It doesn't matter what the level of competition is, every team has a whipping boy. It's the nature of being a fan. The 2011 Royals have two players who have earned that title at the halfway mark in Kyle Davies and Chris Getz.
Getz doesn't hit much or for any power at all, and that has been a thing of frustration for Royals fans, especially given the offensive numbers Johnny Giavotella has been putting up at Triple-A Omaha. Often it is brought up that Getz is still the every day second basemen because of his defense. Sure his defense is solid, but I think it is extremely overrated when taking into account Getz's complete baseball abilities.
One comparison I made on twitter last week was Ryan Freel was released after playing in just 18 games for the Royals in 2009 due to his .244/.306/.289 line. The problem wasn't his defense, as he didn't commit any errors during that time. Actually Freel was versatile during his five week stay in that he played all three outfield spots in addition to second base. Still he was released after 18 games.
Move forward to current day and Chris Getz has suited up in 151 career games for Kansas City over the past year and a half. His hitting line during that time? .249/.311/.284. Getz is Freel. Freel is Getz. Einhorn is Finkle. Finkle is Einhorn. It only took Dayton Moore 18 games to realize Freel wasn't worthy of a roster spot, why Getz is still starting after 151 games is puzzling.
I understand the notion of wanting solid up the middle defense, but is Getz's glove so much more valuable than Giavotella's bat? I sure hope we get to find out the answer at the major league level soon. It's no surprise, I am giving Getz a DOWNGRADE even though I didn't expect much out of him coming into the season.
Kansas City also gave Mike Aviles 19 starts at second base this spring, and 23 at third base. Aviles was optioned down to Omaha as Mike Moustakas was called up to overtake third base, much like the situation with Eric Hosmer at first. Aviles posted a pedestrian .213/.257/.391 line with Kansas City that included five home runs and 30 RBI. After hitting .304 last season for the Royals, it's definitely a DOWNGRADE from his 2010 season, but at least Aviles was still providing power offensively and hit the ball out of the infield.