$Predicting The Kansas City Royals\' 2016 Opening Day Lineup$

Predicting The Kansas City Royals' 2016 Opening Day Lineup

By Brad Faber

After making it to Game 7 of the World Series in 2014 and ultimately falling to Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants, the Kansas City Royals were able to go all the way last year, defeating the New York Mets in five games to win the 2015 Fall Classic. Going into 2016, the Royals once again look like they have the pieces to be a force to be reckoned with in the AL Central. Here is a spring training prediction of how manager Ned Yost‘s lineup may look when his club takes on the Mets for a World Series rematch on Apr. 3.

$Predicting The Kansas City Royals\' 2016 Opening Day Lineup$

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1. Alcides Escobar, SS — Although he hit only .257/.293/.320 with three homers and 47 RBIs in the regular season of last year, Alcides Escobar had a great postseason, hitting .329/.347/.514 in 16 games. The speedy Escobar should give the Royals a good leadoff option for 2016.

2. Mike Moustakas, 3B — In his age-26 campaign, Mike Moustakas broke through in a big way last season, hitting .284/.348/.470 with 22 homers and 82 RBIs through 147 games. He logged 408 plate appearances in the two-hole last year and had plenty of success in that spot as well.

3. Lorenzo Cain, CF — In 2015, Lorenzo Cain had his best season to date, hitting .307/.361/.477 with 16 homers and 72 RBIs in a whopping 6.6 fWAR campaign. Cain logged the majority of his at-bats in the No. 3 hole last season and should fit nicely into that spot once again.

4. Eric Hosmer, 1B — Although he arguably had the best season of his career last year, hitting .297/.363/.459 with 18 homers, 93 RBIs and a 122 OPS+, the still only 26-year-old Eric Hosmer may have even more potential. Hosmer wasn't that far off from being a 20-homer, 100-RBI guy last year, so perhaps he might be able to get there in 2016.

5. Kendrys Morales, DH — After having a rough 2014 campaign with the Minnesota Twins and Seattle Mariners, few knew what to expect out of Kendrys Morales at the beginning of last season. However, Morales went on to have quite arguably the best season since his breakout 2009 campaign with the Los Angeles Angels, hitting .290/.362/.485 with 22 homers and 106 RBIs. The Royals will need him to provide a big bat in the middle of their order once again in 2016.

6. Alex Gordon, LF — After returning on a reported four-year, $72 million deal this offseason, one can expect Alex Gordon to be a key part of the Royals' winning formula once again. Since the 2011 season, Gordon has posted a 121 OPS+ at the plate. He has also played top-notch defense in the outfield and has been awarded with four Gold Gloves.

7. Salvador Perez, C — Although he may be known a bit more for his defense, and has won three Gold Gloves in a row for that matter, Salvador Perez is also pretty good with the bat. Last season, Perez hit .260/.280/.426 with 21 homers and 70 RBIs. Yes, he has been a low-OBP guy, but having a catcher who can pop 20-plus homers is certainly a plus.

8. Omar Infante, 2B — Although he hasn't exactly torn the cover off of the ball during his first two seasons in a Royals uniform and posted a mere 49 OPS+ last season, Omar Infante's bat seems to have perked up a bit this spring. Through nine preseason games, the second baseman has hit .269/.321/.346. It probably isn't realistic to expect him to post the .318/.345/.450 batting line he had with the Detroit Tigers in 2013, however.

9. Paulo Orlando, RF — With Jarrod Dyson likely to begin the season on the DL with an oblique injury, Paulo Orlando would be a good candidate to plug into right field for the time being. Orlando finally made his MLB debut at the age of 29 last season and hit a very respectable .249/.269/.444 with seven homers and 27 RBIs through 86 games.

Edinson Volquez, P — After a strong regular season in which he went 13-9 with a 3.55 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP through 200.1 innings, veteran Edison Volquez would be a great candidate to take the ball on opening day. Volquez also started Game 1 of the World Series last year as well as the clinching Game 5.

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