Who should lead-off for the Royals in 2017?

The Royals have had an interesting approach at the leadoff spot for the past few seasons. Defying all logic, starting the game off with a man who does not take pitches, does not get on base, and does not hit very well. That man is of course, Alcides Escobar. If the new-look, power-hitting Royals want to find successes they will surely have to go away from Escobar leading-off; Won't they? 

The Kansas City Royals made some additions this offseason to beef up the line-up. Acquiring Jorge Soler from the Cubs, and signing Brandon Moss who will bring a lot of pop occupying that DH spot for Kansas City. Gone are the days of keeping-the-line-moving, and methodically manufacturing runs. With guys like Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain, Brandon Moss, Jorge Soler, and Salvador Perez, the Royals are going to try and put balls over the wall to score runs. What is the best way to maximize that brand of baseball? Having guys on base when you do swing-for-the-fences, and land one in the fountains of Kauffman stadium. 

With a lineup full of pop, Kansas City should not want to limit themselves to just solo-shots. It will be important to get guys at the front of the lineup to set the table by getting on base for their sluggers. This makes that leadoff spot ever more important.

Ned Yost has already made it clear he is no longer married to the idea of Alcides Escobar leading off for his ball-club. If not Esky, then whom?

Alex Gordon. The 33-year-old outfielder is looking for a bounce back year in 2017. Leading off is the way for him to capture that. Gordo, as many call him, is a life-time .264-hitter, holding a .352-lifetime-OBP. His other career numbers include: 5,324-plate-appearances, 1,238-hits, 520-walks, 563-RBI's, and 667-runs to accompany his stellar fielding ability. His career numbers are nice, but what about when hitting in the leadoff spot? Alex Gordon has played in 320-games in that leadoff spot collecting 1,460-plate-appearances, 159-RBI's, 139-walks, 197-runs-scored. His batting-average in the leadoff spot jumps up to .277, and his OBP when leading-off leaps to .352. 

How does that compare to Alcides Escobar? I mean after all, what about "Esky Magic?" 

Alcides Escobar, as described before, does the opposite of what you want your leadoff hitter to do....In every aspect. Escobar has a lifetime batting average of .262, which falls down to .257 when leading off. His On-Base-Percentage is a messily .297-lifetime, that trickles down to .291 when leading off. In over 1,000-at-bats, Escobar has only drawn 42-walks when leading off. Rarely does he see more than 2-pitches, and rarely does he get on base. "Esky Magic" was a rare, and a flukey thing that happened during the 2015 postseason. However, over the course of 162-games, there is no such magic. 

If you do not like either of these options leading-off, do not fear, there is still another option....Whit Merrifield. 

Merrifield finds himself in a heated battle this spring trying to earn that second base gig over Christian Colon, Cheslor Cuthbert, and Raul Mondesi. Merrifield can play almost every position which makes him a lock for the Royals roster in my mind, and many others too. Whit Merrifield made his major league debut in 2016. The 28-year-old played in 81-games a year ago. He quickly picked-up a nickname: Two-hit-Whit. (Relax, Bill Walton, It means Base-Hits) In that 81-games Merrifield hit for a .283-average, with a .323-OBP. The do-it-all utility-man drew 19-walks, plated 29-runs, scoring 44-runs himself. The Rookie got 114-of-his-332-plate-appearances in the leadoff spot. While manning that spot-in-the-order, Whit hit for a .299-average, taking home a .342-OBP, plating 12-runs, and scoring 14. In a (very) small sample size, Whit Merrifield looked very good, and comfortable, leading-off a game. 

So who should lead-off for the Royals in 2017? Alex Gordon. Gordon, has had success in his career leading-off, knows how to work the count, and gets on base. Whit Merrifield would be an interesting one, as long as 2016 was not an anomaly. However, Ned Yost has already hinted at the fact that in all likelihood, the Royals will carry this battle for the second base gig into the regular season and the position will not have a solidified everyday guy there to start the year. All-an-all, the simple answer is: Anybody but Alcides Escobar.