The Royals Finally Call Up Alex Gordon

It seems like everyone but those who really matter were calling for it. Thankfully, those inside the Kansas City Royals front office finally felt the same way and called up Alex Gordon today, just after heads were calling out Dayton Moore and company for bringing up the lesser-producing (and costly free agent mistake) Rick Ankiel instead. Now, both are on the major league level and everyone can breathe deep.

The hope is that Gordon is here to stay. Sure, he had his struggles the first time around on the major league level, but there's nothing left to prove for the former second overall pick at the minor league level. He's earned his minor league stripes and the potential is still too great to not just ride the ups and downs of a guy learning the grind with the Royals. Gordon has already has plenty of chances at the ML level in the past, as his 1,300+ career at-bats indicate, but given those came when Gordon was just 23 and 24 years old, he now just needs consistent appearances in the starting line-up with the Royals from here on out.

And that's not just for this year. Gordon deserves to ride this out to the (bitter?) end. The worst-case scenario is that Gordon is never able to make good on the scouting reports that labeled him the best college hitter available. And the Royals need to fully ring out the rag if that's the case. The Rays felt first-hand the pain of watching their former prized prospect Josh Hamilton leave only to fully flourish with the Rangers (and Reds) after he was supposedly finished. Same goes for every former team of Adrian Gonzalez. Dramatic comparisons? Sure, but the Royals won't benefit by shipping off Gordon for some second-rate prospect if Gordon doesn't pan out.

Of course, the hopes are that Gordon makes good on his potential. The early signs were there. Gordon jumped up impressively in his sophomore effort, particularly in his OPS which jumped from a rookie year of .725 to .783 in his second year. He found more power, a higher on-base percentage and seemed more at home at the major league level. Injury issues and slumps at the plate doomed Gordon to the minors, but the dearth of talent in Kansas City made everyone confused why a guy like Gordon was ever sent down in the first place.

Now, Gordon is apparently being given another chance to showcase his wares. There's plenty of baseball life ahead of Gordon and plenty of reasons to believe he'll be just fine. Personally, I think the best is yet to come and Gordon should be a staple of the Royals line-up for the next few years. He'll always strike out a bit more than you'd like, but his production should forge a solid major league career.