Kansas City Royals: Paulo Orlando Leads Off

The Kansas City Royals promoted Paulo Orlando to the leadoff spot today. Alcides Escobar got demoted to the eighth spot in the starting lineup.

The Kansas City Royals best hitter, Paulo Orlando, leads off for the good guys tonight against the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium. The Brazilian deserves the promotion with the kind off numbers he’s putting up in 2016.

Orlando’s slashed .333/.357/.435 in 84 games this season. He’s got the highest batting average on the team. Orlando fits the leadoff role well. He hits for singles but has a little pop for an occasional double or better in his arsenal.

He’s accumulated 95 hits. Of those hits he’s got: 14 doubles, three triples and three doubles. The other 75 hits are singles.

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Surprisingly, Orlando only has nine stolen bases this season. The 30-year-old has speed but the team doesn’t allow him to steal too often. He’s been caught stealing twice this season.

Maybe the Kansas City Royals managers will utilize his speed more often when he gets on base early in games. If he steals a base, a single essentially becomes a double. This could lead to more runs for the lowly Royals offense. The KC Royals are 27th out of 30 teams in runs scored this season (426 runs).

Alcides Escobar‘s offensive numbers are terrible this year. He’s slashed .253/.279/.310 in 111 games played. He’s not cutting it as a leadoff hitter. The “Esky Magic” has left the building. He’s got 19 extra base hits, one less than Orlando in 27 more games played.

Escobar’s led off in 82 of the 111 games he’s played. During those games, he’s slashed .228/.256/.291 for the Kansas City Royals. That’s not good at all. He’s received 18 hits in that span of games.

The Kansas City Royals should have led off someone else but Ned Yost stays loyal to his players too long sometimes. This move has hunted the team, especially this season.

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Escobar’s stats batting eight are much better. In 11 games, he’s slashed .278/.333/.667 with ten hits and a triple. He also added three walks, a stolen base and a couple of runs batted in (RBIs). That’s more of the numbers Royals fans are used to seeing from “El Mago”.

The Royals are trying to make a late season push for a playoff spot. Kansas City is ten games out of first place in the American League Central Division and are currently in tied for fourth with the White Sox.

Kansas City is 7.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot in the American League playoff race. Five teams stand in the way of the Royals. Kansas City is 53 and 58 this season and five games below .500 baseball.

The KC Royals need some kind of a miracle to make the playoffs. The Royals have a 0.2 percent chance to win the final Wild Card slot and/or to win the division.

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Hopefully the lineup change will bring the Royals more consistent offense and more wins. Couple the lineup change with the “Rally Mantis” and the Kansas City Royals might defy the odds again this season.