FanSided

Who’s hot and who’s not on the KC Royals Pt. 2

By Trey Donovan |
(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
(Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
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KC Royals (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
KC Royals (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

In this article of Who’s hot and who’s not, we look at some KC Royals players who have not been very good this season and cost the Royals some games this year.

If you are new to this series and missed part one I will give a small synopsis. So far this season, the KC Royals have kept pace with their 23 to 24 games won projections, but some players have shot out the gates on fire and have a chance to turn the Royals seasons around.

This time instead of going over who is hot on the Royals, let’s look at who is not as hot. For these players, they have either not regained their former selves, have just started the season in a slump, or are rookies just trying to establish themselves in the major leagues.

For this article, I will not include position players who have not been up in the Majors or injured for a part of the whole season as they will not have as big of sample sizes. This means I will not have Ryan O’Hearn or Bubba Starling as they have not played even close to every day.

I will include relievers as long as they have appeared in at least over half the games this season. With all of these rules set, let’s look at who has not gotten off to the greatest starts on the KC Royals this season.

Next. Alex Gordon. dark

KC Royals,
KC Royals, /

1. Alex Gordon

The Nebraska native and fan favorite for many years has not played well at all and it is time for the Royals to get him out of the everyday lineup for some of the younger guys. Alex’s slash line in 21 games so far is .182/.260/.303 with an OPS of .563 which is abysmal.

What is even worse is the fact that Alex has not hit the ball hard at all this season with 14 hard-hit balls along with 2 barrels. Both of these have led Gordon to not slug the ball and when he makes contact he doesn’t get a whole lot on it.

This also shows in his flyball, groundball, and line-drive percentages which continue to show that Gordon isn’t as proficient a hitter this year. Gordon’s flyball percentage is 36.5%, groundball percentage is 44.2%, and his line-drive percentage is a low 19.2%.

With most of Gordon’s at-bats, he hits a flyball or a groundball and he doesn’t hit it hard or away from fielders which hampers the KC Royals offense. These statistics show that Alex is not the same batter as last year where he was at least league average in most stat categories.

This season has shown that Alex is a step behind and that a different player needs to take over in left field, and that means it is time for Brett Philips to get everyday at-bats.

dark. Next. Adalberto Mondesi

KC Royals, Adalberto Mondesi. Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
KC Royals, Adalberto Mondesi. Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images /

2. Adalberto Mondesi

This season has not treated Adalberto Mondesi well and it does not look like that he will get out of this slump soon. His slash line this season is almost as bad as Gordon’s at .217/.244/.301 with an OPS of .545. With Mondesi this season he has not done a whole lot of things well even with his 5-tool abilities.

This season was going to be the season Mondesi shows all of his tools off and so far he has not done a good job of it. For one he is struggling to get on-base, again, and he is not hitting for much power with an ISO power of .084.

Another thing Mondesi has struggled with is stealing bases which is a little unsettling for a guy with his speed. This year Mondesi is 5-for-9 in stolen bases which is a far cry from his 43-for-50 ratio last year.

The good thing that comes from this is Mondesi’s BABIP which is .321. This means that when Mondesi makes contact he hits for a good average, but this year he has not hit for a lot of contact.

This season has not started great for Adalberto, but he should be able to turn it around and produce to help the KC Royals turn their season around.

Next. Ian Kennedy. dark

KC Royals,
KC Royals, /

3. Ian Kennedy

From good closer to being a subpar setup man, Ian Kennedy has made some transitions in the past few years and one worked and the other hasn’t. With Kennedy out of the closing role, he has had a terrible season across all statistical categories. So far this season Kennedy has an ERA of 6.55 with an even worse FIP of 8.42.

To make things worse, Kennedy has given up six home runs in 11.0 innings which is beyond terrible. Adding on to this, Kennedy has also given up an average exit velo of 95.4 with a hard-hit percentage of 51.5% along with an average launch angle of 22.6 degrees.

The only thing that Kennedy has done well this season is not walking anyone and striking out batters. Kennedy’s K/BB rate is 6.50, which is really good, but it seems that is the only way for Kennedy to get outs without giving KC Royals fans heart attacks as he gives up a lot of hard-hit flyballs.

Kennedy can definitely turn his season around and help the KC Royals win some games, but he needs to get outs consistently without giving up the long ball. In his last appearance, Kennedy was used as an opener against the Minnesota Twins and went two innings without giving up a run. That game could help Kennedy get back on track this season and use his closer mentality to shut down anyone he faces down the road.

Next. Midweek Musings: Player issues. dark

These three have not had great starts this season, but they could turn it around to help the KC Royals push for a wildcard spot no matter their roles.

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