The Kansas City Royals concluded their 10 game home stand on Thursday with a 6-4 win over the Texas Rangers, giving them an 8-2 record over that stretch. Most Royals prognosticators thought that they needed to go 7-3 or 8-2 over this stretch to make up ground in the AL Wild Card race and keep themselves in the playoff hunt. I don\u2019t know if Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino felt that way or not, but the way he was hitting while at Kauffman Stadium, he seemed to think the Royals needed to go 10-0 to stay alive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Pasquantino hit a cool .306\/.350\/.889 this homestand, smacking six home runs, including one each game against the Rangers. Royals announcer Jake Eisenberg pointed out that all of the blasts against Texas came in clutch situations:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Thursday\u2019s homer was a great example of how clutch these hits have been. The Royals entered the bottom of the fifth in a 4-4 ballgame that very easily could have been a 4-1 lead if Jonathan India gives a better throw to Bobby Witt Jr or if Witt Jr won his battle versus the sun. As a fan, I was pretty demoralized, particularly because it was the second game in a row that a Royals error had led to Rangers runs. Pasquantino turned things around with the swing of his bat:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
That\u2019s really not too bad of a changeup from Jacob Webb, it\u2019s just a really impressive piece of hitting. The only downside of that pitch by Webb was that he had already thrown a changeup in the same spot, so Vinnie had already seen that pitch once, which helped him get a good swing on it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
None of the pitches that Pasquantino hit out of the park against the Rangers were meatballs, and they were four different pitches as well. The southpaw hit a backdoor slider out of the park on Wednesday in the bottom of the first inning:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
I\u2019m not a hitting coach by any means, but I know enough to see what an impressive piece of hitting this is. Vinnie is ready for a fastball, but is able to recognize the pitch and keeps his hands and weight back for the slower slider. He then explodes and gets full extension on an outside pitch, pulling the ball in the air. That slider is a little elevated, not exactly where Caleb Boushley wanted it, but it\u2019s still on the outside corner. A player like Maikel Garcia will go with that pitch and try to take it the opposite way (which he\u2019s done a great job of that this year), but Pasquantino has enough power and plate coverage to get his arms extended and send the ball into the right field fountains.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The Rangers were likely working Vinnie outside with breaking pitches because they had already seen the damage he can do on inside fastballs. Pasquantino took advantage of an elevated but inside sinker that Merrill Kelly offered him on Tuesday:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
He absolutely tattooed a 94-mph fastball that Jack Leiter threw on the inside part of the plate Monday for a two-run dong:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
It\u2019s not exactly bold baseball analysis to say that a hitter with four home runs in four games is locked in, but I think the variety of pitches and locations those home runs came on show that Vinnie is a hitter to be feared right now. He can turn on the inside fastball and keep it fair while also being able to sit on the outside breaking pitch and send it to the seats. His swing looks fast but still under control; on those two fastball home runs in particular he\u2019s not selling out for power, just putting the right swing on the pitch and getting a great result.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Pasquantino had a rough start to the season, sporting a .569 OPS heading into May. Since then, the slugger has stabilized and has put up an .860 OPS in 411 plate appearances. You can\u2019t just wipe away the cold stretch, but since May, Pasquantino has been a true compliment to Witt Jr, who has a .854 OPS on the season. Add in Garcia and the Royals offense looks like it has a young core that can all put up .800 OPS seasons and hit in the middle of the order. Regardless of where this season goes, that\u2019s a great foundation for the Royals to remain competitive while they have an incredible talent in Witt under contract.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n