2 weeks Ago
You don't need to tell a Kansas City Royals fan these days just how much their favorite team's outfield is struggling. Pick a category on the team offensive leaderboard, and the Royals are buried at the bottom of it. Kansas City outfielders have somehow hit just two home runs all season, and their combined wRC+ of 52 is the second-worst in Major League Baseball.
There aren't a lot of strong individual performances to highlight so far this season. However, one Royals insider believes that a strong start from a recent minor league call-up could be the start to a long-term improvement as a unit. During a recent Reddit "AMA," Royals reporter Anne Rogers of MLB.
com highlighted Drew Waters' offensive spark since being recalled from Triple-A as a positive development that could help the Royals improve their outfield production over the course of the season. "I am really interested to see what Drew Waters does with this extended run of playing time," Rogers wrote. "We know what the upside is and saw it Tuesday when he homered, tripled and scored two runs.
.. he's playing freer right now, probably because he's not worried about getting sent down again, so we'll see what getting in a rhythm might do for him and the team.
" Regardless of how well Waters performs, though, Rogers also expects the Royals to be proactive about looking for veteran outfielders at the trade deadline...
though that approach has paid very few dividends so far in the year-plus since Kansas City began contending for the playoffs again. "I'd expect an outfield bat to be a major target for this team at the Trade Deadline. They haven't been able to land one yet, but we'll see if this summer is finally the time," Rogers wrote.
At some point, some of the Royals already in the building will need to step up. That onus falls on Waters, Jonathan India, Kyle Isbel, Mark Canha, Hunter Renfroe, and even MJ Melendez, who was just demoted to Triple-A. Plus, the arrival of top prospect Jac Caglianone could eventually provide a spark.
More MLB: Royals Get Pessimistic Playoff Projection From Bleacher Report After Just 25 Games.
