6 KC Royals who helped make first month bearable

The month of April, which seems to treat them badly more often than not, ended quietly for the KC Royals Saturday night. The Yankees ruined the unveiling of Kansas City’s much-anticipated City Connect uniforms by shutting them out 3-0.

The loss, coming on the heels of the mercifully weather-shortened 12-2 drubbing the Royals suffered Friday night, left them 7-12, a stark contrast to the 15-9 April they enjoyed last season.

The current campaign’s lowlights outweigh its highlights.

The Royals are hitting an American League worst .209 after Saturday. At 4.55, their team ERA is the league’s second worst.

Two Kansas City relievers are tied with a starter for most team wins with two. New York’s Friday hammering of Jake Brentz (without making an out, they scored five runs, four of them earned, off him) left him with an eight-appearance ERA of 23.63, and he’s now on the Injured List with a flexor strain. Jackson Kowar lasted a game before the club sent him to the minors, and Brady Singer followed him there Thursday.

At the plate, only one qualified batter has an average over .242. Regulars Whit Merrifield, Carlos Santana and Michael A. Taylor are all hitting under .200; so was Adalberto Mondesi before suffering an ACL tear Tuesday that likely ended his season.

Fortunately, some Royals played well enough to make April a bit more palatable.

Rookie Bobby Witt Jr. is making things interesting for the KC Royals.

MLB Pipeline still ranks Bobby Witt Jr. as KC’s No. 1 prospect but, despite an April slump, chances are he’ll soon lose that tag because he’s probably in Kansas City to stay.

Witt, who’s played every game in his rookie season, is batting only .216 since going 1-for-3 Saturday night. But because he’s Bobby Witt Jr., he’s fun to watch and makes games more interesting. And he has a nine-game hitting streak.

Witt’s glove is good—he’s made some excellent plays and throws fluidly and powerfully from third base. His two errors take little away from how he’s handling the hot corner.