Vinnie Pasquantino's biggest issue finally boiled over in NSFW Royals postgame rant

Nobody likes losing, and when it occurs it brings out the emotions in even the best of us. Last night, it was Vinnie Pasquantino who showed his emotions following the Kansas City Royals' 8-5 defeat to the Cleveland Guardians where the they failed to secure more than a series split with their division rivals. Pasquantino's emotions weren't directed at anybody but himself though, as in a fiery rant during his postgame media availability, the first baseman was very critical about his struggles to capitalize with runners in scoring position this season.

He didn't mince his words either, as he was profanely harsh with himself after failing to bring anyone home in the eighth inning with runners on the corners with two outs representing the tying run. In typical Pasquantino fashion though, his rant didn't end in dwelling on his weaknesses, but shifted quickly to focusing on future and moving forward from his early season woes.

"I've got to be better," Pasquantino said. "When they're out there I've got to put the ball in play and make something happen and just be better."

For context, Pasquantino's not exaggerating when he says he's had issues capitalizing with ducks on the pond. With runners in scoring position this year, he's slashing just .128/.240/.128 with a 24.0% K-rate (his highest among every hitting scenario) and just a pitiful 9 wRC+. And it hasn't just been an issue with runners in scoring position, rather an issue with runners on base in general. When you look at Pasquantino under that broader parameter, he's only slashing marginally better at .175/.253/.175 with a 22 wRC+.

He may've added his fifth homer of the season on Thursday, but it was his fifth solo homer of the season, only furthering the argument that he has a real problem in these high leverage moments.

And this is just a microcosm of what's been a forgettable start to 2026 for the Pasquatch. Despite looking stronger in recent days, he's still hitting below the Mendoza Line at .194 with a .643 OPS, a career high 20.6% K-rate and just a 74 wRC.

Vinnie Pasquantino isn't the only Royals player struggling with RISP

Pasquantino may've placed the blame upon his shoulders yesterday, telling the media "it starts with me", however, as much as he's been a key contributor the Royals' struggle to produce runs in 2026, he's not been the sole problem. When it comes to cashing in on runners in scoring position, there are actually several key names that could stand to be significantly better.

And even other crucial names to this Royals offensive attack, such as Maikel Garcia, haven't been anything overly special this season in these prime run producing scenarios. The 2025 All-Star has been only narrowly above average at a 105 wRC+ in these cases. Even Bobby Witt Jr. has taken a step back this year, going from a 134 wRC+ hitter with RISP to a 118 wRC+ hitter to start the season.

All of this has resulted in the Royals being by far and away one of the worst team in baseball when it comes to hitting under these crucial parameters. They rank dead-last OPS and wRC+ and amongst the bottom five in AVG with RISP.

For a team with October ambitions, cashing on prime run scoring opportunities only gets more vital the later on in the year it gets. So, if the Royals want any hopes of writing the wrongs of 2025 and reaching the postseason once again, they need to follow Pasquantino's advice and shake the cobwebs off now. We are eight days into May after all.

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