Wil Myers has been perhaps the most celebrated hitter in the minor leagues this season so far, and he’s been one of the more heralded prospects overall in the last few years. As the right fielder of the future for the Kansas City Royals, Myers has been mashing AAA pitching for Omaha in the season’s first half, and the presence of Jeff Francoeur does little for quench the thirst for yet another young slugger in KC’s line-up. However, Myers has yet to move up and that might be for good reason given his recent woes at the plate.
While Myers was the darling at the 2012 MLB Futures Game recently and even at the AAA All-Star Game, he’s struggled mightily at the plate ever since then. In fact, he’s hitting only .179 after the All-Star Break including two hits in his last 20 at-bats.Something is clearly not clicking for Myers and he’ll have to work through it if he wants to make the jump later this summer.
While a small sample size is nothing to be too concerned over, it makes a point on behalf of KC’s front office who apparently want Myers to continue to work on his game in AAA no matter how successful he’s been. Many fans and sportswriters have been wondering why he’s not playing in Kauffman on a daily basis yet since he had so little to prove in the minors, but remember that Myers also struggled last season as well. In short, he might not be the "sure thing" that everyone has labeled him just yet.
One need only look to Eric Hosmer’s current woes to know how quickly an outlook can change. Perhaps Dayton Moore is trusting his coaches and taking his time hoping that Myers can work through his issues in Omaha.