Mid-season report card

At 39-48 KC has three more wins than this time a year ago. The offense has been mostly non-existent and the inconsistent starting rotation has been saved a few times by their terrific bullpen. Though they are still very much a work in progress this is probably the best team the Royals have fielded since 2003.

Position	Name	Grade	Comment
GM	Dayton Moore	B+	Other than the abysmal Brett Tomko signing Moore did ok putting this team together. Mahay, Guillen, & Olivo have been solid and at times spectacular.
Manager	Trey Hillman	C-	Still learning so he gets somewhat of a pass but his misuse of Gobble has cost the team 2 wins and he stuck with Pena way too long.
C	John Buck	D+	Splitting time with Olivo seems to have hindered his development. Although his OPS+ of 80 is in line with the rest of his career his .356 SLG pct will be a career low. .243/.320/.356 3 HR 23 RBI's
1B	Ross Gload	D-	Although he was serviceable in a utility role last season he has flopped this year as the everday 1st baseman. OPSing .629 at an offensive position will not cut it, even in KC. .261/.304/.325 1, 17
2B	Mark Grudzielanek	B+	110 OPS+ would match his career best. Providing steady defense as usual. .314/.370/.421 3, 19
3B	Alex Gordon	B-	Seems to have finally discovered his power and as long as the extra base hits keep coming KC can live with the strikeouts. .258/.339/.425 11, 42
SS	Tony Pena Jr.	F-	.162/.184/.214, OPS+ of 6! Enough said.
LF	Jose Guillen	A-	In the top 10 in the AL in doubles and RBI's he has come on strong the last 2 months. .303 OBP is worrisome though. .277/.303/.475 13, 64
CF	David DeJesus	A	Always a reliable hitter DDJ has turned the corner and is becoming one of the to CF'ers in the game. OPS+ of 130. .321/.380/.489 9, 43
RF	Mark Teahen	C-	He still strikes out too much for a guy with a .408 SLG pct but has picked the home run pace lately. Seems to have lost the ability to get on base. .252/.326/.408 9, 30
DH	Billy Butler	C-	KC was expecting a Mike Sweeney clone and instead got Ken Harvey 2.0, he is just 22 years old so no reason for panic. .271/.335/.360 2, 19
OF	Joey Gathright	C+	Nice 4th outfielder, but has been in the starting lineup too much due to DDJ's injuries. 18 stolen bases are nice but OPS+ of 53 isn't. .250/.301/.268
C	Miguel Olivo	B	As bad as the .289 OBP is it also would be a career high - but so would the 102 OPS+ and .484 SLG pct. He is giving KC exactly what they expected. .261/.289/.484 9, 28
IF	Alberto Callaspo	C+	Currently on the DL but .349 OBP in limited duty is 3rd best on team. .290/.349/.330 0, 4
IF	Mike Aviles	B	13 extra base hits in 27 games has given KC an offensive option at SS. Not a great defender but bat makes up for it. Gets credit for not being TPJ. .283/.313/.472 3, 15
IF	Esteban German	F	Sporadic playing time has hindered his hitting. .169/.211/.197 0, 6
SP	Gil Meche	B-	4.74 ERA & 90 ERA+ look bad but his ERA is 3.65 in his last 13 starts. 6-9 4.74
SP	Brian Bannister	D+	Couldn't build upon his rookie success. Marginal K rate has caught up to him. 7-8 5.15
SP	Zack Greinke	A-	Has been dominant at times. Finally living up to the hype he got in 2004. 7-4 3.65
SP	Luke Hochevar	C-	The 1st pick in the 2006 draft has been inconsistent but looks like he has the potential to be really good. 5-6 4.91
SP	Brett Tomko	F	61 ERA+ makes him the Tony Pena Jr. of pitchers. KC has since moved, I suggest everyone else do the same. 2-7 6.97
SP	Kyle Davies	C-	Looked good for 4 starts and then looked bad for 3. Has a career ERA over 6 so anything less is improvement. K/BB rate suggest it wont last. 3-1 4.71
SP	John Bale	F	Started 3 games and went 0-3 7.63, on DL.
CL	Joakim Soria	A+	23 saves, 349 ERA+, and 0.73 WHIP. Has ranged from spectacular to phenomenal. He is one of the best closers in all of baseball. 0-1 1.22
RP	Ron Mahay	A	Having his best season at age 37. 209 ERA+ is fantastic. 4-0 2.03
RP	Ramon Ramirez	A-	159 ERA+ and 43 K's in 40.1 innings has turned him into a top notch setup man. 0-1 2.68
RP	Leo Nunez	A-	248 ERA+ in 21 innings before going on the DL. His health may determine whether KC trades Mahay. 3-1 1.71
RP	Jimmy Gobble	F	If used as a LOOGY he would be having a fantastic year because RHB's are OPSing 1.243 against him and Hillman hasn't seemed to notice. LHB's are OPSing .497. 0-2 7.94
RP	Yasuhiko Yabuta	F	Japanese import has proved to be very hittable. 78 ERA+ and 1.75 WHIP got him demoted. 1-3 5.46
RP	Joel Peralta	D	Has given up 8 HR's in 26 IP which has caused career worsts in ERA and ERA+. 1.19 WHIP is a career best though, weird. 1-2 5.54
RP	Carlos Rosa	INC	Looked good in limited relief - 3.1IP 3H 0ER 3K 0BB 2.70 ERA. Could see time in rotation should Davies falter.
RP	Hideo Nomo	INC	Just beyond awful - 4.1IP 10H 9ER 3K 4BB 3HR 18.69 ERA
RP	Horatio Ramirez	INC	5.2 innings has produced a 1.59 ERA.
RP	Robinson Tejeda	INC	4.2 innings, 5 K's zero ER's.
NL	Inter-League	A+	KC went 13-5 and is 33-21 vs the NL the last 3 seasons.

Overall Grade: C- Second Half Outlook:

12th in runs and 13th in ERA indicate this team has problems across the board. But progress can be seen by evidence of 16-11 June record. If Gordon and Butler continue to improve and DDJ, Guillen, & Olivo keep up their current pace then I don't think 3rd place in the AL Central is out of the question. Its just too bad inter-league play is over with. KC won't win 80 games but it's entirely possible that they may not lose 90 and that my friends is progress.