Kansas City Royals: 3 candidates for bounce-back seasons in 2020

As the Kansas City Royals begin their offseason, it’s important to decide which players have a good chance at a bounce-back season in 2020.

The Kansas City Royals have completed the 2019 regular season and will soon start to make preparations for 2020. New players will be signed through free agency, some players will get contracts or extensions, and some players may be released.

However the cards fall, fans can be sure that there will be some familiar faces when the Royals return to Kauffman Stadium for the 2020 season. Of course, everyone’s favorites will be there, but there may be some players ready to go that fans aren’t thinking of right away, specifically those that struggled in 2019.

For some of the players that struggled, a longer look must be taken by the Royals organizational staff. Baseball is full of unknowns, bad years, slumps, and resurgences. While something like a resurgence is often associated with older, veteran players, it can happen just as easily to a younger player.

For the Royals, understanding and evaluating which players may be in line for a better 2020 is going to be crucial, as the new ownership and the new manager will not want to start this “new era” of Royals baseball with another 100-loss season.

While there are some players on the Royals that may find their time with the organization come to an end, there are multiple candidates for bounce-back seasons in 2020 that might just help the Royals get back on track and be part of a future postseason.

The Kansas City Royals might not have to look far for another strong bullpen arm if one of their own can bounce back from a down 2019 season.

For many Kansas City Royals fans, Kevin McCarthy will be a familiar name, though they might not remember hearing about him near as much in the 2019 season. McCarthy found some innings but started the year off incredibly rough.

McCarthy has been with the Royals since 2013, working his way through the minors and started finding major league time in 2016. Though he has spent some time in the minors every season, including a small stint during 2019, he has been able to make some noise when he is pitching at Kauffman.

In 2017, McCarthy had a good year, pitching 45 innings, recording 28 strikeouts and holding an ERA of 3.20. In 2018, McCarthy recorded another good year, solidifying his role in the bullpen, even more, bumping up his innings to 72 with 46 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.25.

McCarthy looked like a sure candidate to continue in the Royals bullpen as a consistent, strong arm. In 2019, though, McCarthy hit a slump. It was as though he was unable to throw strikes. Over 3.2 innings in March and April, McCarthy walked four batters, gave up eight earned runs, and didn’t strike out a single batter.

McCarthy was sent to Omaha to work out his slump in the minors. When he appeared in another major league game in late May, McCarthy lasted 2.0 innings, striking out 1 and giving up no runs. For the month of May, McCarthy recorded 7.0 innings pitched and gave up no runs. June was a similar story, recording 11.1 innings, earning only 3 runs, making is June ERA 2.38.

McCarthy struggled again in July and August, recording 10.2 and 13.1 innings respectively, but having a monthly ERA of over 5.00 for both months. He was able to turn it back on in September though, striking out twelve over 14.1 innings for a September ERA of 2.51.

McCarthy ended the 2019 season with an ERA of 4.48, FIP of 3.96 and pitched 60.1 innings with 38 strikeouts. While 2019 might not have been his best season on record, McCarthy managed to salvage what could have been an entire loss. He continued to show signs of struggling during certain points of the season but was able to provide a somewhat consistent arm in a bullpen that was lacking in most categories.

McCarthy might not be the next great arm of the Kansas City Royals, but his future outlook is positive. He had to fight for his spot this year, earned it back, and put up decent numbers for a portion of the year. For the 2020 season where the Royals will desperately need to find strong pitchers, McCarthy is an obvious candidate for a bounce-back year and deserves another look by the Royals.

Though the power had seemed to disappear, Ryan O’Hearn was able to make some noise and again gain confidence towards the end of the 2019 season.

Ryan O’Hearn is another player that many Kansas City Royals fans know. O’Hearn is most likely best known for the outstanding half-year he put together during the 2018 season. O’Hearn was called up from AAA Omaha on July 31, 2018, and he went on to make a huge splash, making his name known around baseball.

In the two months O’Hearn played in 2018, he slashed .262/.353./.597 and recorded 30 RBI’s, 12 home runs, and 10 doubles. His fielding percentage was a .983, but with the offensive production he was showing off, the defense could be looked over while the rookie found his footing.

O’Hearn looked to be the future first baseman for the Royals, and one that could hammer the ball for a large number of home runs. Unfortunately, O’Hearn’s 2019 season did not go as expected. O’Hearns month of April slash was .158/.286/.329, a huge difference from what the Royals saw at the end of 2018. O’Hearn continued to struggle, having a slightly better May, but seeing his numbers drop again in June.

On June 14, 2019, the Royals optioned O’Hearn to Omaha, where he stayed until he was finally recalled on July 27. O’Hearn struggled in his first few games back at Kauffman but quickly started to show signs of the 2018 O’Hearn the fans loved. In August, O’Hearn slashed .200/.300/.400, followed by a September slash of .250/.283/.536. While he still struggled at the plate, the power O’Hearn had previously shown was returning.

O’Hearn ended 2019 with 105 games, a .195/.281/.369 slash, 38 RBI’s and 14 home runs. While it’s not pretty, it doesn’t mean that he is a complete loss. O’Hearn is the perfect example of a player who needed to be reminded that he is not invincible and that AAA is always waiting. Situations like this are seen on every team, with all kinds of players.

When O’Hearn was sent back down to Omaha, his job was on the line, a job that was all but his at the beginning of the season. Once he was recalled and given his shot again, he started to show promise and a rise in his stock. Along with the “shock time” at Omaha, the Royals showed they are not afraid to bring in other options with the acquisition of Ryan McBroom. McBroom could end up in another position, but O’Hearn should see him as his competition for first.

With the uptick in O’Hearn’s stats at the end of 2019, plus the possibility of losing his spot to another player, it is safe to say that O’Hearn is due for a bounce-back season in 2020. The question is will it be enough to secure his spot on the future Royals team. For the Royals, O’Hearn is a cheap, in-house option to try out for another season. If he is unable to produce, it may be time to move on, but if he can continue with his show of power at a .250 batting average, the Royals could have another home run king on the field.