Spring Training Stats and Notes (position players)....

Just a quick update on how some of the guys are performing in Surprise:

David DeJesus: The new approach to leadoff hitting seems to be working....so far David is hitting .412 through 17 at bats, and also has 8 walks (for an OBP of .600).

Alex Gordon: He's off to a decent start...nothing flashy, but very solid. He's 7-for-23 for a .304 average, has five RBI and a stolen base. No homers yet.

Billy Butler: Billy's hot with the bat, but then, nobody ever questioned his ability to hit. He's 12-for-30 so far (a .400 average). He's also smacked two homers and has seven RBI.

Other notes:

Justin Huber is hot so far, and is trying to play himself onto this roster. This is a guy who, in my opinion, has probably been mishandled by the Royals...getting called up to sit the bench, being moved around to different positions, etc. He's been a hot prospect for too long now, and we need to see if Huber can play or not. He's 6-for-12 this spring with five RBI, a steal and two walks.

New addition (and second baseman of the future?) Alberto Callaspo is also hitting well, going 9-for-24 so far. He's got a home run, three RBI, two walks, and has scored four runs as well. I'd look for Callaspo to be a super utility guy for most of this year, and for him to take over the full-time duties at second when the Royals move Grudz to a contender this year.

Overall, it looks like like our core group of young hitters are performing pretty well. If we get big years from Gordon, Butler and DeJesus (along with guys like Guillen, Teahen, Gload, etc.) we should be in much better shape this year as far as scoring some runs.

My ideal lineup at this point:

CF - DeJesus
LF - Teahen
RF - Guillen
DH - Butler
3B - Gordon
1B - Gload/Shealy
2B - Grudz
C - Buck/Olivo
SS - Pena

Whether they all hit or not, they should at least be a pretty solid defensive team.