Royals right fielders have been the worst offensive liability in the league
This shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone who has been watching the Kansas City Royals, but right field has been a complete disaster. I understood that on some level, but it wasn’t until I saw this Reddit post that it sank in for me just how bad right field has been for the boys in blue:
There’s a lot of Colorado Rockies on that list, but the Royals appear twice, including at the very bottom thanks to their offensive showing by their right fielders. It has actually gotten worse since this graphic was posted; KC is down to a 35 wRC+ from it’s hitters when they play right field.
Hunter Renfroe has received the most plate appearances out of any player in right field, but there has been plenty of other hitters this season who have struggled in the corner outfield spot.
It’s hard to be a good offensive team when you have a nearly automatic out from one of the positions that is supposed to provide some punch to your lineup.
It’s disappointing to see Jac Caglianone fit right in with this group of hitters. When you look through the statcast data, you can still see some positives. If Caglianone were a qualified hitter, his average bat speed would rank 4th, just above of Aaron Judge. His xBA of .264 and xSLG of .445 suggest he’s had some poor fortune with variance that should smooth out some with time.
Still, it’s pretty clear something is off with Jac. I’m not a swing doctor, so I don’t really understand mechanically what is happening with Caglianone, but the data tells us pretty clearly that the rookie is hitting the ball on the ground way too much. His average launch angle is at 4.4 degrees; MLB average is at 12.4 degrees. His average launch angle in Triple-A was 16.3, which is right around the 17-20 degree range that result in line drives. 16.3 would be a great number for Caglianone, and he’s shown the ability to do that recently, admittedly against lesser competition.
Simply put, Caglianone is not going to be a good major league player if he channels his inner Eric Hosmer and hits a bunch of balls on the ground. Trying to understand what is going on with the Royals rookie is one of the most important responsibilities that the beleaguered hitting staff currently carries. Is Caglianone’s ability to make contact actually hurting him right now, and he needs to make better swing decisions so he can punish quality pitches? Has he inadvertently tweaked his mechanics, pressing to put up good results quickly and live up to the hype? Is this just normal hitter facing big league pitching for the first time results and things will figure themselves out?
Ultimately, I think the Royals need to do what is best in the long-term for the rookie, whether that’s to send him back down to work on the adjustments that he needs to make or to keep him up and let him figure it out at the major league level. They don’t have any better options for the corner outfield spot, but Caglianone’s long-term success is more important than trying to stop the bleeding in right this year. This season feels increasingly lost, and finding a solution for right field is key for the Royals to figure out so they don’t let next season be lost one as well.