KC Royals have the ideal nine-hole hitter on their hands this season

The Kansas City Royals' offense has been floundering for much of the season in 2025. They hold the third lowest runs per game in in the league at 3.28, along with the fourth lowest team wRC+ at 82 and fifth lowest OPS at .659.

So at this point, as May winds down and the dog days of summer inch closer and closer, the Royals are in search of the small wins wherever they can find them.

Bobby Witt Jr. continuing to look like an MVP front-runner, Vinnie Pasquantino starting to find his grove at the plate in the month of May and Jonathan India looking more worth the trade to acquire him in the winter, are just a few of these said wins.

But what's also been a silver lining in a bleak season at the plate has been the performance of Kyle Isbel and how he's been able to turn the lineup over so far in the 2025 campaign.

KC Royals have the ideal nine-hole hitter on their hands this season

Isbel has been in the midst of a hot stretch at the dish, hitting .378 with a 1.027 OPS and 183 wRC+ since April 30.

While his impact has certainly been felt from the center field position, his role as the primary nine-hole hitter cannot be overlooked either.

In MLB this season, there are just 15 players who hold 70 or more plate appearances out of the nine-spot. Isbel ranks sits tied for fifth amongst them in wRC+ (97), third in OPS (.733), fifth in AVG (.281), second in SLG (.447), first in HR (3) and second in RBI (14).

Now, a 97 wRC+ and .733 OPS aren't exactly groundbreaking numbers, in fact their quite average-looking. That being said, the nine-hole is last in the order for a reason, as it's not supposed to produce awe-inspiring performances.

However, every role in the order serves a purpose. Considering that a lineup in baseball does not function as a linear entity, if you can find a number nine hitter that can effectively find ways to turn the lineup back over and give the top of the order (your best hitters) extra opportunities, then good things are bound to happen.

Isbel does just that with his high .281 AVG, and the fact he's continuing rallies through his top five standings in run production stats out of regular nine-hole hitters.

And he's also doing the small things associated with bottom-half bats. Tuesday night's third inning sacrifice fly, in the third inning of the Royals 3-2 loss to San Francisco, gave him his third sac fly of the season. Pair that with the his league-leading four sacrifice bunts on the year, and he's the epitome of the "keep the line moving" mentality that numerous Royals teams in the past have adopted.

Again, he's not going to ever be the type of hitter that names like Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez are to this lineup, but when an offense struggles to score as much as the Royals do, there's value to be had in anyone fulfilling there role at the plate. And Isbel is doing exactly that.