Royals picked the wrong scapegoat after pitching let them down in 2026

The Kansas City Royals scuffled to a 69-93 record this season. A year like that almost always comes with some sort of change to the coaching staff, especially when aspirations were for a return to the playoffs. The thing is, most Royals fans believed change would be coming on the pitching side. Though that may still happen, the first change is the dismissal of hitting coach Alec Zumwalt.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic broke the news Tuesday afternoon that Zumwalt would be moved from his role as Kansis City's major league hitting coach to senior director of hitting performance, the role he possessed in 2022 before joining the big league staff.

It comes as a surprise, after the Royals' offense wasn't the biggest issue this season. As a whole, the Royals finished the season with a 98 WRC+, which was 19th in MLB, and their .718 OPS ranked 17th. The club finished first in baseball this season with 293 doubles and had the 6th-fewest strikeouts in the league.

The Royals offense wasn't as bad as the record reflected, but the front office still felt a change was necessary

The offense even got better as the season went along, too. In the first half, the Royals had a 96 WRC+ (20th), and a .712 OPS (18th). In the second half, the Royals posted a 100 WRC+ (13th) and .728 OPS (11th). While it was only a small improvement, it's always better to get stronger in the second half of the season.

The Royals also saw development in their young hitters this season. Jac Caglianone took a huge step forward after posting a .532 OPS in 2025, he had a .834 OPS in 2026. Carter Jensen had an exceptional rookie campaign. Despite missing time due to injury, Vinnie Pasquantino continued to look good this year this year as well. Even role players like Nick Loftin and Tyler Tolbert took steps forward. The only player who took a major step backward at the plate this season was Bobby Witt Jr.

The reason most expected the change in the coaching staff to be on the pitching side was the team's 4.84 ERA, which ranked 27th out of 30 this season. Their 5.1 fWAR as a pitching staff ranked 29th.

The Royals aren't as far from the playoffs as it may seem. Sometimes changes are needed to the coaching staff to get the most out of their players. The Royals obviously felt they could have gotten more out of the offense; only time will tell if the change they made will make the difference.

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