The Return of Lorenzo Cain
It was supposed to be a breakout season for Lorenzo Cain, the 26-year old centerfielder acquired by the Royals as part of the return package for Zack Greinke. He was basically told that the centerfield job was his to lose during spring training and it was actually a little exciting watching him run away with it as he hit .371 with five home runs, 11 doubles, and five stolen bases. Not to mention, a 12.9% walk rate, something the Royals desperately hoped he would retain from his minor league numbers. He was slated to bat second in the order and was primed to be a serious fantasy asset this year.
But then the injury bug swooped in and bit poor Lorenzo in the groin after he went crashing into the wall during the first week of the season. He landed on the disabled list and then, to make matters worse, ended up tearing his hip flexor during his rehab stint which put him on the shelf for the rest of the first half. Some fantasy owners have been able to stash him on their DL this whole time, while others were just forced to cut bait and send him back to the player pool. Well, now as the second half is about to begin, you have your chance to run with Cain as he is back and ready to finish what he started.
If you’re looking for some outfield help and he’s out there on your waiver wire, Cain is definitely worth a look. The Royals will likely start him off easy and keep him hitting out of the seven or eight-hole to start — keep the pressure off and let him do his thing. He’s got a little bit of pop in his bat and has good speed on the bases, so if he starts off strongly, there’s a good chance that Ned Yost starts to test him out in the two-hole, depending on the performance of Alcides Escobar. Obviously a move up in the order would boost his value, but baby steps are needed here. He appeared to be getting better during his rehab outing as he went from batting .208 at Double-A Northwest Arkansas for the first half of the session to .321 for Triple-A Omaha in the second. He dropped his strikeout rate, started taking some walks, and was just more productive overall. But while that is definitely encouraging, there’s no need to rush him with lofty expectations.
One caveat here with regard to the speed game which could be a little discouraging. Not only did Cain miss a few games towards the end of his rehab stint with sore legs, but he also never attempted a stolen base at any point. Obviously, early on in the rehab you don’t want to push it, but you would have liked to have seen him at least attempt a stolen base at some point — see what kind of a jump he gets, what kind of burst of speed he’s got right now, but nothing. It’s not certain if he was being tentative or if the coaches and trainers were just being cautious.
Now Cain’s return has more of an impact than just saying goodbye to Jarrod Dyson until September. His return also means that the promotion of Wil Myers, something everyone has been clamoring for, is on hold indefinitely. The team has already said that they will not bring Myers up unless he has the opportunity to play every day. With Cain taking over centerfield, Alex Gordon and Jeff Francoeur handling the corners and Jason Bourgeois holding down the fourth outfielder responsibilities, there’s just no room for Myers to play regularly, regardless of how well he is hitting in Omaha. Fantasy owners that have Myers stashed will simply have to wait patiently and hope that the team can find a way to pawn off Francoeur. The market for him right now is not strong, but perhaps when we’re a little closer to the trade deadline, some contending team will be looking for a right-handed bat to come off the bench. For now though, he will continue to patrol right field.
The Royals situation is definitely worth watching over the next month to see if they can recapture that spark we saw back in spring training. If they can all click as they did then you could find yourself with some strong fantasy performers for your second half run. If they don’t, then all you Myers owners will finally reap the benefits of stashing him away as the Royals would then become sellers on the market. Either way, there should be a good amount of second-half fantasy help coming out of Kansas City this year.
Dyson has not been sent down, and won’t be, as the Royals have already made the corresponding roster move.
Correct that they have not sent him down yet and the corresponding move has already been made. However, it’s probably just a short matter of time before he ends up back in Omaha. With the way the Royals are continuously shuttling pitchers back and forth due to injuries and the shakiness of the back-end of their rotation, coupled with the fact that Dyson still has options and there’s not as strong a need for a fifth OF in comparison to extra bullpen help, he should be on his way out sooner than later.
Honestly? I think Bourgeois goes first and Dyson stays.
Not sure about options for Bourgeois, but I think Dyson benefits more in the long run with everyday play in Omaha.
the “shakiness of the back-end of their rotation”? does our rotation have a *front* end?
touche, Parisio
Well, I stand corrected. Apparently Bourgeois did not need to clear waivers before being sent down. He and Sanchez demoted today to bring up Verdugo and Mazzaro. Dyson lives to fight another day….
Would you hold onto Cain or JD Mart in a keeper?
Need to see Cain play some before fully making that call, but if he plays the way we thought he would, then I would lean towards him right now
Would picking up Cain or stashing Myers be the better choice?
Keeper league — stashing Myers
Re-draft league — depends on what your needs are. If you need someone right now that may steal you a few bases and hit you a couple of home runs then you grab Cain, but if you’re doing well offensively and can afford to wait for maybe some good power upside until mid-August, then Myers
Who’s a better play for the remainder of 2012, L.Cain or Aoki?
They’re pretty even actually, but I would put the edge to Aoki right now. Feel he’ll help you out more in BA and SB.
LOL – I was debating between Cain and Aoki as well
Are we on the verge of seeing the Royals Farm-System finally fire all of its guns? At least on the batting side of things with Hosmer, Moustakas, Myers, Sal Perez?
Is it a good time to switch to being a Royals fan?
It’d sure be nice to see a NYY/TX level lineup emerge from within coupled with an owner willing to pay to keep everyone from leaving in FA.
Hi Howard, would you drop plouffe, allen craig, aoki, delmon young, or tyler colvin for lorenzo cain in a 12 team h2h? Thanks!
I would consider dropping Colvin for Cain. Colvin likely has better power potential overall if he keeps getting at-bats, but Cain will be playing, according to a recent quote from Ned Yost, at least 5 days a week, which means better opportunity.
Would you consider dropping craig for cain or is craig too good to drop even with berkman back?
I feel that given the age and health of Berkman and Beltran along with the versatility of Craig, he makes for a great option off your bench. He qualifies at a few positions and will get the playing time needed to be a solid plug and play type guy. I like owning Cain a lot, but with the other guys you mentioned, I’d rather see you drop someone else.
I see. How about between Plouffe and Colvin? Do you think Colvin is better than Plouffe with the ballparks they play in or you like Plouffe’s walk rate and lower k rate compare to Colvin? Thank!
I definitely like Plouffe over Colvin. Ballpark aside, what Plouffe has been doing is to- great to pass on right now.
yikes. talk about 1on1 time.
“Obviously a move up in the order would boost his value, but baby steps are needed here.”
Cain hitting cleanup and #5 last two days. 6 hits, 2 doubles…so far, so good.
Cain or Maybin, Howard? 10-team roto. Steals are my main concern but I really just want production. And I just saw Maybin sat today with a dodgy wrist…
As I just said to my friend, Dave…
Ride that Cain Train.
He won’t steal you as many bases as a healthy Maybin, but the key word there is ‘healthy’.