Somehow, I forgot to post about last week’s MLB Network’s Top Ten Right Now. They did an episode on left fielders and right fielders and no Jeff Francoeur did not make the list.

Alex Gordon, did however make the cut (I even had a post all written I just forgot to post it). Anyway, the KC Royals left fielder came in at number four on “The Shredder” list, along with Bill James’ list. Former big league outfielder Eric Byrnes only had him at number ten because Gordon has yet to hit for power or drive in 100 runs. Left fielders are supposed to be the big boppers in the lineup.

via MLB Network’s Twitter

Salvador Perez came in at number six on the list of catchers, with SF Giants catcher Buster Posey topping the list. I was really surprised out at how high Perez is ranked considering that in two years, he still has not played a full season’s worth of games. I have high hopes that he will be great, but I think the jury should still be out on him.

Former big league catcher Dave Valle also had him at number six. Bill James did not have Perez in his rankings.

Some of the catchers that are on the list surprised me, like AJ Ellis of the Dodgers and that Miguel Montero of Arizona was so high. I was surprised that Baltimore’s Matt Wieters was so low, at number eight.

Speaking of Perez, check out this article by the Kansas City Star’s Pete Grathoff.

*In the first baseman category, Eric Hosmer did not crack the list or even just miss the cut. They did not even mention him at all.

On Friday, the KC Royals claimed catcher George Kottaras off waivers from the Oakland A’s. The addition of Kottaras gives the Royals seven catchers in camp this spring, three on the 40-man roster.

Kottaras began last season with the Milwaukee Brewers. He was then traded to the A’s in July. Down the stretch with the American League West winning A’s, he hit six home runs and drove in 19 in 27 games. Overall, he hit just .211.

After the A’s acquired John Jaso last week, Kottaras became expendable.

To add Kottaras to the 40-man roster, the Royals designated infielder Tony Abreu for assignment. I guess that means veteran Miguel Tejada is a little closer to the back up infielder job.

The KC Royals invited three catchers to spring training, on top of the three catchers already on their 40-man roster. The main reason to invite more catchers to camp is to have someone to catch ALL the pitchers. The Royals have 29 pitchers expected to be in camp when official workouts begin on February 21st.

The real competition in terms of catchers will come between Manny Pina and Brayan Pena for the backup job to Salvador Perez (more to come on that during spring training).

So what about those other three guys?

Julio Rodriguez on Judy Johnson Night

Cody Clark re-signed with the Royals after spending the 2011 season with Triple-A Omaha. There he hit .233 in 51 games. Most likely he will return to Omaha and be the backup to whoever loses the big league backup battle.

The Royals signed Max Ramirez, the one-time Texas Rangers prospect, in the offseason. Ramirez split 2011with three Pacific Coast League teams, hitting .278 combined over 83 games. It will be interesting to see where he ends up because he could be the wild card and win the big league backup job.

Julio Rodriguez was acquired along with pitcher Antonio Cruz for infielder Wilson Betemit from the Detroit Tigers last summer. He was having a good season in Lakeland (the Tigers High-A team) before the trade (.283), but he struggled after the trade with High-A Wilmington. He hit just .219 in the pitcher-friendly league.

The good thing is, he doesn’t strike out (just 37 times in 299 at-bats in 2011). Big league camp will be good for him so the Royals can get a better look at him and he can work with some of the coaches. I expect him to return to Wilmington and work with new manager Vance Wilson (a former big league catcher).

*Check back tomorrow for a look at more of the Royals non-roster invitees.