Who’s hot and who’s not on the KC Royals so far this season, Pt. 1

1. Whit Merrifield

To no one’s surprise, Whit makes this list as he has been the best bat on the Royals this year and has been for a couple of years now. Here is Whit’s slash line so far this season, .300/.354/.522, with an OPS of .876. All of these, minus average by .02, are increases from last year.

So Whit has been hitting the ball with good contact, but he has also been hitting for a lot more power this year compared to last.  The reason for this power surge is the fact that Whit is barreling the ball more and he has been hitting the ball with a higher launch angle at 18.6.

Along with the increase to his power numbers Whit has also done better with runners on base with a batting average of .406 with men on. Moreover, Whit has also hit better with runners in scoring position with a .450 average.

So all-in-all, Whit has improved over the past year with more power and being more clutch at the plate. The only thing he really hasn’t done well is stealing bases as he is 2-for-4 on the season, but that has been a trend since last year when he was 20-for-30 in steals.

Whit has been the best bat on the KC Royals this season, but let’s look at the second-best bat in the everyday order.