Dick Kaegel is a pretty optimistic guy -- he’s predicting the Royals will take the AL Central with 88 wins --but that might not be the craziest thing he wrotein his “10 questions” piece for MLB.com:
Apparently those nuances don’t include taking pitches or fielding the baseball with any degree of competence. Betancourt is a near-lock to make contact (88.3% for his career), but that doesn’t make the results any less frustrating. The best surprise for Royals fans would be if Mike Aviles works his way back from Tommy John surgery to take the starting shortstop job back from this sort of mediocrity.
Which player will be the biggest surprise of the 2010 season?
I’m picking Betancourt, who’ll find new life under the guidance of coaches Eddie Rodriguez and Dave Owen. The shortstop seems to be catching on to nuances of the game that eluded him in his rapid rise to the Majors after leaving Cuba.