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Bubba Starling Is Back On The Path To Big Leagues With Kansas City Royals

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The Kansas City Royals traded away a serious portion of the top-shelf talent in their farm system to bring in Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist last year. One of the most talked-about prospects still in the system, despite his struggles through the start of his professional baseball career, is Kansas native Bubba Starling.

Bubba’s had fans talking about him, for better or worse, since the moment he joined the organization. Can he force his way onto the big league roster at some point this season? Many members of the Royals organization think he will.

From the start, scouts saw incredible potential in Starling. Many touted him as a possible five-tool superstar as soon as he was drafted. Many also worried about the holes in his swing, and those worries were quickly proven to be legitimate. Starling posted offensive numbers that were better than average in his 2012 debut, but a 30 percent strikeout rate exposed the flaws in his game.

2013 and 2014 were much worse for him. Bubba did little to decrease his strikeout totals, and despite consistently great defense, most experts inside and outside the Royals organization began to view him as a possible dud. Scouts were put off by how badly his front foot leaked, and how often he was fooled by breaking balls out of the zone. 2015, however, brought signs of him finally bringing his offensive game together.

After posting a .642 OPS in Advanced A in 2013, Bubba lit up the same league with a 1.084 OPS to start the 2014 season. The organization quickly promoted him to AA Northwest Arkansas, where he posted a respectable .744 OPS and hit 10 home runs in 91 games.

Starling needs to take another step forward with his offense to reach the big leagues, but last season gave us reason to believe he can do that. A September call-up is probably the earliest we can expect to see him reach the majors, unless he absolutely goes nuts in AA and beyond. What matters more is that he’s progressing, and scouts once again expect him to be a big league contributor in the future.

Let’s remember that this is a dude named Bubba “Freaking” Starling. He grew up in Gardner, Kansas and turned down a full scholarship to play starting quarterback at Nebraska University to sign with the Royals. He’ll either be loved by fans for his incredible skills and athleticism, or hated by fans for failing to reach his potential … because of his incredible skills and athleticism. All fans can do is keep hoping that Starling becomes the hero and not the goat.

Doug LaCerte is www.RantSports.com’s Kansas City Royals beat writer. Follow him on Twitter @DLaC67, “like” him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google.

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