Flanny's Take: Dreaming of Dyson and on-base percentages

By Jeffrey Flanagan FOXSportsKansasCity.com It's not like the Royals have not seen speed in the last 20 years. There was Tom Goodwin for awhile in the 1990s. There was Joey Gathright a few years back. There was even Scott Podsednik for a bit this season. But not like this. Not like Jarrod Dyson, the Royals rookie center fielder, whose blazing speed may just have many Royals fans dreaming of him winning the center-field job next spring Indeed, Dyson is that fast. So fast, in fact, he doesn't even need to read pitchers' moves. So fast, he can outrun horrible jumps and still steal a base. "Oh, yeah, he can," said teammate Mike Aviles. "I've seen him do it. He's gotten terrible jumps and just outran the throw. He's amazing." Dyson, who has eight steals in 14 games since being called up from Triple-A, has yet to have been thrown out by a catcher. His one caught-stealing was actually a pick-off. "One left-hander got me on an inside move," Dyson said. "But I don't expect catchers to get me. I can definitely outrun bad jumps. And not every jump is going to be perfect anyway." Dyson is by far the fastest Royal in recent memory, and the only present Royal even in his league is Gregor Blanco. "I would say I'm faster," Dyson said, shrugging his shoulders. Does Blanco accept that? "Well," Dyson said, smiling, "he should." We've already seen the damage that Dyson can do once he gets on base. Opposing pitchers immediately begin to fret. "That's my job, to make them worry," Dyson said. The net result has been either a stolen base or some juicy fastballs for the No. 2 hitter, which has been Aviles lately. "It's definitely helped me," Aviles said. "They're so concerned about somehow getting him off the bases, they kind of lose track of the next hitter and I get better pitches." The question, of course, is whether or not Dyson can get on base enough to provide that havoc. By now, most Royals fans know Dyson's story. He was taken by the Royals in the 50th round of the 2006 draft, the 1,475th player taken overall. He is listed at 5 feet 9, 160 pounds - and even those numbers seem generous when you're standing next to him. He was drafted on the potential of that speed. And he has worked hard at his offensive game. "The main goal is keep the ball on the ground," Dyson said. "It doesn't do me any good putting the ball in the air. Keep the ball on the ground, draw walks, get on base anyway you can."