Royals will lean on new outfielder's dynamic skillset to determine best role in 2026

As the baseball world and, more specifically, Kansas City wait on which jersey Jarren Duran will be rocking in 2026, the Royals have made small but impactful moves to rebuild an outfield that has been barren of offense for far too long. 

Last year’s opening day roster had Hunter Renfroe and MJ Melendez starting in right and left field. Neither is with the team today. They then cycled through an uninspiring rotation of Jac Caglianone, Drew Waters, John Rave, Dairon Blanco, Jonathan India, and Michael Massey. 

The Royals were rewarded with a 73 wRC+ as a collective outfield and looked outmatched more times than not at the plate and on defense in 2025.

Of that group, only Caglianone likely has a roster spot locked up this upcoming season, but with the additions of Lane Thomas and Isaac Collins, together, they can lift the baseline of this outfield and shift the production from below replacement-level to league-average at minimum. 

Of the two new acquisitions, it’s Collins that is the more dynamic player and presents more upside and intrigue about what he can do in a Royals uniform. 

We all love an underdog story, and Collins certainly has something to prove to the rest of the league this year. He was a ninth-round pick by the Colorado Rockies in 2019, but was shown the door and was selected in the Rule 5 Draft in 2022 by the Brewers. 

He wasn’t a highly regarded prospect, nor did he ever set the minors on fire. He didn’t make his MLB debut until 2024, when he was 27. 

He started hot in his rookie season and looked like an impact player right away, but slowed down offensively towards the end of the season.

Now, he’s in his third organization and wants to prove that he can be an everyday player on a team that has World Series aspirations. 

His switch-hit ability and versatility across the diamond could make him the ultimate chess piece and unlock this lineup for Matt Quatraro in 2026.

Royals' Isaac Collins presents dynamism at the plate, on the basepaths and in the field

It wasn’t just Collins finishing fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2025 that made him someone the Royals coveted. He’s a battle-tested competitor who was at the forefront of the Milwaukee Brewers' surge to the postseason.  

There were several moments during the 2025 season that caught my attention when I re-watched Isaac Collins’ game. 

Look no further than his walk-off home run on August 10th against Mets Closer Edwin Diaz, one of baseball’s most feared pitchers. Diaz routinely blows 99 mph heaters by hitters, but Collins found a way to stay in front of a slider after seeing four straight fastballs and pulled it to right field for a game-winning homer. 

Hitting second that day, he went 3-5 with a double in addition to his heroic home run that gave the Brewers nine straight wins at the time (Coincidentally, new Royals reliever Nick Mears was the winning pitcher for the Brewers that night). 

The second moment that sold me on Collins was his sac-fly with the bases loaded and one out on August 26th against the Diamondbacks. He saw his average dip from .293 on August 10th to .270 on this date. 

Caught in a cold slump and hitting sixth in the lineup, he grinded through this game with some gritty at-bats. The game-winner in the 9th grabs the headline, but it was the minor details earlier in the game that set up that moment that stood out to me. 

In the third inning, he grounded into a force out but moved Christian Yelich from second to third. 

Anthony Seigler comes up next, and Collins proceeds to steal second base. 

Seigler would then double him in to score, stretching their lead to 5-0. He also drew a six-pitch walk in the fifth inning, down 0-2 in the count.

In the outfield, Collins can more than hold his own. MLB.com predicted him in late September to win the NL Gold Glove in left field.

Although he came up short on the Gold Glove, he makes great jumps when the ball is in the air and covers ground at an elite level. He constantly runs down balls in the left-center gap and down the left field line that other players couldn’t make as routinely. 

Collins led all MLB left fielders with five OAA, further highlighting his elite range. He should be in left field most nights, but he played right field, second base, and third base last season. 

This is just a snapshot of how good Collins can be. He’s not the household name fans are clamoring for, but he’s a winning baseball player with a chip on his shoulder. 

He will become a fan favorite in short order in Kansas City as long as he can produce at the plate. He cooled off late last season, and the question is whether he can play as he did in July, when he won Rookie of the Month, for a full season. 

His .319 xwOBA and .349 xSLG suggest he could be due for regression. He carried a 30th percentile exit velocity and 17th percentile barrel rate. 

Collins will need to improve on those swing metrics if he wants to live up to the potential he teased in 2025.