Page 80

2014 Chicago-North Gameday HQ

FIELDING Watching the Royals turn two is a thing of beauty. Good fundamentals, quick turns, rocket throws, what more can you ask for? The Royals were the top collective fielding team in the AL by almost every advanced metric last year, and return all their key guys and get a few new ones. Perez (C), Hosmer (1B) and Gordon (LF) won Gold Gloves last year and Infante has always been a steady hand at second. Their pitchers are also strong fielders, and the team’s focus on fundamentals in spring training always seems to rub off during the regular season. STARTING PITCHING The Royals led the AL with a 3.45 ERA last year, but suffered a major loss with the departure of Ervin Santana. They signed veteran Jason Vargas to fill the No. 2 spot behind ace James Shields and their success hinges largely on their performances. Shields is in a contract year so he should be motivated to prove he’s worth a monster payday, one the Royals likely can’t afford. Jeremy Guthrie and Bruce Chen are solid back-end rotation guys with winning records. Flame-thrower Yordano Ventura is another guy to watch. He’s a potential star who could be great in the fifth spot. RELIEF PITCHING The Royals had the best relief core in the AL last year (combined 2.55 ERA), and it wasn’t even close (Texas was second with a 2.91 ERA). They lost setup man Luke Hochevar to Tommy John surgery but still have one of the best closers in the game, Greg Holland (47 saves). Aaron Crow, Kelvin Herrera and Tim Collins are proven setup men, and Wade Davis and Louis Coleman add depth in the middle innings. Only the Royals could lose someone as talented as Hochevar and seemingly not miss a beat. MANAGING Manager Ned Yost, now in his fifth year with the club, always seems to squeeze the most out of a small-market payroll. This year we’ll see what he can do with a slightly bigger one. The Royals payroll is expected to be over $90 million – not Yankee money, but more than double where they were three years ago – after general manager Dayton Moore signed Infante, Aoki and Vargas and resigned Chen. Sure, the Royals lost Santana after he rejected a one-year qualifying offer (he signed for the same amount, $14.1 million, with the Braves, hmm?), but this is the best team on paper they’ve had in years. Alex Gordon MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE


2014 Chicago-North Gameday HQ
To see the actual publication please follow the link above