Comments on: Kansas City Royals 2010 Positional Review: Shortstop

By: Ted

Ted — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 21:28:23 +0000

Yuni’s walk rate was slightly above his career average last season, but not remarkably higher; I see little reason why he cannot at least come close to those numbers.

Also, his BABIP was lower than career norms and his strikeout rate was higher than career norms last season, as a result his batting average was a bit low, as was his OBP (288 when he is usually around 300).

I know Yuni is new to the Royals, but he is not a rookie, he has six seasons of remarkably consistent batting history behind him. For his career, Yuni is a 272/296/393 hitter. Last season he hit 259/288/405. Remove his horrid 2009 and he is a 277/295/401 hitter for his career (and I think I messed that up, removing 508 PAs of 274 OBP should not lower your career OBP by .001).

He will likely walk somewhere between three and four percent of the time. He will likely strike out somewhere between nine and twelve percent of the time. He will hit somewhere between 260 and 280. His OBP will be somewhere around 300, and his slugging percentage will likely hover between 390 and 410.

Maybe I am missing something, but Yuni doesn’t seem like a mystery to me. I feel that people are focusing on the 16 HRs and forgetting that Yuni hit 74 doubles between 2007 and 2008.

By: Mr. Dave

Mr. Dave — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 18:41:37 +0000

I feel that the biggest reason as to why Yuni won’t be able to approach these levels next season is due to his complete lack of plate disipline. Simply stated, the man does not walk. I would those him pitches off the plate and let him get himself out until he shows the ability to lay off on them. Why throw him anything to hit when he swings at practically everything?

By: Ted

Ted — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 18:24:22 +0000

Unless by “weight room” you mean steroids, I don’t see a lot of reason to think that a 29-year-old who has never slugged over 418 is going to show much improvement in the power department. Unlike Mr Scott, I don’t find his power numbers an aberration though. Sure, the home run total is well above his previous career high, but the slugging percentage was right in line with career norms. The difference, I think, is that Yuni used to play in Safeco, which suppresses home runs more than Kauffman by quite a large margin. So it is reasonable that his doubles decreased in KC while his home runs increased (though KC is also better for doubles than Safeco, but it seems reasonable that some of his doubles in Seattle might be HRs in KC, not having looked at any hit charts, I will assume this is the case). 2009 was a down year for Yuni, and not just a little; 2010 is more in line with his career.

That said, he was still about an average offensive player in 2010, and he is still a rather poor defender.

By: fb0252

fb0252 — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 17:46:26 +0000

were Betancourt to continue in the weight room, what reason would their be that he’d be unable to sustain or improve his power numbers as the OP suggests?

By: Ted

Ted — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 21:52:56 +0000

Yuni’s slug rate was not out of line with his career: last season he slugged 405, before that he had slugged 351 in 2009, 392 in 2008, 418 in 2007 and 403 in 2006; he also slugged 370 with limited playing time in 2005.

Yuni’s big “improvement” was in returning more or less to career norms after an epically bad 2009. But his glove hasn’t played well at SS since 2006, and unless that changes he won’t likely approach $3 mil in value, at least not according to fangraphs valuation. Now, whether someone offering Yuni’s production would get $3 mil in free agency is a different question, but of course that isn’t the most relevant question for the Royals, with Aviles providing a potential solution at SS in Yuni’s absence, and for much less money.

Not really certain what to say about Yuni. DM overpaid for him in trade, and is probably overpaying for him in salary. But it was not at all clear that Aviles would return and provide a solution at SS during Yuni’s contract. And it is reasonable to believe that Yuni was the cheapest alternative at SS during the time of his contract, either through trade or free agency. So, did DM make a poor trade? Yes. Is it killing our franchise? No. Were alternatives available that were also cost affective? I really do not know.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 21:14:17 +0000

The offensive numbers out of that group will be crazy good, but I am afraid that defense is still going to be pretty weak. Moustakas and Giavotella will probably never be among discussions for gold gloves. Colon could probably be a gold glove 2B, but not SS. Myers will probably end up in RF, but I think he would be a huge upside C. I can’t wait until 2012, this team will start looking alot younger and less expensive. I just hope they take that extra money and fill in the 2-3 gaps with big time FA.

By: GRANTLYSTAN

GRANTLYSTAN — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 21:06:38 +0000

I don’t think it’s likely that Upton will be traded to the Royals. The Royals are on the list of teams he can block a trade with in his contract. I think I speak for most of the Royals fans, but I think we are just waiting until 2012 for Colon to come up. How about this for an infield: Moustakas (3B), Hosmer (1B), Colon (SS), Myers (C), Giavotella (2B)?

By: kcghost

kcghost — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 18:47:02 +0000

Even us Yuni haters have to admit he was better than could have been hoped for. This upsurge in performance was solely triggered by his SLG. Is this sustainable?? With most players you would say no, buy Yuni has spent his early years in Safeco which is an offensive dead zone. So, maybe. Even so, the trade was simply deplorable and evidence that GMDM cannot evaluate major league talent properly. Let’s pray he just sits this winter out.

By: Brian

Brian — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 16:30:05 +0000

I saw this on MLB Trade Rumors: “MLB Network’s Peter Gammons hears from an agent that the Pirates and Royals are “offering big” this offseason, and that the “Angels, Red Sox, [and] Mets could be left behind.” (Twitter link)”

Do you think offering big for Upton or are you to infer the Royals are wading in the big FA pool?

Does this Gammons tweet have any legs?

By: KC_Baseball

KC_Baseball — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 16:22:50 +0000

B-R says the Mariners payed 1.38 of his 3.3 total salary in 2010, but just says a total of 4m for 2011. According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, the Royals will pay 3 and the Mariners 1. That jives with what I recall hearing when we traded for him.