Tales from Fifth Place: Royals Edition

 

It's one thing to be a last-place team. It's another thing entirely to be a last-place team while confusing the hell out of me.

I'm not confused that the Royals are in last. No, that makes sense, they don't have much this year and injuries have depleted the rotation further than it already was. But just the strange things we're seeing because this team is in last is pretty incredible. I don't know if this will be a recurring column, but I just wanted to detail some of the strange things I've noticed on this 2023 Royals team, and there's a lot more than just the obvious.

• Salvador Perez is a power-hitter now and leads the team in home runs. I guess on some level you could have told me that Perez, after being one of the best defensive catchers of the 2010s, would bottom out and focus purely on power hitting. But the way his stats have flipped from being a negative hitter and positive defender to being a positive hitter and negative defender is odd. It's odd that he can't be both at once, but it's insanely hard to be a good hitting catcher. Perez is easily the best hitter on the team, and may have a shot at yet another ASG nomination.
• The Royals' best starter is 39-year-old Zack Greinke, who is also 1-5. Greinke may not be the unhittable force he was in his 20s, but he's durable, and the Royals need durability right now if Brady Singer and Jordan Lyles aren't going to be reliable. Greinke has the lowest WHIP in the rotation, and has allowed the least amount of earned runs. There's also a chance he may hit his 3000th strikeout this year, which would be a worthy achievement to go out on.
• The best player on this team that isn't Perez or Greinke? Kyle Isbel. Yeah, the outfielder prospect that started the season with the team a few years ago and was demoted for the rest of the year. Isbel has struggled to show consistent work in the majors for KC, much like Bubba Starling, Ryan McBroom and Ryan O'Hearn before him. Before he got injured, he was hitting .209 but defensively a standout. Of course, he is currently injured.
• The Kansas City Royal that has the highest batting average is Matt Duffy, who's appeared in 23 games and has only 7 RBIs.
• The single best defensive catcher on this team might be the 28-year-old Freddy Fermin, who's been the primary backup since M.J. Melendez is mostly starting in the outfield. Fermin can also hit. I remember last year seeing Freddy Fermin mentioned because he sounded like dollar store Freddie Freeman.
• They have a starter who is currently 0-8. Shockingly, it is Jordan Lyles.
• One of the Royals' main bullpen options this year is Jose Cuas, who is most famously a former hitting prospect that became a pitcher midway through his minor league career. Cuas has been surprisingly smooth as a reliever, though his 4.58 ERA needs some work.
• I feel like there's so many failed starters hiding in the minors for the Royals, getting in occasional relief innings. Jackson Kowar, Jonathan Heasley, Carlos Hernandez I suppose. 
• Only Perez, Pasquantino and Nick Pratto have averages above .250 for this lineup. Something about Ps.

It's an odd team with a lot of interesting faults. I don't know if they'll improve at all, but there something fascinating about them.

Coming Tomorrow- The Reds got him in exchange for Jesse Winker, and he's honestly been a nice piece for them.