3 KC Royals that put up eye-catching numbers this spring

Put spring training on the shelf. Opening Day is nearly here! The KC Royals thankfully start the 2024 season at Kauffman Stadium, a common occurrence in recent years. Royals fans have plenty to be excited for after an active offseason and a promising spring. Kansas City finished Cactus League action at a cool 13-13-3, finishing .500 or better in spring training games seven times in the last eight iterations.

The KC Royals had some spring standouts for all the right reasons.

On Monday, the Royals play their final exhibition game before Opening Day against their Double-A affiliate, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. But, in three days, Kansas City opens up the season against the Minnesota Twins. The Twins won the AL Central in 2023, making them the team to beat in 2024. Kansas City needs to come out and set the tone against Minnesota, behind the arm of Cole Ragans and proving their batting potency beyond Bobby Witt Jr.

The Royals are a team to watch this season, and it is not just local fans saying that. MLB.com canvassed MLB clubhouses this spring and players voted the Royals as the team that will surprise fans the most in 2024. One National League pitcher even said he "wouldn't be surprised if the Royals are in first place in the [American League] Central." That is high praise, considering Kansas City has only won the Central once since the league realignment in 1994. Everything is looking up for the Royals ahead of Opening Day.

There are some interesting stats that historically transition well from spring training to the regular season, coming from Royals role players. These numbers stand out in the field for all the right reasons. If Kansas City wants to compete over a 162-game season rather than just have a good month or two, they need every edge they can get. Let's look at three players whose stats offer them, and Kansas City, hope for 2024.

Maikel Garcia's 18.9% walk rate

Most of Garcia's perceived value in 2023 came from his defense at third base. He made a seamless transition from shortstop in the minors to the hot corner in the majors, leading all American League third basemen with 13 Outs Above Average. But his bat will determine his MLB ceiling. He has the tools to be a valuable leadoff hitter, but his bat waned as the season went along.

Every leadoff hitter's goal is to reach base and help the lineup's second or third batters maximize their run creation. It doesn't matter if it is a hit or a walk; when there are no other runners on base, a single is worth the same as a walk. Garcia had no problem knocking in singles, but left something to be desired in drawing walks.

In 2023, his 7.8% walk rate in the leadoff spot ranked 21st among hitters with 250 plate appearances. That doesn't sound terrible, but it still makes him a below-average leadoff man in that facet. So, imagine my surprise when Garcia started drawing walks at an insane rate in the Venezuela Winter League. He played in 48 games with Tiburones de La Guaira, walking 39 times and striking out 11 times. Even if he carried over a sliver of the .489 OBP he posted there, that would be a great development.

Well, Garcia brought that same plate approach to Arizona this spring. He struck out as often as he walked, posting an 18.9% rate. Plus, his .432 OBP is a big improvement over his .323 mark last season. The competition jumps from spring to Opening Day, but Garcia is clearly more prepared this season. If he continues walking at an 11%+ rate, that raises his offensive ceiling immensely.

Sam Long's 45.3% swinging strike rate

Non-roster invitee Sam Long barely has more than one year of MLB service time while bouncing around organizations. The lefty was ready to move on from baseball ahead of 2019, having been hip-deep in starting his EMT career. He was hardly a game-changing addition to the Royals' spring training roster. But, ever since Long joined the team on December 10, 2023, he has done nothing but impress.

Long was a strikeout machine in his 8 2/3 innings this spring. He struck out 15 batters while only walking one and allowing five hits. Ultimately, it all came down to a 1.04 ERA and 0.62 FIP against a normal level of spring training competition. But the truly impressive stat is Long's 45.3% swinging strike rate.

If you haven't heard of this stat, I can't blame you. It is another niche metric, but a valuable one when evaluating a pitcher's efficacy. Swinging strike rate (SwStr%) is a metric in baseball that measures the percentage of total pitches that result in the batter swinging and missing. We calculate it by dividing the number of swings and misses by the total number of pitches a pitcher throws.

Swinging strikes, unlike called strikes, rely solely on the pitcher's skill and the batter's decision to swing. That may seem simple but think about Long's rate like this: every time Long threw a pitch, it had nearly a 50/50 chance of making the batter swing and miss at the offering.

That, to me, is very impressive, no matter the level of competition. Long's 45.3% rate ranked as the third-best among spring training pitchers with at least five innings pitched. 627 pitchers reached that benchmark around MLB, but Long quietly had one of baseball's most dominant springs.

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