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Kansas City Royals: 3 players who need to take next step in 2020

By Ryan Sikes |
(Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)
(Photo by David Banks/Getty Images)
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(Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

Hunter Dozier was one player for the Kansas City Royals who took a leap forward in 2019. Let’s look at three guys who need to do the same in 2020.

2019 has been rather lackluster for the Kansas City Royals as the team is on pace to finish with 100 losses for the second consecutive season. Led by some really bad pitching, this team was never set up for success this season but saw the emergence of two offensive players. Jorge Soler looked like a bad acquisition to part with closer Wade Davis during the 2016 offseason, given his injury history.

Sure enough, that’s exactly how Soler’s first two seasons went in Kansas City, playing in just 96 games combined. The former Cuban defector has broken out in a big way this season, slashing 0.255/0.347/0.552 with 43 home runs and 106 RBI’s entering Thursday. His second half of the year has been a memorable one, breaking Mike Moustakas‘ single-season home run record and reducing his strikeout percentage significantly.

Not to mention that he’s been absolutely destroying baseballs lately. Seriously, when was the last time you saw one of his home runs barely clear the fence? They are all sent into orbit with extreme exit velocity.

Hunter Dozier has been another player that has stepped up this year. The 28-year old took a bit to develop but he’s seeing the benefits this season, slashing 0.289/0.362/0.546 with 9 triples, 25 bombs and 79 RBI’s. Dozier played in just 102 games last season but is on pace to finish with over 130 this season.

The third base job is likely his to lose with a struggling Cheslor Cuthbert, who is likely to not be retained beyond the season. Both Dozier and Soler are looking to become just the third set of Royals teammates to have 0.900 OPS seasons. Let’s take a look at three players who need to elevate their game in 2020.

(Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

1. Jakob Junis

Drafted in the 29th round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Royals, Jakob Junis put together an unimpressive first half of the season with a 5.33 ERA in 106.1 innings of work. He started off the second half on a much better note, spinning a 4.54 and 4.45 in July and August, respectively. But the wheels have completely fallen off for him lately.

In his last 7 starts, Junis has tossed 40.1 innings with 36 strikeouts but has allowed 23 earned runs to the tune of a 5.13 ERA. His only plus pitches are his slider and changeup, but his other three rank below the league average, particularly his curveball. Per StatCast, Junis’ curveball has 48.7 inches of drop from the release point in his hand – or 5.5 inches of less drop, which equates to approximately 10 percent less than the league average.

It’s odd because his curveball is his best pitch in terms of horizontal movement (6.8 inches of more movement than league average) but it’s catching far too much of the strike zone. The 26-year old’s fastball tops out around 92 mph and there’s certainly still time for him to figure things out.

In 2017, Junis was really good in 12 starts for Triple-A Omaha with a 2.92 ERA in 71.0 innings but the big leagues have figured him out. He needs to adjust back to it now.

Reason for optimism

Junis displayed a terrific stretch from the All-Star break to the end of August in which he tossed 54.1 innings while striking out 53 batters to the tune of a 4.14 ERA.

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Reason for pessimism

Since then, he’s tossed 12.0 innings while allowing opponents to bat 0.283 off him. He’s given up 9 earned runs in his last 3 starts with a 6.75 ERA. It could very well be fatigue but keep in mind Junis spun a 3.24 ERA between the months of August and September a year ago.

(Photo by Reed Hoffmann/Getty Images)
(Photo by Reed Hoffmann/Getty Images) /

2. Nicky Lopez

It’s difficult to tell what the Royals have exactly in Nicky Lopez. The 24-year old was a 5th round draft pick in the 2016 MLB Draft. In 2018, Lopez split time between both Double-A and Triple-A but showed the ability to get on base with an approximate 10.5 percent walk rate while slashing 0.308/0.382/0.417.

However, his first season in the big leagues has not been kind to him as he’s been taking walks at just a 4.1 percent and is slashing 0.226/0.260/0.299 with 2 home runs and 25 RBI’s. Lopez is likely never going to be a power hitter, which is fine, but he’s not exactly lighting up the exit velocity radar either.

At just an average 83.6 mph, Lopez is in the bottom 3 percent of the league in exit velocity and is squaring up the barrel to the ball in 1.3 percent of his plate appearances. He is reportedly going to pursue the Whit Merrifield diet and exercise plan to bulk up this offseason, and that worked wonders for Whit.

If you recall, Whit saw his power dramatically increase with just 2 home runs in 81 games during his rookie season in 2016. The following year, he hit 19 home runs and swiped 34 bags as well. Lopez is hoping for similar results otherwise the Royals will be looking to fill his spot on the roster. We’ll see what happens with Merrifield this offseason but, right now, it appears he’ll be back in 2020.

Reason for optimism

Lopez saw an increase in playing time while Adalberto Mondesi was out with a dislocated shoulder and batted 0.262 with 5 doubles, 1 home run and 10 RBI’s in the month of August.

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Reason for pessimism

He played in the same number of games in July as he did in August but managed to bat just 0.186. We’ll wait to see the new and improved Nicky Lopez in 2020.

(Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

3. Brett Phillips

The centerfield situation is a mess right now. Both Bubba Starling and Brett Phillips are getting their shot to lock down the position but neither one of them is exactly impressing. If you recall, Phillips came over to the Royals in the Mike Moustakas trade in July 2018. He’s one of the best defensive outfielders in the game, often making catches that the rest of the league cannot.

But, he’s slashing just 0.156/0.278/0.267 in 20 games with the Royals this season. It’s obviously a small sample size but he produced similar numbers last season split between both the Brewers and Royals. Phillips was excellent for Triple-A this season, slashing 0.240/0.378/0.505 with 8 doubles, 13 triples, 18 home runs and 54 RBI’s in 105 games.

Perhaps he just needs more playing time but he’s batting just 0.133 over his last 15 games. Looking back to his 2017 season, Phillips was squaring the ball up well with a 9.3 barrel percentage but has not done so once this year with just an average exit velocity of 83.2 mph as well. If he had enough at-bats, he would challenge Lopez for weakest contact as his hard-hit percentage sits at just 17.6 percent.

Reason for optimism

With more playing time in 2017 and 2018, Phillips has shown the ability to hit the ball hard with a 31.5 and 29.7 hard-hit rate, respectively.

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Reason for pessimism

With more playing time, Phillips has been susceptible to the strikeout at 34.7 and 41.5 percent in 2017 and 2018, respectively. The 25-year old still has some time to right the ship but don’t be surprised if the Royals have an insurance plan in case he (and Starling) don’t pan out.

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