At 39-48 KC has three more wins than this time a year ago. The offense has been mostly non-existent and the inconsistent starting rotation has been saved a few times by their terrific bullpen. Though they are still very much a work in progress this is probably the best team the Royals have fielded since 2003.
Report Card:
| Position | Name | Grade | Comment |
| GM | Dayton Moore | B+ | Other than the abysmal Brett Tomko signing Moore did ok putting this team together. Mahay, Guillen and Olivo have been solid and at times spectacular. |
| Manager | Trey Hillman | C- | Still learning, so he gets somewhat of a pass. But his misuse of Gobble has cost the team 2 wins and he stuck with Pena way too long. |
| C | John Buck | D+ | Splitting time with Olivo seems to have hindered his development. Although his OPS+ of 80 is in line with the rest of his career his .356 SLG pct will be a career low. .243/.320/.356 with 3 HR 23 RBI’s |
| 1B | Ross Gload | D- | Although he was serviceable in a utility role last season he has flopped this year as the everyday 1st baseman. OPSing .629 at an offensive position will not cut it, even in KC..261/.304/.325, 1, 17 |
| 2B | Mark Grudzielanek | B+ | 110 OPS+ would match his career best. Providing steady defense as usual. .314/.370/.421, 3, 19 |
| 3B | Alex Gordon | B- | Seems to have finally discovered his power, and as long as the extra base hits keep coming KC can live with the strikeouts. .258/.339/.425, 11, 42 |
| SS | Tony Pena Jr. | F- | .162/.184/.214, OPS+ of 6! Enough said. |
| LF | Jose Guillen | A- | In the top 10 in the AL in doubles and RBI’s, he has come on strong the last 2 months. .303 OBP is worrisome though. .277/.303/.475 13, 64 |
| CF | David DeJesus | A | Always a reliable hitter, DDJ has turned the corner and is becoming one of the top CF’ers in the game. OPS+ of 130. .321/.380/.489, 9, 43 |
| RF | Mark Teahen | C- | He still strikes out too much for a guy with a .408 SLG pct but has picked up the home run pace lately. Seems to have lost the ability to get on base. .252/.326/.408, 9, 30 |
| DH | Billy Butler | C- | KC was expecting a Mike Sweeney clone and instead got Ken Harvey 2.0, he is just 22 years old so no reason for panic. .271/.335/.360 2, 19 |
| OF | Joey Gathright | C+ | Nice 4th outfielder, but has been in the starting lineup too much due to DDJ’s injuries. 18 stolen bases are nice but OPS+ of 53 isn’t. .250/.301/.268 |
| C | Miguel Olivo | B | As bad as the .289 OBP is it also would be a career high - but so would the 102 OPS+ and .484 SLG pct. He is giving KC exactly what they expected. .261/.289/.484, 9, 28 |
| IF | Alberto Callaspo | C+ | Currently on the DL but .349 OBP in limited duty is 3rd best on team. .290/.349/.330, 0, 4 |
| IF | Mike Aviles | B | 13 extra base hits in 27 games have given KC an offensive option at SS. Not a great defender but bat makes up for it. Gets credit for not being TPJ. .283/.313/.472 3, 15 |
| IF | Esteban German | F | Sporadic playing time has hindered his hitting. .169/.211/.197, 0, 6 |
| SP | Gil Meche | B- | 4.74 ERA & 90 ERA+ look bad but his ERA is 3.65 in his last 13 starts. 6-9 4.74 |
| SP | Brian Bannister | D+ | Couldn’t build upon his rookie success. Marginal K rate has caught up to him. 7-8 5.15 |
| SP | Zack Greinke | A- | Has been dominant at times. Finally living up to the hype he got in 2004. 7-4 3.65 |
| SP | Luke Hochevar | C- | The 1st pick in the 2006 draft has been inconsistent but looks like he has the potential to be really good. 5-6 4.91 |
| SP | Brett Tomko | F | 61 ERA+ makes him the Tony Pena Jr. of pitchers. KC has since moved, I suggest everyone else do the same. 2-7 6.97 |
| SP | Kyle Davies | C- | Looked good for 4 starts and then looked bad for 3. Has a career ERA over 6 so anything less is improvement. K/BB rate suggest it won’t last. 3-1 4.71 |
| SP | John Bale | F | Started 3 games and went 0-3 7.63; on DL. |
| CL | Joakim Soria | A+ | 23 saves, 349 ERA+, and 0.73 WHIP. Has ranged from spectacular to phenomenal. He is one of the best closers in all of baseball. 0-1 1.22 |
| RP | Ron Mahay | A | Having his best season at age 37. 209 ERA+ is fantastic. 4-0 2.03 |
| RP | Ramon Ramirez | A- | 159 ERA+ and 43 K’s in 40.1 innings has turned him into a top notch setup man. 0-1 2.68 |
| RP | Leo Nunez | A- | 248 ERA+ in 21 innings before going on the DL. His health may determine whether KC trades Mahay. 3-1 1.71 |
| RP | Jimmy Gobble | F | If used as a LOOGY he would be having a fantastic year because RHB’s are OPSing 1.243 against him and Hillman hasn’t seemed to notice. LHB’s are OPSing .497. 0-2 7.94 |
| RP | Yasuhiko Yabuta | F | Japanese import has proved to be very hittable. 78 ERA+ and 1.75 WHIP got him demoted. 1-3 5.46 |
| RP | Joel Peralta | D | Has given up 8 HR’s in 26 IP which has caused career worsts in ERA and ERA+. 1.19 WHIP is a career best though, weird. 1-2 5.54 |
| RP | Carlos Rosa | INC | Looked good in limited relief - 3.1IP 3H 0ER 3K 0BB 2.70 ERA. Could see time in rotation should Davies falter. |
| RP | Hideo Nomo | INC | Just beyond awful - 4.1IP 10H 9ER 3K 4BB 3HR 18.69 ERA |
| RP | Horatio Ramirez | INC | 5.2 innings has produced a 1.59 ERA. |
| RP | Robinson Tejeda | INC | 4.2 innings, 5 K’s zero ER’s. |
| NL | Inter-League | A+ | KC went 13-5 and is 33-21 vs the NL the last 3 seasons. |
Overall Grade: C-
Second Half Outlook:
12th in runs and 13th in ERA indicate this team has problems across the board. But progress can be seen by evidence of 16-11 June record. If Gordon and Butler continue to improve and DDJ, Guillen and Olivo keep up their current pace then 3rd place in the AL Central is out of the question. It’s just too bad inter-league play is over with. KC won’t win 80.
Danica Patrck
Jessica Trainham
NFL's Quadruple Threats
Back in Time: October 13
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