Alex Gordon and Billy Butler...?

[madstork43]

Which one is going to be the Royals third baseman of the future and who has a better bat?

[Members Only Jackets]

Gordon is the better fielder ...it's debatable as to who has the better bat....it's close IMO. I'd like to see Gordon at 3rd and Butler at 1b...but Tehan could be at 3b, Gordon at 1b while Butler is DH. It's sort of up in the air right now and it depends on how good/bad Tehan is this year.

[hybrid]

Butler isn't in the 3B picture, he was moved to the OF last year and some question if he can play out there. It looks like he could be destined to a 1B/DH role, while Gordon plays 3B. I don't think Teahen is much competition for Gordon, so it shouldn't be a problem of him being moved off. It's really debatable who is the best hitter, mainly due to Gordon not having plays much in the minors yet ... after this year it will be easier to tell, though Butler has the edge right now.

[rockchalk]

Butler will never play 3B in the show. They are going to play him a full year at AA in LF to see if he can learn the position. If he can't you'll likely see him as the next Mike Sweeney (minus the back hopefully) manning the 1B/DH postion for the Royals (mostly DH). Gordon is the 3B of the future unless Tehan all of the sudden becomes Scott Rolen or Eric Chavez at the plate. Since that appears to be unlikely, the hope is that Tehan improves enough to get fair value in the trade market to make room for Gordon in late '06/spring '07. IF somehow Tehan does flourish at the plate, I expect that Gordon will be converted to a corner OF or 1B because Tehan has Gold Glove ability. But that's a big if........

As far as the hitting goes.....Butler projects to have more power than Gordon. He could top out as a 40+ hr hitter, where Gordon looks to be more of a 30-35 guy in his prime. They both have shown the ability to hit for a high average, though Gordon has shown a much higher propensity to walk. A big part of that is the maturity difference in 19 and 22. Both will be all star caliber players for many years. Although most of those years will likely be outside of KC.

[Jenkins]

Butler isn't in the 3B picture, he was moved to the OF last year and some question if he can play out there. It looks like he could be destined to a 1B/DH role, while Gordon plays 3B. I don't think Teahen is much competition for Gordon, so it shouldn't be a problem of him being moved off. It's really debatable who is the best hitter, mainly due to Gordon not having plays much in the minors yet ... after this year it will be easier to tell, though Butler has the edge right now.