Grading the 2024 KC Royals: Vinnie Pasquantino takes IL hit in otherwise strong season

The 2024 season was Vinnie Pasquantino's third in the major leagues, and his third spending a decent chunk of time on the Kansas City Royals' injured list. Still, his contributions while healthy were essential to the team's comeback season, which saw the Royals go from 106 losses in 2023 to a playoff berth just a year later.

In the 2024 regular season, Pasquantino posted a .262/.315/.446 line with 19 home runs, 30 doubles, and 97 RBI in 496 at-bats (131 games). He was one of the team's best hitters with runners in scoring position, and the 27-year-old's crucial role in the Royals' offense only became more obvious when he broke his thumb on August 29 and was ruled out for the rest of the regular season.

KC Royals forced to manage without Pasquantino for third consecutive season

In his rookie season, Pasquantino spent almost three weeks on the IL with a shoulder injury that flared up less than two months after his major-league debut. The following year, the same shoulder caused him problems again, but this time, he had surgery to fix it. As a result, the last appearance he made in the 2023 season was in June.

Fortunately, the surgery appeared to do the job, and Pasquantino's shoulder didn't seem to cause him any issues during 2024. Still, the broken thumb he suffered in August meant he would spend at least a few weeks on the IL for the third consecutive season.

With Pasquantino on the IL and slated to miss the 2024 playoffs, general manager J.J. Picollo did what he could to replace him in the lineup, including signing Yuli Gurriel and Robbie Grossman. While both veterans had their moments, their impact certainly never touched that of Pasquantino, so fans were overjoyed when the Pasquantino made a quicker-than-expected recovery to rejoin the lineup for the Wild Card Series on October 1.

Pasquantino's playoff slump contributed to KC Royals' offensive struggles

Despite his regular-season stats being some of the best of his career, Pasquantino's offensive performance in the playoffs left plenty to be desired. He appeared in all six of the Royals' postseason games, accumulating a disappointing batting average of .130 and managing just 3 hits in 23 at-bats.

While there was speculation that perhaps Pasquantino was rushed off the IL and that was the reason for his slump, it's hard to point to that as the entire problem, especially since he wasn't the only star struggling. Bobby Witt Jr. batted .332 in the regular season but just .192 in the playoffs, recording only 5 hits in 26 postseason at-bats. Similarly, Salvador Pérez's batting average dropped from .271 in the regular season to .208 in the playoffs, and he managed just 5 hits in 24 at-bats during the Royals' six-game postseason campaign.

Still, Pasquantino's cold bat during the playoffs was hard to ignore, and it was an unfortunate way to end the season, especially after the excitement that surrounded his return from the IL. Considering his otherwise strong year, Pasquantino gets a "B+" for 2024.