Latest loss exposes massive gap between Bobby Witt Jr. and next best KC Royals hitter

The Kansas City Royals entered their three-game set with the New York Yankees on Monday night coming off a tough week at the plate.

In their previous seven games last week, as a team they slashed just .197/.264/.277 with only three home runs and 16 RBI. This culminated in the sixth worst team wRC+ total for the week at 55.

So entering this series in the Bronx, it was reasonable to say hopes weren't high for this offense. That being said, that statement can't be considered an all encompassing one for the entirety of this Royals lineup, as there's one name who's continued to shine amidst the struggles.

Bobby Witt Jr. has remained the MVP-caliber name he's been for over a year now amidst the all the team's offensive shortcomings. And Monday night was no different, as he provided the only real semblance of offense in their 4-1 loss.

Bobby Witt Jr. exposes massive gap between him and next best KC Royals hitter

It was a terrible night at the plate for the Royals in Yankee Stadium to start the series. They scored just once, registered only two hits and struck out eight times.

And other than the four walks divided evenly between Jonathan India, Vinnie Pasquantino, Salvador Perez and Kyle Isbel - Witt was the only one who did anything worthwhile at the plate. He registered Kansas City's only two hits, a solo shot in third inning and a single in the ninth, extending his hitting streak up to seven games.

This one-dimensional offensive approach is becoming a habit for the Royals, as last week was the perfect representation of just how much better last year's AL MVP runner-up is from the rest of his teammates in the lineup.

From the start of the Minnesota series on April 7 to the end of the Guardians series on April 13, Witt slashed .364/.464/.500 with a 175 wRC+.

The next best hitter that week was Kyle Isbel, who was impressive in his own right with a 170 wRC+, but entering play this week he was still a below average bat on the season with a 93 wRC+.

Of the expected names to have a legitimate shot to be the Robin to Witt's Batman, nobody held a candle to Witt's numbers. Pasquantino slashed just .231/.286/.385 with a 90 wRC+. Perez posted just a .167/.259/.292 slash line with a 60 wRC+. And Jonathan India only managed a .105/.261/.158 offensive line with a measly 32 wRC+.

Now, it's still early and this offense surely won't be this bad all season, but for the Royals to come out on Monday and start another week the same way they've looked over the last week of play only further exposed how over-reliant this team's offense is on Witt.

At some point one of the other key names at the top of this order needs to string something together, and be the type of hitters they've each proven to be capable of, if the Royals want to continue to have a shot to be competitive for the second-straight season.