Royals offense desperately needs to snap season-long slump
The Kansas City Royals are a classic reminder that championship windows don’t stay open forever.
Just 18 months removed from winning the 2015 World Series, which was the franchise’s first since 1985, the Royals opening has become dangerously small. From the outside looking in, some would even suggest it’s already closed. That’s supported by the team’s current losing streak, which reached eight games on Friday night.
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The underlying cause here is pretty simple. The Royals can’t score runs. Going into Saturday, Kansas City has produced the fewest runs in baseball with only 58 total in 22 games. Beyond that, they can’t even really threaten to score runs. As of April 26, the team was hitting .199 collectively, but they’ve at least crept over .200 since.
The bright spots are few and far between. Salvador Perez has five homers. Rookie Jorge Bonifacio has looked decent in one week since his promotion. They’re going to need more though, and it has to start happening sooner than later.
The Royals have several things working against them. What stands out most though is that the lineup lacks a true power hitter who can consistently change games with one swing. Sure, they have guys like Perez, Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain, but those are really third- or fourth-tier guys in terms of striking fear into opposing pitchers.
The thing about that, is that the same could have been said in 2015, when this team won it all. So what’s the difference?
What they lack in power they no longer make up for in relentlessness, resilience and perhaps even confidence. Two years ago the Royals brought the fight and set the pace in every game. Now everything is a struggle, and it seems to be weighing the whole team down.
Earlier in the week that seemed to manifest itself in Chicago, when the Royals pitching staff collapsed against the White Sox. The Royals were swept in that three-game series, losing by a combined score of 27-8.
“I hope that’s not how they feel,” manager Ned Yost said of his team’s less than inspiring performance. “But the chances of that happening are probably pretty good. Guys know that pitchers are putting a little more pressure on themselves because they know we’re struggling to score runs right now. So they’re trying to execute their pitches maybe a little more perfectly.”
That potential trickle down is concerning.
Even more concerning? The roster is loaded with impending free agents, and if there’s not a turn around soon, general manager Dayton Moore may be forced to trigger a rebuild of sorts. It’s a delicate spot for Moore to be in. He wants to give this roster a fair shot to rediscover its confidence, but he also doesn’t want to hold on too long, leading to a disappointing 2017 and a longer rebuild if they don’t turn assets into prospects.
That puts even more pressure on the Royals offense, which adds another level of importance to each and every game.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
