Kansas City Royals: Eric Hosmer and Alex Gordon Need to Start Producing

Fourteen games into the 2017 season, the Royals find themselves with a record of 7 – 7. While that record places the Royals in a tie for second in the AL Central, it doesn’t truly represent how the team has played.

Simply put, the Kansas City Royals are struggling to plate runs in a still-young season. Many are quick to place the blame at the feet of rookie second baseman Raul Mondesi or designated hitter Brandon Moss. I’m not going to argue the fact that both have failed to live up to expectations thus far.

I believe the blame for the Royals offensive woes should lie with two heralded players specifically. One is a Kansas City Royals stalwart some believe will see his number on the Hall of Fame someday. The other is a soon-to-be free agent looking to cash in on a huge contract next offseason.

The two men I’m referring to are Alex Gordon and Eric Hosmer.

Among the Royals currently qualified for the batting title, only Paulo Orlando (.167) has a worse batting average than Gordon (.196) and Hosmer (.204). With Gordon leading off and Hosmer batting clean-up, it’s indisputable that both men need to be producing at a higher rate. While excellent starting pitching has helped make up for the shortcomings of both men, it is doubtful that can last.

What’s Up with Gordo?

Starting with Alex Gordon, the left fielder has got to find his way onto base more often. He currently has an on-base percentage of .262 compared to his batting average of .196. The stark difference shows Alex has been willing to take walks (and get hit by pitches), but he is definitely not contributing with hits.

With Mike Moustakas and Lorenzo Cain boasting averages above .300, Gordon’s lack of hits is likely costing the Royals runs in the short term.

Related Story: Kansas City Royals: Alex Gordon's 5 Biggest Moments

With his defensive prowess, nobody is advocating for Gordo to be removed from the lineup. However, he may need to be moved down in the batting order until he shows signs of emerging from his current slump.

Hard Outs for Hosmer

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As for Eric Hosmer, the Royals star first basemen is hitting the ball hard. His problem is that he is achieving virtually no lift on the ball. That is backed up by the fact that Hosmer owns the highest exit velocity of the season. However, in true Royals fashion, that ball was a groundout straight to the shortstop.

Lorenzo Cain, batting directly in front of Hosmer, has a monster .467 on-base percentage. This means that nearly half of the time Hosmer is at the plate, there is at least one baserunner. With that information, one would assume Hos would have more than 5 RBIs to his name this season.

I honestly wonder if Hosmer is feeling extra pressure to perform this season knowing that millions of dollars are staked on his ability to do so. That distraction could very well be part of the reason for his lack of production to begin the season.

It’s well documented that the Royals aren’t efficiently hitting the ball right now. As of Tuesday, the team was the absolute worst in MLB with runners in scoring position. A big part of the Royals’ ability to contend is staked on Eric Hosmer and Alex Gordon finding their stroke.

The perplexing thing is that both seem to be above reproach right now. Neither seems to be receiving much blame for the Royals’ current hitting woes. However, if the two don’t get their current hitting woes figured out soon, the Kansas City Royals’ luck is bound to catch up to them quickly.