4 KC Royals hitters who are not helping themselves during spring training

Any seasoned baseball fan should know spring training stats are to be taken lightly. Whether it be winter rust or the Arizona air, several variables make team and individual results untrustworthy. Every team will have a spring training standout that has little or no negative impact come Opening Day, and the Royals are not an exception. But some expected impact players are faltering in Arizona.

Not everything is sunshine and rainbows for the KC Royals this spring.

These four players all entered 2024 with something to prove, albeit with differing expectations. Their spring training troubles may not extend past Opening Day, but something needs to change between now and then.

C Logan Porter

After some offseason additions and 40-man roster moves, catcher Logan Porter's path back to the majors was anything but easy. But the former clubhouse attendant serves as valuable organizational depth and a Hollywood-esque career story. But his spring training performance at the plate is not anything from a movie script.

Let's start back on Sept. 12, 2023. Porter's MLB debut in Kansas City's doubleheader saw the rookie have two hits against the Chicago White Sox. It was a strong debut, a trend among Royals rookies in 2023. He was just the second catcher in Royals history to reach base safely three times in his debut, with Jorge Pedre doing it first in 1991.

Porter reached base in eight of the ten games he played, avoiding being a black hole in the lineup. However, he has been to some extent this spring. Porter has only two hits and one walk this spring, good for a .188 OBP and .321 OPS. He has 16 plate appearances, so he has a relatively normal number of opportunities. However, the 28-year-old catcher is not making a strong case for the Royals' third catcher this spring.