Steamer's projections for Vinnie Pasquantino should excite KC Royals fans

Vinnie Pasquantino's baseball future looked bright on June 22, 2022, when the Kansas City Royals called him to Kauffman Stadium for his major league debut. His assignments? Replace first baseman Carlos Santana, traded earlier that day to the Seattle Mariners, and provide much-needed power and punch to a weak KC lineup. Pasquantino quickly endeared himself to Royals fans by hitting .275 with a flashy .383 OBP and 10 homers in 72 games, but all hasn't been rosy since — in each of his three seasons, injuries have kept his numbers below what they easily could have been.

But if Steamer, a highly-respected and widely-heralded projection system, is correct, Pasquantino's fourth big-league campaign, which begins March 27 against the Cleveland Guardians, will be his best yet. And that's saying something considering the stats he's compiled so far aren't bad.

What Steamer says about Vinnie Pasquantino for the 2025 season

The first bit of good news for Pasquantino, the Royals, and their fans is that good health seems implicit in his Steamer projections. He's predicted to appear in 146 games, a good number for any player and 15 more than he played in 2024 when he missed the club's last 27 regular season games with the freakish thumb fracture he suffered in late August. He also sat out most of the 2023 campaign after undergoing corrective shoulder surgery in June, and a shoulder issue forced him out of action for almost three weeks the year before.

Then there's power and production — Steamer has Pasquantino hitting 26 homers, driving in 83 runs, slugging .472, and finishing with a .201 ISO and 127 wRC+. Although those 83 RBI would be 14 fewer than the 97 he reached last season, 26 home runs and a .472 SLG would both be career bests. His predicted .201 ISO isn't bad, either, especially considering he and Bobby Witt Jr. are the only Royals Steamer projects to be above .200.

And Steamer's projected wRC+ would far surpass the 108 he posted in 2024.

What about chances with the bat, which the Royals would love to see Pasquantino get more of? If Steamer is right, he'll get to the plate 644 times, a solid number that will exceed by almost 100 the 554 PA he had in 2024.

And his batting line? Pasquantino slashed .262/.315/.446 last season and for his career is slashing .267/.335/.445 going into the new season. Steamer predicts he'll slash .270/.345/.472 in 2025.

No projection system gets their predictions right every time. But if Steamer's prove close for Pasquantino, he'll enjoy a fine 2025 — and that should thrill him, the Royals, and their fans.