4 Royals players under an intense microscope to start the 2026 season

The Royals come into 2026 out of excuses. Another Opening Day L for the boys in blue won't give the fan base that warm fuzzy feeling.

There are talented ballplayers on this team, and ending the season without a postseason berth is unacceptable.

With that type of mentality, you can bet there's a handful of players who have the spotlight glaring down on them. Let's take a look at the Royals players who are under the most pressure to produce this season.

These Royals might have a target on their back from Day 1

Jac Caglianone

The biggest name missing from the Opening Day lineup was one Jac Alan Caglianone, and Royals nation was not a fan of that decision from Manager Matt Quatraro.

He was a surprising omission, knowing how much his growth means to the Royals' offense. The former No. 1 prospect not only stands as the Royals' potential biggest power threat but also their most important key to unlocking this offense.

He can change the outlook of a game with one swing, and right now, the Royals need more guys who are capable of putting the baseball over the fence. They need someone to make scoring runs look easier.

Caglianone is young and inexperienced, but the Royals need him to grow up in a hurry. While baseball analysts and fans called for them to swing big this offseason and bring in an All-Star-level bat, the Royals opted for cheaper solutions.

They also told their two youngest players that they believed in them. Carter Jensen bought himself some grace with his play down the stretch last year.

Jac Caglianone did not. Bottom line: He has to hit.

Cole Ragans

Ragans received a lot of praise despite having a rocky 2025 season. Multiple IL trips ruined any chance of momentum for Ragans last year.

He's still viewed as a top choice for AL Cy Young as baseball experts still value the 28-year-old lefty. This excerpt from Mike Petriello puts Cole's value into perspective.

"Maybe we’re talking about an early contender for Comeback Player of the Year, but maybe we’re also just talking about a vitally important player for Kansas City’s 2026 playoff hopes. Ragans, in 2024, was worth 5 WAR based on a run-based version of that metric. Last year, it was just 0.2. (It was different based on other types of WAR.) While it’s oversimplifying just a little, and it doesn’t work exactly like this, it’s not hard to notice that the Royals won exactly four fewer games and finished five games out of a Wild Card spot. The lack of Ragans was pretty close to the difference between playoffs or not.
"

Mike Petriello, MLB.com

His 4.67 ERA was far from acceptable for someone viewed as an ace. Yet, the baseball community saw his expected stats and high K-rate and gave him a pass.

Ace expectations are back in effect this season. If the Royals want to change their fortune from a season ago and make the postseason, Cole Ragans will need to be at the center of it.

His Opening Day start left a lot to be desired on Friday, only lasting four innings and giving up three homers. He had issues all night locating his offspeed pitches, leaving them up in the strike zone or down and in to a lefty, aka the "nitro zone."

With a performance like that, it's safe to say there will be even more attention and scrutiny brought to Cole Ragans starts until he looks like the horse that the Royals need him to be.

Carlos Estévez

The first two guys on this list had high expectations as soon as the last pitch was thrown last season. Estévez makes this list solely on his spring training performance.

Last year's MLB saves leader has not looked sharp this year and it's reasonable to be concerned. His velocity is down.

Like, a lot.

Carlos Estévez's dip in fastball velocity has been well-documented. As a closer, that's literally the last thing you want to hear.

I've never heard of anyone blowing 89 mph by someone, and I'd rather not see him try. The Royals want to keep preaching patience and understanding with him, but all eyes will be laser-focused on his next appearance, whether it's in the ninth inning or not.

Isaac Collins

This is the man the Royals got for Angel Zerpa. The 28-year-old outfielder will need to prove his worth to the Royals faithful and make them forget Zerpa was ever here.

A lot of noise was made about the lack of offensive production from the Royals' outfield last year, so naturally, people want to see if the guys brought in to fix the problem actually work out.

Collins is known as a player who has a great eye at the plate and will make consistent, solid contact. His game is predicated on hard contact in the zone with a short, compact swing.

That's not exactly the offensive profile fans were expecting from the Royals to target. It's fair to say that fans and even the media expected a more established player.

Isaac Collins is a fine player, and I think he will provide some pop on offense in due time. But when I think of the typical Kansas City Royal fan, patience isn't the first word I would use to describe them.

They want wins, and they want runs. As long as Collins can do that can help with that, there won't be any need for pitch forks.

Yet.