KC Royals: First impressions of newcomers in 2021

KANSAS CITY, MO - APRIL 1: The B-1 stealth bomber flies over Kuaffman Stadium during the the playing of the national anthem prior to a game between the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals on Opening Day at on April 1, 2021 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

3 of 4

Kansas City Royals left fielder Andrew Benintendi (16) – Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports /

Andrew Benintendi

While his offensive numbers weren’t as flashy as his teammates, Andrew Benintendi still had a good day for his new team. Benintendi has some big shoes to fill in left field, but he had a huge grab in the first inning, giving a struggling Brad Keller his first out of the inning (and season) and hopefully relieving some pressure off of him.

Offensively, Benintendi was fine. He went 1-for-5 with a walk and is hitting .200 after his first game with Kansas City.

If Benintendi can deliver in the outfield with some crazy catches and hit around .260 for the season, fans would probably be okay with that. The organization is obviously hoping that they’ll get the top prospect version of Benintendi, but he is coming off an injury and rebuilding his momentum, so it could take some time for him to get to that point again, if he ever does.

Still, Benintendi played well in his first game and did what was asked of him.

Hanser Alberto

The Royals signed Hanser Alberto to platoon at second base when Nicky Lopez was still the starter there. He ended up coming into the game when Hunter Dozier was pulled due to injury.

Alberto had just one at-bat and didn’t get on base. He had a hit initially in what would have been an RBI single, but it was overturned after further review.

It’s hard to really have much of an opinion on Alberto because we really didn’t see him in action much.

Home/Kansas City Royals