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Mike Moustakas Back in KC: Fantasy fallout

By Bill Pivetz

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 20: Mike Moustakas #8 of the Kansas City Royals celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the sixth inning, setting a club record with 37 home runs in a season, during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on September 20, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 20: Mike Moustakas #8 of the Kansas City Royals celebrates after hitting a solo home run in the sixth inning, setting a club record with 37 home runs in a season, during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on September 20, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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After waiting for a big contract, Mike Moustakas agreed to go back to Kansas City. What fantasy value does he have on this new Royals team?

The Kansas City Royals entered the offseason expecting to be rebuilding and moving away from all of their stars. They lost a couple in Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain but the team brought back Alcides Escobar and signed veterans Jon Jay and Lucas Duda to make up the difference. But the biggest news was third baseman Mike Moustakas returning to Kansas City.

Moustakas’ contract ended after he had the best season of his career. In 148 games, he hit 38 home runs, 85 RBIs, 75 runs and a .272 average. However, at 29 years old, Moustakas wasn’t getting the offers he wanted.

The negative to Moustakas’ game is his lack of plate discipline. He posted a .314 on-base percentage with just 34 walks to 94 strikeouts. His swinging strike and O-Swing rates almost doubled and his Z-Swing rate went up 11 percent while his contact rate dropped 5.2 percent between 2016 and 2017. Be careful if you play in points leagues or use OBP as a category.

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Kauffman Stadium isn’t known to be entirely favorable to hitters. It ranked 27th in home runs last season. Moustakas didn’t let that affect him much as he hit 14 home runs at home last season. As the Royals No. 3 hitter, he will have his fair share of good pitches to hit.

The Royals offense looked to be void of any talent just a couple of months ago. Now with Jay and Duda joining the returning Moustakas and the players already on the team, the team looks to be competitive this season. That helps everyone involved with their fantasy value.

Moustakas is slated to hit in between Whit Merrifield and Duda. If Merrifield can carry over what he did last season and Duda holds his own, Moustakas’ production won’t regress a lot going back to Kansas City.

The third base pool is fairly deep, especially in the second and third tiers. If you miss out on one of the top three names, there are more than viable options in Travis Shaw, Adrian Beltre and Rafael Devers.

Next: Believing in Garrett Richards this season?

Moustakas has his place but with the loss in some lineup protection with Hosmer and Cain, he may not reach 85 RBIs again. I see more of a 28 HR/78 RBI/.268 line with a 6.0 percent walk rate and 16.2 percent strikeout rate for Moustakas this season.

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