Royals '5-Year Prediction' At Key Infield Position Should Set Off Alarm Bells
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The Kansas City Royals know they have their franchise players locked up at some positions. At others, they seem to have no clue what their plan is.
Third base is the latter right now for these Royals. Maikel Garcia, the 24-year-old who started most of KC's games at the hot corner last season, doesn't seem as though he can hit major league pitching. If he continues to put up a 72 OPS+, the Royals will be punchless at an important offensive position.
On Wednesday, Bleacher Report predicted five-year plans for all 30 Major League Baseball teams at the third-base position. And their projection for the future of the Royals should be a clear signal to the Kansas City front office that what they currently have in the organization isn't going to cut it.
BR's Joel Reuter projected that Garcia would hold the job for two more seasons, then 21-year-old prospect Austin Charles would take over the job in 2027. Charles is currently the 14th-ranked prospect in the Royals' system, per MLB.com.
"García had 39 extra-base hits and 37 steals in 157 games last season while providing solid defense at third base, but his 72 OPS+ ranked 129th out of 129 qualified hitters," Reuter wrote.
"He probably fits best in a utility role where his bat is not overexposed, but he is slated to again be the starting third baseman in 2025."
Counting on Charles to be the long-term solution at the hot corner would be foolish. He had a decent season at Low-A last season, but not a great one by any means. His .739 OPS and 10 home runs in 117 games will need to tick up at High-A to prove he's on a major league course.
To make matters worse, the Royals traded their former number-two prospect, third baseman Cayden Wallace, to the Washington Nationals last summer in the deal that landed relief pitcher Hunter Harvey. It was a deal that looked risky then and now looks destined to hurt the Royals eventually.
The Royals were involved in the Alec Bohm trade talks early in the offseason. Either they need to revisit that at some point or draft a future third baseman this summer, because this can't be their plan moving forward.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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