Kansas City Royals Team report

Automated SABRhood research report for the Kansas City Royals.
SABRhood team report

Kansas City Royals

Kansas City Royals ranks 19th in run generation and 27th in pitching performance, with a usable bullpen and 0 recent risers.

League intelligence# 26 31.2 index
Run generation#19
Composite score 45.0
Pitching#27
Composite score 17.4
Recent play#28
0 recent risers
Bullpen readiness#22
Current state usable
Roster construction

Where this club creates, and loses, WAR

Players are split by position and total WAR is calculated; the green border indicates a club is top-ten in positional WAR, the red border indicates a bottom-ten club.

Best value pocketsShortstopClearest upgrade lanesRelief pitching / First base
CNeed

Catcher

1.1WAR#22 of 30
Top valueCarter Jensen2.0 WAR
1BNeed

First base

0.0WAR#25 of 30
Top valueVinnie Pasquantino0.0 WAR
2BMiddle

Second base

1.9WAR#15 of 30
Top valueMichael Massey1.4 WAR
3BMiddle

Third base

1.5WAR#15 of 29
Top valueMaikel Garcia1.5 WAR
SSStrength

Shortstop

4.6WAR#1 of 28
Top valueBobby Witt Jr.4.7 WAR
OFMiddle

Outfield

4.0WAR#14 of 30
Top valueJac Caglianone1.2 WAR
SPNeed

Starting pitching

6.7WAR#21 of 30
Top valueMichael Wacha2.2 WAR
RPNeed

Relief pitching

-3.7WAR#30 of 30
Top valueDaniel Lynch IV0.8 WAR
Broadcast three

Water cooler notes

Three concise, evidence-linked notes to start a broadcast conversation.

  1. 1
    team identity

    Kansas City Royals’s analytical identity

    Kansas City Royals ranks 19th in run generation and 27th in pitching performance, with a usable bullpen and 0 recent risers.

  2. 2
    form driver

    Connor Thomas is the strongest recent pitcher signal

    Recent OPS allowed 0.787 versus 0.990 previously.

  3. 3
    matchup edge

    Luinder Avila is limiting left-handed batters more effectively

    Estimated wOBA: 0.304 vs L, 0.413 vs R.

Why it changed

Player movement with league context attached

The recent-window shift and the full-season league standing are separate, so a surge never floats free of the player’s actual level.

Pitcher change profile

Nate Pearson

Kansas City Royals | RHP

37.1
Season BF192OPS allowed0.650Est. wOBA allowed0.296Samplemoderate
Biggest changeOPS allowed -2.38 z

OPS allowed is the largest recent shift: declining by 2.4 standard deviations versus the MLB change pattern. Season level: 71st percentile.

Season contextMLB percentile
OPS allowed71st
0.650
Est. wOBA allowed58th
0.296
Strikeout rate42nd
21.4%
Walk rate allowed15th
10.9%
Hard-hit rate allowed60th
36.6%
Run value allowed / PA51st
-0.006
What changedRecent vs earlier season
OPS allowed-2.38 z
Recent 1.219 baseline 0.536
Est. wOBA allowed-2.24 z
Recent 0.504 baseline 0.253
Strikeout rate+0.01 z
Recent 21.2% baseline 21.4%
Walk rate allowed+0.37 z
Recent 9.1% baseline 11.3%
Hard-hit rate allowed-1.27 z
Recent 47.6% baseline 34.3%
Run value allowed / PA-1.86 z
Recent 0.160 baseline -0.040
Broadcast read: OPS allowed is the largest recent shift: declining by 2.4 standard deviations versus the MLB change pattern. Season level: 71st percentile. Recent sample: 33 BF; prior sample: 159 BF.
Hitter change profile

John Rave

Kansas City Royals | LHB

30.2
Season PA146OPS0.750Est. wOBA0.323Samplemoderate
Biggest changestrikeout rate -1.92 z

Strikeout rate is the largest recent shift: declining by 1.9 standard deviations versus the MLB change pattern. Season level: 38th percentile.

Season contextMLB percentile
OPS59th
0.750
Est. wOBA57th
0.323
Strikeout rate38th
24.0%
Walk rate77th
11.0%
Hard-hit rate31st
36.2%
Run value / PA40th
0.002
What changedRecent vs earlier season
OPS+0.29 z
Recent 0.810 baseline 0.731
Est. wOBA+0.34 z
Recent 0.349 baseline 0.315
Strikeout rate-1.92 z
Recent 34.3% baseline 20.7%
Walk rate+1.00 z
Recent 14.3% baseline 9.9%
Hard-hit rate+1.09 z
Recent 44.4% baseline 34.2%
Run value / PA+0.66 z
Recent 0.047 baseline -0.012
Broadcast read: Strikeout rate is the largest recent shift: declining by 1.9 standard deviations versus the MLB change pattern. Season level: 38th percentile. Recent sample: 35 PA; prior sample: 111 PA.
Team highs

The category leaders inside this clubhouse

Familiar production now sits beside tracked force: 100+ mph contact and pitches are shown as both totals and opportunity rates.

Club contact

100+ mph batted balls

Tracked-contact season total

  1. 1Jac CaglianoneKansas City Royals147
  2. 2Bobby Witt Jr.Kansas City Royals146
  3. 3Salvador PerezKansas City Royals118
  4. 4Carter JensenKansas City Royals101
  5. 5Vinnie PasquantinoKansas City Royals81
Club contact

100+ mph contact rate

Minimum 30 tracked batted balls

  1. 1Jac CaglianoneKansas City Royals41.8%
  2. 2Bobby Witt Jr.Kansas City Royals34.1%
  3. 3Carter JensenKansas City Royals29.1%
  4. 4Starling MarteKansas City Royals27.4%
  5. 5Salvador PerezKansas City Royals26.2%
Club velocity

Pitches at 100+ mph

Across every pitch type

  1. 1Steven CruzKansas City Royals49
  2. 2Nate PearsonKansas City Royals17
  3. 3Lucas ErcegKansas City Royals0
  4. 4Luinder AvilaKansas City Royals0
  5. 5Beck WayKansas City Royals0
Club velocity

100+ mph pitch rate

Minimum 100 tracked pitches

  1. 1Steven CruzKansas City Royals5.4%
  2. 2Nate PearsonKansas City Royals2.3%
  3. 3Lucas ErcegKansas City Royals0.0%
  4. 4Luinder AvilaKansas City Royals0.0%
  5. 5Beck WayKansas City Royals0.0%
Club offense

Batting average

Best qualified contact results

  1. 1Tyler TolbertKansas City Royals0.288
  2. 2Jac CaglianoneKansas City Royals0.282
  3. 3Bobby Witt Jr.Kansas City Royals0.277
  4. 4Michael MasseyKansas City Royals0.272
  5. 5Maikel GarciaKansas City Royals0.258
Club offense

Home runs

The club power board

  1. 1Carter JensenKansas City Royals25
  2. 2Jac CaglianoneKansas City Royals23
  3. 3Salvador PerezKansas City Royals19
  4. 4Bobby Witt Jr.Kansas City Royals18
  5. 5Vinnie PasquantinoKansas City Royals14
Club offense

OPS

On-base and slugging production

  1. 1Jac CaglianoneKansas City Royals0.818
  2. 2Bobby Witt Jr.Kansas City Royals0.787
  3. 3Carter JensenKansas City Royals0.771
  4. 4Tyler TolbertKansas City Royals0.753
  5. 5John RaveKansas City Royals0.750
Club pitching

Strikeouts

Total batters finished by strikeout

  1. 1Noah CameronKansas City Royals155
  2. 2Michael WachaKansas City Royals154
  3. 3Seth LugoKansas City Royals131
  4. 4Steven CruzKansas City Royals63
  5. 5Luinder AvilaKansas City Royals61
Club pitching

Strikeout rate

Strikeouts per batter faced

  1. 1Cole RagansKansas City Royals29.6%
  2. 2Steven CruzKansas City Royals26.2%
  3. 3Jose CuasKansas City Royals25.0%
  4. 4Alex LangeKansas City Royals21.8%
  5. 5Noah CameronKansas City Royals21.6%
Club pitching

Lowest OPS allowed

Qualified opponent production

  1. 1Daniel Lynch IVKansas City Royals0.611
  2. 2Nate PearsonKansas City Royals0.650
  3. 3Noah CameronKansas City Royals0.680
  4. 4Michael WachaKansas City Royals0.688
  5. 5Craig KimbrelKansas City Royals0.694
Ace-in-the-Hole

The staff ace’s complete arsenal

The highest-WAR qualified starter leads the card. Every tracked offering is shown with usage, pitch traits, outcomes, and same-pitch MLB percentiles.

Staff ace · RHP

Michael Wacha

138.1 IP · 3.51 ERA · 2.2 WAR

2,938 tracked pitches
Pitch Use Velo Whiff Chase Zone Putaway Hard hit
Four-Seam FastballFF · 805 pitches 27.4% 93.125th pct 15.9%39th pct 31.5%77th pct 53.4%58th pct 0.0%100th pct 42.1%57th pct
ChangeupCH · 732 pitches 24.9% 80.68th pct 25.1%31st pct 38.4%68th pct 49.2%97th pct 0.0%100th pct 24.7%77th pct
CutterFC · 442 pitches 15.0% 89.541st pct 13.0%8th pct 25.3%33rd pct 57.0%85th pct 0.0%100th pct 40.2%35th pct
SinkerSI · 407 pitches 13.9% 93.233rd pct 11.6%57th pct 25.4%49th pct 50.6%14th pct 0.0%100th pct 44.8%35th pct
CurveballCU · 294 pitches 10.0% 75.99th pct 25.6%42nd pct 20.5%10th pct 40.1%44th pct 0.0%100th pct 39.4%33rd pct
SliderSL · 258 pitches 8.8% 85.023rd pct 30.1%43rd pct 26.6%16th pct 38.8%25th pct 0.0%100th pct 31.4%69th pct
Percentiles compare each pitch only with the same MLB pitch type and a minimum 50-pitch peer sample. Hard-hit percentile is reversed so a higher percentile is better.
Matchup intelligence

The largest qualified handedness edges

pitcher edge76.0

Luinder Avila

Kansas City Royals

Luinder Avila is limiting left-handed batters more effectively

vs L0.304
vs R0.413

Estimated wOBA: 0.304 vs L, 0.413 vs R.

pitcher edge75.0

Daniel Lynch IV

Kansas City Royals

Daniel Lynch IV is limiting left-handed batters more effectively

vs L0.198
vs R0.309

Estimated wOBA: 0.198 vs L, 0.309 vs R.

pitcher edge72.2

Mason Black

Kansas City Royals

Mason Black is limiting right-handed batters more effectively

vs L0.439
vs R0.280

Estimated wOBA: 0.439 vs L, 0.280 vs R.

Bullpen decision board

Best available matchup for either side

The board now shows only the highest-ranked active reliever against a left-handed hitter and a right-handed hitter. Workload availability, role, season performance, and handedness all remain visible.

Left-handed batter72.5

Anthony Gose

LHP · monitor · 1 days rest

Availability62.4%Matchup100.0%Performance50.0%
Right-handed batter76.0

Steven Cruz

RHP · available · 2 days rest

Availability90.6%Matchup70.0%Performance43.0%
Story leads

Team Headlines

Subject Reporting lead Score
Jac Caglianone Jac Caglianone is building one of baseball’s strongest offensive cases 88.4
Bobby Witt Jr. Bobby Witt Jr. is building one of baseball’s strongest offensive cases 82.9
Carter Jensen Carter Jensen is building one of baseball’s strongest offensive cases 78.6
Michael Wacha Michael Wacha’s Changeup: 80.6 mph, 25.1% whiffs 70.5
Daniel Lynch IV Daniel Lynch IV is limiting opponent production at an elite rate 68.6
Noah Cameron Noah Cameron is limiting opponent production at an elite rate 68.1
Research status: this automated report is a reporting foundation, not a finished scouting report. Active rosters are date-stamped; injuries, same-day transactions, probable pitchers, and opponent context still require pregame confirmation.