KC Royals: Projecting The 2016 Starting Lineup

Lead-Off Hitter

I bet this one comes as a shock to everyone…not.

Ned Yost is going to stick with Escobar as the lead-off hitter and why shouldn’t he? The Royals were 82-49 when Alcides Escobar led off last season. No he’s not going to draw walks, but who cares?

Yes, his on-base percentage is not what you look for out of a typical lead-off hitter, but the Royals aren’t a typical team. ‘Esky’ Magic works, and there’s no reason to start trying to figure out how or why until it stops working.

He actually has better stats when he swings at the first pitch than he does when he works himself into a count.

Escobar can be maddening at times when he swings at the first pitch, but most of the time it works! He batted .364 last season when swinging at the first pitch, and an astounding .327 for his career.

He actually has better stats when he swings at the first pitch than he does when he works himself into a count. His ability to get on base when swinging at the first pitch may be why the Royals do so well when he leads off.

It may be surprising to know that Escobar actually saw 3.49 pitches per plate appearance last season. That’s not a lot, but it’s also not the worst in the league. It’s not even the worst on the team! Salvador Perez saw 3.33 pitches per plate appearance which was good for second fewest in the league.

Omar Infante also saw fewer pitches per plate appearance in 2015 than did Alcides Escobar. This is just the Royals standard operating procedure. They don’t strike out and to do that, they swing early and often.

Royals’ opening day lead-off hitter: Alcides Escobar

Next: Replacing Zoby