KC Royals - JUNE

[SubGod22]

Royals plan to ride 13 pitchers until NL games

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals have carried 13 pitchers -- up from 12 -- since May 19, when fleet outfielder Jarrod Dyson was optioned to make room for reliever Greg Holland.

How long will they hold at 13?

"Probably about up to the time we play our first National League game," manager Ned Yost said. "As long as we're playing these American League games, we'll keep 13 pitchers. We might do it a little bit earlier, but it depends on our starters."

Yost expands on his ninth-inning decision

KANSAS CITY -- One more point from manager Ned Yost on not pinch-hitting for his .209-hitting shortstop, Alcides Escobar, in the ninth inning of Wednesday night's 9-8 loss to the Blue Jays.

"I looked up our pinch-hitting stats and we're 2-for-10 [.200], exactly what Esky is," Yost said. "So if I put a guy in there and he gets a hit, great. But if he doesn't, you've lost one of the best shortstops in the league that could've done the exact same thing. And you're right back to where you started. But it appeases people because you did it. And I've never been one to appease somebody for the sake of appeasing them."

Yost, as he's explained often, is playing as much for the future as the present by putting his younger players in tight situations so, when they face them with a championship on the line, they're ready.

Royals bring Moustakas to coast for date with Angels

All Eric Hosmer has done since joining the Royals is become one of Kansas City's best hitters.

So, the Royals figured, if Hosmer can take to the Major Leagues so quickly, why can't Mike Moustakas?

The Royals organization and fans will likely get to see if Moustakas can make as big of an initial splash as Hosmer on Friday, when the left-handed-swinging third baseman, who starred at Chatsworth High School in the Los Angeles area, is expected to make his Major League debut at Angel Stadium. Kansas City called up the third-base prospect from Triple-A Omaha following Thursday's 3-2 win over the Blue Jays.

Moustakas -- the No. 5 overall prospect in baseball, according to MLB.com's rankings -- has lived up to his billing throughout his time in the Minors and continued to do so this season. In 55 games for Triple-A Omaha, Moustakas was hitting .287 with 10 home runs and 15 doubles.

Prior to the season, Royals manager Ned Yost said he didn't want to bring up the former second-overall pick in the 2007 Draft if he wasn't going to produce. Clearly, the club now believes Moustakas can help.

KC calls up Moustakas, options Aviles

The promotion of Moustakas was no surprise. All along, the Royals had indicated that he'd be in Kansas City at some point this season, with June the likely arrival date. But the action came swiftly, with manager Ned Yost saying the decision wasn't made until after Thursday's 3-2 win over the Blue Jays.

"He's been hot, been swinging the bat well, driving in runs, playing a good third base -- so the time is right," Yost said.

Moustakas is batting .287 in 55 games for the Storm Chasers with 10 home runs, 15 doubles and 44 RBIs. He has a .347 on-base percentage.

Hosmer beat his buddy from Spring Training and Omaha to the Majors, arriving on May 6 to replace Kila Ka'aihue at first base after ripping off a .439 average in the Pacific Coast League.

"He's going to come into the lineup just like I did and do his role and not try to do too much," Hosmer said of Moustakas. "He's going to fit in perfectly with this team."

If Moustakas, a left-handed hitter like Hosmer, can match his pal, the Royals will be ecstatic. Hosmer has jumped into the No. 3 spot in the lineup and is hitting .309 with five homers and 21 RBIs in 32 games.

Yost said that Moustakas will become a lineup regular immediately, perhaps injecting new life into a team that has lost 14 of its past 19 games.

"Six days a week, five days a week, that's the minimum," Yost said. "We want him to get his feet wet. In the beginning, let him go ahead and play, get accustomed to big league life and let him go."

Aviles, struggling much of the season, has a .213 average with five homers and 30 RBIs in 47 games for the Royals. He also has a team-high eight errors at third base and second base.

"He's kind of stuck in a rut offensively and defensively," Yost said. "We know what kind of player Mike Aviles is. He's very athletic, a .300-type hitter, but it's been a struggle for him. ... He needs to take a step back and go down to Omaha and play every day. He's not going to have that opportunity here."

Aviles burst into prominence in his rookie season of 2008, proceeding from a big two-double day at Yankee Stadium on June 6 to a final .325 average in 102 games. But he had to undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in '09 and missed most of the season. He returned last year to bat .304 in 110 games.

This season, however, has been a struggle for him.

"It's not like I've really been tearing it up or anything. I've pretty much stunk lately, haven't really helped the team at all," Aviles said. "It's not like it really came as a surprise. I've just got to get myself right and get back to normal."

Aviles played second base on Thursday, his 18th start at that position. He's also started 21 games at third base and one at shortstop.

Typically upbeat in the face of his demotion, Aviles expressed confidence he'd regain his batting stroke.

"Nobody wants to get sent down, but in all reality, sometimes it's for the best," he said. "I go down for however long, I come back and I'm raking again. We're not even worried about this little bit of time I'm gone."

[SubGod22]

Yost, Escobar, & The Ghost of J.J. Hardy

Yost, as he has done all season long, allowed Escobar to bat for himself. Escobar struck out on four pitches. Alex Gordon followed with a double into the left-centerfield gap that drove in Pena all the way from first base. But with the tying run at second, Melky Cabrera’s looper into short left field was snared by shortstop Mike McCoy to end the game. If Escobar – or whoever batted for Escobar – had reached base, they would have scored on Gordon’s double, the game would have been tied, and the Royals could have done no worse than send the game into extra innings.


After the game, a member of the media rather sensibly asked Yost whether, in light of the fact that Escobar is hitting .209, with nine walks and seven extra-base hits (all doubles) in 62 games, Yost considered using a pinch-hitter for him. Yost did not take kindly to the question.


Yost has made the argument all season that winning games in the here and now will sometimes take a backseat to player development. This is an admirable philosophy, which will hopefully exchange current wins for future wins. Yost’s track record of development is, in fact, the primary reason why I supported him as the Royals manager, both when he was hired and today.


But there comes a point when sticking with a player through thick and thin becomes counter-productive. Escobar is not “struggling” at the plate. He is out-and-out sucking to a degree that is almost historic. Perhaps the Royals (and their fans) do not appreciate the historic nature of Escobar’s offense, because they’ve so recently lived through the equally historic suckitude of Tony Pena Jr. and Neifi Perez.


But we’re in historic territory nonetheless. After yesterday’s game, Escobar was hitting .209/.241/.241 in 238 plate appearances. No player with an OBP and a slugging average both below .250 has reached 250 plate appearances in a season since 1989, when John Shelby hit .183/.237/.229 in a remarkable 371 plate appearances. (Granted, Chone Figgins is neck-and-neck with Escobar to accomplish the feat this year.)

“I went through this with J.J. Hardy,” Yost said. “He was hitting about .170 and everybody was screaming why we not pinch-hitting for him? How much longer are we going to go with a guy hitting .170? And the next year he hit 25 homers and made the All-Star team. So, I’ve got a little bit of an idea of what I’m doing here.”


Ah, so here we get to the rub of it. Yost treated J.J. Hardy the same way, and Hardy developed into a fine young hitter, and he’ll be damned if he’ll treat Escobar any differently.


If only that were the case.


Yost is a little off with Hardy’s numbers, but only a little. Hardy debuted with the Brewers in 2005 as their Opening Day shortstop, and as late as July 14th, was hitting .187/.293/.267 in 219 plate appearances. From that point until the end of the season, though, Hardy hit .308/.363/.503 with eight homers in 208 plate appearances. Hardy’s sophomore season ended in May when he tore ligaments in his ankle, but in 2007 he returned healthy and hit .277/.323/.463 with 26 homers, making his first All-Star team.

An interesting piece and it's pretty obvious that he didn't take the same approach with Hardy.

[SubGod22]

Moustakas Time

Thursday’s game wasn’t on TV, but listening to the radio and following on Twitter, one thing was obvious: Mike Aviles is lost. Poor plate appearances, bad base running, questionable defense… Aviles has it all.

Still, the news was surprising. After the game, the Royals sent Aviles to Omaha and called up Mike Moustakas.

Viva Le Process!

After a slow start, Moustakas is on the rise for the Storm Chasers. Overall, he’s hitting .287/.347/.498 in 250 plate appearances. Like Eric Hosmer prior, Moose has earned his call to The Show.

Several thoughts immediately spring to mind.

– First, by optioning Aviles, the Royals have destroyed the trade value of Wilson Betemit. Seriously, where does he play? You don’t call up one of the top prospects in the game to platoon or to play a few times a week. I know the Royals are trying to sell Betemit as Alcides Escobar’s backup at short, but I’m not buying. Betemit has played 407 innings of shortstop in his career, but hasn’t appeared there in a game since he played 57 innings for the Yankees in 2008. He’s played even less at second, which is now the sole territory of Chris Getz.

Betemit is a good hitter… One of the best on this team. Currently at .290/.350/.409 he certainly would have drawn interest at the trade deadline. Honestly, he probably would have been difficult to move for value given that everyone in the baseball universe knew he was blocking Moustakas and the Royals would be desperate to make a deal. Moving him to the bench scotches that value completely.

[SubGod22]

Royals designate Pucetas to fit in Moustakas

ANAHEIM -- Pitcher Kevin Pucetas was designated for assignment by the Royals on Friday to make room for third baseman Mike Moustakas on the Royals' 40-man roster.

Moustakas was promoted on Thursday from Triple-A Omaha and was in the starting lineup against the Angels on Friday night, batting sixth behind Billy Butler.

[newshock1234]

hmm watching royals live, didnt know moose and hosmer were such good buds.

[SubGod22]

Moustakas belts first Major League homer

Betemit prepared for new role with club

"I knew it was going to happen soon," Betemit said. "I knew this guy had to play. He's a good player and we're getting to the middle of the season and they had to. And I have to play everywhere. That's what I do."

Defense helps Mazzaro shut down Angels

[SubGod22]

Chen, Davies strong in rehab, hope to return

Chen, on the disabled list since May 6 with a left lat strain, started the game, giving up two runs on a solo home run and a sacrifice fly. He went four innings, allowing six hits and striking out one. After the game, Chen said he had no soreness or pain in his injured lat.

Chen isn't sure what the Royals' plans are as far as bringing him back, but will be ready in case he's activated.

"I don't know. They obviously have some decisions [to make]," Chen said. "I'm feeling good, the only thing I can do is be sharp for whenever they want to activate me."

Davies has been on the DL since May 18 with rotator cuff inflammation. He pitched the last five innings, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out five.

"I was having fun. The arm was good," Davies said. "Obviously the most important thing that comes out of rehab is to make sure you're healthy. First of all, make sure you're doing all your stuff to get yourself loose. I felt good out there. It was the first time in a long time that I can say I was loose, free and easy and having fun."

Kansas City's Hoz and Moose a Royal pair - A fun read about the two. Hoz apparently isn't much of a golfer...

[SubGod22]

Moose just committed his first ML error I believe.

Escobar's DPs rate among KC shortstops

OAKLAND -- When Alcides Escobar participated in five double plays in a 9-0 victory over the Angels on Sunday, he became just the third Royals shortstop to do that in a game.

Fred Patek accomplished it twice, in 1972 and '74, and Mendy Lopez did it in a '98 game. Escobar was the first to do it in the Majors since the D-backs' Stephen Drew on April 16 against the Giants.

Through Monday's games, Escobar's 49 double plays ranked second among Major League shortstops only to the Rangers' Elvis Andrus, who had 51. Escobar led the Majors with 239 assists and 368 total chances. He had only five errors.

Chen, Davies get another turn in rehab stints

OAKLAND -- The return of starting pitchers Bruce Chen and Kyle Davies to the Royals has been delayed a bit.

Initially, manager Ned Yost anticipated bringing both back into the rotation after their injury rehabilitation outings for Triple-A Omaha on Monday night.

"I'm going to give them one more rehab start," Yost said. "I think it'd be a push to bring them back. We'll give [Vin] Mazzaro another look."

Chen will pitch again for Omaha and Davies will pitch for Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Saturday. Their outings will be longer, about 90 pitches.

[SubGod22]

Duffy notches first win as Royals top A's

OAKLAND -- Danny Duffy, rookie left-hander and prize pitching prospect, is in the victory column.

Duffy emerged the winner in his sixth start as the Royals knocked off the staggering Oakland Athletics, 7-4, on Tuesday night in the series opener at the Coliseum. It was the Royals' fourth win in five games.

His own cheering section, from between 100 and 150 folks from his hometown of Lompoc, Calif., raised a rumpus among the 11,439 fans.

"It was awesome. I couldn't ask for a better night to get a win," Duffy said. "It was cool. I got a lot of support from back home."

Duffy got the game ball as a memento and, in lieu of the team's traditional first-victory beer shower, he got a milk shower in the alcohol-free clubhouse.

"He pitched a good ballgame, was on the attack with his fastball, got some big outs with his breaking ball, threw some nice changeups, got us through six innings with the lead," manager Ned Yost said.

Duffy worked six innings, giving up two runs on four hits with four walks and two strikeouts as he made his pitch to remain in the rotation. With Bruce Chen and Kyle Davies due to come off the disabled list, the starting spots currently held by Duffy and Vin Mazzaro could be at risk. Both have pitched very well in their most recent outings and Yost has some decisions to make when Davies and Chen return.

The Royals' attack included three hits and two RBIs by the resurgent Alcides Escobar. The smooth-fielding shortstop has turned into a hitting machine lately with a seven-game streak in which he's gone 13-for-26, .500 no matter how you slice it.

"I'm working early in the batting cage with [hitting coach Kevin] Seitzer and trying to see the ball better and hit it the other way," Escobar said. "And right now, I'm feeling great."

I'm curious to see what happens when Davies and Chen come back. Chen should go back to starting, Davies....I'm not sure what needs to be done. I'm all for letting him go. He's been the worst starting pitcher and still has flashes but nothing consistent. I'd like to see Duffy stay. I really don't care if they send Vinny back down. Hochevar, Francis, Chen, Paulino and Duffy look alright to me for the time being.

Hosmer ends personal skid in victory

OAKLAND -- Royals rookie Eric Hosmer ended the longest slump of his brief career with a single in the sixth inning on Tuesday night.

The hit up the middle against A's reliever Craig Breslow snapped an 0-for-16 spin.

Earlier in the game, Hosmer grounded out, was safe on an error, walked and scored a run. The hitless stretch had dropped his average from .313 to .280 when he got the single

I also just realized that Cleveland is no longer in first place. Royals are 7 games behind Detroit.

[RoyalShock]

How about that Escobar kid? He had his first 3-hit game as a Royal last night and in the past week raised his average from .203 to .235. It's weird to watch him go the opposite way almost every time, but it appears Seitzer is doing a great job with him.

[SubGod22]

Seitzer was a great addition to the staff.

[SubGod22]

I'm behind on keeping up with some of the blogs. Playing catch up with some pieces.

Back In It

I have been on vacation since June 3rd: out of the country kind of vacation and hence quite removed from the Royals. While managing to check the box scores late at night and marginally keep up with roster moves, it was all pretty superficial stuff. The night before leaving and a full week before Mike Moustakas got the call, I wrote this, so my internet persona remained somewhat topical.

While Craig and Nick carried the load of the MLB Draft, Moustakas and a four game sweep at home to the Twins, I reemerge to a reality where the Kansas City Royals are only six and one-half games out of first place. What would you have said back in March if told that the Royals would be in that position in the middle of June? Due to how this situation has transpired, most of us have passed through the euphoria of contending and back into the status quo of wait until next year.

Think about it this way: since calling up Eric Hosmer, the Royals have gone 12-23 yet lost only two games in the standings. Those two games, however, have certainly turned the tide (probably correctly) from ‘hey, we can win this!’ to ‘let’s not worry about wins and losses and get set to be somebody next year’. Listen, I don’t have any idea where this team is going this year, but I am certain that the call-up of Moustakas signals Dayton Moore’s intention to at least be in and stay in the conversation, not in 2013, but instead in 2012.

He also touches on the pen, the starting rotation, Duffy, and some fun little offensive facts... Alex Gordon: Has he really improved?

Alex Gordon is having a renaissance, right? He’s finally come into his own and is realizing his potential. So, what’s different this year? What indicators might lead to an improved Gordon and is it sustainable?

Small Ball - Yost Style

I bring up this scouting issue again, because Royals hitters seemed to take the wrong approach from the beginning.

Take the first inning. Alex Gordon, Melky Cabrera and Eric Hosmer saw a grand total of eight pitches. That’s not exactly working the count. Gordon offered at a tough pitch out of the zone, Melky swung at a ball (shocking) and Hosmer offered at a pitch down and away on an 1-0 count that he would have been better off taking.

Not a good start.

The second was, in some ways, worse. That’s because after he walked Jeff Francoeur (which should be a warning sign for anyone watching a ballgame that this particular pitcher doesn’t have it) Billy Butler had an outstanding plate appearance. This was one of the few times of the night Cahill was spotting his pitches. The first three were low and away… off the plate for balls. These were pitches thrown with good intent in that if Butler makes contact with those and puts them in play, he’s grounding into a double play. The Frenchman negates that possibility by stealing second on the third pitch of the Butler at bat. Then, Butler takes two called strikes on pitches low and away, but deemed in the zone by the home plate umpire, Bill Welke. (I’m not sold on the first pitch, but the second one was good.) He fouls one off and then takes ball four.

You now have two hitters who have walked to lead off an inning against a pitcher who has had command problems in the past. You have a young hitter coming up and the lower third of the batting order coming behind him.

You make the call…

If you’re Nervous Ned Yost, you bunt.

Huh?

Bunting in the second inning with your rookie stud, against a starting pitcher with command issues and with Matt Treanor and Chris Getz immediately following? That’s mismanagement of the highest order.

(At least I’m assuming he ordered the bunt. We don’t know because neither the KC Star story or the MLB.com story has this info. I Googled, but couldn’t come up with the answer if the bunt was called by Yost or Moustakas freelanced. The fact that neither game summary included the word “bunt” is slightly surprising, considering the Royals sacrificed three times Tuesday.)

Instead of setting up for a potential big inning, you’re playing for one run in the second inning… Frustrating. And guess what? It worked when Coach T grounded out and brought Francoeur home.

The Royals encountered a similar situation in the fourth. Runners on first and second and no outs, but with Chris Getz at the plate. In that situation, I have no problem with asking Getz to sacrifice – which he did. Because letting Getz hit is a little like asking the pitcher to swing the bat. With a 91 percent contact rate and a 51 percent ground ball rate, he would seem to be a double play candidate. (Although a quick check of the numbers shows this isn’t exactly the case. In 34 double play opportunities this year, Getz has grounded into just one double play. Although it helps he’s sacrificed an AL leading 10 times.)

Again, this sacrifice worked as Alcides Escobar put the ball in play and hit a weak chopper to third. Moose, running on contact, was able to score easily.

I fear this sort of stuff is putting the wrong ideas in Yost’s head.

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

He also touches on the pen, the starting rotation, Duffy, and some fun little offensive facts... Alex Gordon: Has he really improved?

Alex Gordon is having a renaissance, right? He’s finally come into his own and is realizing his potential. So, what’s different this year? What indicators might lead to an improved Gordon and is it sustainable?

[url=http://www.royalsauthority.com/?p=4138]

Ill have to agree to disagree here. True his BABIP is insanely high he hasnt exactly been "lucky" hes pounded the ball pretty good with very few if any bloop hits or anything of the sort.

He was slumping pretty bad and lost over a 100 points on his BA and after the move to leadoff hes picked back up.

Even though the sample size is small but lets be real here... I think its safe to say instead of looking at him to be the next George Brett, we need him to be more like the next Brett Butler :) Only with like more pop and stuff

[SubGod22]

Moose takes strange trip at hot corner

In the eighth inning, he stumbled as he fielded Scott Sizemore's grounder and got off a late throw. Sizemore beat it for a single.

"There's not a lot of kids that come up that are real polished defensively at that age," manager Ned Yost said before Wednesday night's game and added wryly: "But I did check with the grounds crew and I did have them remove the park bench that he tripped over in the eighth inning. So, that won't be out there tonight."

For now, Gordon is Royals' No. 1 option

Entering Wednesday night's game against the A's, Gordon had reached base safely in 23 of the 25 games on a hit or a walk. In the leadoff spot, his batting average was .280 and his on-base percentage was .361.

What's Gordon's future fate in the lineup?

"I don't know," he said. "All I know is I'm the leadoff guy right now. Would I have guessed I was going to be batting leadoff this year? No. Who knows what I'll be doing down the road?"

Hosmer seems entrenched in the third spot and Jeff Francoeur and Billy Butler have been the constant fourth-fifth batters.

What about the second spot?

"I hit two-hole in high school my freshman year and I liked it a lot," he said. "But you can't really move Melky [Cabrera] right now because he's doing such a great job but, you know, I wouldn't mind the two-hole."

KC summer should be fun instead of ho-hum

OMAHA, Neb. -- At first glance, nothing seems to be too different in Kansas City. The Royals, who haven't finished higher than third in the American League Central since 1995, are in fourth place in the division.

But is this another ho-hum summer? Not likely. There's already a rush of rookie electricity coursing through K.C.

The influx of young talent - already arrived and on the way -- gives reason for optimism, no small thing for a franchise that hasn't played postseason baseball since 1985.

Kansas City is fourth in the division but only seven games back of the first-place Cleveland Indians after Wednesday's slate. And that's also despite a recent stretch in which the club went 4-14 between May 21 and June 8.

It's close enough that not even an old-school realistic like manager Ned Yost is counting the Royals out of contention.

A look at the batting order shows rookie first baseman Eric Hosmer hitting third and doing pretty well at it. Across the diamond, third baseman Mike Moustakas is in his first week in the Major Leagues after getting a hit in his first big league game and a home run in his second.

They are the hitting centerpieces of this explosion of fast-developing talent. Left-hander Danny Duffy, who won his first game on Tuesday night, is the point man for the young starting pitchers. Then there's that kid colossus in the bullpen -- six of the eight pitchers in the 'pen are rookies.

"You don't want to take them up there and have to send them back out and send them back down for more work," Jirschele said.

Case in point, first baseman Kila Ka'aihue started the season in Kansas City, hitting a walk-off home run for the first victory of the year. But by early May, he was hitting just .195 with a .295 on-base percentage and .317 slugging percentage.

So Hosmer was called up, to the delight of anxious Royals fans, while Ka'aihue was sent to Omaha to wait for another chance. His .280/.407/.380 slash line with the Storm Chasers entering Wednesday would seem to merit another look, if not for the fact Hosmer and Billy Butler have first base and designated hitter locked down for the time being.

Add in the fact that fellow Storm Chaser Clint Robinson -- also a first baseman-DH -- is having an even better year with a .345/.427/.629 line, 17 home runs and 50 RBIs after Tuesday's game, and it's clear that the Royals organization doesn't just have talent; it has a glut of it.

Other prize prospects at Omaha include second baseman Johnny Giavotella, catcher Manny Pina, outfielders Lorenzo Cain, David Lough and Dyson and pitchers Montgomery, Jeremy Jeffress and Blaine Hardy. And there is even more top talent in the works at the Double-A and Class A levels.

All of that adds up to a good feeling, all the way throughout the organization.

[SubGod22]

Moose. by Rany

The Consistently Inconsistent Mr. Hochevar

We have seen last night’s Luke Hochevar before. He is the guy that gives Royals’ fans hope that the former number one overall pick is about to or already has turned the corner into becoming, if not an ace, a solid major league starter.

Despite not striking a batter out, Hochevar induced 13 ground ball outs and exited the game after allowing just single runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Two runs, two walks, five hits over seven innings: we will take that most any time out from Hochevar. In fact, the Royals did get virtually the same performance in Hochevar’s previous start against Toronto, but therein lies the problem.

Hochevar will string together two, three and sometime four solid to good starts only to then fall back to simply not very good. Take a look at just this season:

First two starts: 8 runs in 11.2 innings
Next two starts: 4 runs in 14 innings
Next two starts: 12 runs in 12 innings
Next four starts: 8 runs in 28 innings
Next three starts: 17 runs in 18 innings
Last two starts: 4 runs in 14 innings

Base Runners and Bringing Them Home

Rough game Thursday… 16 strikeouts and Jeff Francoeur batting third. Good thing it wasn’t on TV. So, let’s talk about something else. How about some stats?

In play percentage (IP%) is a useful stat in that it tells us how often a hitter is testing the defense. It’s not a measure of quality of at bats, simply it just is very straight forward… How often does a particular hitter make contact and keep the ball in the park. League average is 70%. Your Royal leaders:

Escobar – 82%
Getz – 78%
Aviles – 77%
Cabrera – 77%
Francoeur – 73%
Butler – 72%
Hosmer – 72%
Gordon 68%
Betemit – 66%
Treanor – 59%

Seven of the 10 Royals who have qualified for the batting title are above league average. Not surprising how the list shakes out as the power (relatively speaking) is toward the bottom since home runs are not counted as being in play. On the flip side, Escobar and Getz at the top isn’t a surprise, either. In fact, Escobar is tied for third in the AL for the highest in play rate.