Kansas City Royals: Time For Dale Sveum To Go

Things have not gone well for Kansas City Royals hitting coach Dale Sveum this year. Now it is time for Ned Yost to make a big change.

It has been about as frustrating as can be to watch the Kansas City Royals at the plate this year. Outside of a few individual performances, the team has been horrendous on offense. When a problem is this widespread through the organization, you have to take a look at the coaching. It’s time the Royals moved on from hitting coach Dale Sveum.

It’s frustrating for fans to watch because it’s not like the pitching has been terrible. The Royals starting rotation has actually been pretty good. We’ve seen some great performances from Ian Kennedy this year, but not a single one has ended in a win. Why? Because Kansas City simply cannot hit the ball.

How bad could it possibly be? Well, going into last night, the Royals held the following distinctions…

• 30th in Runs Scored
• 30th in RBIs
• 29th in Hits
• 29th in Batting Average
• 29th in On Base Percentage
• 29th in Doubles
• T-24th in Triples
• 20th in Home Runs

I mean, it really does not get much worse than that. Good pitching can overcome mediocre hitting. However, it cannot overcome no hitting at all. This is more than a slump, this is an absolute problem brewing in Kansas City. For the entire team to be performing this poorly, it has to be a philosophical problem. That falls on Dale Sveum.

It’s not as if this is a new problem either. The Royals bats went cold last year as well. Kansas City, coming off of a World Series victory, suddenly couldn’t hit the ball anymore. I don’t know what changed between those two seasons, but it has been pretty painful to watch.

Top Players Struggling

More from Kansas City Royals

• This Plus-Money Bobby Witt Jr. Prop Bet is on Fire (Hit in 15/21 Games)!
• The Royals Need to Extend Bobby Witt Jr. Immediately
• DraftKings + FanDuel Kansas Promos: INSTANT $150 Bonus Plus Two Chances to Win!
• 3 Royals Players Who Won’t Be on the Roster Next Year
• LAST CHANCE to Claim $250 GUARANTEED Bonus With FanDuel and DraftKings Kansas Promos!

What is really baffling for the Kansas City Royals is the fact that some of their top players are the ones struggling the most. Both Alex Gordon and Eric Hosmer are hitting below .200 on the season so far. Those are two of the Royals most important hitters. Only Lorenzo Cain and Whit Merrifield are hitting above .300…and Merrifield only has 15 at bats.

The lack of hitting is also wasting the power efforts of Mike Moustakas and Salvador Perez. The two Royals fan favorites are currently tied for 4th in the American League in home runs. So it’s not like there isn’t something there to work with.

All told, there are only five players in the Royals organization hitting over .200 right now. That simply is not an acceptable output from a major league team. A major change simply has to happen, and it has got to be Dale Sveum. This is the kind of situation that calls for an overhaul.

Next: Kansas City Royals: Ten Players To Watch In 2017

The Kansas City Royals can quickly find themselves well out of the playoff picture if they don’t rebound. That is going to require the bats to come alive and start producing. Simply put, the pitching staff can’t do it all by themselves. It’s time for this team to start living up to their potential.