The Kansas City Royals avoided a sweep over the weekend by the Houston Astros, winning the last of a three-game series by a shutout score of 4-0. The month of June has treated the Royals better than most, as they have a 7-6 record through 13 games, helping to improve their overall record to 29-43, which remains the second-worst benchmark in MLB and tied with the Los Angeles Angels for the worst in the American League.
What's worse if the fact that in the midst of the Houston series, star power hitter, Vinnie Pasquantino, suffered a hamate fracture in his hand, and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks after he quickly received surgery. While Pasquantino had been having one of the worst seasons of his young career, his performance in June, much like the Royals', had greatly improved to at least respectable.
He'd been hitting .298 through 12 games with seven RBI's, five walks, and seven runs scored. His home run numbers remained underwhelming at just one, and Pasquantino is certainly not the type of player known for making up for poor hitting with his defense. Nonetheless, it's a loss for the Royals and one that stalls an otherwise solid two weeks of baseball.
Vinnie Pasquantino injury leaves Royals without one its top hitters
Questions about where the Royals go from here in terms of finding offensive firepower are understandable. Bobby Witt Jr. remains one of baseball's best. Maikel Garcia and Salvador Perez, whether they are hitting or not, are guys you trust to find a groove, and young Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone continue to impress and become everyday starters.
Other than that, it's been more miss than hit when it comes to the rest of the lineup. For two years now, general manager Matt Quatraro has had to rely on really good pitching from multiple high-level starters. But with Cole Ragans still sidelined and recent injuries to Seth Lugo and Kris Bubic, it's the offense that's had to carry the grunt work.
The Royals still rank bottom-two in runs per game at a meager four, while home run count (25th) and slugging percentage (27th) remain near the bottom of the league as well. Pitching has fallen to rank bottom-third in the league at most spots. What's keeping the Royals afloat is their defense, particularly when fielding, much thanks to Witt at shortstop and Garcia manning third base, as the ballclub ranks fifth and sixth in MLB, respectively, in fielding percentage (.988) and double-plays (61). Defense alone, however, will hardly win games, especially with a guy like Pasquantino, who was finally catching fire, is now a non-factor for the next month or more.
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