Kansas City Royals: How 2020 team can get to 71 wins
By Cody Rickman
Right Field/Third Base – Hunter Dozier and Maikel Franco
During the offseason, the Royals acquired power hitting third baseman Maikel Franco allowing them to move Hunter Dozier to right field full-time. If you remove the at-bats Jorge Soler and Whit Merrifield accumulated in right field during the 2019 season, the Royals produced one of the worst offensive outputs in the league, generating 0.0 WAR, good for 27th in the league.
For the 2020 season, the Royals are moving Dozier and his .279/.348/.522 with 26 home runs (65 extra base hits) worth 3.0 WAR to right field. Playing right field should be less stressful on Dozier’s health and he could improve upon his 2019 offensive production by staying healthy for the entire season.
The return of first base coach and outfield coach Rusty Kuntz should allow Dozier to transition into a respectable or possibly even plus defender in right field. Dozier also has some impressive speed on the basepaths. He’s been evaluated mostly as a “long-runner” who takes a bit of time to get to top speed.
If Dozier develops some quickness to get to his top speed, he could see a dramatic increase in his stolen base numbers. His speed, arm, and athleticism should allow him to excel in his new defensive position.
The 2020 projections aren’t kind to Dozier and have him projected to produce 1.2 WAR in 2020. I think Dozier will continue his breakout and improve his defensive metrics to be a 3.0 – 4.0 WAR player for the Royals.
The front office is hoping Maikel Franco will be able to take over at third base without much drop-off offensively and defensively for the Royals in 2020. Depending on what defensive metric you look at, Franco was better defensively at third base than Dozier.
Franco is still only 27-years-old and possesses tremendous offensive potential. He could hit +.250 with more than 20 home runs during the 2020 season if he’s able to stay healthy for the entire season.
There’s a great deal of variability in the projections with Franco for the 2020 season, with some projections having him producing 0.3 WAR and others as high as 1.4 WAR. If Franco is closer to his 1.4 WAR projections, the acquisition and realignment for third base and right field will be an overall plus (worth +1 WAR) for the Royals in 2020.
Improvement: +1 Win