Dairon Blanco was a promising rookie for the Royals in 2023. For a group that was determined for high quality outfield play, he supplied above-average offense, protection, and baserunning in 69 (good) video games performed.
He will probably be 31 subsequent yr.
He didn’t have an awesome batting common at .258, however in contrast to lots of Royals, he wasn’t fully afraid to take a stroll which led to a .324 OBP and he confirmed loads of pop with a .194 ISO.
He will probably be 31 subsequent yr.
And let’s not overlook in regards to the 24 stolen bases (with 5 caught stealing.) Bobby Witt Jr. needs he had these wheels!
He will probably be 31 NEXT YEAR.
There’s a motive I preserve mentioning his age. If Blanco have been 25, there could be professional causes to be enthusiastic about him. If he have been 27 and the Royals had a reasonably strong roster round him, we could possibly be glad for the fourth outfielder who can fill in with out embarrassing the group if there’s an damage. However as a 31-year-old on a group that desperately wants to search out methods to enhance, not keep – and particularly within the outfield – it actually doesn’t seem to be Blanco has a spot on this roster.
None of this, after all, is Blanco’s fault. And I feel, given his place, he deserves a grade of A for with the ability to contribute to the 2023 Royals within the ways in which he did. Nevertheless, if he’s nonetheless on the 2024 roster I feel that will even be a sign that the Royals nonetheless aren’t making an attempt as onerous as they need to if they really wish to enhance. To be clear, Blanco performed effectively sufficient that he deserves a job someplace across the league, both for a group that isn’t actually making an attempt to win and desires somebody to fill a gap or a group that matches the factors I laid out for him above.
The Yankees, for instance, gave 84 video games to a 28-year-old Jake Bauers in 2023 and he was a adverse worth for them. Dairon Blanco doesn’t want to interchange any of their starters, however they’d be glad to have him since Aaron Decide and Giancarlo Stanton have had difficulties on the subject of enjoying a complete season. One other Yankee that involves thoughts is Aaron Hicks. Hicks bought minimize by the Yankees however was in a position to contribute to the league-best Orioles. Blanco could be a less expensive (and by some means youthful) model of comparable manufacturing now that Hicks is a free agent and the Orioles appear prone to wish to preserve contending.
The purpose is that Blanco had a adequate season that the Royals ought to be capable of discover a group for whom he’s a greater match than they’re and make a deal. He’s not going to convey again something wonderful; a mid-inning reliever that the Royals may use to fill out their terrible bullpen or a lottery ticket, in all probability. Nonetheless, he deserves a shot to fit into a job that fits him higher than any KC has to supply and Kansas Metropolis must keep away from making an attempt to cram sq. blocks into spherical holes in the event that they’re going to maneuver towards a extra aggressive future with any pace.
Statcast does recommend that he might need been enjoying a little bit over his head. The superior metrics suppose his energy was a little bit of a mirage as a result of his common exit velocity and barrel charges weren’t excellent. However in addition they recommend that in most dwelling parks, he’d have had twice and even thrice as many dwelling runs as had at Kauffman, this yr. Additionally, the pace and glove seem to have completely been for actual, making his standing as a good selection for fourth outfielder on a aggressive group stick.
If all else have been equal, I’d like to preserve Blanco round. Underdogs who steal lots of bases are virtually as a lot my jam as they’re Dayton Moore’s. However all else isn’t equal and the truth is that each the Royals and Blanco will probably be higher off in the event that they half methods this low season.
