A brutal season only got worse for the Royals on Wednesday.
Not only did the Royals lose 7-4 to the Reds, their ninth-straight loss and third straight series where they got swept, but they also shared some depressing news regarding first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino.
The loss is a huge one for a young club that is missing his offensive production, as his 106 wRC+ was the fifth-best mark of any Royals hitter with 50 or more plate appearances this season, according to Fangraphs. Furthermore, the Royals will also be missing his leadership. Pasquantino emerged as a likable and encouraging figurehead in the clubhouse this season, as Jared Perkins wrote about on Just Baseball.
Pasquantino struggled with this injury a season ago, and initially, many Royals fans thought it would be similar to a year ago when he only missed 2-3 weeks. Unfortunately, MRI results showed a tear in his right labrum and if it wasn’t addressed, the same injury could happen again and more frequently. Hence, Vinnie and the Royals opted to take care of it now rather than have it flare up again later this season.
The loss of Pasquantino leaves a hole in the lineup, though it does move Nick Pratto back to his natural position of first base (Pratto had been playing a lot of time in left field when Vinnie was at first base). In terms of immediate moves, it appears that manager Matt Quatraro will be opting to go with a combo of both Matt Duffy and/or Salvador Perez to fill in at first when Pratto needs a night off.
My guess is that Duffy and Salvy will be solutions for a couple of weeks, not necessarily for the remainder of the season. Rather, it is likely that the Royals will eventually start to tab some other options in Omaha, especially once they start to ship more players before the trade deadline, which should open up more spots on the 40-man roster.
Kansas City Star Royals beat writer Jaylon Thompson talked about those trade candidates in an article today.
Granted, there are no options lingering in Omaha that can replace Vinnie and his production, either this year or beyond.
That said, the Royals are 32 games under .500, and clearly in an evaluation season where they are examining who is part of this roster beyond 2023,. It would be better for the Royals to perhaps give some shots to some candidates sitting in Triple-A, rather than try to acquire someone from outside the organization who may be gone in a matter of weeks anyways (like Franmil Reyes and Jackie Bradley, Jr.).
Here are four candidates who can play first base and could come up to Kansas City and contribute to this club in Vinnie’s absence this season.
Matt Beaty, 1B/OF
As I talked about in my post yesterday, the Royals brought back Beaty on a Minor League deal after he was designated for assignment and released by the Giants. Beaty had a great spring with the Royals, but his defensive limitations were a big reason why he lost out to Bradley, Jr. and Duffy for a spot on the Royals’ Opening Day roster.
Beaty is 30 years old and probably doesn’t have a future with this Royals team beyond 2023, which would make his call-up a bit puzzling at the surface level. However, he’s probably the best candidate to come up and give some production to the Royals lineup with Vinnie on the shelf.
His best season came in 2021 with the Dodgers when he slashed .270/.363/.402 with seven home runs, 40 RBI, and a wRC+ of 114 in 120 games, according to Fangraphs. Beaty doesn’t walk a whole lot, as he has a career 6.7% walk rate in the Majors, but he doesn’t K a whole lot either, as evidenced by his 16.6% mark and 0.41 career BB/K ratio.
Beaty does possess some line drive batted-ball ability, which could be taken advantage of in Kauffman Stadium’s spacious grounds.
The Royals have seen other hitters like Brent Rooker and Ryan O’Hearn have resurgent years after falling flat with the Royals in 2022. It would be nice if the Royals could find their own “success story” like O’hearn and Rooker this year, and perhaps Beaty could be the answer after failing to stay on in San Diego last year and San Francisco this season.
Furthermore, not only could Beaty be a success story for them over the next couple of months, but perhaps he could also net some kind of trade return by the deadline as well if he performs well enough.
Johan Camargo, 1B/SS/3B
Camargo was an early Minor League signing who had a shot to make the Opening Day roster, but had an underwhelming Cactus League campaign and ended up getting hurt at the end of Spring Training as well.
After spending some time in the IL, Camargo has gone off to Triple-A Omaha over the past month. In 15 games and 68 plate appearances, Camargo is slashing .298/.412/.544 with four home runs and eight RBI and is also posting a wRC+ of 140, according to Fangraphs.
In his short string with the Storm Chasers, Camargo is showing a discipline plate approach along with some surprising pop. He is generating a BB% of 16.2% as well as a BB/K ratio of 1.00. Granted, in 2022 with the Phillies, he only posted a BB/K ratio of 0.35, but that was a small sample, so maybe Camargo has the potential to post something closer to his mark in Omaha, should he get the opportunity in Kansas City.
Additionally, not only has Camargo hit four home runs, but he is posting an ISO of .246, which shows that he’s at the very least, taking advantage of the International League’s favorable hitting park environments.
The benefit of Camargo coming up to Kansas City is that he can play multiple positions decently in the infield and outfield, in addition to first base. Furthermore, he is a switch hitter, so he would make sense against left-handed starting pitchers (unlike Beaty). While he is on a power heater now, I do think he has less power upside than Beaty, but he is a bit more proven at the MLB level than Beaty, as he has played in 416 MLB games compared to Beaty’s 264.
Camargo feels like a player who could get the call to Kansas City after a player like Nicky Lopez or Duffy is traded away and/or designated for assignment. Thus, I wouldn’t expect him until late July or August, but he could bring some surprising pop and versatility to a Royals lineup that needs it.
Logan Porter, C/1B/3B
Speaking of versatility, another guy who could add a boost to not just the first-base position, but behind the plate could be Porter, who’s been the primary catcher in Omaha since Freddy Fermin was called up.
Porter has cooled off after a hot start, but he’s still producing admirably with the Storm Chasers.
He’s slashing .267/.367/.423 with seven home runs and 20 RBI in 207 plate appearances this year. Furthermore, he is also posting a wRC+ of 101 and a BB/K ratio of 0.54, according to Fangraphs, with the latter showing that he could bring some much-needed plate discipline to this team.
The 27-year-old formerly undrafted catcher/corner infielder is also showing some solid contact ability, as evidenced by his 25.6% line drive rate this season and 22.6% rate in 2022 in Omaha.
Porter needs to be added to the 40-man roster, but like Camargo, I see him as someone who could benefit after the Royals make some trades this summer. Porter doesn’t have a ton of upside, but I like him as a possible Eric Haase-type of player who can not just play first, but play some catcher while providing some pop for the position.
Fermin has cooled off a bit in June at the plate. If Fermin continues to struggle offensively, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Royals opt to bring in Porter to not just fill in the backup catching position, but perhaps be used as a platoon guy at first when Pratto needs a break against left-handed starting pitchers.
C.J. Alexander, 1B/3B
The last one on this list is Alexander, who was acquired in the trade with the Braves that also brought Drew Waters and Andrew Hoffmann to the Royals organization. Waters has been the more prized player in return, but Alexander has offered an intriguing, though slightly flawed profile as a corner infield prospect.
This past spring, George Brett was extremely complimentary of Alexander, remarking that his swing was “unbelievable” during an interview in Arizona.
There’s no question about Alexander’s power tool. He has hit 10 home runs in 44 games and 171 plate appearances and is also posting a .270 ISO to boot, according to Fangraphs. While he has struggled with minor injuries here and there in Omaha, Alexander has provided punch in the Storm Chasers lineup when healthy.
In terms of long-term upside, Alexander stands out the most of the four talked about in this post. That said, he also has some serious strikeout issues that could hold him back from fully realizing his potential in professional baseball.
For the season, Alexander is posting a K rate of 28.7%. In Northwest Arkansas last year, his K rate was 23.9%, and in 2021 in Double-A Mississippi, he posted a K rate of 31.8%. To make matters worse, his BB/K ratio is 0.22 this year, 0.25 in Northwest Arkansas last year, and 0.23 in Mississippi in 2021.
Thus, his plate discipline needs some work if he is going to have any success at the Major League level, whether it’s this season or beyond.
It is likely that Alexander could be a late August/September callup once the season is winding down and the Royals are looking at potential guys who could be non-tender candidates in the offseason. Cayden Wallace, who is currently in High-A Quad Cities, is likely the Royals’ third baseman of the future and it will be tough for Alexander to unseat Pasquantino or Pratto for playing time at first in 2024.
Don’t be surprised to see Alexander get a small shot in the Majors with Vinnie out, and then some kind of decision made on his long-term future afterward by JJ Picollo and the Royals front office.
If I had to guess, he seems like he would be a non-tender candidate after the season concludes, but Alexander has surprised people before and could surprise again if given the opportunity with the Royals in 2023.
Photo Credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
[…] makes him a possible building block for this Royals team, along with Witt and Vinnie Pasquantino, who’s out for the year as he recovers from shoulder surgery. In addition, the early returns with Garcia in the leadoff spot have been encouraging, as evidenced […]
[…] Witt has taken some steps forward in June after a slow start in April and May. Vinnie was on the verge of having another solid season until a shoulder injury cut his season short. […]
[…] He only had 23 plate appearances, but in that span, he only hit .048 with a .255 OPS. On June 10th, Vinnie was diagnosed with a torn labrum in his shoulder, and the Royals as a result opted to shut him down for the year with season-ending surgery. […]