Royals’ Ned Yost: The most important thing is the development of our young guys
Friday night marked the start of the second half of the season for the Royals, and their record shows a minimal improvement from the same point last year in what was ultimately a season of losing while sorting through and making decisions on potential pieces for the future.
Eighty-one games into this season, the Royals were 28-53 (25 games below .500) and with a slightly better record than the Detroit Tigers by percentage points, though the Tigers had played fewer games and were thereby a half game ahead in the American League Central standings.
Last year, the Royals hit the midpoint of the season having gone 25-56 on their way to a 104-loss season. By the numbers, these Royals are three games better than last year’s Royals at the midway point. That’s the quantifiable black and white version of where they stand.
However, Royals manager Ned Yost remains dogged about the improvement of the club in ways that aren’t evident solely upon comparing the records. Moreover, he staunchly contends that they’re on the correct path as an organization to chase a championship.
“I think the improvement has come in the experience level of a (Jorge) Soler, (Hunter) Dozier, Nicky (Lopez) wasn’t up here last year,” Yost said. “(Adalberto) Mondesi is making good strides. I think our defense has been better than it was last year.
“We struggle at times with command of our pitches, but our stuff is good. Guys are learning to compete at this level, the (Glenn) Sparkmans, (Brad) Kellers, (Jorge) Lopez in the pen, (Scott Barlow) in the pen.”
Yost holds onto hope that the club will have similar second-half improvement to last year (they were 33-48). Winning each day remains the goal, but development at the major-league level has become the biggest responsibility of Yost and his staff.
“We try to win every day, but the most important thing for me is the development of the young guys,” Yost said. “Because if you go back and look, I don’t remember a rebuilding team that played .500 that ever won a World Series. You’ll play .500 eventually, but to try to rebuild and win at the same time is really difficult.
“It depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. You want to play .500? You want 85 wins? Or you want to win a world championship? I want to win a world championship again. The way we’ve done it in the past is exactly the way we’re doing it now.”
Yost’s view on rebuilding has merit in the recent climate of MLB. The Boston Red Sox won the World Series in 2013 and were below .500 in 2014 and 2015, including 20 games below in 2014. But the Red Sox, who regularly rank near the top of the majors in salary, were able to regroup quickly to win their division in 2016.
Along the way to a World Series title in 2016, the Chicago Cubs had five consecutive below .500 seasons from 2010 through 2014. The Houston Astros won the 2017 World Series following a stretch from 2009-14 in which they were sub-.500 each year and lost 100 games or more for three consecutive years while they annually picked near the top of the draft.
“You’ve got to develop your young talent,” Yost said. “You have to throw them in the fire. You’ve got to let them continue to make their mistakes, continue to make their mistakes, continue to grow, continue to gain confidence, and hopefully at about the two-and-a- half year mark (in their individual careers) they’re going to be established major-leaguers who are able to perform and able to produce at this level.”
The Royals farm system ranked first in all of baseball in 2011, and that group of players made it to the majors, found their individual and collective footing and grew into the back-to-back World Series clubs in 2014 and 2015.
If getting to that point a year or two from now means letting a young pitcher try to battle through a tough situation instead of leaning on the bullpen, or not pinch hitting for a young guy like Nicky Lopez against a tough lefty, Yost will lean toward development in order for players, who they believe will be part of the future, to go through those experiences.
“Our fans, for what happened in ‘14 and ‘15, will remember it the rest of their lives,” Yost said. “They’re not going to remember a .500 year for half a year. That’s the goal, to try to get as many talented players in our system and ready to produce. Are we ahead of where we were last year in terms of that? Darn right we are, in a lot of ways.”
Dozier, a former top-10 draft pick, has looked like one of the most productive hitters in baseball this season with a .292/.378/.566 slash line entering Saturday. Soler, who has 21 home runs and 53 RBIs, has remained healthy and has started to deliver more consistently on the promise he’d shown in previous years before injury derailed him.
Mondesi leads the league in stolen bases (27) and triples (eight) while batting .269 and handling the shortstop position adeptly before landing on the injured list with a groin strain.
“There has been improvements individually-wise,” Royals veteran left fielder and elder statesman Alex Gordon said. “Obviously, record-wise we’re not happy with it. We had better expectations than we’re at right now.”
While not happy with the team’s current position, Gordon also recognizes the strides made by players who figure to be part of the core moving forward.
“As far as Dozier goes that’s probably been the biggest jump as far as how he looked last year into this year,” Gordon said. “He always had the tools, always showed us flashes but just never put it together until this year. It’s like he’s locked into every at-bat and every pitch. Mondi has improved, he’s still got a lot of improvement he can still make with his ceiling. Obviously, Soler getting hurt last year — he was starting to get locked in last year the way he looks right now as far as taking walks, spitting on good pitches and the power has always been there.”
Looking specifically at this season, Gordon believes the close losses, particularly early in the year, really did damage to the Royals’ season and made it an “uphill battle.” Heading into Saturday, the Royals had lost four times when leading after the sixth inning and nine times when tied after six innings. Their twelve blown saves are the fourth-most in the AL.
While chasing the dual goals of chasing wins and developing young talent isn’t necessarily conducive to wins, it’s a process that experienced players understand.
“It’s just an interesting dynamic when guys get up here for the first time,” Whit Merrifield said. “Guys want to play well up here, obviously, and kind of establish themselves. In baseball there’s always that thought in the back of your head early on in your career that if things don’t go particularly well there’s a chance you can get sent down.
“I think a lot of times that can take away from the mentality of winning first. It’s just human nature. It’s not that it’s wrong to think that way. It’s just human nature. It’s part of the game. We’ve got a lot of guys that are trying to establish themselves at this level. Hopefully they can get that comfort down and turn the focus to winning. I think once we are all on that same page, that’s when you’ll start to see us turn a corner.”
This story was originally published June 29, 2019 at 7:06 PM.
