One of my favorite things about the Royals since General Manager J.J. Picollo took over from his mentor, Dayton Moore, has been how he handles the end-of-season press conferences. In direct contrast to the man he replaced, Picollo has generally been more honest with fans about where the team is, where it needs to go, and how it might get there. This year, he played it a bit more coy, but if you pay close enough attention, he still gave several promising tidbits to tide us over until the postseason ends and the Hot Stove can light up.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Hitting coaching changes are<\/em> coming<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nThe headline for almost everyone, everywhere, immediately during and following the press conference was that Alec Zumwalt was going to continue to be the head guy over the major league hitting coaching staff in 2026. People are, to put it mildly, pretty upset about that. But let me show you a few numbers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n- Player A: .255\/.318\/.336\/.654<\/span><\/li>\n
- Player B: .283\/.320\/.402\/.722<\/span><\/li>\n
- Player C: .231\/.330\/.355\/.685<\/span><\/li>\n
- Player D: .237\/.339\/.500\/.839<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n
Some of you will have figured this out already, but Player A is Adam Frazier with the Pirates this year, and Player B is Adam Frazier after the Royals traded for him. Players C and D are Mike Yastrzemski with the same split but regarding the Giants.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nWe all knew heading into the season that Cavan Biggio, MJ Melendez, Hunter Renfroe, Drew Waters, John Rave, Kyle Isbel, and Nick Loftin weren\u2019t good hitters. How much should we really blame the hitting coach that they continued to be who they have all been since long before Zumwalt came near them? Meanwhile, Maikel and Vinnie Pasquantino both had career seasons at the plate. Bobby Witt Jr. had another fantastic year and credits the coaching staff for helping him identify and repair a mechanical flaw that plagued him in June.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nI\u2019m not arguing that everything is A-OK with the hitting coaching staff and nothing needs to change. But, crucially, Picollo isn\u2019t either.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\nPicollo indicated there may be other changes to the coaching staff, including changes in Zumwalt\u2019s support staff on the hitting side. The Royals finished with the fifth-fewest runs in baseball.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
\nThat\u2019s from Max Rieper\u2019s breakdown<\/a> of the press conference, and I think he buried the lede a bit there. They\u2019re keeping Zumwalt, but they\u2019re adding or swapping some guys out below\/around him. That could be sufficient. I\u2019ve argued repeatedly on the Royals Rundown podcast that I wasn\u2019t convinced the Royals\u2019 hitting philosophies were the problem. Even when I argued back in June that the Royals had run out of other options, I was careful to be clear that I thought the current coaches had positive attributes<\/a> and should be kept around somehow. I wrote in August – and still believe – that the Royals\u2019 problems, once they jettisoned the dead weight, came from players becoming tilted. Here\u2019s what I said then<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\nThe Royals were in a tailspin, and they got tilted. (Being tilted<\/a> is a term that comes from Poker and means a player gets so frustrated that they become overly aggressive.) The hitting coaches didn\u2019t cause that [\u2026] they just weren\u2019t able to get through to the players.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\nI think it\u2019s especially easy to recognize this in Jac Caglianone, who came up and hit the tar out of the ball, but saw outfielders make excellent plays. Quickly, his swing decisions and body language degraded until his process was as abject a disaster as his results. I don\u2019t mind if the Royals don\u2019t replace any of their hitting coaches, as long as they find someone who can help players avoid prolonged periods of tilt that wreck a season the way they did in June.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nHitting philosophy changes are being evaluated<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nBeyond the implied promise that the Royals won\u2019t enter 2026 with the exact same hitting coaching staff, Picollo also expounded upon the idea that the Royals may need to adjust their hitting philosophies. I don\u2019t want to get too into the weeds on this because other people are already doing a better job with that. For example, I recommend you check out this post<\/a> by David Lesky at Inside the Crown ($).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nWhat I will say is that I appreciate the acknowledgement that the Royals might not already have all of the answers and that it makes sense to keep looking for more. It feels a contrast to what we\u2019ve seen in previous Royals eras and even with other clubs today. This is your semi-regular reminder that Moneyball wasn\u2019t about OBP; it was about looking for ways to improve beyond the accepted standards. In that sense, the Royals are still exhibiting the approach of a Moneyball team, and I have to appreciate it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nThe Royals aren\u2019t promising to improve the roster, but that doesn\u2019t mean they won\u2019t<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nCheck out this clip from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock<\/em>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nScotty is exhibiting a classic business technique, \u201cUnderpromise and over-deliver.\u201d And J.J. Picollo is very familiar with the concept. Take a look at these quotes<\/a> from our summary of his press conference following the 2023 season:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\u201cNext year\u2019s starting rotation will include Brady Singer, Cole Ragans, and Jordan Lyles, according to Picollo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever the rules of engagement are, it\u2019s our job to get the most out of it. Whether its $100 million, $120 million, or $80 million, its our job to get the most out of it. Teams have won with lesser payrolls. So that can\u2019t be what I wake up thinking about every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
\nJordan Lyles was not<\/em> in the starting rotation in 2024. He was barely in the bullpen. Additionally, the Royals spent much closer to $120 million than $80 million that season. OK, so that\u2019s one press conference. What about last year<\/a>?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The headline for almost everyone, everywhere, immediately during and following the press conference was that Alec Zumwalt was going to continue to be the head guy over the major league hitting coaching staff in 2026. People are, to put it mildly, pretty upset about that. But let me show you a few numbers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
- \n
- Player A: .255\/.318\/.336\/.654<\/span><\/li>\n
- Player B: .283\/.320\/.402\/.722<\/span><\/li>\n
- Player C: .231\/.330\/.355\/.685<\/span><\/li>\n
- Player D: .237\/.339\/.500\/.839<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
\nSome of you will have figured this out already, but Player A is Adam Frazier with the Pirates this year, and Player B is Adam Frazier after the Royals traded for him. Players C and D are Mike Yastrzemski with the same split but regarding the Giants.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nWe all knew heading into the season that Cavan Biggio, MJ Melendez, Hunter Renfroe, Drew Waters, John Rave, Kyle Isbel, and Nick Loftin weren\u2019t good hitters. How much should we really blame the hitting coach that they continued to be who they have all been since long before Zumwalt came near them? Meanwhile, Maikel and Vinnie Pasquantino both had career seasons at the plate. Bobby Witt Jr. had another fantastic year and credits the coaching staff for helping him identify and repair a mechanical flaw that plagued him in June.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nI\u2019m not arguing that everything is A-OK with the hitting coaching staff and nothing needs to change. But, crucially, Picollo isn\u2019t either.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n
Picollo indicated there may be other changes to the coaching staff, including changes in Zumwalt\u2019s support staff on the hitting side. The Royals finished with the fifth-fewest runs in baseball.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
\nThat\u2019s from Max Rieper\u2019s breakdown<\/a> of the press conference, and I think he buried the lede a bit there. They\u2019re keeping Zumwalt, but they\u2019re adding or swapping some guys out below\/around him. That could be sufficient. I\u2019ve argued repeatedly on the Royals Rundown podcast that I wasn\u2019t convinced the Royals\u2019 hitting philosophies were the problem. Even when I argued back in June that the Royals had run out of other options, I was careful to be clear that I thought the current coaches had positive attributes<\/a> and should be kept around somehow. I wrote in August – and still believe – that the Royals\u2019 problems, once they jettisoned the dead weight, came from players becoming tilted. Here\u2019s what I said then<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n
The Royals were in a tailspin, and they got tilted. (Being tilted<\/a> is a term that comes from Poker and means a player gets so frustrated that they become overly aggressive.) The hitting coaches didn\u2019t cause that [\u2026] they just weren\u2019t able to get through to the players.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
\nI think it\u2019s especially easy to recognize this in Jac Caglianone, who came up and hit the tar out of the ball, but saw outfielders make excellent plays. Quickly, his swing decisions and body language degraded until his process was as abject a disaster as his results. I don\u2019t mind if the Royals don\u2019t replace any of their hitting coaches, as long as they find someone who can help players avoid prolonged periods of tilt that wreck a season the way they did in June.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nHitting philosophy changes are being evaluated<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nBeyond the implied promise that the Royals won\u2019t enter 2026 with the exact same hitting coaching staff, Picollo also expounded upon the idea that the Royals may need to adjust their hitting philosophies. I don\u2019t want to get too into the weeds on this because other people are already doing a better job with that. For example, I recommend you check out this post<\/a> by David Lesky at Inside the Crown ($).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nWhat I will say is that I appreciate the acknowledgement that the Royals might not already have all of the answers and that it makes sense to keep looking for more. It feels a contrast to what we\u2019ve seen in previous Royals eras and even with other clubs today. This is your semi-regular reminder that Moneyball wasn\u2019t about OBP; it was about looking for ways to improve beyond the accepted standards. In that sense, the Royals are still exhibiting the approach of a Moneyball team, and I have to appreciate it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nThe Royals aren\u2019t promising to improve the roster, but that doesn\u2019t mean they won\u2019t<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nCheck out this clip from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock<\/em>:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nScotty is exhibiting a classic business technique, \u201cUnderpromise and over-deliver.\u201d And J.J. Picollo is very familiar with the concept. Take a look at these quotes<\/a> from our summary of his press conference following the 2023 season:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n
\u201cNext year\u2019s starting rotation will include Brady Singer, Cole Ragans, and Jordan Lyles, according to Picollo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever the rules of engagement are, it\u2019s our job to get the most out of it. Whether its $100 million, $120 million, or $80 million, its our job to get the most out of it. Teams have won with lesser payrolls. So that can\u2019t be what I wake up thinking about every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
\nJordan Lyles was not<\/em> in the starting rotation in 2024. He was barely in the bullpen. Additionally, the Royals spent much closer to $120 million than $80 million that season. OK, so that\u2019s one press conference. What about last year<\/a>?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
- Player B: .283\/.320\/.402\/.722<\/span><\/li>\n