Kansas City Royals’ Offensive Woes: A Rocky Start to 2025

Of course, the season is still early and there are more than enough opportunities to remedy their issues. The pitching remains as excellent as expected, with the starting rotation of Cole Ragans, Kris Bubic, Seth Lugo, and Michael Lorenzen looking as formidable as ever.

But the issue is the bats. Their offensive output has been nothing short of dismal, ranking amongst some of the lowest in the league for runs (59), batting average (.207), On Base Percentage (.277), and slugging (.304). They have a wRC+ of 66 (ranking 28th), and the team’s isolated power (ISO) of .101 is dead last. They have only won 2 out of their last 9 games, and have only scored more than 4 runs twice this season. Outside of Bobby Witt Jr., Maikel Garcia, and the currently injured Mark Canha, the bats have gone ice cold — and players such as MJ Melendez (.085 BA) and Hunter Renfroe (.116 BA) — have taken the brunt of fan criticism.

The club may have become complacent after their playoff run last season, especially when the likes of Vinnie Pasquantino hit above expectations and Salvador Perez turned back the clock to fire the Royals into the playoffs. After a relatively quiet offseason, many of the players from last year remain on the squad, and the results have been markedly worse this time around. The lack of refreshing the team may have ended up doing more harm than good.

Hitting coach Alec Zumwalt has been the director of hitting performance since 2022, and has received a lot of praise for revitalizing the likes of Melendez and Nick Pratto when both posted breakout seasons in the minors. Melendez hit 41 HR across double and triple-A, while Pratto’s wRC+ jumped to 156, earning them top-100 prospect status. Those heights haven’t been replicated at the major league level, and it seems like the Royals’ hitting development has hit a stall. While last year saw improvement — including 781 runs (13th) and a .738 OPS (14th), much of it was driven by exceptional performances from Witt, Pasquantino, and Perez. Replacing Zumwalt could pose more problems on its own, but fan pressure to find a scapegoat is mounting.

While the offense is floundering, fans and former players such as Eric Hosmer are calling on the organization to call up top prospect Jac Caglianone, the No. 6 overall pick who has been impressive in the minors. The 6’5″ 250-pound first baseman has been a revelation for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. In spring training, he slashed .529/.646/1.235 and became the 5th player in recorded history to hit a baseball at 121 MPH.

The Royals absolutely have the potential to turn around their early-season woes, similar to last season. Manager Matt Quatraro could shuffle the battling order, such as putting Garcia to leadoff to maximize his on-base skills. The return of Mark Canha from injury will help, but the Royals may need more external help outside of the lone offseason acquisition in Jonathan India.

For now, the Royals would do well to rediscover their exceptional situational hitting, which brought them so much success last year. Reducing their 30% chase rate and having the ability to get more walks would also do wonders. If Zumwalt can’t coax better results from veterans like Pasquantino and Perez, his seat will undoubtedly grow hotter.