Kansas City Royals: Growing Up Before Our Eyes
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Danny Duffy (41) Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
Moreover, the Royals are on pace to hit a mere 99 homers. If they hit that mark, it would be the fewest by an AL team since 1994! So how in the heck is this team winning!?
For all their perceived offensive faults, they are actually ranked 9th in the AL in runs scored, placing them right in the middle of the AL pack. While they rank in the bottom third of the league in OPS and OBP, (11th in both categories), they are second in the AL, behind only the NY Yankees, in team batting average at .264.
Additionally, the Royals are currently 4th in doubles with 228 and 5th in triples with 22. More importantly, the Royals lead the league in stolen bases with 112 but are only 8th in caught stealing, indicating a very high success rate on the base paths.
In fact, the Royals currently have 4 of the top base stealers in the league with Jarrod Dyson and Alcides Escobar pacing the team with 28 and 24 respectively and Lorenzo Cain and Nori Aoki logging 20 and 15 respectively.
Royals are currently 4th in doubles with 228 and 5th in triples with 22. More importantly, the Royals lead the league in stolen bases with 112…
Admittedly, this is a far cry from the base-stealing hey-day of Freddie Patek, Willie Wilson, Amos Otis, and company, but it does reflect a team with a wide-spread ability up and down the lineup to move runners over and get into scoring position.
It’s also worth noting that the Royals are hitting a league best .275 team with runners in scoring position.
So while the Royals may be middle-of-the-pack in terms of traditionally key offensive indicators like on-base percentage and slugging percentage, the numbers also reflect a team that is much more efficient at converting the base runners they do get into runs.