Calvin's the Man

Great little article on Calvin Pickering, the 27 year old lefthanded first baseman, on the Royals web site. In 32 at bats Pickering has hit 11 homeruns (17 hits overall) and driven in 25 runs (I know a small sample size but 11 homeruns in 32 at bats?)! We saw him bat once in Suprise and he certainly is a big man. I was suprised he wasn't talked up a little more in spring training since he was a former high draft pick and hit 25 homeruns in half a season in the Mexican league last year. He also hit .284/.422/.469 in 98 plate appearances at Louisville. This is the assessment of Baseball Prospectus:

"Now he goes to camp with the Royals with a real chance to win their first-base job. He's a better hitter than Ken Harvey, and isn't that much worse than Harvey defensively. This could be one of the best stories of 2004."

Who knows? Perhaps we'll both Zack Grienke and Pickering in Kansas City before long. I hope that they give him a chance.