Kansas City Royals: Suely Matais could be centerpiece of rebuild
As the Kansas City Royals are in the midst of their rebuild, they need to find future centerpieces for the roster. Prospect Seuly Matias has become that type of player.
Throughout the history of the Kansas City Royals, they have struggled to find power for their lineup. They are the only team currently in the majors to not have a player hit 40 or more homers over the course of a season. There have only been 12 seasons where a player hit 30 or more homers in the history of the franchise. During the PED era from the mid 1990s until the mid 2000s, only two players, Gary Gaetti and Jermaine Dye, reached that threshold. It took until 2017 for Mike Moustakas to take down Steve Balboni as the Royals single season home run hitter.
However, there is hope that those days may be coming to an end soon, and that the Royals will finally have a top end power hitter in the lineup. Prospect Seuly Matias has been hammering the ball for the Lexington Legends, adjusting well to his first year of full season ball.
There are certainly holes in Matias’ game, as evidenced by his .242/.316/.633 batting line, and his 85 strikeouts in 231 plate appearances. However, there is one number that certainly grabs the eye – his 23 home runs. Matias leads the minors in homers, despite being only 19 years old and young for the South Atlantic League. And, let us not forget that this is a pitcher’s league as well, making that power surge all the more impressive.
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It is possible that Matias is starting to come into his power. It was expected that he would be an excellent power hitter down the line, but he had combined for only 15 home runs in 471 plate appearances during his first two seasons in the minors. Is this power surge a sign of things to come?
While the Royals certainly hope so, Matias was not exactly expected to become this type of player, at least not this early. Even in what was considered a relatively weak system, he was not the top prospect, ranking behind Nick Pratto and Khalil Lee. Even though he was rated as the 75th best prospect in baseball by Baseball Prospectus, other prospect lists has Matias barely in their top ten. However, with this powerful performance thus far in 2018, Matias may well have cemented his place amongst the Royals top prospects.
Obviously, as he is still in A-ball, there is a lot of time before Matias reaches the majors. And, his penchant to swing and miss is a concern. However, that power is real, making him quite the intriguing prospect going forward. If he can improve his ability to make contact, and continue to power the ball into the stands, Matias could end up as the centerpiece of the Royals rebuild, a viable power threat unlike any they have ever had.
Next: Royals, Tigers to kick off 2019 CWS
The Kansas City Royals are looking for pieces for their next run of success. With the way Seuly Matias is belting the ball in Lexington, he could be the next centerpiece on offense.