Royals’ Moustakas OK with move to third
By JEFFREY FLANAGAN
The Kansas City Star
D on’t look now, but the Royals have another hot prospect at third base. It is
Mike Moustakas, the Royals’ top pick in the 2007 draft who we thought was going to be developed into a shortstop or a second baseman.
But when the Royals acquired 21-year-old shortstop Juan Rivera from the Dodgers recently for Angel Berroa, the Royals immediately inserted Rivera at shortstop at Class A Burlington. Moustakas then took over third.
Was Moustakas aware that third base in the Royals’ organization may be a bit clogged up with Alex Gordon cemented there?
“Yeah, I hear he’s pretty good,” Moustakas told me as he chuckled. “Seriously, wherever the Royals tell me to play, I’ll play. I’m fine with third base.”
But isn’t Moustakas concerned he’ll be stuck behind Gordon for years?
“There’s no reason for me to even think about where Alex Gordon is,” Moustakas said. “I mean, he’s a great, great player. I’m just learning. I know I’m two or three years from even thinking about all that.”
Truth be told, Moustakas appears to be more comfortable at third. He has made 16 errors this season, almost all of them at shortstop.
“I never really played third in my life, but the transition has been good,” he said. “The transition is probably easier going from short to third than short to second. I think I’ve made one or two errors at third, and those were tough plays. I’m good with third base.
“Besides, we got a guy in Juan Rivera who can really play short.”
After a painfully sluggish start, Moustakas also is heating up at the plate. He has lifted his average to .247 and has a team-high 12 homers with 41 RBIs.
“I feel I could be a 25 to 30 homer guy,” he said. “But it’s hard to project. I’m still figuring things out.”
Moustakas, 19, said his biggest adjustment has been learning how to fail.
“Baseball is basically a game of failure,” Moustakas said. “Nothing comes easy. You work at it and when you fail, you have to accept part of that.
“I think early on this year when I was failing, I was really pressing. The Royals’ front office talked to me and told me to relax and just go out there and have fun. That’s what I’m trying to do, and it has been a lot better.”
In his words
Royals legend Frank White is the focus of a special airing this month on FSN Kansas City called “Frank White: In My Own Words.” The special begins at the conclusion of Friday’s Royals postgame show.
In one interview for the special, White shares a pregame conversation he had with Willie Wilson before Game 5 of the 1985 World Series. During their talk, ABC was busy hanging lights and building podiums in the Royals’ clubhouse in anticipation of “capturing the losers” as White put it.
That’s when Wilson told the ABC crew, “You don’t need to hang those tonight. We’re not losing tonight.”
@ You want more of Jeffrey Flanagan, check out his “Over the Top” blog at
KansasCity.com
To reach Jeffrey Flanagan call 816-234-4492 and leave a message or send e-mail to jflanagan@kcstar.com
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