What do the Royals have in Alex Gordon? Do they even know? I'm sure they'd like to think he's still "the next George Brett," although I think that title may need to go to Billy Butler at this point. Butler, in my opinion, looks like the guy who will consistently hit .300 with a little pop.
But this isn't about Billy Butler, it's about Gordon. The enigma. The "Man of Mystery." I like calling him that...it's not only applicable, but gives me an excuse to use this picture of Austin Powers (and more importantly, the lovely "Femme-bots").
Again, I digress. Back to Alex. What we know is, he was supposed to be the next great Royals hitter. He was great in college, and great in his only minor league season in AA. And he's been less than impressive at the big league level. What we hope is that he's not a "bust."
In 2007, after only one year in the minors, Gordon came up and played everyday for KC at third base, logging 151 games and 601 plate appearances. He hit .247 that year, struck out quite a bit (137 times), but showed a little patience with 41 walks. He hit 15 homers that year, and added 36 doubles. Not the breakout rookie we all hoped for...but hey...not everyone has that monster rookie season.
The next season, he played in 134 games and had 571 plate appearance. He stepped up a little in year two, improving as a hitter. His average jumped 13 points to .260, and his OBP went way up to .351 (all the way from .314, a major improvement). His SLG even jumped a bit, up from .411 to .432 - all of which accounted for a .783 OPS in his sophomore season, which was a 58 point improvement from 2007.
Royals fans, including myself, thought 2009 would be it. The year Gordon would hit .280, launch 25 homers, drive in 90 runs...and we all know what happened. He started off slowly, we found out he had a pretty serious injury (same one A-Rod had) and by April 15, he was on the DL, headed for surgery. Oh crap.
He began rehabbing in Rookie ball towards the end of June, and played in the minors through mid-July. He came back to the Royals at that point, struggled, and went back to Omaha until September. This looked ugly, but again, he was recovering from a pretty serious injury. Anyway, he wound up playing only 49 games in 2009 for the Royals. He hit .232, had a .324 OBP, and .378 SLG.
Now we look to 2010. Is this the year? Is it 2010 that will see Alex hit 25 homers, 30 doubles, and knock in 90 runs? Is this the year he becomes a force in the middle of the lineup? Who knows? But he's still only 26. There is still time for him to put a nice run of seasons together. Royals fans - and more importantly, the Royals themselves - need this. We need Alex to become a key part of this lineup. For this offense to really succeed this year, and to have a hope of succeeding over the next three or four years, Gordon needs to step up and become a legitimate middle of the order guy. A guy who can hit somewhere between three and five (or worst case scenario, be very good hitting sixth).
Here's what I could see happening: Gordon proves that he is indeed a blossoming hitter, and he does build on 2008. He plays third base everyday and hits about .270 with 20 homers and 35-40 doubles. He also posts a nice OBP around .360 and has about .800 OPS.
Will it happen? Nobody knows.
For now, he remains simply a "Man of Mystery."
But this isn't about Billy Butler, it's about Gordon. The enigma. The "Man of Mystery." I like calling him that...it's not only applicable, but gives me an excuse to use this picture of Austin Powers (and more importantly, the lovely "Femme-bots").
Again, I digress. Back to Alex. What we know is, he was supposed to be the next great Royals hitter. He was great in college, and great in his only minor league season in AA. And he's been less than impressive at the big league level. What we hope is that he's not a "bust."
In 2007, after only one year in the minors, Gordon came up and played everyday for KC at third base, logging 151 games and 601 plate appearances. He hit .247 that year, struck out quite a bit (137 times), but showed a little patience with 41 walks. He hit 15 homers that year, and added 36 doubles. Not the breakout rookie we all hoped for...but hey...not everyone has that monster rookie season.
The next season, he played in 134 games and had 571 plate appearance. He stepped up a little in year two, improving as a hitter. His average jumped 13 points to .260, and his OBP went way up to .351 (all the way from .314, a major improvement). His SLG even jumped a bit, up from .411 to .432 - all of which accounted for a .783 OPS in his sophomore season, which was a 58 point improvement from 2007.
Royals fans, including myself, thought 2009 would be it. The year Gordon would hit .280, launch 25 homers, drive in 90 runs...and we all know what happened. He started off slowly, we found out he had a pretty serious injury (same one A-Rod had) and by April 15, he was on the DL, headed for surgery. Oh crap.
He began rehabbing in Rookie ball towards the end of June, and played in the minors through mid-July. He came back to the Royals at that point, struggled, and went back to Omaha until September. This looked ugly, but again, he was recovering from a pretty serious injury. Anyway, he wound up playing only 49 games in 2009 for the Royals. He hit .232, had a .324 OBP, and .378 SLG.
Now we look to 2010. Is this the year? Is it 2010 that will see Alex hit 25 homers, 30 doubles, and knock in 90 runs? Is this the year he becomes a force in the middle of the lineup? Who knows? But he's still only 26. There is still time for him to put a nice run of seasons together. Royals fans - and more importantly, the Royals themselves - need this. We need Alex to become a key part of this lineup. For this offense to really succeed this year, and to have a hope of succeeding over the next three or four years, Gordon needs to step up and become a legitimate middle of the order guy. A guy who can hit somewhere between three and five (or worst case scenario, be very good hitting sixth).
Here's what I could see happening: Gordon proves that he is indeed a blossoming hitter, and he does build on 2008. He plays third base everyday and hits about .270 with 20 homers and 35-40 doubles. He also posts a nice OBP around .360 and has about .800 OPS.
Will it happen? Nobody knows.
For now, he remains simply a "Man of Mystery."
