KC Royals: 3 hitters who need big September surges

The KC Royals, after losing to the White Sox Thursday and Detroit Friday evening, are 0-2 for September. Even for Kansas City, a flawed club needing to win 21 of its final 29 games just to match last year’s 74 victories, predicting after two games precisely how it will end the month is folly.

One thing certain about September, though, is this: to feel secure about their Kansas City futures, several Royals must pad this season’s section of their career resumés. Three position players in particular must step things up.

Who are they?

Ryan O’Hearn’s KC Royals days should be numbered if his bat doesn’t improve.

The story of Ryan O’Hearn has gotten old. His first big league season, that promising 2018 campaign when he hit 12 homers, drove in 30 runs, and slashed .262/.353/.597 in 44 games, remains his best. He’s averaged a shade over six homers since then, batted .195 two straight years, .225 last season, and is batting .217 this year. Somehow, though, O’Hearn keeps finding playing time.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t do much with it. He has only five extra-base hits this season and his .276 OBP and .292 SLG speak for themselves. Yes, he’s been a decent pinch-hitter (9-for-23 with his only home run), but his negatives outweigh that positive.

If there’s any light at the end of O’Hearn’s tunnel, it’s the .263 he hit in August, his highest one-month average since the .324 he put up in June of last year. But to have an excellent chance of returning next year, he’ll need to do much better than that this month—he’s arbitration-eligible again this winter, meaning the Royals have a 40-man roster decision to make for Rule 5 Draft purposes.

And a player can survive with O’Hearn’s numbers for only so long. Even with the patient Royals.

He’s a good bet to return to the KC Royals. A good September would help.

Minor leaguer Hunter Dozier had 23 homers and was slashing .296/.366/.533 when Kansas City made him one of its 2016 September callups. Although he hit only .211 in eight games, his power seemed to put him squarely in the club’s plans for 2017.

But injuries delayed his return to Kauffman Stadium until 2018, when he managed 11 home runs in 102 games but slashed a subpar .229/.278/.395.

Dozier truly arrived in 2019. He clubbed 26 home runs, tied for the big league triples lead with 10, doubled 29 times and hit .279. He slipped to .228 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.

Undaunted by that disappointing season, the Royals avoided arbitration with Dozier by signing him to a one-year deal, a contract they tore up just two months later by giving him a surprising four-year pact worth a reported $25 million minimum.

It seemed a questionable move at the time and became even more so last year when Dozier homered 16 times but struggled to hit .216.

Things haven’t improved much this season. Dozier’s 10 home runs are third best on the club, but his .243 average doesn’t match the expectations spawned by his four-year contract. Although some praise his versatility—he’s played first and third base, left and right fields, pitched an inning in a blowout, and DH’d this year—his glove work calls into some question the ultimate value of that versatility.

The bottom line for Dozier is that Kansas City pays him to hit, something he hasn’t done particularly well since 2019; particularly bad are his numbers since this year’s All-Star Break—.188 with a home run and five RBIs.

The two seasons remaining on his contract make his return to the Royals almost certain. But if he can’t get things in order at the plate this month, they might try to move him this winter.

If they can find a taker, that is, which will likely require them to pay a good bit of his salary to play somewhere else.

Three Royals need to find their bats this month.