The Royals Need a Whole Lot More From Vinnie Pasquantino
The Royals have struggled out of the gate partly due to offensive inconsistency. In order to truly turn a corner, Vinnie Pasquantino needs to find a way to get back to form.
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The Kansas City Royals entered 2026 with high expectations after going 82-80 in 2025, a four-win regression from their 2024 playoff campaign. So far this year, they have failed to meet expectations, as they are 11-17 as of Tuesday. This has resulted in a last-place spot in the American League Central, a half-game behind the Chicago White Sox.
One big reason the Royals have struggled out of the gate is due to the inconsistency of their offense. They rank 16th in batting average and OBP, 17th in OPS, but 20th in home runs and 25th in runs scored. They have been better lately, as they swept the Angels in their last homestand and outscored them 29-13. Thus, the Royals may be turning a corner offensively, which is encouraging for any playoff hopes.
However, in order for the Royals to really turn a corner and get back in the AL Central hunt, they will need Vinnie Pasquantino to get back to form.
In 27 games and 120 PA, Pasquantino is slashing .160/.267/.310 with a .262 wOBA and .577 OPS. While he is posting a 12.5% BB%, he also has a 20% K%, which would be a career-high. He is also posting a .150 ISO, 61 points down from his mark a season ago. Granted, it’s early in the season, but these metrics aren’t exactly encouraging for the Royals’ No. 3 hitter.
Thus, what does Pasquantino need to do to get back on track? And what can the Royals do to mitigate the lineup’s struggles as their left-handed slugger works through these struggles?
All stats updated prior to games on Tuesday, April 28
Is Bat Speed Contributing to a Lower Hard-Hit Rate?
When it comes to looking at Pasquantino’s struggles, his profile is a bit complicated.
On one end, he’s still launching and barreling the ball well, despite his poor overall results. His 7.5% barrel rate still ranks in the 44th percentile, and his 31.3% LA Sweet-Spot% is only 2 percentage points lower than last year’s mark.
He is also posting an ideal attack angle rate of 61.9%, up 6.4% from a year ago. For those unfamiliar with Ideal Attack Angle, it is when it is hit with a 5-20° Attack Angle. Hitting a ball with a consistent Ideal Attack Angle can often lead to positive outcomes. Unfortunately, that hasn’t quite happened with Pasquantino, as evidenced by his 30.7% squared-up rate, down 5.5% from last season, and .292 xwOBA, 42 points lower than last season.
The biggest concern right now with Pasquantino may be his hard-hit rate. His 35% hard-hit rate is 9.7% lower than a season ago and ranks in the 23rd percentile. He has seen a dramatic drop from where his rolling hard-hit chart was at the end of last season, though it’s been creeping back to at least league average after sitting in the 30% mark for most of the 2026 season.
So what has been Pasquantino’s problem with the ability to hit the ball with any kind of authority? A lot could be tied to his lackluster bat speed to begin the season.
Last year, Pasquantino generated an average bat speed of 72.5 MPH and a fast swing rate of 26.4%. That was better than his 71.7 MPH and 19.8% fast-swing rate in 2024. Unfortunately, his average bat speed this year has declined to 69.6 MPH, and his fast-swing rate is only four percent. When looking at his rolling bat speed chart over his career, he has seen quite the decline this season, and the trend isn’t looking good.
One interesting difference with Pasquantino this year is that his swing length is 7.2 feet, 0.2 feet shorter than a year ago. It could be possible that the Pasquatch is tinkering with something new with his swing in order to generate more bat speed. Unfortunately, it seems to have a counterintuitive effect, as he’s not generating the bat speed that he once had.
That bat speed has ticked up a bit recently, but it still ranks below average, as well as below his career trends. It will be interesting to see whether the Royals’ hitting coaches are actively working on this issue and whether they can help him get back to his old swing from 2025, which produced much more positive outcomes.
What Can the Royals Do in the Meantime?
The Royals need offense immediately, and that means they have to power through Pasquantino’s struggles somehow to stay relevant in the division.
So how do they do that?
One strategy would be to move Pasquantino down in the order and ensure that he and Salvador Perez aren’t hitting back-to-back in the lineup. While Perez is a legend, he is struggling himself, posting a .548 OPS in 113 plate appearances. Neither Pasquantino nor Perez is doing the other any favors by batting next to each other, let alone in key spots in the batting order (three and four, respectively).
A solution could be to put Carter Jensen at No. 3 and Jac Caglianone at No. 5 in the lineup.
Jensen and Cagalianone are posting OPS marks of .863 and .769, respectively. Jensen is making his case as a dark horse for the AL Rookie of the Year award, while Caglianone is finally tapping into his massive power. That was illustrated in his clutch game-tying home run on Sunday against the Angels with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.
It seems like a big risk to rely on a couple of rookies in a couple of key spots in the batting order. That said, the Royals need to do whatever they can to get Pasquantino and Perez going again.
A new spot in the batting order, especially for Pasquantino, could be the fresh start he needs while he works through his bat speed and swing issues.
And if the new spot in the batting order can help make things click for him, then not only will the hitters around him be more effective and get more pitches to hit, but the Royals offense will suddenly develop the consistency they’ve been missing all season.
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Written by
Kansas City Royals Team Writer for Just Baseball; Editor and Writer for Royals Keep.