Spotlight on an Omaha Royal: J.R. House

May 13, 9:37 AMNebraska Sports ExaminerOliver VanDervoort

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It seems like it’s been decades since the Kansas City Royals had a catcher they could truly be proud of. Bob Boone is the last great catcher to don the Royals uniform, and even he was at the end of a storied career.

When the Royals acquired John Buck, they thought he was the answer to their prayers, but in five full seasons in the bigs, Buck has yet to post better than a .245 average. The Royals had hoped they had filled the rather large hole in the lineup two years ago with the signing of Miguel Olivo, but he’s hardly been an offensive juggernaut since joining the club, hitting just .255 last season, and only .229 so far this year.

The Royals are not a good offensive team right now, and the short leash that Buck and Olivo have already been on, splitting the at-bats almost right down the middle, might get shorter if they continue to add so little to the run production.

Does that mean J.R. House could be heading to Kansas City in the near future? House is a much traveled player, a minor league veteran catcher that has never really gotten a shot at making a major league roster

J.R. was taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth round of the 1999 amateur draft, and made his major league debut four years later. One at-bat was the entire scope of that debut, though he did get a hit. In 2004, he appeared in just four games. 2006 saw him with a new team, the Houston Astros, appearing in four games. 2007 he was a Baltimore Oriole, and saw the most extensive action of his major league career, appearing in 19 games. House hit just .211, but blasted three solo homeruns, and colleted another two extra base hits. Last season he was again an Astro and made three pinch hitting appearances.

In Omaha this season, House is tearing the cover off the ball, hitting .322 with three homeruns and 17 RBI serving as their starting catcher, and occasional DH. He deserves a chance to become a major league catcher, and he might be on just the right team to give it to him.

While Kansas City will most like be loathe to trade or release either of their catchers at the present time, House and his fans will keep their eyes on the horizon, knowing that the path to the big leagues could be opening up sooner rather than later.