With the All-Star break here, let’s take a look at the Kansas City Royals’ first half from a player’s perspective. There aren’t many positive things to say about the Royals, who currently have the worst record in MLB at 38-59.
Most Valuable Player
SS Bobby Witt Jr.
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This isn’t a surprise whatsoever. In 360 at-bats, Witt has a .286 average with an .816 OPS and 30 stolen bases. He has 20 more stolen bases than the next-best player on the Royals, Tyler Tolbert. Witt also has played the most games, with 91.
Witt is hitting .330 against left-handed pitching, while 10 of his home runs have come against right-handed pitching. He continues to be Kansas City’s best and most consistent player.
Cy Young
Wacha has posted a 3.77 ERA over 119 1/3 innings, with a 96-34 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He hit somewhat of a snag in July, allowing four runs in six innings to the Phillies on July 4 and then giving up six earned runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Mets in his next start.
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Wacha has 14 appearances of six or more innings in 19 starts. He and Seth Lugo are both trade candidates at the deadline, with the Royals reportedly having massive asks for either pitcher.
Most Disappointing
Closer Lucas Erceg
Erceg leads MLB with six blown saves in 18 opportunities, though his last came on June 2.
He has a 5.11 ERA in his third season with the Royals. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is also abysmal at 27-21. Erceg had a 2.64 ERA in 2025, making him the Royals’ go-to closer for 2026, but it became very clear he wasn’t the late-inning guy they thought they had.
Erceg had another hiccup recently against the Baltimore Orioles after hitting Blaze Alexander on the hand, leading to a bench-clearing tussle at Camden Yards.
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Most Surprising Player
Caglianone played in 62 games in 2025 as a rookie, hitting seven home runs and posting a .157 average. This season, he is well outpacing his previous mark, with 15 home runs in 90 games and a .260 average.
He will participate in the Home Run Derby on Monday night, as he has established himself as one of the more impactful power bats on the Royals’ roster. Additionally, his left-versus-right splits don’t expose him as a right-handed pitching specialist, as he’s hitting .242 with five home runs against left-handers this season.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source sports.yahoo.com ’
