KC Royals: Deeper look at the offense and pitching from Opening Day win

With fans back in Kauffman Stadium for the first time since 2019, the KC Royals pulled out a dramatic win to start their 2021 campaign toward a 162-0 season.

That is right, 162-0 is how Kansas City Royals fans should all feel after watching this offensive juggernaut in motion. It is, however, just the first game (against an opponent projected to finish last in the AL West by PECOTA) of a long 162-game season and the pitching staff struggles should give you pause.

Offense Notes from KC Royals Opening Day

The Kansas City Royals were able to get on base 25 times with 15 hits, eight walks, and two hit by pitch. Queue up the “Moneyball: He gets on base” GIFs/memes because Dayton Moore realized his offseason wish during opening day.

In total the Royals forced the Rangers pitching staff to throw 200 pitches. The goal of seeing this many pitches in a series is to get deep into the opponent’s bullpen where the pitchers with more hittable stuff are exposed in higher leverage situations.

The new faces in the line-up — Andrew Benintendi, Carlos Santana, Michael A. Taylor, Kyle Isbel, and Hanser Alberto — combined to go 8-for-19 at the plate with four walks, six runs, six RBIs, and one home run. Benintendi, Santana, Taylor, and Isbel all looked impressive at the plate running up the pitch count and making hard contact.

Isbel earned his way onto the Opening Day roster with an excellent spring training performance hitting .333/.420/.548 in 42 at-bats. With how still he keeps his body during his swing it is possible to project him as a productive hitter this season.

Watching Isbel’s at-bats during Opening Day it was stunning to see how little his head and body move during his swing. This will allow him to see the ball better, make consistent hard contact, and put the barrel squarely on the baseball.

Taylor has simplified his swing and the work he did this offseason/spring training has paid off. Taylor has busy hands in his pre-swing mechanics but gets them set in position just prior to the pitch. He does not feature much of a leg kick and he gets off a short quick swing.

I was impressed with his opposite-field home run and all of his five at-bats in the opener. His defensive ability will be a plus and justified his signing alone this offseason. He has the range and the arm to handle the expansive Kauffman outfield, as we saw on full display on Thursday.

Nicky Lopez had some really solid at-bats considering he must be dealing with the mental gymnastics of being sent down to the minors only to be called up immediately after Adalberto Mondesi was put onto the Injured List.

Lopez is not much of a power threat, but he can do all of the gritty work at the plate, like drive up pitch counts, move runners, and get on-base he will crave out a spot on the roster because his defensive ability warrants a spot on the field.