One change has turned 2025 around for KC Royals leadoff man Jonathan India

When Kansas City Royals fans began critiquing the 2025 lineup, their frustration started at the top. New addition Jonathan India got off to a sluggish start, and for a player touted as one of the offseason’s key fixes, expectations were much higher.

Sure, India was an upgrade over the Royals’ 2024 leadoff options—but that bar wasn’t exactly high. The former Cincinnati Red didn’t make the strongest first impression in Kansas City, but one small, long-requested change has seemingly flipped the script.

Fans immediately questioned where Jonathan India would fit defensively when he joined the Royals. A second baseman throughout his MLB career, India was seemingly blocked by Michael Massey, who held the starting role at the time.

Manager Matt Quatraro first experimented with India at third base—a position he hadn’t played since his college days at Florida. While those Gator days weren’t too long ago in real life, they feel like a lifetime away on the baseball calendar. That third base outing didn’t even last a full game before India was shifted to left field.

The KC Royals overthought Jonathan India's role in 2025.

India bounced between third base, left field, and designated hitter early in his Royals tenure, logging 17 starts at third and 18 in the outfield. While he wasn’t a Gold Glove candidate at either position, he continued rotating between third base and the outfield—yet it was his bat that remained the biggest concern.

Through May 11, which marked his last start in left field, India had just nine extra-base hits in 166 plate appearances and carried a 79 wRC+. Something had to change, and that “something” turned out to be a return to his natural position at second base.

Since returning to second base on May 13, India has looked far more comfortable at the plate—even if the extra-base power took a bit to show up. In that span, he’s posted a more respectable near-average 97 wRC+ with a .330 on-base percentage, which ranks third among Royals hitters in this span and fits the bill for a more productive leadoff presence.

And he’s only gotten hotter: since his first full homestand in that role starting May 26, India boasts a 117 wRC+ and a .348 OBP, showing clear signs of trending in the right direction.

Have India’s improvements coincided with a Royals resurgence in the standings? Absolutely not. Kansas City has fallen out of a Wild Card spot and dipped below .500. But if the lineup is going to find any consistency, a more productive India certainly helps.

Perhaps returning to his natural position at second base has eased the mental burden and allowed the game to slow down again for him—something both he and the Royals desperately needed.