Yeah, but you rarely see guys drawing walks at an elite rate (like Starling did) completely fall off the map.

Guys that really have the knack for drawing walks tend to have pretty flat or steady walk rates (look at Adam Dunn, who has walked at a 15-16 percent clip his entire career).

It's just one more thing about Starling that's confusing as a prospect. One of the hardest guys to put a finger on in years.

You can eat and/or drink before and after the games now.

Just comparing the eye-test to the slash lines here, nothing too fancy.

The Offense:

Alex Gordon (.378/.410/.578)
Alex Gordon is really on top of his game, but let’s be realistic. He hit .294/.368/.471 last year, so it is likely he will return back down to earth a little bit. However, he did get off to a slow start last year, so that gives me a little hope that he may just tear the league up this year.

Billy Butler (.276/.382/.517)
Billy had a slow first few games but has begun to pick it back up on this home stand. His productivity will likely increase over the course of the year.

Alcides Escobar (.306/.359/.472)
Escobar has improved over last year’s line. However, his walk rate is up a tick, which at least could be an indication that the game is slowing down a little for him. His increased level of success could be sustainable.

Lorenzo Cain (.296/.375/.370)
Cain has a much better slash line than last year. His approach at the plate does not appear to match his productivity, so I doubt this will be sustainable. However, moderate improvement over last year’s production is certainly not out of the question, given that he is finally healthy.

Frenchy (.286/.306/.457)
Frenchy’s production will revert to last year’s form. His approach hasn’t changed a bit and will not magically succeed all of a sudden at the major league level.

Eric Hosmer (.269/.387/.308)
I will hold out hope that Hosmer can manifest to become a star at this level. His OBP is pretty crazy thusfar this year. Maybe his power will come around? He is a giant question mark.

Mike Moustakas (.194/.265/.258)
Moustakas’s productivity will undoubtedly increase. However, will he be the .250 hitter of last year or will he step up and become a major league force. Another major question mark.

Salvador Perez (.263/.284/.342)
Salvy’s productivity will increase just based on the eye-test. He is outperforming his statistics at the plate. He consistently makes great contact. One concern I have is that he presses with men on base. I would like to see him be more selective in his approach as well. Getting better pitches and more walks would really bolster his game.

Chris Getz (.241/.241/.379)
Getz should see a marginal increase in production. His complete lack of walks is astounding.



Overall, I would estimate that the offense should see an increase in productivity over the course of the season.

This is a real, legit 85-win team, so they don't have to overachieve by much.

In prior years, overachieving meant we scratched, clawed, and lucked our way into not losing 100 games. This year, overachieving probably means playoffs.

Since the Royals are out to a good start -and they NEVER get out to a good start- I'm amending my thinking to believe they have a legit chance to go .500 this year. I'm not going to hope for much more than that, because I think .500 is a realistic goal. Anything beyond that is wonderful progress for this franchise.

For all the Royals gave up in the trade, .500 just isn't enough for me. Enough of the loser mentality!

Just 2 years ago they were 10-4 out of the gate.

If this team will really be an 85-90 win team, they'll need to hit for more power. Right now, that's a big worry.

I have real concerns with how the Royals prospects are transitioning to the major league level. Is it coaching? Why do we hate OBP? Why are other teams prospects flourishing while ours are circling the toilet?

The Royals started out 10-4 in April of 2011, they went 4-9 for the rest of the month. They were 5 games under .500 by the end of May and 15 games under .500 by the end of June.

Difference is that was very fluky. This is not fluky, at least so far.

Yeah I know. That's why I'm not running to Vegas with a second mortgage or anything....

But I am cautiously optimistic. And that's a big step for me.

Yeah, I know; I just don't buy his walk rate. I think it'll collapse as he sees better pitching.

All of his stats just don't scan. I won't beat up on him this early though.

They also were rolling out a starting staff of:

Bruce Chen
Jeff Francis
Luke Hochevar
Kyle Davies
Sean O'Sullivan

There was little reason to believe that pitching staff could sustain the early success. Compare it to:

Shields
Santana
Guthrie
Davis
Mendoza

It's not a stretch to say Mendoza would have been the best starter on that 2011 team.