally see his fair share of opportunities as the backup catcher. He’ll likely be in at catcher on day games after night games and most definitely in double headers. While Gallagher isn’t going to be the long-term answer at catcher, he hopefully can be an option as the backup for a number of years.
Once Perez is ready to call it a career, or once he’s traded, hopefully M.J. Melendez is ready for to slide in as the Royals starting catcher. Chase Vallot is another young catching prospect, but he’s also taken a number of at bats as a designated hitter.
Gallagher was “blocked” by Butera last year and there’s no excuse for him not to get some key starts under his belt in 2019. The 26 year old won’t light the world on fire, but the Royals don’t need him to. They have Salvador Perez under contract until 2022 and by then Melendez or Vallot should be ready to contribute to the big leagues.
Where Gallagher has shone during his time with the Royals is whenever he’s caught for Jakob Junis. The two played together in Omaha for many years and their chemistry showed big time whenever Junis was pitching with his guy Gallagher behind the plate. Junis usually performed better in those starts.
Gallagher hasn’t seen a ton of action throughout Spring Training so far. He’s had just four at bats in two games and hasn’t gotten a hit yet. That won’t be problematic unless he continues to struggle offensively a month from now, but it’s only Spring Training. No need to panic.
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With how taxing the catcher position is in Major League Baseball, it’s always wise to have a solid backup at the position. Cam Gallagher isn’t even close to what Salvador Perez is for the Royals, but he’s finally the next man up and hopefully he comes through in 2019.