Dairon Blanco is having a whale of a year in the minors with the Kansas City Royals, yet the 30 year old outfielder has not been called up to the big leagues this year. Caught in a logjam behind MJ Melendez, Jackie Bradley Jr, Nate Eaton, Edward Olivares and Nick Pratto the Cuban will probably not the majors this year.
But that does not mean he is not a viable commodity for other teams looking for outfield help during the trade deadline. Blanco who debuted in the big leagues last year on May 20th with the Royals hit .286 with RBIs in five games before inexplicably being designated for assignment on June 3rd by the ball club.
After on offseason where he was a dominant force in the Puerto Rican Winter League with Ponce hitting .301 and leading the circuit in stolen bases with 25. He was also a key cog in the Dominican Winter League where he led the Tigres del Licey to a championship as reinforcement. The native of Camagüey, Cuba collected eight hits, drove in three runs, stole four bases and slashed .500/.526/.563/1.089.
This season in the minors with the Omaha Storm Chasers (AAA) he is hitting .290, has gone yard twice, knocked in seven runs and leads the International League with 28 stolen bases. With trade deadline scheduled for August 1st of this year Blanco could augment some contenders bench for playoffs, be a pinch runner or maybe even surprise a team needing outfield help due to the way he has developed his power and contact.
Where will Dairon Blanco finish the 2023? Or better said will he finish the campaign in Kansas City? Only time will tell us the fate of the speedster.