Royals Slugger Listed As Team's Breakout Star For 2025
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The Kansas City Royals enjoyed a strong 2024 season that saw them clinch the second American League Wild Card. They defeated the Baltimore Orioles in the Wild Card round before losing to the New York Yankees in the ALDS.
This offseason, they have made some key moves, trading for Jonathan India and Joey Wiemer and re-signing veteran starters Michael Lorenzen and Michael Wacha. They'll need to improve offensively if they want to return to the postseason.
Some of that could come internally and alleviate the need to add another bat. Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report predicts that Vinnie Pasquantino will break out in 2025, which could help the Royals tremendously.
"Perhaps this is wishful thinking, but pardon me for looking upon Pasquantino as a fun hitter. For evidence that he is delightfully good at his craft, I submit his 96th-percentile whiff rate and his 92nd-percentile rate for squaring the ball up in 2024," Rymer wrote.
"The only question is whether power will continue to be about as elusive as Pasquantino's nickname-sake. The 6'4", 245-pounder isn't a weakling by any stretch, but he'll need to get better at hitting the ball on the sweet spot for homers to come in more ample bunches."
Pasquantino slashed .262/.315/.446 with 19 home runs during the regular season with Kansas City and played a big role in them reaching the postseason. If he can stay healthy, he should be able to provide the Royals with a major offensive boost.
The 27-year-old missed time with an injury towards the end of the 2024 season and came back in the postseason.
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Curt Bishop is a freelance sports writer who graduated from Maryville University of St. Louis with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the field of Communication and currently writes as a contributor for various platforms covering Major League Baseball. Curt’s work includes covering trade and free agency predictions, as well as rumors and news.
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