This All-Star’s struggles have played big role in Royals’ September slide

Maikel Garcia has had his best career season with the Kansas City Royals. That should make it hard to criticize the way he's played in September. Unfortunately, he's played so poorly and the offense has been so inefficient and inconsistent, it's hard not to point the finger.

On the year, Garcia has slashed .285/.351/.449/.800 with 16 home runs. That his numbers are still that good despite an awful month says something. However, September has also been a story about what could have been for the Royals. They were in the playoff race when the month began, but they aren't really anymore. While not the sole reason by any means, Garcia could undoubtedly be a cause for that nonetheless.

Kansas City Royals offense disappears as Maikel Garcia’s bat goes cold

In September, the Royals are only 8-11, which isn't terrible but not nearly what's been needed to make a proper stretch run. A factor that really makes it worse is that Garcia has a 50 wRC+ in the last three weeks.

Slashing .188/.273/.261/.534 since September 1, he's also only got one home run. When the period kicked off, he was going to pass 20 home runs easily. Instead, he's been stuck just under that number for what looks like the rest of the season, barring a crazy hot streak.

When you compare the fact that his fellow teammates in the heart of the order in Bobby Witt Jr. (127 wRC+), Vinnie Pasquantino (159 wRC+) and Salvador Perez (119 wRC+) have all kept up appearances this month, it only works to single out Garcia's poor performance even further.

Kansas City could have used just a couple more well-placed hits over the course of the season. They could have used their big guns coming through a few more times.

Maikel Garcia has undoubtedly had a breakout season, but to really have a breakout season, he also needs to help the team win more than they lose. Unfortunately, not doing those things means his season is trending more towards good rather than great in the final stages.