Prospect Spotlight: Alex Gordon

Name: Alex Gordon
Organization: Kansas City Royals
Position: 3B
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Height: 6′1″
Weight: 220 lbs
My Prospect Ranking: 1st overall (2007 pre-season top prospect rankings)

Report: For the first time in years fans of the Kansas City Royals have the chance to be excited about a player. Alex Gordon is the ultimate prospect. The lefty owns a beautiful swing that has both the ability to hit for power and average. Gordon played his college ball at the University of Nebraska and took home numerous collegiate awards (such as 2005 Baseball America College Player of the Year) before being drafted second overall by the Royals in 2005.

In 2006 Gordon played his first year of minor league ball with the Wichita Wranglers. The third baseman put up very impressive numbers posting .325/.427/.588. He also showed a lethal combination of power and speed with 29 homers and 22 stolen bases. All his excellent play also gained him a few more awards with the 2006 Texas League Player of the Year and 2006 Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year.

ALEX GORDON 2006 STATISTICS
TEAM	AVG	R	HR	RBI	SB	OBP	SLG
Wichita-AA	.325	111	29	101	22	.427	.588

The Royals look for him to take all this talent and start producing for them in the big leagues in 2007, possibly as their opening day third baseman. A player like Gordon is exactly what the talent starved Royals have been looking for ever since Carlos Beltran left the roster back in 2004.

Look for the youngster to make an impact right away as he has all the tools necessary to succeed in the majors. I can see Gordon easily putting up similar numbers in 2007 that he did last season in the minors. 20-25 homers with 20-25 steals isn’t out of the question along with a .290 or so average. The Royals hope to build around Gordon along with their core of young players currently on the team and with some of the other top prospects they have on their way up through the minors. Gordon is exactly the type of player the Royals organization has been starving for to help turn around their ball club.