Where does Olivares fit in the Royals future?


This season Kansas City has struggled to hit, and Edward Olivares has definitely been one of the hitters in a hitting slump. According to cbssports.com: "Olivares has been slumping at the plate recently, putting up just a .638 OPS in 34 plate appearances since the start of August." The demotion to Omaha could be a big blow for Olivares's future with Kansas City, along with the addition of outfielder Nelson Velázquez whom the team acquired from the Cubs for reliever Jose Cuas. Before being dealt to Kansas City, Velázquez struggled at Triple-A Iowa with the Cubs. While with Iowa in 74 games, the outfielder hit 16 home runs. The boys in blue certainly believe Velázquez could be an impact player right away; but what kept him in Iowa for a majority of the season with Chicago? According to Sports Illustrated: "Cubs manager David Ross had Velazquez on the bench in the Cubs' two games following his strong 2023 debut.” In the same article, Jack Vita of Sports Illustrated went on to say: "Still, the decision to immediately sit and send down Velazquez after he put together one of the best offensive showings from any Cubs player in any game this season, has drawn some criticism from fans. It's not often that a player who is batting .750 with an .800 On Base Percentage, 1.750 Slugging Percentage, 2.550 OPS and 566 OPS+ is sent down to the minors." The Velázquez  situation with the Cubs in some way reminds me of when Jorge Soler was with Chicago, but Velázquez wasn't an injury issue in Chicago. According to cubbiecrib.com: "Velazquez unfortunately reminds me a lot of former Cub outfielder from 2013-2015, Junior Lake, due to the lack of hustle in the outfield, high strikeout rate and similar batting averages, there is no reason for the Cubs to not put in the younger player until September comes." Since arriving in Kansas City, Velázquez has been hot at the plate with a .375 batting average. Olivares on the other hand, has really been on a spiral, leading to his demotion to Triple-A Omaha on August 13. The 27-year old this season has played in 85 games with 6 home runs and 20 runs batted in. Six home runs unfortunately for Olivares is a new career high for him in a season. The 27-year old's defense hasn't been great either with unnecessary jumps for the baseball and poor routes to the ball. The most recent option to Triple-A unfortunately for Olivares might have been the last time we see him in a Royals uniform; but he certainly was given many opportunities to play in the outfield on a daily basis but just couldn't lock it down. Now with Velázquez in the big leagues, Olivares might have to search for his next opportunity with another organization this upcoming offseason.


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