KC Royals: The biggest triumphs of the 2019 season

2019 was not a year of bright spots for the Kansas City Royals. But as we go into 2020 it is worth remembering their successes.

I cannot lie. Finding accomplishments within the Royals 2019 season is not an easy task. The bottom of our batting order was mostly populated with guys who will not be in starting lineups in 2020.

The starting rotation was very bad. Bad enough that Glenn Sparkman started 23 games. And our bullpen began the season with guys like Wily Peralta playing an integral role.

So, yeah, that was rough. The Royals lost 103 games. They allowed nearly 200 more runs than they scored. They signed a free agent named Chris Owings as soon as they possibly could and he hit for an OPS of .415. Yeah, that number is real. And really bad.

Brian Goodwin would have led the Royals 2019 Opening Day outfield in OPS. But he was released in favor of Lucas Duda, even though there were already two other first basemen on the Opening Day roster.

There is no use in sugar-coating it. 2019 was a tough season for the Royals, in much the same way that Waterloo was a tough day for Napoleon. But in the same way that the aftermath of Waterloo brought about peace and prosperity for much of Europe, perhaps there were some reasons for optimism from the 2019 debacle that the Royals can build on and learn from.

A team that is losing 100 or more games per season should at least be willing to try some things outside of their comfort zone. Bring up some young players and give them a chance. Give some guys extended looks that may not have fully earned it. Move some pitchers around to new jobs where maybe they can find some success. And in some of these areas, perhaps 2019 was not a total waste of time in Kauffman Stadium.

Hunter Dozier finally came into his own in 2019. And it was fun to watch.

In 2018 Hunter Dozier played in 102 games for the Kansas City Royals. He hit less than .230 and got on base less than 28 percent of the time. Even more worrisome for a corner infielder, he failed to slug over .400.

Going into 2019 Hunter Dozier was 27 years old. He was a mostly average hitter in AAA. In the big leagues, he had a measly 6 percent walk rate and a 28 percent strikeout rate. He was working hard just to become an average defensive player. The Royals could have easily justified giving someone else a shot. Even Cheslor Cuthbert was younger and had better numbers over the one season in which he had been given a chance to play over 100 big league games.

The one thing Hunter Dozier had done in 2018, though, was hit the ball hard. His hard-hit percentage was 45 percent. And his soft hit percentage was 15 percent. When he hit the ball, he barreled it up. And give the Royals their credit, they noticed it and gave him 2019 to show us what he had.

https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1172235953475325952

To Dozier’s credit, what he showed us was that his ability to square the ball up was not a fluke. His 2019 hard-hit percentage was over 45 percent. His Slugging Percentage finally bloomed in 2019 all the way to .522. His walk rate also climbed to almost 10 percent and his strikeout rate even fell a few points down to 25 percent.

Hunter Dozier is far from a sure thing. He has one very nice season under his belt. But an OPS+ of 125 is proof he can handle big-league pitching. If he can keep his strikeouts under control, there is no reason to believe he will stop hitting the ball hard anytime soon.

Ian Kennedy appeared to be at the end of his baseball career. Then the Royals moved him to the bullpen.

Ian Kennedy started 52 games between 2017 and 2018. He had 8 wins to show for it. To his credit, he continued to strike out almost 8 per 9 innings. But he was getting hit. And he was getting hit hard. He was issuing over 3 walks per 9 innings. And he was giving up more than 1.5 home runs per 9 innings.

Going into 2019 it was doubtful he could find a starting spot even in the pathetic Royals rotation. So, the Royals did the right thing. They moved him to the bullpen.

There can be no argument that Kennedy’s move to the bullpen was anything but a success. His home runs allowed per 9 innings went under 1 for the first time since 2014. His walks per 9 innings were his lowest since 2012. And he struck out over 10 guys per 9 innings for the first time in his career.

Ian Kennedy had 30 saves in 2019 for a team that did not even win 60 games. His FIP was under 3. He struck out more than 4 batters for every walk he gave up. Over 63 innings he showed himself to be a consistent and dependable arm in the back of the bullpen.

Do not misunderstand me. I still think the Royals should have traded Ian Kennedy in 2019. And I think the Royals would be fools not to trade Kennedy in 2020. He is now 35 years old and still gives up more than a hit per inning. But there is no denying that his move to the bullpen was a triumphant one.

Jorge Soler had a coming-out party in 2019 and the whole world was impressed.

Going into 2019 Jorge Soler had only made it through 96 games for the Royals in his 2 years with the team. And, even though his 2018 season had shown some real promise before ending with an injury, there were some real doubts about whether he could ever become a true slugger in the big leagues or if he was just another powerful Quad-A type hitter.

Soler’s power was always respected. That is why he was traded for Wade Davis. He has even always shown a willingness to take a walk. The issue was making consistent contact. His first season in Kansas City, in 2017, he struck out in more than 32 percent of his at-bats. You can only hit so many extra-base hits when you are striking out in a third of your plate appearances.

In 2019, Soler was finally healthy. And he was hungry. And, boy, did he eat. He slugged .570. He hit 82 extra-base hits. He hit 48 home runs. 48! Those are the numbers of an elite slugger.

https://twitter.com/Royals/status/991524310618525703

The most promising aspect of Soler in 2019 is that his full season with an OPS+ of 138 looks for real and sustainable. His strikeout percentage, his walk percentage, his batting average, his hard-hit percentage were almost all identical to 2018. The only difference in 2019 was that he stayed healthy and was able to get more at-bats.

Jorge Soler will be 28 years old in 2020. And anyone who watched him bat over the second half of the season knows just how big league pitchers feel facing this monster right now. He is a powerful and confident homerun hitting machine in his prime. We may have never seen a better power hitter in his prime in a Royals uniform. Let us be sure to enjoy this one while it lasts.