Royals Mailbag: Witt Jr.’s ROY Chances, Trades, Outfield Picture
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Following their loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday, the Kansas City Royals are 14-28 on the season.
You read that right: Kansas City's win total is the same amount of games the club is below .500 in 2022.
May 20, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals right fielder Whit Merrifield (15) walks off the field after losing to the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
Things aren't going particularly well for a team that expected to improve on 2021's mark of 74-88. That was a 45.7% win rate, and this season's 33.3% clip puts the Royals on pace for roughly 54 wins. Things will almost certainly improve at least a bit over the course of the year, but the simple fact is that this year's Royals team isn't good.
Despite that, there's plenty to talk about. In the very first edition of the Inside the Royals mailbag, I took your questions on Twitter and will answer them below. A huge thank you goes out to everyone who asked questions — we'll do another mailbag soon. Without further ado, let's get to it.
Zack Eisen (@zackeisen21): What percentage chance does Bobby Witt Jr. have of winning AL Rookie of the Year?
Before the season, Bobby Witt Jr. had pretty darn solid odds to win the American League Rookie of the Year award. Although he's been heating up as of late, a slow start has caused his production relative to his peers to be underwhelming overall. Houston Astros rookie Jeremy Pena has been nothing short of fantastic this year, slashing .293/.347/.504 in 38 games and posting a wRC+ of 150. He's the winner if the season ended today, and names such as Gilberto Celestino, Brendan Donovan, Luis Gonzalez, Steven Kwan, Julio Rodriguez, Spencer Torkelson and others must still be taken into account as well.
As far as a percentage goes, I'll give it 10% as of right now. I'm not sure whether this is too much or too little but considering the fantastic starts we've seen thus far, it seems like I'm still giving Witt the appropriate amount of respect for his talent. He has plenty of time to catch fire and finish the year on a high note, and how the eventual winner finishes could be what snags them the award. Witt's made of the right stuff to go on a run.
Apr 21, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals third baseman Bobby Witt Jr. (7) celebrates after hitting a double against the Minnesota Twins during the eighth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Kyle (@TooMany_Hobbies): Will the Royals win 75 games?
Much like with Witt, asking the same question before the season would've garnered a much more positive response. A 75-win campaign would be a one-game improvement over last season but given how poorly Kansas City has started this year, I'm going to offer up a pretty resounding "no" here. Changes made (more on that here in a second) could lead to incremental improvements, but this is no longer a cold spell. It's a very bad baseball team, and one that will have to scratch and claw just to avoid losing 100 games at this rate.
Kansas Kingdom (@TylerSoeken): How in the world does (Cal) Eldred still have a job?
Firing Cal Eldred could be one of the aforementioned changes that helps the Royals both in the short and long-term. The club's pitching staff — not just the starting rotation and not just the bullpen — is a bottom-five unit in all of baseball. Teams can't win games that way, even if their offense is above-average. The Royals don't have that luxury from their bats, and the product is one of the bottom-five teams in the game.
President of baseball operations Dayton Moore took responsibility for the Royals' young pitchers failing. He said he rushed them through the system aggressively and that's why they haven't panned out. He also said that if people are going to blame Eldred for the shortcomings of Brady Singer (who went down to Omaha and is now playing better) and Jackson Kowar, they need to give him credit for Daniel Lynch. Not much of that makes sense, and Kansas City's loyalty to Eldred is more of the same. That loyalty is why he still remains with the club.
Jun 27, 2021; Arlington, Texas, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Brady Singer (51) and pitching coach Cal Eldred (21) walk to the dugout before the start of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports
Exodor (@Exodor): Why are the Royals so committed to giving Ryan O'Hearn at-bats?
See above re: loyalty — for better or worse. This season, O'Hearn is slashing .171/.222/.244 with a home run and five RBIs in 45 plate appearances. He hasn't logged a wRC+ above 70 since his 44-game 2018 rookie campaign. He isn't a plus baserunner nor defender. Logically speaking, things (again) don't align.
Preston Farr (@prestonfarr_): Should the Royals trade (Andrew) Benintendi? Seems like exactly the guy to keep around if you're ready to compete but the corner OF has a lot of mouths to feed and the return would likely be good.
This is a very interesting question. On one hand, the Royals just lost their arbitration case to Andrew Benintendi and there haven't been any rumblings about a possible contract extension. It makes sense for the club to ship him elsewhere at the trade deadline if he isn't in any long-term plans. That would net at least a prospect when Benintendi could otherwise hit the free agent market and the Royals would then recoup nothing. It's also possible to trade him now, then attempt to re-sign him later. That proposition is unreasonably risky, though.
On the other hand, Benintendi is a good player. In addition to playing above-average defense in left field, he's having the best offensive season of his career. His power has disappeared, but he's getting on base at a career-best clip and also striking out less often than he ever has. That's a winning recipe and his age (27) makes him a prime candidate for an extension. Depending on how the Royals feel about the future of their outfield, it makes sense to keep him around despite having guys like Edward Olivares and Kyle Isbel in the picture. I'd lean extend, but only if the price is right.
May 21, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals left fielder Andrew Benintendi (16) singles against the Minnesota Twins during the first inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
Preston also had a second question.
Is Nick Pratto the corner OF of the future? Vinnie (Pasquantino) has been playing 1B, DH is taken by Salvy (Salvador Perez) for years, and Pratto has played more LF/RF in Omaha.
Another absolute banger from Preston. Because of how good Vinnie Pasquantino's bat is and considering how likely he is to be confined to a first base or designated hitter-only role, it makes sense to leave him at first base. That not only opens the DH role for someone like Salvador Perez (or even Hunter Dozier, if he's around), but it allows the Royals to rest assured knowing that they're getting as many good bats in the lineup as possible moving forward.
For as good as Pratto can potentially be at first base, he's athletic enough to hold down a corner outfield spot adequately (in this writer's estimation). That could also help partially solve the Benintendi problem should the Royals let him walk. It's an imperfect science here, but it isn't hard to squint and see a way in which Kansas City can figure this logjam out. That's a relatively good problem to have.
Mar 27, 2022; Mesa, Arizona, USA; Kansas City Royals designated hitter Vinnie Pasquantino (73) at bat in the second inning during a spring training game against the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports
Chandler Wallander (@chandler_w78): Can even Jesus save this team? Tucker Franklin (@tuckerdfranklin): Why am I so sad?
I didn't want to leave either of these nice guys hanging. Chandler: Jesus would certainly help but unless he can be Mike Trout at the plate and pitch virtually every single day, the answer is no. Tucker: Just hang in there. Brighter days may not be ahead until next year or 2024, but they're (allegedly) coming.
Well, that's all the time we have for the inaugural Inside the Royals mailbag. To submit questions for next time and give feedback on how this one went, reach out to the site on Twitter @InsideRoyals or myself @footenoted. Again, thank you to everyone who asked questions! It's greatly appreciated, and my hope is that this can become a weekly or bi-weekly thing. Cheers.
