KC Royals: Five Lessons Learned After First Month

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May 2, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals center fielder Lorenzo Cain (6) is caught trying to steal third base by Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon (6) in the third inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /

Lesson Four: This slump has to end at some point…right?

The team has been in a slump for much of the past week or so. They can’t seem to get that one big hit with runners in scoring position to get people to cross home plate.

Last year they were very proficient with runners in scoring position. In fact, they were second only to Toronto in batting average with a .281 mark with a runner on second or third base.

They were also very good at getting those runs in with two outs. They led all of baseball in batting average with runners in scoring position with two outs last season. They batted an impressive .278 in that situation. That batting average alone is better than what the team is batting overall right now.

This season, the KC Royals rank 23rd in two out, runners in scoring position scenarios with a .200 mark on the year. They’re batting just .201 with runners in scoring position in general which is second from the bottom in the league. Hard to win ball games when that’s going on.

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The Royals BABIP, batting average on balls in play, is .240 on the year. It’s also second from the bottom. It’s also a sign that that should even out as the year goes on (If they stop striking out in order with a runner on second).

In high leverage situations, according to FanGraphs.com, the Royals have a K-rate of 23.2 percent, which is 11th worst in the league. That means the Royals are striking out at really inopportune times. Their BABIP in these moments is .178 which is, again, second from worst in baseball. They’re also pulling the ball 54.4 percent of the time in these situations which is most in baseball.

Analysis: The KC Royals are trying to do too much with runners in scoring position. Instead of simply hitting the ball the other way or making contact, they’re muscling up to try and hit that mythical six-run home run. Bottom line: They’re in a slump but looking to break out.

Next: Approach With Caution

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