The Royals called up Mike Moustakas from Omaha and optioned Mike Aviles just in time for the weekend road series against the Los Angeles Angels. The move not only demoted Aviles, but will also diminish the playing time of Wilson Betemit, who had been serving as the teams third baseman. It is most likely that Betemit will be dealt sometime before the July 15 trade deadline. With Moustakas taking over as the everyday third baseman the Royals now have a pair stationed in the hot corners who are not yet old enough to rent a car.
Thus, the future is here, at least in the infield.
The early returns from Moustakas have been positive, as he's not only shown the ability to hit for power, but also great plate discipline--drawing a walk in each of his first four games. According to Rany Jazayerli he's the first Royal to do that since, well, ever. With Moustakas hitting in the 6-hole, the Royals actually have a middle of the order that is viable. This is something that has been missing, among other things, with this franchise since the late 90s/early 2000s.
(3-Hosmer, 4-Butler, 5-Francouer, 6-Moustakas)
The average age of that group is a shade under 24. Take away Francouer, who figures to not fit into the team's long term plans, and the average age of the remaining three is 22.6. All three are under contract through 2016. That gives the Royals a minimum of five seasons to build around this core middle of the order. It is yet to be determined whether or not any are capable of hitting 30 home runs, but it is expected that Hosmer and Moustakas will.
I am not convinced that Alex Gordon will be the long term solution as the leadoff hitter, however, in 25 games he has hit .280/.361/.449 with 12 runs scored--more than adequate in that role. I still feel that he is hitting there out of necessity this season and has the type of power that you would like to see a little later in the order. But until an another option presents itself, you could do a lot worse than batting Gordon leadoff.
The arrival of Moustakas and Hosmer this season and their immediate impact signals the start of a very exciting youth movement that all of us Royals fans have been waiting for. However, it also signals the disparity, at this point, in big-league ready talent between position players and pitchers. Sure there is an abundance of pitching prowess in the minor leagues, but none of the arms, besides Duffy and possibly Mike Montgomery are close to ready. And there are tons of young arms already on the major league roster, but none, besides Duffy, are starting pitchers.
This is the most difficult part of building a winner. The Royals bullpen and bats are good enough right now to win the AL Central, but their starting pitching isn't even close. When Luke Hochevar is your opening day starter then the season is over before it begins. No offense to Hochevar, he is by all accounts a good guy who has some good stuff, but he is not and never will be one of the three best starting pitchers on a playoff roster.
Mike Montgomery appears to be the crown jewel of all the arms in the farm system and just so happens to be the most ready of all of them as well. He might be the ace of the staff in the future. But then again, he might not. Arms such as Jake Odorizzi and John Lamb figure to factor into the rotation as well at some point.
With Moustakas and Hosmer arriving and other young budding hitters like Wil Myers on the way-- paired with a revived Gordon and established Butler--the Royals offensive foundation is in place and will only improve. However, starting pitching will be the key and the Royals don't appear to have it.
Most point to the young arms in the farm system that I alluded to earlier. But might I divulge a different channel of thinking? The Royals will need to trade a combination of big league talent and top level prospects to acquire an established ace pitcher. The Rangers did so to get Cliff Lee. The Brewers did so to get C.C. Sabathia. The Royals will have to do so as well. (King Felix anyone?)
I believe Montgomery will be exceptional. But there's better than a chance that he's not Cole Hamels or Tim Lincecum. Very few top pitching prospects are. Acquiring a proven talent is and will be necessary for this Royals team to make it to where it ultimately wants to be.
There is much to be excited about with the arrival of Moose and the tremendous talent that Hosmer and Duffy have already displayed. So lets enjoy the ride for now, but starting next year the pressure will be on Dayton Moore to produce a quality big-league product. He will do so by using his homegrown talent, but he would be wise to use it for multiple purposes.
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