Due to the arrival of rookie 2B Johnny Giavotella, 27-year old lefty swinging Chris Getz has been nailed to the bench. Getz has played in 7 games so far in August and he is 2 for 12 (.167 avg, .397 OPS) with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs. He has now played in 101 games for the Royals so far this year and he is 90 for 352 (.256 avg, .598 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 0 homers, 24 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. Unless Giavotella gets hurt, I just don’t see Getz getting back into the starting lineup.

22-year old lefty swinging 3B Mike Moustakas came into this year as the Royals’ #3 prospect according to Baseball America. He played in 55 games in AAA-ball earlier this year and he was 64 for 223 (.287 avg, .845 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 10 homers, 44 RBIs and 1 stolen base. After seeing how easy of a time that 1B Eric Hosmer was having in the show, the Royals decided to call up Moustakas and give him his first big shot. He has played in 41 games for the Royals so far this year and he is 30 for 155 (.194 avg, .505 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 1 homer and 10 RBIs. Maybe the kid has just been a little unlucky at the plate as he has only whiffed 22 times so far this year, so he is making contact. Still, maybe the Royals should give him a little time off to regain his confidence as they don’t want major league pitchers to ruin him right now.

Veteran Jason Kendall has missed this whole year so far while recovering from off-season shoulder surgery. He is about ready to go on a rehab assignment, so Matt Treanor and Brayan Pena are essentially duking it out for one roster spot when Kendall is ready to return to action. 35-year old righty swinging Matt Treanor has played in 44 games so far this year for the Royals and he is 27 for 124 (.218 avg, .669 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 2 homers, 11 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Brayan Pena has played in 35 games for the Royals so far this year and he is 25 for 100 (.250 avg, .710 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 3 homers and 17 RBIs. I have a feeling that when Kendall is ready to return to action that the Royals are going to deal either Treanor or Pena. I think they would like to keep Pena because of his age, but he would bring back a lot more than Treanor would in a deal.

25-year old righty swinging DH Billy Butler’s power has left him in May. He has played in 24 games so far in May and he is 25 for 92 (.272 avg, .694 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 0 homers and 8 RBIs. He has now played in 51 games overall this year for the Royals and he is 55 for 188 (.293 avg, .806 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 3 homers, 19 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Royals need Butler to find his power because he’s batting in a very important part of the lineup.

Royals’ #1 prospect Eric Hosmer is knocking on the door, so 27-year old lefty swinging 1B/DH Kila Ka’aihue better get his bat going soon or he’s going to be out of a job. Ka’aihue has played in 23 games so far this year for the Royals and he is 16 for 82 (.195 avg, .612 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers, 6 RBIs and 26 whiffs. He has now played in 87 games in parts of three years with the Royals and he is 61 for 283 (.216 avg, .683 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 11 homers and 32 RBIs.