The purpose of the Starting IX series is to provide an at-a-glance rundown of the lineup most commonly utilized according to Fangraphs’ Roster Resource. Big names out due to injury and major prospects are also briefly discussed.
We open the 2021 Starting IX series with the hometown, small-market darling, Kansas City Royals. After a pair of brutal 100-loss seasons in 2018 and 2019, and a shortened 2020 campaign brought signs of improvement, 2021 was shaping up to be another year to garner much needed experience for the young blood while trying to pseudo-compete; a theme during current GM Dayton Moore’s tenure. The additions of familiar foes and old buddies from the good ole’ days helped the season begin in a positive light but has since tumbled to match the pessimistic expectations of past Kansas City teams. Let’s get started. (Stats as of July 9)
- Whit Merrifield (2B) – .275/.328/.414 – 50 R – 8 HR – 46 RBI – 24 SB
- Leading the league in swipes while providing good R, RBI, and lineup versatility at 2B and OF has kept Mr. Merrifield a premium talent this year. A stellar 13% K rate and middling OBP keep him atop the Royals lineup to provide consistent, successful SB opportunities (24/25 attempts). Atrocious barrel (3.3%) and hard hit (28.8%) rates prevent him from reaching 25 HR ceiling, but 15 HR/40 SB at end of year is absolutely worth the price to win the SB category almost single-handedly. After a wonderful June (.351/.375/.544), July has been a bit cooler hitting .161/.257/.194 through 7 games. The second half ahead holds plentiful SB with a few more HR to boot. Whit is one of the Royals’ better trade pieces if they decide his 32 year-old self isn’t in the next window of contention but is unlikely to be moved this year as he’s a face of the franchise and is under contract through 2023. Heading to a contender with a more hitter-friendly ballpark could provide an extra 2-3 HR through the year to get closer to a 20/40 season.
- Leading the league in swipes while providing good R, RBI, and lineup versatility at 2B and OF has kept Mr. Merrifield a premium talent this year. A stellar 13% K rate and middling OBP keep him atop the Royals lineup to provide consistent, successful SB opportunities (24/25 attempts). Atrocious barrel (3.3%) and hard hit (28.8%) rates prevent him from reaching 25 HR ceiling, but 15 HR/40 SB at end of year is absolutely worth the price to win the SB category almost single-handedly. After a wonderful June (.351/.375/.544), July has been a bit cooler hitting .161/.257/.194 through 7 games. The second half ahead holds plentiful SB with a few more HR to boot. Whit is one of the Royals’ better trade pieces if they decide his 32 year-old self isn’t in the next window of contention but is unlikely to be moved this year as he’s a face of the franchise and is under contract through 2023. Heading to a contender with a more hitter-friendly ballpark could provide an extra 2-3 HR through the year to get closer to a 20/40 season.
- Andrew Benintendi (LF) – .268/.323/.417 – 32 R – 9 HR – 33 RBI – 7 SB
- Currently a top-30 outfielder, Benintendi has provided some good value in roto leagues. After an awful April, he turned it around with a great month of May going .340/.377/.443 with 3 HR and 2 SB. A rib injury kept him down for half of June and is only hitting 1/16 in 4 games in July. The break should give him some time to rest and try and get back on a tear akin to May. ZiPS shows another 7 HR and 6 SB the rest of the way getting close to a 15/15 season with an average and counting stats that won’t kill you while hitting near the top of the lineup. He’s been caught 6/13 attempts so he could get his green light revoked if he continues to get caught at such a rate, something to be cautious of if chasing SB. Benintendi is right in his prime and has made some mechanical swing changes to get back to his more contact oriented ways of yore. Trading for him this offseason was the exact kind of move made to pseudo-compete as he will be a FA in 2023.
- Currently a top-30 outfielder, Benintendi has provided some good value in roto leagues. After an awful April, he turned it around with a great month of May going .340/.377/.443 with 3 HR and 2 SB. A rib injury kept him down for half of June and is only hitting 1/16 in 4 games in July. The break should give him some time to rest and try and get back on a tear akin to May. ZiPS shows another 7 HR and 6 SB the rest of the way getting close to a 15/15 season with an average and counting stats that won’t kill you while hitting near the top of the lineup. He’s been caught 6/13 attempts so he could get his green light revoked if he continues to get caught at such a rate, something to be cautious of if chasing SB. Benintendi is right in his prime and has made some mechanical swing changes to get back to his more contact oriented ways of yore. Trading for him this offseason was the exact kind of move made to pseudo-compete as he will be a FA in 2023.
- Salvador Perez (C) – .278/.303/.500 – 40 R – 20 HR – 51 RBI – 0 SB
- Salvy has been the face of the franchise with his beaming smile ever since he was called up. He’s 31 this year and is having a career year; on pace to almost double his previous highs, he’s the cream of the crop at the position. Absolutely crushes the ball evidenced by a 56.6% hard hit rate and 93 MPH average exit velocity but still K’s at a 26% clip and can’t walk to save his life (2.2 BB%). The best bat on the team in the prime 3-hole, hold every where if you invested in catcher. Under contract through 2026, he won’t be going anywhere unless the team commits to a full rebuild.
- Salvy has been the face of the franchise with his beaming smile ever since he was called up. He’s 31 this year and is having a career year; on pace to almost double his previous highs, he’s the cream of the crop at the position. Absolutely crushes the ball evidenced by a 56.6% hard hit rate and 93 MPH average exit velocity but still K’s at a 26% clip and can’t walk to save his life (2.2 BB%). The best bat on the team in the prime 3-hole, hold every where if you invested in catcher. Under contract through 2026, he won’t be going anywhere unless the team commits to a full rebuild.
- Carlos Santana (1B) – .252/.373/.430 – 48 R – 15 HR – 50 RBI – 2 SB
- A long-time nemesis of the Royals from his time on the Indians, Santana has been a great addition to the team to anchor 1B. The OBP machine that he is fits the Royals preferred playstyle and has provided veteran presence to some young players in the clubhouse (could give Salvy some tips on how to walk). His counting stats are close to repeating 2019 with almost 100 R, 30 HR, 100 RBI pace giving the team the best bat not named Salvy to anchor the clean-up spot. He has an xSLG .053 points higher than his current mark and an xHR four higher than his current count. Suffice to say we may not have seen the best Carlos yet this season. He’s no Vlad Jr., but he has filled the slot nicely this year.
- A long-time nemesis of the Royals from his time on the Indians, Santana has been a great addition to the team to anchor 1B. The OBP machine that he is fits the Royals preferred playstyle and has provided veteran presence to some young players in the clubhouse (could give Salvy some tips on how to walk). His counting stats are close to repeating 2019 with almost 100 R, 30 HR, 100 RBI pace giving the team the best bat not named Salvy to anchor the clean-up spot. He has an xSLG .053 points higher than his current mark and an xHR four higher than his current count. Suffice to say we may not have seen the best Carlos yet this season. He’s no Vlad Jr., but he has filled the slot nicely this year.
- Ryan O’Hearn (DH) – .225/.265/.405 – 13 R – 6 HR – 13 RBI – 0 SB
- The DH slot has been used mostly as a rotational spot to rest some guys as O’Hearn has only appeared in 35 games this year. He’s been tearing up AAA but can’t seem to put it together at the major league level. Destined to be a AAAA player that occasionally fills in when needed. Reach to roster even in AL-only.
- The DH slot has been used mostly as a rotational spot to rest some guys as O’Hearn has only appeared in 35 games this year. He’s been tearing up AAA but can’t seem to put it together at the major league level. Destined to be a AAAA player that occasionally fills in when needed. Reach to roster even in AL-only.
- Jorge Soler (RF) – .183/.279/.309 – 25 R – 6 HR – 29 RBI – 0 SB
- It’s difficult to put into words how disappointing of a season this is for Soler. Coming off a Royals record 48 HR in 2019, 2020 was going to be the follow-up to cement his role as DH in the middle of the lineup. He regressed a bit in average and was still on a 30 HR pace, but boy has 2021 been the fall from grace. He’s been bad, plain and simple. The walk rate, K rate, hard hit rate, etc. all are similar to his 2019 season. The biggest difference has been in his Pull%, LD%, and Barrel %. His pull percentage is up 7 points from that year, LD down 8 points and barrel down 5 points. He gets under the ball 9 points more often as well indicating that he’s simply trying to crank home runs and isn’t seeing the success of prior years. An xHR count of 12 compared to his current 6 is mainly a product of playing in spacious Kaufmann. If he hits the ball, it’ll be hard, but his defense and tangible results leave much to desire. He will not be on the team by the end of July at this rate whether he’ll be traded for pennies on the dollar or DFA’d.
- It’s difficult to put into words how disappointing of a season this is for Soler. Coming off a Royals record 48 HR in 2019, 2020 was going to be the follow-up to cement his role as DH in the middle of the lineup. He regressed a bit in average and was still on a 30 HR pace, but boy has 2021 been the fall from grace. He’s been bad, plain and simple. The walk rate, K rate, hard hit rate, etc. all are similar to his 2019 season. The biggest difference has been in his Pull%, LD%, and Barrel %. His pull percentage is up 7 points from that year, LD down 8 points and barrel down 5 points. He gets under the ball 9 points more often as well indicating that he’s simply trying to crank home runs and isn’t seeing the success of prior years. An xHR count of 12 compared to his current 6 is mainly a product of playing in spacious Kaufmann. If he hits the ball, it’ll be hard, but his defense and tangible results leave much to desire. He will not be on the team by the end of July at this rate whether he’ll be traded for pennies on the dollar or DFA’d.
- Hunter Dozier (3B) – .174/.241/.348 – 26 R – 8 HR – 26 RBI – 1 SB
- If you thought Soler was bad, Dozier has been a doozy. Near the bottom of every category for qualified hitters, his 4 year/$25 MM contract will go down as one of the worst in GMDM’s tenure. Highest K rate of his career, one of the lowest walk rates, atrocious defense, and his .589 OPS should tell the organization he needs to change something up. Hanser Alberto and Emmanual Rivera have tried covering for him at the hot corner but have yet to stick. Like Soler, Dozier was coming off a great 2019 ready to contribute for the foreseeable future only to fall on his face last year and continuing into this year. Avoid at all costs.
- If you thought Soler was bad, Dozier has been a doozy. Near the bottom of every category for qualified hitters, his 4 year/$25 MM contract will go down as one of the worst in GMDM’s tenure. Highest K rate of his career, one of the lowest walk rates, atrocious defense, and his .589 OPS should tell the organization he needs to change something up. Hanser Alberto and Emmanual Rivera have tried covering for him at the hot corner but have yet to stick. Like Soler, Dozier was coming off a great 2019 ready to contribute for the foreseeable future only to fall on his face last year and continuing into this year. Avoid at all costs.
- Michael A. Taylor (CF) – .246/.298/.371 – 34 R – 8 HR – 32 RBI – 6 SB
- Brought in for cheap for speed and defense in CF, he has filled that role well. A hot start to the year boded well for a potential diamond in the rough but he has regressed to his standard ways of speed and defense. A better real life player than fantasy, he’ll continue to see time as he is the best defensive CF on the active roster but is a stretch for much more than a few SB here and there. At this spot in the lineup, runs and RBIs will be harder to come by, but if he heats up as he has in July, he could see a rise to the 2-spot pushing everyone else down one. Another potential trade chip to flip at the deadline as he’s a FA next year.
- Brought in for cheap for speed and defense in CF, he has filled that role well. A hot start to the year boded well for a potential diamond in the rough but he has regressed to his standard ways of speed and defense. A better real life player than fantasy, he’ll continue to see time as he is the best defensive CF on the active roster but is a stretch for much more than a few SB here and there. At this spot in the lineup, runs and RBIs will be harder to come by, but if he heats up as he has in July, he could see a rise to the 2-spot pushing everyone else down one. Another potential trade chip to flip at the deadline as he’s a FA next year.
- Nicky Lopez (SS) – .263/.348/.326 – 35 R – 0 HR – 14 RBI – 8 SB
- A substitute for the oft-injured Mondesi (more on him below), he brings to the table a similar skillset as Taylor: speed and defense. After cruising along the Mendoza line through mid-June, Lopez has turned it around to get to his current line. He walks at a good clip and strikes out less than half the league average rate, but makes almost no hard contact. Nicky’s contributions will be seen through his SB, but mainly defense, which doesn’t apply to fantasy, unfortunately. A versatile bench bat to quell the lineup fatigue when his main competition is healthy.
- A substitute for the oft-injured Mondesi (more on him below), he brings to the table a similar skillset as Taylor: speed and defense. After cruising along the Mendoza line through mid-June, Lopez has turned it around to get to his current line. He walks at a good clip and strikes out less than half the league average rate, but makes almost no hard contact. Nicky’s contributions will be seen through his SB, but mainly defense, which doesn’t apply to fantasy, unfortunately. A versatile bench bat to quell the lineup fatigue when his main competition is healthy.
Injured dudes and prospects:
- Adalberto Mondesi (SS) – the shortstop of the future if he can ever not be hurt. Elite speed and awesome power leaves us wanting more in chase of a 30/30 or even 30/40 season. Lucky to get 30 games this season at this rate but can win SB for you similar to Whit given enough playing time.
- Edward Olivares (OF) – crushing AAA to the tune of .349/.421/.562 and being given the carousel treatment until Dozier or Soler gets gone. Power/speed combo that can be unleashed in the second half.
- MJ Melendez (C) – huge power potential with a strong start to the year after a down 2019. Likely to be next in-line behind Salvy if he stays at catcher.
- Nick Pratto (1B) – Similar to Melendez, a down 2019 has been put in hindsight with a strong rebound this year. Power and some speed that may not translate to the bigs, but a good walk rate and okay K rate will get him to replace Santana in the near future.
- Bobby Witt Jr. (SS) – the uber prospect is crushing AA with superb power and speed combo and should be in AAA before the end of the year. Will easily take over for Mondesi if he can’t stay healthy.
643 Fantasy Baseball 