Dayton Moore raised some eyebrows this week by saying that "there is no question that Rick Ankiel should continue to improve". Pretty bold statement considering that Ankiel is going to be 30 this season, an age at which most players can only find their best seasons in the rearview mirror. But Ankiel has impressed the most out of all the Royals players in camp so far, hitting two homers in the intrasquad game. Kevin Seitzer said that there are three players that make a sound off their bat that sounds different from others. Those three players: Bo Jackson, Billy Butler and Rick Ankiel.
But not so fast my friends, Lets not forget that while he may be 30 and his skills could be declining, he is still a player that has only been batting at a major league level (an above average level at that) for 2+ seasons. That being said, treat Ankiel like a 24 year old. He is still learning. He is the most athletic player on the roster and I highly doubt that we see him regress much over this season.
I don't think he'll be as bad as he was last season or as good as he was in 2008, probably somewhere in the middle. I'm thinking along the lines of .260/.315/.450 with 20 home runs.
ReplyDeleteI think Ankiel is going to have a pretty good season. He won't hit for a high average, but I think he could lead this team in HRs.
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