May 16, 2008 John Buck has been granted three days of bereavement leave because of health concerns for his wife, Brooke, after giving birth to twins, according to the AP. Buck did not accompany the Royals to Miami for their weekend series against the Marlins, and catcher Matt Tupman has been recalled from Triple-A Omaha to fill his roster spot.
Our View:Miguel Olivo will handle the catching role while Buck is away from the team.
April 25, 2008 John Buck doubled twice and drove in a pair of runs, helping the Kansas City Royals rally for an 8-4 victory Friday night over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Our View:Buck won't assist fantasy owners in the batting average category, but he has the potential to register 20 home runs and 70 RBI this season.
April 25, 2008 John Buck has a good track record against AJ Burnett, tonight's opposing hurler for Toronto, according to MLB.com. Buck is 2-for-6 with two homers and three RBI over his career against the Jays' righty.
Our View:Buck has really cooled off following a solid start, as he is only hitting .211 over 18 games, with one homer and seven RBI. He remains an unstable fantasy option, but could turn it around and post good numbers tonight, going by his history against Burnett, who holds a 1.84 WHIP.
March 28, 2008 John Buck hit his first home run of the spring in the second inning of Thursday's spring loss to the Rangers. Buck led all catchers in home runs in 2007. Owners who can supplement his sub-par batting average, and are looking for a solid addition to the long ball category, could do worse than a late round selection of the Royals starting backstop.
February 19, 2008 John Buck will be the Royals' starting catcher this year despite the signing of Miguel Olivo. "I want competition," manager Trey Hillman said in the Kansas City Star, "but we're going into this camp with John Buck as our starting catcher for a very simple reason. We believe he has the ability to be a front-line, All-Star-type catcher and an impact bat in the lineup. Understand that anyone in our starting lineup has to maintain a certain level of performance. We want to win games. I told Buck, 'You're our starting catcher, but understand there is an expectation of a level of performance in order to maintain that position.'" Olivo should still get plenty of playing time, and the team has even discussed using him in left field some. Buck is capable of hitting 20 homers, but he's also a career .237 hitter.
