KC Royals 2 biggest losers, 2 winners from May

Winner: Angel Zerpa

This was the month when reliever Angel Zerpa took some burdens off his shoulders. For more than a calendar year, Zerpa's baseball outlook swung between being a starter or coming out of the bullpen. He was the youngest Royals pitcher to start a game since Zack Greinke, but injuries and sub-optimal stuff limited his ceiling. May gave fans the answer they needed. Zerpa is a reliever.

The Venezuela native was, by all accounts, Kansas City's best reliever in May. He appeared in a team-leading 11 games this past month, totaling 9 2/3 innings pitched. He wasn't a dominant strikeout pitcher, but the signs of optimism sustained across May. He only allowed one run this past month while striking out nine and walking three. His 0.82 ERA also led all qualified Royals relievers.

The most significant improvement has to be Zerpa's velocity spike since committing to the bullpen. Let's look at his pitch arsenal's velocity from the past three seasons.

Those velocity spikes have his entire arsenal playing up, especially his sinker. Zerpa still isn't a high-strikeout pitcher, something that Kansas desperately needs right now. But, he produces grounballs at a 58.1% rate, ranking in MLB's 95th percentile.

Royals fans shouldn't start up the All-Star campaign for Zerpa quite yet, but manager Matt Quatraro is trusting the left more as the season progresses. With James McArthur and John Schreiber struggling in Friday's bullpen implosion, Zerpa should continue climbing the relief pecking order.

Loser: Nick Anderson

One of Kansas City's low-risk offseason moves was acquiring reliever Nick Anderson from the Atlanta Braves. General manager J.J. Picollo continued the player pipeline between the two teams this offseason when he acquired Anderson for cash considerations on Nov. 17.

Anderson's Atlanta tenure saw him be a very reliable reliever, posting a 3.06 ERA across 35 1/3 innings. But, the NL contenders let Anderson leave for cash? In hindsight, the right shoulder strain that landed him on the 60-day IL should have been a bigger red flag to fans. Now, May proves why the Braves were willing to part with Anderson.

Anderson's control is erratic at best, walking six batters in 10 May appearances. Even the battles ending in an out feel like an absolute war, with Anderson struggling to locate his pitches over the plate. Quatraro had a noticeably short leash with Anderson on the recent road trip to Tampa Bay and Minnesota.

The 33-year-old Anderson had stellar 2020 and 2021 seasons, but major injuries have dampened those bright spots. There were worse Royals relievers than Anderson in May, but he had no redeeming factors in the month. He doesn't strike out a ton of batters, walks more than the usual reliever, and lacks a reliable pitch arsenal.

Kansas City needs to evaluate other bullpen options while few arms produce consistently. It is a tumultuous time for the Royals relievers, but this team needs to utilize Anderson's remaining minor-league options, at least, to avoid a maintaining a dismal status quo.

Winner: Freddy Fermin

Fewer MLB teams have a better situation at catcher than Kansas City. Franchise legend Salvador Perez is having a career revival, at the plate and behind it. But, it is his backup Freddy Fermin reestablishing himself that raises Kansas City's 2024 ceiling even higher.

Last season, Fermin was quietly Kansas City's rookie success story. The catcher turned an MVP campaign in the 2022-23 Venezuelan Winter League into a strong 70 games in 2023. He led the Royals with a .281 batting average and threw out nine would-be base stealers in 30 stolen base attempts, for a 30% rate.

This year, Fermin started the season slow as Perez's backup. He wasn't a batting liability, but Fermin wasn't performing like he did in 2023. Thankfully, warmer temperatures also warmed up his bat in May where he, once again, was quietly one of Kansas City's best batters.

The Venezuelan had a career-best nine-game hit streak spanning from May 5-26. During the streak, he hit .441 with four doubles and seven RBI, and at one point had a streak of five multi-hit games too. All in all, his 145 wRC+ in May ranked fourth among the Royals, and was one of Kansas City's most valuable defenders again.

The Royals lineup looks immeasurably better when it goes five or six batters deep. The top four in the lineup are set, but Quatraro needs someone to step up outside of Maikel Garcia, Vinnie Pasquantino. Witt, and Perez. Fermin staked a strong claim as Kansas City's fifth-best batter this past month.

Loser: MJ Melendez

There is no positive way to slice outfielder MJ Melendez's May at the plate. He has finally assuaged fans with his defensive production in left field but now draws their ire with his batting blunders and offensive offense.

The outfielder appeared in 24 games this past month and failed to flash in nearly every single one. Melendez's 38 wRC+ was the worst among qualified Kansas City batters and seventh worst among MLB batters with at least 70 plate appearances last month. He is batting well below the Mendoza line, his .208 on-base percentage is barely scraping above it.

Melendez's most apparent and frustrating problem is against four-seam fastballs. He struggled against that pitch in 2023 but still posted a .242 batting average and .400 slugging against fastballs. Melendez has taken an even further step back in 2024, with only a .167 batting average and .352 slugging against the offering.

San Diego Padres starter Dylan Cease dispatched Melendez easily on May 31 with that pitch. It is an ugly sequence to watch back for fans and had to frustrate Melendez.

Something has to give. The Royals outfield is inarguably the team's weakest position group in 2024. Kansas City is winning despite them, rather than because of the outfield. Kansas City has reasons for keeping Hunter Renfroe, Kyle Isbel, and Dairon Blanco on the 26-man roster, but Melendez's performance screams he needs a demotion.

He turned fans' eyes with his bat and power. Now the lack of them has fans turning up their noses. His May numbers and obvious struggles mark a new low for Melendez.

More from Kings of Kauffman