Last time we focused on the catcher room within the Royals organization and how they pan out going into 2024. This time we focus on the keystone. What does the position look like in the Majors? Does the team have any depth on the way in the minor leagues?
Contrary to first base and catcher, second base has a lot more variance in their room. While there is a starter there right now the second base room is a spot where anyone can take it in the Majors. On top of that, the farm system has some intriguing talent at second and the Royals could see them soon. With that, let’s start with the Major League second basemen.
The Major League Options
Starter: Michael Massey
As one of the more polarizing players on the Royals roster, Massey will man the keystone to start the year. He provides good defense but has a streaky bat that runs very hot or ice cold. Heading into the 2024 season, Fangraphs projects Massey to have a league-average bat with a slash line of .253/.305/.414. That leads to an OPS of .719 with a wRC+ of 92.
There is a caveat with Massey being listed as the starter though. If he starts off ice cold like he did last season it likely opens up the starter role for the others. If Massey is to be the starter all season, he needs to find his barrel ability from his first season in the Majors. That season he sat around 13% but regressed to just 7.8% in 2023.
Backups: Nick Loftin, Garrett Hampson
Similar to the first base backups, both backups for the second base position will mainly be utility guys. Hampson is the default super utility guy on the Royals this season so he will be listed almost everywhere as a backup. He signed for $2 million this offseason. Loftin, however, is the intriguing backup at second.
In his cup of coffee last season, Loftin showed he can hit at the big league level putting up a 118 wRC+. The difference between Loftin and Massey lies mostly in their defensive value. Massey has shown Gold Glove ability at second. While Loftin isn’t bad defensively, he isn’t as good as Massey. Where Loftin has the edge over Massey is the potential in his bat. If Massey starts cold, the Royals could platoon the two and see who wins the job outright.
Second base could see some changes in personnel at the Major League level as well as in the minors, where there are a couple of challengers.
Potential Call-ups for 2024
Samad Taylor
The trend with these potential call-ups is that they are utility players. Taylor didn’t excel in his cup of coffee last season, but he put up his best season in the Minors. Acquired in the Whit Merrifield trade, Taylor slashed .301/.418/.466 in his first season in the Kansas City farm system. While that success in Omaha didn’t translate to his Major League time, it is something to keep an eye on to start next season. Having a good mix of speed and defense doesn’t hurt if Hampson gets hurt or traded.
Devin Mann
Mann is similar to Loftin in the fact that he is an infield utility man. Also, similar to Taylor, he put up a good minor-league season with both the Dodgers and Royals in 2023. Mann put up his first 20 home run season last year while having good walk rates of around 15%. He won’t be the first guy called up, but if he starts off the year hot he might be the first one up before Taylor.
These two will likely see the Major League roster at some point next season for varying reasons. Now on to the bread and butter of the organizational depth, the future outlook.
A Look Into the Future
Javier Vaz
A 2022 15th-round pick, Vaz has been a quick riser in the Royals farm system. Our own Preston Farr has him ranked as the 7th ranked prospect in the system. Vaz has the potential to be a “5-tool” player with potentially the best contact bat in the system. In AA last season, Vaz put up a 121 wRC+ with a .304 average and .391 OBP. While Vaz has the potential to be a “5-tool” player his power lies more in being a doubles and triples hitter. If Vaz continues this rise, Royals fans will see him a lot sooner than later.
Peyton Wilson
Wilson has flown under the radar for a bit in the Royals farm system since Vaz entered. He has an average bat with some pop to go along with 70-grade speed. Last season, Wilson slashed .286/.366/.411 for an OPS of .777 to go with 19 stolen bases. With a good start to the year, Wilson could be a September call-up candidate next season and could be a future lead-off candidate.
Lizandro Rodriguez
Similar to Vaz, Rodriguez turned heads early in his pro ball career. In his second career season with the Royals — including stops at the Complex League and Low-A — he had an ISO of .200 with a walk-rate of 10.3%. However, in his first full season at Low-A, he cooled off. He slashed .235/.325/.347 with a wRC+ of just 96. Rodriguez still walked a good amount — 10.1% of the time — but lost a lot of power putting up a .113 ISO. He is far away from the Majors, but he has an intriguing set of tools that could make him a leadoff bat someday.
That wraps up the keystone for the Royals. Overall, the position is more talented, deeper in the farm, and has competent starters in the Majors. The main concern lies in which version of Michael Massey we get. Does Nick Loftin win the spot if Massey starts slow? The minor-league guys are intriguing, but might not move the needle a ton. The prospects are where the strength of the positional depth lies most and Royals fans could see some of them soon.
Position grade: B- to B+ (depends on Massey or Loftin taking the next step).
