Kansas City Royals: Mike Matheny is positioning to win
By Cody Rickman
Pinch-Hitting to favor L/R match-ups
With expanded rosters early in the season, Matheny has had the luxury of pinch-hitting late in games to favor L/R or R/L match-ups. This is an unusual practice in the American League style of baseball. So far Matheny has not had success utilizing this strategy, but it will work out more often as the season progresses.
The Royals 2020 roster construction has allowed Matheny to set-up the bottom of the batting order to allow flexibility late in games.
Having second baseman Nicky Lopez (LH) batting eighth and with Erick Mejia (Switch) on the bench gives the Royals skipper flexibility with the new three batter minimum for relievers. Having Ryan McBroom (RH), Bubba Starling (RH), Franchy Cordero (LH), and Brett Phillips (LH) all capable of handling outfield positions, adds even more flexibility to the seventh and ninth spots in the batting order.
Conclusion
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Mike Matheny is doing everything he can to put the 2020 Kansas City Royals in a position to be successful. He has adopted modern day analytics into his game planning strategy and he has got his players to buy into the system. Matheny is throwing the proverbial kitchen sink at his opponents to win.
The 2020 Royals will look completely different under Mike Matheny’s managing style. The 2020 Royals are shifting defensively more than ever, using the pitching staff in an unconventional manner to have the most success, constructing batting orders to get the most out every plate appearance, and they are favoring L/R batting match-ups.
The 2020 season could get sideways quickly with roster shake-ups occurring due to illness and injury. Matheny is tasked with getting his players to buy into his managerial style whether they are multi-year veterans or first-year rookies. The 2020 season is only 60-games, so every game is incredibly important.
The changes Matheny has made to managerial style are the right ones to sustain long-term success for the Royals moving forward. He has shown trust in his young prospects giving them the opportunity to thrive in high pressure moments.
Next. 2020 Season Will Be Year of Debuts for Royals. dark
The 2020 season may force Matheny to play even more young prospects as the season progresses and giving those prospects trust and respect is a big step forward to success for Mike Matheny and the Royals.