The Kansas City Royals are struggling offensively, prompting manager Matt Quatraro to consider lineup changes. While Maikel Garcia and Bobby Witt Jr. perform well, Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez have significantly underperformed.
There are a lot of things that you canāt control in baseball. Pitchers canāt control where a batter hits a ball, or even if they swing at all. Batters canāt really control where they hit the ball. And neither party can perfectly place or avoid the defense for any given hit. A lot of baseball is, well, luck. It makes the game exciting, and it makes it infuriating.
So when things arenāt going wellāfor the Kansas City Royals offense right now, for instanceācomplaining about chance doesnāt help things get better. Managers have precious few levers they can pull. But one of the levers they can pull is in regard to lineup construction, and itās time for Matt Quatraro to make some moves.
The good news about the Royals offense is that their first two hitters are doing an incredible job of setting the table. Maikel Garcia continues to be the full package, with a triple slash so far of .306/.380/.484. Heās hit for average. Heās hit for power. 10/10, no notes. Meanwhile, Bobby Witt Jr.ās power hasnāt been there this year, but Witt has an on base percentage of .371 so far and drew three walks in yesterdayās White Sox finale.
Where things are going wrong is that all that on base ability is dying on the vine. Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez, the third and cleanup hitters, respectively, have beenā¦horrific. Vinnieās .153/.246/.169 triple slash is only outdone by Salvyās somehow uglier .153/.219/.288; yes, thatās an OBP of .219. Two nineteen!
So far, Quatraro has kept them in the lineup because of a few reasons. Chief among them is that Vinnie and Salvy have established themselves as reliable run producers. Over the past two years, the duo has combined for 108 home runs and 414 runs batted in. Another reason is that both Vinnie and Salvy have established themselves as respected veteran leaders not just in Kansas City but throughout the league. You donāt just boot them those types of players down the lineup because of a few weeks of poor hitting.
Except youāve read the title of this piece: itās time to shake something up. It really starts with Perez, and I think some visuals are in order, so letās look at this graph:
The lifeblood of any offense is on base percentage. Iāve written this before, and Iāll do it again, but this becomes obvious when you refrain offense as a resource-protection machine. Outs are the only finite part of baseball, and once you run out of them, the game is done. Doing the most with the outs that you haveāIE, sluggingāis important. But even there, you canāt hit a super homer or a daily double double worth extra runs; youāre limited to a maximum of four bases per plate appearance. Youāre not limited to how many outs you can avoid making, and thatās why OBP is king.
Salvy has never been an OBP king, but the last few years he has struggled to be even an OBP pauper. Since 2025, Perez ranks dead last in OBP among the 50 players whoāve accrued 700 or more plate appearances. Lower the requirement to 500 PAs, and Salvy ranks 166 out of 172 players. And as the graph shows, thereās a general downward trajectory Here. He hasnāt sustained a .350 OBP over any 50-game stretch since the first half of 2024, while heās spent increasingly long stretches below the .275 OBP line.
Salvy is a Royals legend. Heās got a legitimate Hall of Fame caseānot just Royals Hall of Fame, but Cooperstown Hall of Fame. He still has big power and can still impact the game. But you simply cannot have such an on base sinkhole in the middle of a lineup that is not deep enough to weather it. And while I think Vinnie will come around, the last thousand and a half plate appearances suggests that his reputation is bigger than his impact at the plate: since 2023 and over 1,560 PA, Vinnie has hit .257/.317/.447āonly a 108 wRC+. Vinnie is a good hitter, he really is. But he is not a great hitter, and the data bears this out.
Whatās the solution, then? Here are a couple potential lineups that I think versions of which would be worth considering. Against right-handed pitchers:
Maikel Garcia (3B)
Carter Jensen (DH)
Bobby Witt Jr. (SS)
Jac Caglianone (RF)
Salvador Perez (C)
Vinnie Pasquantino (1B)
Isaac Collins (LF)
Michael Massey (2B)
Kyle Isbel (CF)
Against left-handed pitchers:
Maikel Garcia (3B)
Isaac Collins (LF)
Bobby Witt Jr. (SS)
Carter Jensen (C)
Salvador Perez (1B)
Jac Caglianone (RF)
Starling Marte (DH)
Jonathan India (2B)
Starling Marte (CF)
Part of the Royalsā problem is that Vinnie and Salvy arenāt the only issues right now. Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone have struggled in different ways this year, and putting Cags at the cleanup spot could be more pressure than he can handle. If thatās the case, you could always just swap him and Vinnie in my proposed lineup against righties. Sure, Vinnie will see his share of lefties; but the Royals arenāt deep enough to have many options.
My point here is that the Royals have to shift some things around here. Their pitching staff has been killing it, but the team has a losing record because they canāt scoreāand they canāt score because their lineup is throttling baserunners as soon as they get on. Itās time for some sort of change, at least temporarily. And the best part? If it doesnāt work, you can always switch backā¦
ā¦although the current situation aināt working at all. Not much to lose, at least for a bit.
Q&A
What are the current batting statistics for Maikel Garcia and Bobby Witt Jr. on the Royals?
Maikel Garcia has a triple slash of .306/.380/.484, while Bobby Witt Jr. has an on-base percentage of .371.
Why is the Kansas City Royals offense struggling this season?
The Royals offense is struggling primarily due to poor performance from key hitters like Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez, who have low batting averages and on-base percentages.
What lineup changes is manager Matt Quatraro considering for the Royals?
Manager Matt Quatraro is considering lineup changes to improve the team's offensive performance, particularly addressing the struggles of Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez.
How have Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez performed this season?
Vinnie Pasquantino has a triple slash of .153/.246/.169, while Salvador Perez has an even lower .153/.219/.288, indicating significant struggles at the plate.
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