3 KC Royals who need to be better in June

Listen, we all know how badly the KC Royals 2023 season is going so far. The boys in blue are at the bottom of the AL Central, with only the Oakland Athletics preventing them from being the worst in all of baseball. The Royals are 21 games below the .500 mark come Memorial Day, something that long-time fans are unfortunately used to. It is frustrating, but even the most optimistic fans knew this was not going to be a contending year. The front office was transparent with their words, telling fans about the evaluation year and their actions by not adding much major-league talent this offseason. 

The KC Royals performed better in May, but not by much.

Royals fans will drive themselves crazy if they do not try to find some positives in this season. Unfortunately, the team started off with a historic offensive drought, and then the pitching similarly struggled. The hole this team dug in April was deep, with a 7-21 record. Thankfully, the team improved their May record with double-digit wins. Still well below .500 on the month, though. Improvement is improvement, though, and I will take any positivity I can get at this point.

There were players, like infielder Michael Massey and catcher Salvador Perez, who had great May performances. But there were also those who struggled mightily. These three players are not only the ones that fell short statistically, but their struggles now have ripple effects throughout this season. Each one plays a different part, but all contributed to the Royals falling short this month.

First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino

Let's get this out of the way. Pasquantino was not terrible in May. His .754 OPS, four home runs, and 16 RBIs this past month were still better than many on the Royals roster. But he just did not look like himself at points. He struck out more than he walked last month, but his .6 BB/K ratio in May was the worst month split of his career. His .255 BA and .310 OBP were noticeable drops from his April performance as well. The changeup continues to baffle Pasquantino, too. He whiffs at the changeup more than any other pitch, despite seeing it 19.2% of the time. Pasquantino will need to make adjustments to his approach at the plate if he wants to regain his early-season success. It will be interesting to see how he responds in the coming months and if he can bounce back from his struggles in May.

But his struggles at the plate only shed more light on his poor defensive metrics. Pasquantino was slightly above average as a defender in 2022, registering 1 OAA in 71 attempts, according to Baseball Savant. He performed better than the estimated success rate and showed that he could hold his own in The Show. Pasquantino's lackluster glove was noticeable while he progressed through the minor leagues. That version of Pasquantino is showing on the field this season, unfortunately. He already has a -3 OAA in 2023 in just eight more attempts than last season. That is tied for second-worst among all AL first basemen, ranking in the 10th percentile overall. Couple that with Pasquantino's arm strength ranking the worst among all MLB players, and the defensive metrics have not been kind to him whatsoever.

In May, Pasquantino was a Hunter Dozier-level player. A defensive negative, struggling at the plate. After all, Dozier had a better May at the plate than Pasquantino did, albeit in limited action. Bats wax and wane, though. Pasquantino's bat is one that the Royals should trust to make a comeback in June. He is now a crucial member of this Royals core moving forward after being somewhat unknown before the 2022 season. Pasquantino now being an above-average bat is what Royals fans now expect. If he continues to struggle in June, Vinnie's red flags will become impossible to ignore.

Starting pitcher Jordan Lyles

Royals fans are familiar with the struggling starter known as Jordan Lyles. The Royals "big" free agent acquisition this offseason did not do worse in May than in April but continued to reach historic lows. Through 11 starts, his nine losses, 50 earned runs, and 16 surrendered home runs are the worst in all of baseball. The Royals have not won a single game that Lyles started. Players can have slumps, but few have been worse than the one Lyles is in.

Seeing Lyles turn a corner at this point is hard to envision. While he has 7.1 WAR in 13 seasons, he has never been an exemplary pitcher. He has never posted an ERA below 4, logged more than 150 strikeouts, or been a team's top starter. Considering all that, expecting him to at least be an innings eater in the Royals rotation was a fair expectation. He did record at least 175 innings in the past two seasons, averaging nearly six innings per start. Lyles replicating those marks seems like an otherworldly stretch now. There is a reason he has played for eight different teams in his career, and it wasn't because he is a hot trade piece.

It is hard to pick one or two things Lyles could be doing differently. Miss bats? His 12.4% barrel mark is nearly double the league average, putting him in the 10th percentile. Lyles compounds that with one of the worst overall whiff percentages in all of baseball, landing him once again in the 10th percentile. His hard-hit percentage is in the 69th percentile, which is nice. Outside of that, there is nothing that Lyles is really excellent at this season. It is disappointing. Usually, fans can look at a player and find at least one good thing they do. From this perspective, there is not a tangible thing Lyles can do to help the Royals win.

Lyles can still find his footing this season, but his difficulties through May will overshadow any progress. The Royals signed the veteran after one decent season, in a move similar to something the previous leadership would have done. Lyles is here to stay, as Kansas City lacks any young pitcher able to take his spot in the rotation. For fans' sake, Lyles needs to not be a guaranteed loss every fifth day in June.