Royals' terrible injury luck may’ve unearthed lineup's ultimate secret weapon

Injuries have been one of, if not the biggest, topic of conversation amongst the Kansas City Royals sphere in recent weeks. Several key position players like Vinnie Pasquantino and Kyle Isbel as well as multiple starting pitchers like Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic are currently on the IL, while other names are flirting with a stint on it such as Maikel Garcia. This has made the Royals' already poor season that much more unbearable as their contention ambitions have all but withered away as they sit 15 games under .500 with the end stages of June just around the corner.

However, with every name that's gone on the shelf means a new name enters the fold, and while they may never be like-for-like replacements, these are still names trying to prove themselves and hopefully carve out more than just an injury-replacement role. When Isbel landed on the shelf, that meant that Kameron Misner was called upon to take his place. And so far, he's been everything the Royals could have asked for and more.

Minser was the obvious choice to replace Isbel, not just beacuse he was tearing up the Triple-A scene in Omaha this season, but because he could also comfortably fit into a more regular role in center field like Isbel occupied.

At the dish, he looks much like the hitter that earned International League Player of the Week honors the week prior to his promotion. Through 17 plate appearances across his first seven games this season, Misner is hitting .375 with three RBI, a .787 OPS and a 123 wRC+. And when you again consider the fact he's taken over a significant portion of the reps at the premium center field position his value is that much greater.

Are there things he could be doing better? Sure. His strikeout rate remains high 35.3%, his power hasn't carried over from Triple-A quite yet and his defense is nowhere close to what Isbel provides them. That being said, compared to what else they had, Misner has been nothing short of a breath of fresh air.

Kameron Misner is pushing the envelope for a regular role with Royals moving forward

As someone that can hit, defend multiple outfield positions and provide some excellent speed on the basepaths, Misner certainly fits the versatile profile that the Royals clearly desire from their complementary and reserve players.

And in the outfield in particular, Misner's small sample size is already outpacing most of the options they currently have at their disposal. Besides John Rave and his five strong plate appearances since his call-up this week, Misner joins Jac Caglianone as the only Kansas City outfielder with a wRC+ above 110. Lane Thomas only just jumped over the average 100 wRC+, while Isaac Collins (83 wRC+), Starling Marte (80 wRC+), Kyle Isbel (79 wRC+) and Tyler Tolbert (59 wRC+) have all been extremely disappointing this season at the plate.

Considering it's been such a small sample size for Misner, he certainly can't afford to take his foot off the gas. However, the Royals outfield has traditionally not set the bar high overall, and definitely isn't this season. So, his early returns and well-rounded game are certainly creating a promising case for a prolonged big league stay for Misner even after the roster begins to get healthy again.

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