Kansas City Royals: Jorge Soler’s power numbers are legitimate

It is possible for Kansas City Royals slugger Jorge Soler to produce big power numbers again.

One of the most significant changes for Soler between 2019 and the rest of his career was simply opportunity. He was penciled into the lineup every day, and he stayed healthy. The peripheral stats either stayed in line with his career numbers or improved slightly.

• His Walk Percentage of 10.8 percent was almost identical to his numbers as a Royal and slightly above his career numbers in this category
• His Strikeout Rate of 26.2 was his best as a Royal and lower than his career rate
• His Line drive Percentage (19.5 percent) Fly Ball Percentage (41.2) both improved over the previous season and not dar off his career averages
• His Ground Ball Percent (39.3) was the second-lowest of his career
• The percentage of balls he hit hard was a career-high at 46.7 percent
• The percentage of balls he hit softly was a career-low at 13 percent

These are all indicators that Soler might have figured some things out in his age 27 season. In these categories where he set a career-best mark, he wasn’t that far away from his career averages, and in the other categories, he was also within his typical range of performance. This power skillset exists, and it is legitimate!

It is not realistic to expect another 48 home runs out of Soler. Changes in the ball from year to year can be a factor, and it is hard to hit that many dingers. If healthy, however, it is not crazy to expect his homers to be in the thirties or forties and for his doubles to improve as well.

Who knows when the 2020 season will get started and how many games will be played. The inconsistent preparations for this season have been interrupted, and it is impossible to tell how it will affect any player. That said, if Soler is healthy and can get on track, he could produce an IS0 near .300 again.

If he produces at a high level again, should the Royals consider locking him down with an extension?