Royals have made good on 2024 point of emphasis: Hitting with runners on base

At Royals Rally in early February, general manager J.J. Picollo spoke bluntly about a specific goal for the team in the 2024 season.

“What’s really jumping out to me is capitalizing on the scoring opportunities,” Picollo said. “We weren’t very good with runners in scoring position. We went from ranking 15 to 16 across the board (in offensive stats) over the course of the season. But with runners in scoring position, we dropped to the bottom seven or eight. We have to change that.

“We get on base more, we’ll create more scoring opportunities, but when we have those scoring opportunities, we need to get runs in. That’s going to be a point of emphasis. If we’re able to do that at a better rate than we did this past year we’re going to be a better offense.”

The Royals batted .246 with runners in scoring position a year ago, which ranked 23rd in Major League Baseball. This season, they have made that improvement Picollo sought.

Their batting average with runners in scoring position is .302, which is second in MLB behind only the Texas Rangers (.314).

Catcher Salvador Perez is leading the way as he’s slashing .486/.581/.857 with runners in scoring position. Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.’s numbers are solid, too: .333/.444/.611.

The Royals’ overall batting average is .243, one point lower than a year ago. But they are making the most of their opportunities when runners reach base.

In Thursday’s 10-4 win over the Angels, the Royals were 6 for 14 with runners in scoring position.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro said part of the success is how the batters view the situation.

“At times, it’s a little bit more of a focus, knowing that the pitcher’s the one that’s in trouble and not us at the plate, not a panic type thing,” Quatraro said. “And it’s also just a lot of guys that had very few at-bats in the big leagues now are getting more of those opportunities.”

The Royals lead the American League with a .482 slugging percentage with runners in scoring position. Their 63 strikeouts in those situations are the second-lowest in the American League behind Cleveland.

Center fielder Kyle Isbel agreed with his manager’s assessment about experience playing a role.

“It’s really like the more you hit with guys in scoring position, the better results you’re gonna have, right?” Isbel said. “Just the more comfortable you are with it. But really, like, nothing changes. You’re sticking to your approach. Obviously, there’s more intent to get the job done, but you’re sticking to your approach as far as whatever that is off that pitcher.”

Second baseman Michael Massey noted a batter can get in trouble if he comes to the plate thinking about trying to get that runner home.

That leads to pressure, which often results in a batter doing something out of the ordinary. And Massey added a pitcher likely will change his approach with runners in scoring position.

“I think it’s just trying to get a better pitch to hit,” Massey said. “Personally, I don’t tend to change my approach in those situations. And for me, a line drive up the middle works in every single situation: runner on third, runner on second, bases loaded. Really just trying to get a good pitch to hit and stay with your plan.

“I think you’re trying to stay in the off-gap a little bit. You know, just probably a pretty good assumption you’re gonna get more off-speed (pitches) with a runner on third base. Unless there are two outs, he’s probably not going to be pumping fastballs right down the middle. So you know, like I said, just trying to stay on the heater obviously, but also just give yourself a little more space and maybe try to think the other way a little bit and stay on pitches.”