The A's Biggest Disadvantage Against the Royals is Hiding in Plain Sight

Of course Salvador Perez is going to have an impact on this series one way or another

Feb 25, 2026; Surprise, Arizona, USA; Kansas City Royals designated hitter Salvador Perez against the Seattle Mariners during a spring training game at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The A's are on their third group of new stars since Salvador Perez ended their season in the 2014 AL Wild Card game. Two full rebuilds later, he's still one of the best catchers in the game. A's fans don't have to like him after that fateful hit, but he's found another way to be great—and that's the kind of thing that demands respect, even from the people who root against you.

With the implementation of ABS for the 2026 season, of course Perez is one of the best around when it comes to a new catching stat. So far this season, he has recorded the ninth most challenges on ball-strike calls with 24, but he is also tied with Will Smith for the most challenge wins with 19. That's good for a 79% success rate, which is the highest among catchers with at least 20 challenges.

By comparison, A's catcher Shea Langeliers hasn't been nearly as effective. He is tied for 10th most challenges with 23—one behind Perez—but he has only been successful 12 times, good for a rate of 52%. Among all catchers that have challenged at least one call, he ranks 49th out of 67 in terms of success rate.

This is a very specific matchup to watch, and it could come into play in a couple of different ways.

How ABS could impact the A's-Royals series

Apr 15, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers (23) throws to first base for an out against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images | Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

The first way is that Perez could simply get his own pitchers into better counts by securing them more strikes. That's a huge added advantage on a pitch-by-pitch basis.

The second way would be if Langeliers burns a challenge early, leaving the club with just one. That could make the whole roster hesitant to use the available second challenge for fear of losing it too early in the contest. That could lead to some favorable counts for Royals pitchers, while also leaving the A's bats at a disadvantage.

That could also lead to Langeliers himself not wanting to use the second challenge and putting his own pitchers in a bad count.

This all said, the A's are the better team on paper while the Royals enter with an 11-17 record, just ahead of the Houston Astros (11-18) for the worst record in the American League. Kansas City has a team ERA of 4.62, which ranks 24th in MLB, while the A's rank 21st with a 4.42 ERA. One caveat there is that the A's have the worst ERA in MLB at home, sitting at a 6.58 through 10 games.

The A's offense has been right in line with the run production of the Royals, with K.C. putting up a 94 wRC+ (117 runs scored) and the A's right behind them with a 93 wRC+, but 119 runs scored.

These factors combined should provide a fairly evenly matched series despite each team's current record. If the A's pitchers aren't getting ahead of the Royals' bats, which is when this staff tends to get into trouble, then the importance of the two catchers will be on full display.

How the A's pitching performs at home will be a big deciding piece for how this series will go, and mixed into that calculus will be the two backstops and their impact on balls and strikes.