The Kansas City Royals are off to a 10-9 start to the season and have been playing much better baseball in the past week. The offense has awoke from an early season slumber and paired with some very surprising starting pitching, notably from Jason Vargas, The Royals find themselves right in the thick of things early on in the American League Central division. However, one constant question surrounds this team – What kind of a player is Mike Moustakas and will he ever break through?
I can’t think of a more confusing player than Mike Moustakas. He has been hyped up every year since joining the big club in 2011. He and Eric Hosmer were supposed to be the saviors of the franchise and hold down the corner infield spots for years and years to come. They both struggled at first, and questions surrounded the pair from the get go, however Hosmer has finally lived up to the expectations placed on him and turned himself into a budding superstar, while Moustakas is still waiting in the wings. This past week has been very encouraging for the Moose and I firmly believe he is on the right track.
For example, since April 16th, Moustakas is 6-23 with 3 home runs and 9 RBI. In fact , his first RBI of the season came on April 16th. While those numbers aren’t exactly eye popping they are encouraging because four of those hits were of the opposite field variety, something that Moustakas has been very reluctant to do so far in his career. Teams have always been shift heavy on the left handed hitting Moustakas, and he has not done much to get them out of the shift. Mike Moustakas has been very stubborn at the plate when it comes to the shift. I’m not sure if it gets in his head or he just thinks he can beat the shift, but he has been very unproductive when going against a shifted defense.
The most telling stat to prove that point this year is that Mike Moustakas has one of the worst BABIP (batting average on balls in play) rates in the big leagues at .115. That number proves a couple of things, first off that Moustakas is hitting into opposing teams shifts at an alarming rate, and secondly that the balls he does put in play he has been extremely unlucky on finding a hole. That is why this past week has been a nice improvement at the plate for the Moose. Hitting the other way and using the whole field is something that will be necessary to get his game where it needs to be. Look no farther than his teammate Eric Hosmer for proof of that.
Eric Hosmer has 23 hits so far this year and 11 of them have been opposite field or up the middle. Hosmer who was once a little pull happy and very prone to the strike out, has evolved him game into a patient , take what the pitcher gives approach at the plate and it has resulted in a very productive profile. He has slashed to the tune of .311/.423/.755 so far this season, and while he does not have a home run yet, he is simply taking what the pitcher is giving to him and doing damage in whatever way he can. This is something that Moustakas has to be able to do at this level.
The Royals have given Mike Moustakas every chance to bust out, he has played in every game except one this season and has been facing both left and right handers in all game situations. Everybody knows his track record in the minor leagues, .282/.337/.503 slasher in the minors. Most of us remember the awesome spring training he had this year, .406/.440/.739, 5 HR , and hopefully this past week has been what the doctor ordered for the Moose. His career BABIP is .266, so that .115 rate he is currently on has to even out at some point, but he could help his cause a lot by simply doing what he has done this past week. And yes I realize one week is not exactly a large sample size, but it is something to look at and follow in the upcoming weeks.
I’m a fan of Mike Moustakas. I have jokingly compared him to a poor mans version of Evan Longoria, but I really think he can be a similar player. He plays an above average third base which was evident in his 14 defensive runs saved in 2012, and 6 in 2013. He has similar range to Longoria at third as well as he posted a 15.8 UZR in 2012 and 7.6 in 2013. Moustakas is easy to root for, he seems to plays the game the right way and doesn’t rub people in a negative regard, I just really hope that now is the time that we can finally answer the question that has plagued him every year since joining the Royals, What Is Mike Moustakas?
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