Royals dearth of power shouldn’t be surprising

Exactly who was supposed to power this team?

Remind me – who was supposed to hit all of these home runs again?

In 2024, the Royals homered 170 times, which was (a) 12 fewer than the Major League average and (b) tied for 21st most in the league. Then the Royals brought back just about the entirety of last year’s starting lineup, adding only Jonathan India from the Reds.

While India corked 21 home runs his rookie season in 2021, he hasn’t come close to that number since. And the Royals didn’t acquire him for his long-ball capabilities, anyway—they traded Brady Singer for him because he gets on base.

Again, then – who was supposed all of these home runs for the Kansas City Royals in 2025?

On May 3rd and May 4th at Camden Yards against the Orioles, the Royals clubbed a total of 10 home runs.

In their other 40 games, they’ve combined for 17.

Their total of 27 home runs is dead last in the Majors. That means that jokes like the White Sox, Rockies, and Pirates have hit more home runs than the Royals. The Texas Rangers, who earlier this season fired their “offensive coordinator,” have 14 more home runs.

But I’m not surprised. And if you’re surprised, I’m curious as to why.

The front office did not build this team to slug, didn’t build it with the intention of beating the slugging Yankees at their own game. It’s disheartening, sure, because not only are the Royals not hitting home runs, but they’re also not scoring much at all, having only outscored four teams: the Rangers, White Sox, Rockies, and Pirates.

Praise Matty Q and Brian Sweeney for the job they’ve done with those pitchers.

Now trade some to get better bats.

The Royals are truly threatening my favorite piece of sports wisdom: You can’t win if you don’t score.

Here, let’s take a quick look at this roster, and figure out why they’re not hitting the ball over the fences:

Salvador Perez: old.

Freddy Fermin: career .722 OPS (100 OPS+) has dropped to .583 this season. That number would be a great slugging percentage. It’s a horrible OPS.

Vinnie Pasquantino: leads the team with six home runs. My guess is his injury from last year was much worse than let on, and rushing him back for the postseason didn’t help.

Michael Massey: slugging percentage down 176 points from 2024; his overall place has dropped so badly, he should be secured to the bench.

Jonathan India: he’s no Jeff Kent.

Bobby Witt Jr.: his homers will come—he’s slugging over .500 and leads the majors with 17 doubles.

Maikel Garcia: only Royals besides BWJ with a slugging percentage over .425, but he’s not a slugger. His career-high in home runs? Seven.

Kyle Isbel: defensive guru, his .423 slugging percentage is a nice boon, but his OPS is still well below league average.

Hunter Renfroe: slugging percentage is .202. That is not a typo.

MJ Melendez: in Omaha, where the struggle continues.

Drew Waters: I’m starting to think Atlanta didn’t lose this trade.

Mark Canha: older than Salvy!

As the Royals have proved, you don’t need to hit home runs to win games. But it sure makes things a lot easier.

I’m just not at all surprised that this cast of characters isn’t going yard.

And I am surprised about everyone who is surprised about it.