After dropping a disappointing first game in the Bronx, the Royals came out ready in game two.
Despite striking out in order in the top of the first against Yankees game two starter Carlos Rodon (which Rodon rubbed in the faces of the Royals and fans) and Cole Ragans giving up a run in the bottom of the third, Kansas City scratched together four runs in the fourth, which was just enough to give the Royals a 4-2 victory.
The series is now tied 1-1, with the Royals returning home to Kauffman Stadium for the next two games in the ALDS. The Royals have not been back in Kansas City since September 22nd, when they lost to the Giants and went 0-6 in the final homestand of 2024.
It’s safe to say that the Royals have much more momentum now than they did two weeks ago when they were fighting for a spot in the postseason.
Kansas City has a chance to clinch the ALDS at home in front of the Kauffman faithful this week. However, their progress to 1-1 against the Yankees wasn’t exactly what most Royals fans expected when the series began last Saturday.
Starters Michael Wacha and Ragans failed to go beyond four innings in either of their starts. Bobby Witt, Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino went a combined 0-for-19 with nine strikeouts in the first two games in the Bronx.
Starting pitching, Bobby, Vinnie, and Salvy’s offensive production carried this Royals team to 86 wins in 2024. Thus, neither of those strengths coming fully to fruition in New York was surprising (though Salvy did hit a key home run in the fourth that sparked the four-run inning in game two).
Even though the rotation and Witt and Pasquantino have struggled early on in the ALDS, the Royals have gotten some surprising and much-needed production from other sources on this Royals roster. Those unexpected performances were a big reason why the Royals were able to steal game two from the Yankees in New York.
Let’s look at three under-the-radar Royals players who have stood out in the series’ first two games and what the Royals can expect from them in the next two games at the K on Wednesday and Thursday.
Maikel Garcia
Expectations were high this season for Garcia after a promising rookie campaign in 2023. However, while his glove and baserunning continued to be solid, his bat took a step back in 2024.
After hitting .272 with a 83 wRC+ in 515 plate appearances in 2023, Garcia only hit .231 with a 69 wRC+ in 626 plate appearances. As a result, his fWAR regressed from 2.1 in 2023 to 1.1 in 2024.
The 24-year-old Venezuelan infielder eventually lost his position as the Royals’ leadoff hitter toward the tail end of the season, especially after the Royals acquired Tommy Pham off of waivers from St. Louis. It became more common to see Garcia bat in the eight or nine spots in the batting order down the stretch, and he lost some at-bats to Paul DeJong, who was acquired at the Trade Deadline from the White Sox.
In the AL Wild Card and game one of ALDS, Quatraro continued to put Garcia in the nine-hole. In those three games, he went 2-for-10 with a walk, three strikeouts, and two stolen bases.
In game two against the Yankees, with the Royals going against the left-handed Rodon, Quatraro replaced Michael Massey with Garcia at the leadoff spot (Massey hit sixth). The move paid off, as Garcia collected four hits, the first four-hit game for a Royals player in a postseason game since Alcides Escobar in 2015 (ironically, Garcia is Escobar’s cousin).
Even though Garcia’s hitting has been down this season, there is hope that better days may be ahead, not just in the postseason but also in 2025.
Garcia’s BABIP this year was .268, massively down from his .344 mark a season ago. He did this despite ranking in the 65th percentile in hard-hit rate, 70th percentile in average exit velocity in batted balls, and 98th percentile in squared-up rate via Savant. While there was a 29-point difference in wOBA from 2023 to 2024, the difference in xwOBA over the past two years was only 16 points.
Hence, this postseason, starting in game two, could be a sign that Garcia is on his way to turning it around finally in BABIP.
Garcia will likely return to the bottom of the batting order in game three, especially with the Royals facing right-hander Clarke Schmidt on Wednesday. According to Fangraphs splits, he has been slightly worse against right-handers with a 69 wRC+ (71 against lefties) and 0.39 BB/K ratio (0.50 against lefties).
Nonetheless, a strong Garcia at the bottom of the Royals batting order should only boost the Royals in their chances to clinch the ALDS at home this week.
Garrett Hampson
Hampson drew the ire of many frustrated Royals fans for most of the season. Some of it was understandable, as Hampson posted a .230 average and 51 wRC+ in 231 plate appearances.
Conversely, it also seemed like Hampson received too much flack way too often from Royals fans, especially for a player with fewer than 250 plate appearances.
Despite his poor offensive performance in 2024, he produced a 0.5 fWAR. That was better than eight Royals players with 20 or more plate appearances this season, including Adam Frazier (-0.6), MJ Melendez (-0.3), and Hunter Renfroe (-0.1).
Hampson’s fWAR was primarily propped up by his defensive versatility and prowess. Hampson not only played eight positions this year (he didn’t play catcher), but he accumulated a +9 DRS and finished third in OAA (outs above average) of Royals fielders with ten or more attempts this season.
In addition, Hampson also had a 1.4 BsR, demonstrating that he was above-average on the basepaths, despite the TOOTBLAN errors that frustrated Royals fans on Twitter.
When Quatraro decided to start Hampson in CF for game two, I didn’t think it was that egregious of a move, especially with Hampson’s 68 wRC+ and Isbel’s 24 wRC+ this season against left-handed pitchers. Hampson would hold things down in the field and on the basepaths, and Quatraro would likely bring in Isbel when Yankees manager Aaron Boone went to the bullpen.
While the expectations weren’t high for Hampson on Monday, he had an impact at the bottom of the order, as he had two hits, a RBI, and scored a run.
Game two wasn’t his lone strong performance in the postseason with the Royals. Here’s how Hampson has performed so far in the ALDS.
In the postseason, teams that make runs have unexpected players who get hot at the plate and provide a much-needed boost in high-pressure situations and games.
Hampson seems to be that player for the Royals in the 2024 postseason, especially in the ALDS.
John Schreiber
The Royals bullpen has carried this club to postseason success, both in the ALDS and the AL Wild Card round. Lucas Erceg, Kris Bubic, and John Schreiber have been the three relievers who have had the most significant impact thus far.
Erceg and Bubic? Their strong performances in the postseason were to be expected, especially considering what Royals fans saw from the pair in September.
Schreiber, however, is a refreshing surprise, especially considering his ups and downs this season.
The 30-year-old veteran produced a 0.68 ERA and 0.75 WHIP in 14 appearances and 13.1 IP in April. Unfortunately, things went downhill for him in the next three months.
He posted ERA marks of 6.52, 6.48, and 5.79 in May, June, and July, respectively. Due to his lackluster middle of the year, Schreiber became the subject of an ongoing meme from David Lesky of Inside the Crown whenever Schreiber appeared in a game.
In July, in a post on “Farm to Fountains,” I discussed Schreiber’s struggles and why Royals fans needed patience as he went through a tough stretch. Here’s what I said about him and his role in that article.
Schreiber is probably hitting a stretch where he probably is who he is, which isn’t the “shutdown specialist” he was for two months. I also think he’s not a “meltdown maniac.” He performs well in high-leverage situations when the BABIP is working for him. His WPA/LI, which measures WPA in high-leverage situations, is currently fourth-best on the team at 0.15 and is better than Zerpa, Carlos Hernandez, Nick Anderson, and Will Smith.
Therefore, I believe Schreiber has a role on this team, even if they acquire a reliever or two by the Deadline. He may no longer be needed in setup situations, but the batted ball data and pitch metrics show that he can solidify the bullpen in the middle innings, which they lack. Schreiber has been a much better value than Smith, Anderson, and perhaps even Chris Stratton, three relievers acquired in the offseason who were expected to boost the bullpen in 2024.
Whether it was a mechanical or pitch-mix adjustment or the ironic vibes from the Lesky meme, Schreiber did pull himself together in the last two months of the season.
In August, he posted a 1.80 ERA; in September, his ERA was 2.79. In the second half, he posted a 2.25 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 18 appearances and 16 innings of work.
Unfortunately, despite that turnaround, Schreiber didn’t get much buzz from Royals fans.
Daniel Lynch IV’s transition from mediocre starter to stellar reliever in September was more talked about. Sam Long’s going from Minor League free agent in Spring Training to high-leverage reliever was more celebrated. Even Angel Zerpa’s bounce back after his recall from Omaha seemed to be more of a story with the Royals faithful.
Schreiber in September? Crickets.
That is not the case now, especially in game two when he retired Giancarlo Stanton, Jazz Chisholm, Jr., and Anthony Volpe in order in the sixth inning. Schreiber attacked Yankees hitters in game two, flooding the strike zone in a way that Kansas City relievers didn’t consistently do in game one (which led to the loss).
Erceg and Bubic are still the Royals’ most important relievers this postseason. Long and Zerpa are lefties who will be much-needed in spots, especially considering the Yankees have dangerous left-handed hitters in Juan Soto and Austin Wells.
That said, Royals fans shouldn’t sleep on Schreiber, who’s proving that he was worth giving up pitching prospect David Sandlin for this offseason.
(Sandlin had a 5.12 ERA and 5.46 ERA as a 23-year-old in High-A and Double-A this season in the Red Sox organization.)
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