World Series 2014: Giants vs. Royals Position-by-Position Breakdown

Here's the storyline for the 2014 World Series: Either a team is going to put itself in dynasty territory with a third title in five years or a club is going to end a 29-year postseason drought by going out on top.

Once you take a moment to process that, we can get on to breaking down how the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals match up.

We're going to do that position by position, beginning with the catchers and proceeding all the way down to the managers. We'll be weighing various statistics and talents, and we'll decide which team has the edge and, ultimately, which club is the favorite to win.

You may now start the show.

Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.

Catcher: Buster Posey vs. Salvador Perez

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Let me first say that Salvador Perez is a very good player. He finished seventh among catchers in home runs, sixth in RBI and sixth in overall WAR. About 25 other teams in baseball would be thrilled to have him behind the plate night in and night out.

That said, this head-to-head battle with Buster Posey would be a first-round knockout.

Posey has emerged as one of the great big-moment stars in the sport, and he is doing it again in 2014. He hit .391 in the five games from the Wild Card play-in through the National League Division Series victory over the Nationals.

He then followed that up with a huge three-RBI effort in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series to essentially clinch the Giants' third World Series berth in five years.

Not to mention, Posey was in the top three among catchers in 2014 in home runs, RBI, OPS, WAR, runs and batting average. This one is a clear win for the quiet leader of the Giants.

Edge: Giants

First Base: Brandon Belt vs. Eric Hosmer

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This is a matchup of two players following up disappointing regular seasons with strong postseasons. 

After hitting .243 with a .755 OPS in only 61 games, San Francisco's Brandon Belt is hitting .286 with a .781 OPS in October. For his part, Eric Hosmer is following a .270 average and .716 OPS with a .448 average and 1.314 OPS.

These two are succeeding now largely because they've repaired major weaknesses. While Belt has been working more disciplined at-bats, Hosmer has been getting under the ball more consistently. Hence his .759 October slugging percentage, which easily dwarfs Belt's .371.

That power edge could go away in a hurry, though. Hosmer's made some adjustments, but he's typically more of a ground-ball hitter, while Belt is a fly-ball hitter with plenty of raw power.

The defense equation, meanwhile, is basically a push. Belt and Hosmer are both above-average defenders at first, in part because they're both more athletic than your garden-variety first baseman.

All told, it's a toss-up. But with Hosmer raking in October, he deserves at least a slight edge.

Edge: Royals

Second Base: Joe Panik vs. Omar Infante

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Based on the numbers, this matchup is a no-contest in the Giants' favor.

Kansas City's Omar Infante only hit .252 with a .632 OPS in the regular season, in part because various injuries did him no favors. Joe Panik, on the other hand, hardly looked like a rookie. He came up and hit .305 with a .711 OPS.

Panik has also outperformed Infante in October. He hasn't been great with a .239 average and .619 OPS, but the fact that he's struck out just once makes it clear that he's hardly been overmatched. Meanwhile, Infante has struck out nine times in eight games and has hit just .207 with a .501 OPS.

And unfortunately for Infante, he doesn't make up his offensive disadvantage with speed or defense. He's one of the few guys the Royals have who's not a major stolen base threat, and both he and Panik are basically average defenders at second base.

Edge: Giants

Third Base: Pablo Sandoval vs. Mike Moustakas

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This is a matchup that would have gone hilariously in the Giants' favor in the regular season, but it is now a much more even comparison. 

The 2014 season saw Pablo Sandoval hit a solid .279 with a .739 OPS, while Mike Moustakas struggled his way to a .212 average and .632 OPS. About the only thing he could do was hit for power, and he wasn't great at it.

Suddenly, however, he's become very good at hitting for power. Moustakas' .655 postseason slugging percentage is what's fueling his .922 October OPS, which easily outpaces Sandoval's .814 OPS.

Still, that Moustakas is only hitting .241 with a .267 on-base percentage in October is reflective of how only his power has awoken. He's not as good a hitter as Kung Fu Panda, nor can he match Sandoval's defense.

The defensive metrics favored Sandoval over Moustakas in the regular season, and the eye test agrees. Sandoval is more nimble than Moustakas, and he offers a better arm.

Edge: Giants

Shortstop: Brandon Crawford vs. Alcides Escobar

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The World Series shortstop matchup features players who have both glaring similarities and differences.

The Giants' Brandon Crawford and Kansas City's Alcides Escobar are both defense-first shortstops who excel more when the time comes to make flashy plays than to make the routine ones. To this end, the defense matchup between the two is basically a push.

Offensively, Crawford's .713 regular-season OPS trumps Escobar's .694. Escobar has turned the tables in the postseason, with his .714 OPS easily outpacing Crawford's .621, but that's due to a power output that he more than likely can't sustain. Between the two, Crawford's the better power hitter.

What Escobar does have that Crawford doesn't, however, is a lot of speed. Between the regular season and postseason, the 32 bags he's swiped are more than enough to make up for Crawford's edge in power.

Edge: Royals

Left Field: Travis Ishikawa vs. Alex Gordon

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If we're talking dramatics, it's awfully hard to top Travis Ishikawa's pennant-clinching dinger in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series.

Aside from that…uh, yeah. He doesn't have much on Alex Gordon.

Ishikawa hit just .252 with a .703 OPS in the regular season, and he's only a first baseman pretending to be a left fielder. Gordon hit .266 with a .783 OPS, complete with 19 home runs. 

Gordon is also, of course, hands down the best defensive left fielder in the game. His metrics made that clear in the regular season, and his assorted highlight-reel plays have made it evident in October.

Edge: Royals

Center Field: Gregor Blanco vs. Lorenzo Cain

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There's not much more of a discussion to be had here either.

With a .260 average and .707 OPS, Gregor Blanco had a nice season for the Giants. And so far in the postseason, he's at least played some solid defense to help make up for the fact that he's only hitting .159 with a .411 OPS.

Lorenzo Cain, however, is just too good.

After flying under the radar to the tune of a .301 average and .751 OPS, Cain is showcasing his talent for all to see in the postseason. Beyond hitting .353 with an .820 OPS, he's introduced the nation to the amazing defense he can play in center and right field.

"I'm just trying to do whatever it takes to find a way to help this team win ballgames," said Cain after being named the American League Championship Series MVP, via USA Today's John Perrotto. "I'm just going to continue to do that throughout the World Series, as well."

That's bad news for the Giants.

Edge: Royals

Right Field: Hunter Pence vs. Nori Aoki

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Sort of like Crawford and Escobar at short, Hunter Pence and Nori Aoki are similar defenders in right field.

While both are athletic and have solid arms, Pence and Aoki can make things interesting with the routes they take to balls. But since both find ways to do more good than harm, their defensive matchup is best called a push.

The same can't be said of their matchup on offense, though.

Aoki outpaced Pence in both average (.285 to .277) and OBP (.349 to .332) in the regular season, but Pence demolished him in power. Aoki hit just one home run, while Pence hit 20. And though Aoki did steal 17 bases, that's hardly an edge over Pence's 13.

Neither has had a particularly productive postseason. But with Pence's .674 October OPS topping Aoki's .603, he gets one more reason to get the nod.

Edge: Giants

Bench vs. Bench

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If their NLCS roster is any indication, the Giants bench for the World Series will look like this:

• Andrew Susac, C (R)
• Matt Duffy, INF (R)
• Joaquin Arias, INF (R)
• Michael Morse, OF/1B (R)
• Juan Perez, OF (R)

And if their ALCS roster is any indication, the Royals bench will look like:

• Erik Kratz, C (R)
• Christian Colon, INF (R)
• Jarrod Dyson, OF (L)
• Terrance Gore, OF (R)
• Josh Willingham, OF (R)

That's when the games are at Kauffman Stadium, anyway. In San Francisco, the Royals will lose the designated hitter and will have Billy Butler on their bench as well.

As it is, it's easy enough to like the Royals bench over the Giants bench.

They have two huge speed threats in Dyson and Gore, and Dyson is also a plus-plus defender in center field. Willingham and Morse are both fine right-handed power threats, but the difference between them is that Willingham can also work a walk.

Butler will give the Royals an extra bat over the Giants at home. On the road, he'll become another part of a terrific bench.

Edge: Royals

Rotation vs. Rotation

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With the World Series not starting until Tuesday, the Giants and Royals can use their regular rotations. 

As such, the Giants should line up like this:

1. Madison Bumgarner (L)
2. Jake Peavy (R)
3. Tim Hudson (R)
4. Ryan Vogelsong (R)

And the Royals should line up like this:

1. James Shields (R)
2. Yordano Ventura (R)
3. Jason Vargas (L)
4. Jeremy Guthrie (R)

A matchup between Bumgarner and Shields in Game 1 would be a contest between two guys who, according to FanGraphs WAR, were equally valuable in 2014. But considering how Bumgarner is a better strikeout pitcher and has had a superb postseason with a 1.42 ERA in four starts, it's easy to favor him.

Ventura has better stuff than Peavy, but he doesn't always know where it's going. Peavy isn't the most consistent control artist, granted, but when he's on, he's very good at playing with the edges of the zone. That's an edge that could allow him to keep up in a matchup against Ventura.

Hudson against Vargas would be a duel between an extreme ground-ball pitcher and an extreme fly-ball pitcher. You tend to favor the ground-ball artists in such situations, but Vargas is pitching to a superb outfield defense and will get to pitch at two pitchers' parks.

Lastly, there's Vogelsong against Guthrie. The matchup favors Vogelsong when it comes to strikeouts, but not walks or ground balls. Those favor Guthrie. The wild card, however, is Vogelsong living up to the postseason track record he had before his most recent start.

No matter which way you slice it, it's hard to pick favorites outside of the likely Bumgarner vs. Shields matchup. But since the Giants have the edge there…

Edge: Giants

Bullpen vs. Bullpen

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The Giants bullpen for the World Series should consist of:

• Jeremy Affeldt (L)
• Santiago Casilla (R)
• Tim Lincecum (R)
• Javier Lopez (L)
• Jean Machi (R)
• Yusmeiro Petit (R)
• Sergio Romo (R)
• Hunter Strickland (R)

And the Royals bullpen should include:

• Tim Collins (L)
• Wade Davis (R)
• Danny Duffy (L)
• Brandon Finnegan (L)
• Jason Frasor (R)
• Kelvin Herrera (R)
• Greg Holland (R)

Based on what-have-you-done-for-me-lately history, this is a mismatch. The 2.87 ERA of the Royals bullpen in the second half of the regular season was fifth best in baseball and notably better than the Giants' 3.34.

But the Giants aren't that outmatched. They have the better long man in Petit, and there's plenty of variety for manager Bruce Bochy to put to use. And with Romo pitching well again, he and Affeldt make for a solid bridge to Casilla in the ninth.

Still, you do wonder if the Giants have an answer for Kansas City's golden trio of Herrera, Davis and Holland. They all had sub-1.50 ERAs in the regular season and have so far combined to allow three runs on 14 hits with 30 strikeouts in 25.2 postseason innings.

That's true next-level dominance. And though the drop-off outside of those three is steep, Royals manager Ned Yost isn't totally without options to choose from.

Edge: Royals

Managers: Bruce Bochy vs. Ned Yost

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Maybe even as recently as a week ago, this would have been another no-contest. A week ago, Bruce Bochy was a genius among geniuses, and Ned Yost was the village dingbat of MLB managers.

But out of the blue, Yost got smarter in the ALCS.

A part of that was Yost chose to bunt less frequently. A bigger part of it was how he stepped outside his comfort zone and was more aggressive in going to Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis. 

FanGraphs' Dave Cameron is right in thinking that was a big step for Yost: "While the defense was spectacular and Lorenzo Cain seemingly never made an out, the Royals bullpen was the MVP of this series, and Yost’s aggressive usage of his dominant relief corps is one of the main reasons why Kansas City looks unbeatable right now."

And yet, doubts remain.

Yost is probably still more likely to call for bad bunts than Bochy is. And though his bullpen management has improved, he has a long way to go to before he's a bullpen master on Bochy's level. If nothing else, Games 1 and 2 of the American League Division Series suggest Yost may hesitate to bring in Greg Holland in a tie game on the road.

It's become a better question than it could have been, but the nod still goes to Bochy.

Edge: Giants

Overall: Royals

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All told, it's as close as it can be: six edges for the Royals and six for the Giants.

And while yours truly is admittedly biased, that's pretty much an accurate reflection of how these two teams stack up in general.

The Giants have a starting pitching edge, but the Royals have a better defense, bench and bullpen. And now that their offense has some power, it's at least equal to the task of outscoring San Francisco's offense.

The Giants should be able to avoid the same fate as the Orioles and Detroit Tigers. It shouldn't be a clean sweep. The Giants are too resilient for that.

But the way the Royals are going, the crown is theirs for the taking.

Royals in 5