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Why Kansas City Royals' Salvador Perez is Struggling in 2026
TL;DR
Salvador Perez is struggling in the 2026 season, hitting just .200 with five home runs in 30 games. The Kansas City Royals are currently last in the American League Central with a 12-19 record.
Key points
- Salvador Perez is hitting .200 in 2026.
- He has hit five home runs this season.
- The Kansas City Royals are 12-19 overall.
Kansas City RoyalsSalvador Perez
Why Kansas City Royals' Salvador Perez is Struggling in 2026
The Kansas City Royals are 12-19 overall in 2026 and in last place in the American League Central standings. Kansas City has been unable to find consistent success. A number of players are not meeting their expectations, and that includes star catcher Salvador Perez.
Perez, one of the best players in Royals history, has struggled at the plate this season. The 35-year-old is hitting just .200/.236/.350 across 30 games played. He has hit five home runs, but Perez is still not performing like the Royals know he can.
Why is Perez struggling, though? Is he simply getting unlucky or is there more to it?
Salvador Perez's Slump in 2026
A number of factors seem to be contributing to Perez's underperformance. One that stands out is the fact that the veteran catcher is not hitting the ball all that hard this year. His career hard-hit rate is 46.3 percent, but so far in 2026 Perez is hitting the ball hard only 39.6 percent of the time.
His line drive rate is below his career average while his ground ball rate is above his career average. He has never been a big on-base percentage player, but his 3.1 walk percentage would be his lowest mark since 2018.
Perez is below the 50th percentile in many offensive categories this season. He is in the 65th percentile for barrel percentage. However, chasing pitches out of the zone has been a problem in 2026, as Perez ranks in the first percentile in chase percentage.
His strikeout rate is not terrible, as he is in the 60th percentile. It just seems as if Perez is not squaring the baseball up on a consistent basis.
Will Perez bounce back? After all, he struggled last year as well. While he hit 30 home runs, Perez only hit .236/.284/.446.
In all reality, Perez will likely end up having fine numbers for a catcher. Sure, he may have a down year by his standards, but a down year for Perez is a good season for many catchers around the sport.
Even if Perez hits for a low average and OBP, he will probably still end up with 20-30 home runs in 2026.
Q&A
What is Salvador Perez's batting average in 2026?
Salvador Perez is hitting .200 in the 2026 season.
How many home runs has Salvador Perez hit in 2026?
Salvador Perez has hit five home runs so far in the 2026 season.
Why are the Kansas City Royals struggling in 2026?
The Kansas City Royals are struggling due to inconsistent performance from several players, including Salvador Perez.
