The Royals put together their best month of the season so far at 13-14 and saw plenty of solid performances to go with some bad performances. With the season looking borderline lost around the halfway point, let’s get into the monthly check in with each player and their performance in June, starting with the bats.
The bats came alive this month after two paltry months to start the year. In June, the Royals tallied 129 runs scored compared to 95 in May. Although the month ended poorly, as the Royals’ offense slowed down, they ended the month with a middle-of-the-pack offense ranking 14th in wRC+ with 108. The catalysts were the young guns, along with some surprise performances from unlikely sources.
Carter Jensen
Jensen rebounded from a rough May to put together his best month of the season with a 131 wRC+. He slashed .290/.330/.530 in the month while also putting together a historic hit streak of 20 games, which is still active and is a franchise record for a Royals rookie. Another thing he did well was drive in runs as he drove in 20 in June and has been one of the Royals’ best hitters in high leverage with a 125 wRC+.
Jac Caglianone
“Cags” put together the best month of his career and could be the AL Player of the Month. He slashed .309/.387/.649 in June and had a wRC+ of 182, leading the team. As noted by his slugging percentage, he had an absurd power surge with a .340 ISO, powered by his nine home runs in June. He did, however, end the month going 4-for-29 with 11 K’s during that stretch.
Bobby Witt Jr.
If it weren’t for his knee sprain, “Bobby Baseball” would have put together his best full month of the season. Even with the week off from action, BWJ put together a month that saw him have a wRC+ of 151 and slash .316/.415/.494 in June. While the power still isn’t quite fully there, two key numbers for BWJ in June were his 13.8% walk rate and 14.9% K-rate, both are his best on the season.
Michael Massey
Massey put together one of the better months for him in recent memory. He had a 117 wRC+ in June, hit .294, and slugged .459 in back-to-back months. The bat was great, but his defense has been another key catalyst for him as he has been one of the best defenders at the keystone this season with 5 DRS, 9 OAA, and 7 FRV.
Lane Thomas
Thomas had a weird month of June to say the least. He got a ton of playing time with Kyle Isbel going down with an injury, and he parlayed that into his best power month. As he has been, Thomas was perfectly average with a 100 wRC+ while having a .420 slugging and .193 ISO. It was a different month for him as he did not walk as much with 9.2% walk rate compared to his 15%+ walk rate in the first two months. He is also putting together probably the most clutch season for the Royals so far, with a 207 wRC+ in high leverage situations.
Nick Loftin
Similar to Massey, Loftin put together a month that was one of the better ones in his career. He had a wRC+ of 117 and almost had an OPS of .800; it was .796. The power was key for him as he slugged .467 and had an ISO of .213. Nine of his 19 hits were for extra bases, and he hit his first three home runs of the season in June. He is also doing this with a season BABIP of .250.
Isaac Collins
The subject of the most recent deep dive, Collins put together his best month as a Royal. He had a wRC+ of 97 and got back to hitting for contact with a .259 average in June. Power isn’t his game, but he did have seven doubles in the month and raised his tally to 14. One key number for him is the K-rate, as it was over 20% in the first two months of the year. In June, it ended up being 16.0% and for him to continue being around league average that needs to continue.
Salvador Perez
The nightmare season continues for “Salvy” as June was his worst statistical month so far. He had a wRC+ of 20 and had an OPS of .462. As much as he is a Royals icon, it has been a tough watch for most fans when he steps into the batter’s box. He could turn it around since he is known to be streaky, and with the Royals’ home run record in sight, it could happen at some point.
Tyler Tolbert
Tolbert got a lot more playing time in June due to the revolving door of injuries. The utility man isn’t the best bat, but he provided value at the plate through his 12.9% walk rate. He is also the designated position player-pitcher for the Royals and has given them 3.2 innings of work so far this season.
Starling Marte
The veteran outfielder continues to be a solid bench piece for the Royals with another 97 wRC+ month. He continues to hit for a solid average, batting .270 in June, while also not hitting for any power with five extra base hits on the year. He smacked his first home run in June and will look to continue getting playing time due to injuries.
Maikel Garcia
It was a weird month for Garcia as the Royals tempted fate with his injuries. While playing through a sore hand, Garcia obviously struggled at the plate, putting up a 68 wRC+. Another issue for Garcia is that, either due to various injuries, his approach, or a mix of both, he is hitting for little to no power. He hasn’t had a home run since April and has only had two doubles in June. He just needs to get healthy again to fully re-evaluate.
Vinnie Pasquantino
Just as Vinnie was turning the corner offensively, he too caught the injury bug with a fractured hamate bone in his hand. Before the injury, Vinnie had a 116 wRC+ and a .791 OPS while batting .298. Just about everything was coming together for Vinnie and he even slashed his K-rate to 11.5% in June. A return is slated for sometime in July, so we will see if he can recover from the injury.
Kyle Isbel
Before his injury, Isbel wasn’t doing the greatest in June. He had a wRC+ of 28 and hasn’t regained the spark he had in the first month of action. Outside of his defense, he has provided little value at the plate. The only positive of June for him was that he had a walk-rate of 8.3%, which is the best of the year so far.
Kameron Misner
The Mizzou Tiger got his homecoming and has been a better Isbel. He is only hitting for average, with a .281 mark. Misner has one extra base hit and one walk in his playing time in June, leaving him with a 67 wRC+. The worst part of his June is his absurd 38.2% K-rate and is probably why John Rave has gotten more playing time.
John Rave
Rave might only have four hits in June, but they are all for extra-base hits. He has been solid so far as an injury replacement with a wRC+ of 151, but the K’s are an issue. In June, he struck out in 33.3% of his plate appearances, but he is also walking at a 14.3% rate. It has been an interesting return for Rave, but it might not last long given the track record.
Josh Rojas
In very limited plate appearances, Rojas has been solid in his Royals tenure. He is batting .267 with a home run, a double, and four RBIs. That leads to him having a 113 wRC+ in 15 plate appearances. He hasn’t drawn a walk yet, and will probably be a taxi squad player for most of the season if the team gets healthy.
That covers the offense in June and next time we will cover the starting rotation and the arm barn for the Royals.
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