Examining the 3 best KC Royals leadoff options and why Dairon Blanco makes sense

KC Royals fans have to be excited for spring training, both for the present and the future. The Royals have flipped the 40-man roster over after the dreadful 106-loss season, taking their evaluation's findings to task. Opening Day not only brings a fresh MLB season for Royals fans, but it also brings plenty of hope after the roster's improvements and internal progression on the farm-fed batting order. But, where players slot in the batting order is yet to be determined.

There are some common sense generalities when it comes to how Kansas City's order should look. First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino and catcher Salvador Perez seem like the ideal third and fourth hitters, while outfielder Kyle Isbel and second baseman Michael Massey should sit in the order's lower half. But the specifics are yet to be determined.

The KC Royals went through a ton of lineups in 2023.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro's lineup techniques were hardly orthodox or popular amongst fans. While injuries and underperformance really drove where batters slotted in, Quatraro's squad led the MLB with 129 different batting orders used in 2023. For reference, the World Series-winning Texas Rangers had 95 different batting orders. Some Royals pieces worked wonders, especially shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., but where they fit and when was always changing. That is what happens when a team fields one of the worst run-scoring lineups in the AL.

The first step to anything is always the biggest one, and a batting order is no different. Royals fans know how exciting an Alcides Escobar leadoff home run is, while how demoralizing a Nick Pratto strikeout is. The first batter may not be the most pivotal, but they do set the tone against the opponent. The 2024 Royals need to get off on the right foot and a quality leadoff hitter can do just that.

Kansas City has a handful of intriguing leadoff options ahead of Opening Day. Fans may see a litany of players at the top of spring training batting orders, but those should be taken with a grain of salt. Here are the Royals' real top options for a leadoff hitter, and what they bring to the spot.

Maikel Garcia is the incumbent lineup leader

Looking at the 2024 roster, it is hardly a stretch to assume third baseman Maikel Garcia will the the leadoff man come Opening Day. After all, 322 of his 515 2023 plate appearances came from the top of the batting order. While there are holes in Garcia's game, he has the tools any leadoff hitter needs.

First, his expected stats offer promise. He was not stellar across the season, but his .274 xBA ranked in the 82nd percentile, thanks partially to his 50.6 hard-hit rate which ranked in the 93rd percentile. He limited swinging strikes despite MLB inexperience, put plenty of balls in play, and his above-average speed saw him leg out 12 infield hits, second to only Witt.

Garcia's slugging leaves a lot to be desired and that didn't change in the leadoff spot. His .344 slugging percentage in that spot was the fourth-worst amongst leadoff hitters with at least 250 plate appearances.

Power in the leadoff spot is a luxury, but Garcia's apparent lack of it in 2023 was concerning and limited the sparse baserunners the lineup's lower half provided. Garcia lit up winter baseball and looks like he put on muscle this offseason, so here is hoping he can produce some more extra-base hits in 2024.

He was successful on 98% of his 45 baserunning-advance attempts in 2023. That doesn't rank very high on the Royals roster but leads me to believe he was overly conservative on the basepaths. The stereotypical rookie is too aggressive when trying to stretch a single into a double, but that wasn't the case for Garcia.

His raw sprint speed is not amazing (28.2 ft/sec ranks 8th in Kansas City's 2023 roster), but he had opportunities to do more damage in the leadoff spot. More base-running experience will help Garcia in 2024 too, and the leadoff hitter will have more opportunities than any player to get on base.

In total, Garcia is both a promising and fine leadoff option. He had a ceiling in 2023, but that was his first lengthy taste of MLB action. 2024 marks his first time being on the Royals roster on Opening Day, so he is still plenty green.

MJ Melendez is an underrated option

Blanco seemed crazy enough, so I appreciate you still being here. MJ Melendez's spot in the batting order likely resides in the lower half, but the Royals did give him some run in the leadoff spot last season. Could they do the same in 2024? If they believe in his strong second-half performance, the answer could be yes.

Melendez's glove in the outfield did him no favors, but he still broke even in fWAR thanks to his bat. Well, namely his second-half bat. He was ice-cold to start the year, posting a 68 wRC+ through 84 games. He was still drawing walks at a decent 10.1% rate, but his strikeouts rose to 29.8% and his hard-hit prowess was not turning into hits of any kind. Thankfully, he had a big second-half surge after many Royals fans tuned out of the season.

His 124 wRC+ in that span is amongst the best on the team, with his walk and strikeout rates improving. I cannot point to what changed for Melendez as the season progressed, but I wonder if the shift to the outfield held his bat back to start the season. He was already making quality contact wit the ball, but he improved those metrics, logging 10 home runs and 25 total extra-base hits in his final 64 games.

Why does all this work in the leadoff though? The top reason would be his walk rate, walking in 10.3% of his 602 plate appearances. That led all Royals with at least 200 plate appearances last season, edging out Vinnie Pasquantino's 9.6% rate. The leadoff hitter's job is to get on base, and Melendez's walks are one way to do that.

Another reason I like Melendez as a candidate is his surprising speed from home to first base. his 4.25 seconds ranked fourth on the 2023 Royals roster, trailing Witt by only .13 seconds. Royals fans are well acquainted with what speed does, and every millisecond could be the difference between an out or a runner on base for Witt and Pasquantino.

Do I believe he is the primary lead man to start the season? No, I put my faith in Garcia. But, depending on matchups or injuries, Kansas City should look at Melendez. It is better than trying the Witt leadoff experiment again, at the very least.