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Fantasy Baseball 2018: Jorge Bonifacio back in Royals lineup

By Bill Pivetz

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 20: Jorge Bonifacio #38 of the Kansas City Royals hits a double in the second inning 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: Jorge Bonifacio #38 of the Kansas City Royals hits a double in the second inning 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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The Royals get a bit of good news as outfielder Jorge Bonifacio will be reinstated back into the lineup. Should you add him to your team?

The Kansas City Royals are not competing for much this season. The team has some fantasy-relevant pieces like Whit Merrifield and Mike Moustakas. They will get another piece back as outfielder Jorge Bonifacio will be reinstated from his 80-game suspension and put back into the Royals lineup.

This news comes at perfect timing because the Royals are dealing with a few injuries in their outfield. Jorge Soler is on the 10-day DL and center fielder Abraham Almonte is hitting .188 in 128 at-bats.

In 384 at-bats last season, Bonifacio hit .255/.320/.432 with 17 home runs, 40 RBIs, 55 runs and a 118:35 K:BB ratio. During his Triple-A stint as he prepared for his return, he hit .392 with nine homers and 11 runs scored in 51 games.

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The Royals designated Ryan Goins for assignment as the responding move, for those in the deepest of AL-only leagues.

Some fantasy owners are already getting in on the Bonifacio train before his first game this season. He’s owned in three percent of CBS Sports leagues and 0.6 percent of ESPN leagues.

It’s hard to find consistent production off the waiver wire at this point in the season. Unless there’s a top prospect getting called up, owners are likely mixing and matching pieces with frequent roster moves, trying to find the winning combination towards a championship.

Bonifacio hit in multiple spots in the Royals lineup last season. He hit second 42 times, fifth 10 times, sixth 23 times, seventh 15 times and last four times. The Royals lineup is a little different this season, so Bonifacio is likely to move around the lineup again this year.

If he were to take over right field for Herrera, then he’ll slot in at the No. 2 spot between Merrifield and Moustakas. I could also see him hitting seventh in place of Escobar. If so, then there will be a small difference in at-bats by the end of the season.

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Bonifacio will be worth an add in deeper leagues. In the standard 10-team leagues, there are plenty of other options on the waiver wire. The Royals are hitting .190 with 53 runs scored this month, so the success for Bonifacio may not be immediate. Though, I think he’ll have a nice second half.

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