KC Royals 2 biggest losers, 2 winners from May

When asked about formative KC Royals memories, many younger fans do not remember the franchise's peak. Their introduction wasn't to the star-studded, perennial contenders of the 1970s and 1980s. Their first Royals taste was sour, a team mired in MLB's basement.

Winning's sweetness returned for a brief moment in 2013-2016 but disappeared as quickly as it came. This team hoisted the Commissioner's Trophy less than a decade ago, much more recent than many other franchises. But the years since 2015 washed that sweetness away, seeing bitter losing baseball return. 2023 was Kansas City's third 100-loss season since 2018, a new low even for the Royals.

The only way for this franchise to go was up, and the Royals have done exactly that.

As May comes to a close, Kansas City improbably stands as one of baseball's best teams. Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is not playing like a future superstar, but rather a present one. Catcher Salvador Perez, no longer burdened as the lineup's sole contributor, is having a renassiance at the plate and in the field. The Royals rotation is the envy of most teams, led by offseason acquisition Seth Lugo and young fireballer Cole Ragans.

The sweetness is back.

An eternity has passed since Royals fans last cared about standings or postseason chances this late in the season. Many predicted Kansas City would improve from their 56-106 2023 record, but not to this degree. The boys in blue have a 55% chance of making the playoffs and 18% of winning the AL Central outright, according to FanGraphs. Those are amongst the biggest improvements since Opening Day in MLB by a wide margin.

Such team success is rarely powered by a handful of players, like those already listed. The 26-man roster as a whole must lack severe pitfalls and feature role players doing their job exceptionally well. Unfortunately, Kansas City has players that fit both of those bills. Let's look through four players, two of which had strong May performances and helped this team win and two who did the opposite.

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.