Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. Makes 5-Word Prediction About Kansas City's Slumping Offense
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The good news for the Kansas City Royals on Monday night was that Bobby Witt Jr. looked like his usual self. The bad news? He was the entire offense.
Witt got the Royals on the board with a solo home run against the New York Yankees' Carlos Carrasco in the fourth inning. He followed it up with a single against closer Devin Williams in the ninth. But the Royals had zero hits in the space between.
One game is never cause for an overreaction at this point in the season, but the Royals' offense simply hasn't been good so far. They've scored four runs or less in each of their last 10 games and have totaled only 22 runs in that stretch.
Witt will have to continue to be the engine behind the Royals' offensive success this season, but he'll also need more help from his supporting cast. He's up to a .905 OPS now, but of the remainder of the qualified hitters on the team, only Maikel Garcia is above .700 (.761).
On Monday night, Witt sounded off on the state of the offense and seemingly made a proclamation that the struggles wouldn't last much longer.
“I know what we are capable of doing… It’s just a matter of time,” Witt said, per Bill Ladson of MLB.com. “We just have to keep preparing and getting better every day. That’s what we are going to continue doing.”
It's not just the lack of scoring that represents a concern. The Royals are 29th in isolated power so far this season. They're 24th in walk rate. And they're tied for 15th in stolen bases, which is supposed to be one of their strengths. It's hard to steal a bag if you're not on base to begin with.
Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez need to pick up the slack. Ditto for Jonathan India, who went 0-for-3 on Monday night after returning from a tweaked quadriceps.
At 8-9, the Royals are still in fine shape in the standings, but they can't afford to let their slump continue for weeks on end.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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