Kansas City Royals: An early look at the Royals offense

The Kansas City Royals are officially six games into their season.  Looking at the offense it looks pretty bleak but there have been some high points. Let’s take a look at how the Royals have done so far.

Hot might be too strong of a word for anyone on this team as of right now, so I am going with lukewarm. While some have been “lukewarm” others have already begun to struggle. Unfortunately, the frigid weather has played somewhat of a factor in how the offense has been doing. Or that is just an excuse and those players are simply picking up where they left off in 2017. Either way, we will break the whole team down with where they currently stand with the 2018 Kansas City Royals.

Who’s Hot (Lukewarm)

Jon Jay so far has led the Royals offense in batting average hitting .273 and has an on-base percentage of .385. He has come across the plate 3 times but has yet to get an RBI himself. As the leadoff hitter at any point in a game, he has been doing about all you can ask of him. He is hitting 4-10 (an impressive .400 average) with two walks. His ability to get on base has helped the Royals get set up to have productive innings.

Chesler Cuthbert has also done well putting together solid at-bats, regardless of hitting a slash line of .222/.286/.278. He has scored one run and drove across two. Cuthbert has been playing first base and designated hitter so far this year. He did have a hit in the first four games of the season this year as well.

Lucas Duda has already started showing his power by hitting the Royals only two home runs this season. He has hit a slash line of .222/.263/.556. He has produced runs by crossing the plate twice and notching seven RBI. His numbers have not been great but he has produced the most runs for the team so far this year.

Who’s Not

The weather is about the only thing colder than the Royals offense right now. Most of the team is struggling but here are some of the outliers.

Jorge Soler has not been able to get a hit yet. Although he has drawn three walks so far, he is also 0-11 this season (0-34 going back to July of 2017). While he is struggling the Royals do need to continue to be patient with him. I still think he could break out this year and be one of the offensive leaders by the end of the season.

Alex Gordon is showing early signs that this year will be no different than last year other than he is in center field more. Gordon is 3-20 (hitting .150/.190/.200) so far this year, drawing a walk just once too. I am still hopeful Gordon will be a better hitter this year, but unfortunately, he has not shown that so far.

Paulo Orlando has not contributed much to the offense so far this year going 1-12, slashing a horrible .083/.083/.083 in the 4 games he has played this year. Granted his playing time has been sporadic due to postponed games and irregular regular season play, but his 2016 season is looking more and more like the anomaly year for his career. Hopefully, with more consistent playing his bat will heat up a bit.

Final Thoughts

It is still too early in the season to figure out who is going to be a major contributor to the offense. The Royals offense will likely heat up as the weather heats up. Right now the numbers seem to be starting where they left off last season for some players though. Hopefully, they will improve as the season is still young.

What do you think of the Royals offense so far? Who do you expect to improve or continue to fall back as the season continues? Let us know in the comments or on social media!