Kansas City Royals DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez (hip) was forced to leave Thursday's game early against the Tampa Bay Rays due to left-hip soreness, according to the team. Before leaving, Perez went 1-for-3 at the plate with a double and an RBI. He was replaced at designated hitter by Cavan Biggio. Perez will most certainly go for more testing, but fantasy managers shouldn't expect him to be active for Friday's series opener in Baltimore against the Orioles. If the Venezuelan backstop's injury causes him to go on the injured list and miss extended time, Freddy Fermin would see more starts behind the dish for the Royals. Perez has been pretty quiet offensively in the first month of the 2025 season, as he entered Thursday's series finale in Tampa with a .235/.279/.374 slash line with only two home runs, 15 RBI and eight runs scored in 30 games.

Kansas City Royals left-hander Cole Ragans (groin) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session on Friday afternoon, and as long as that goes well, he could be ready to return to KC's starting rotation on Monday at home against the division-rival Chicago White Sox. Ragans has avoided being placed on the injured list, but a mild left-groin strain caused him to be skipped from his last start in the rotation on Wednesday versus the Tampa Bay Rays. Pitching prospect Noah Cameron looked good in his MLB debut in a spot start on Wednesday, but he was already sent back to Triple-A Omaha, so it appears that the 27-year-old Ragans will be ready to go for Monday's series opener against the White Sox. He has a disappointing 4.40 ERA through his first six starts but has also contributed 46 strikeouts in 30 2/3 frames. If Ragans is good to go on Monday, fantasy managers will want to start him in all formats.

Kansas City Royals outfielders Kyle Isbel and Hunter Renfroe are both starting on the bench for Thursday's tilt against the hosting Tampa Bay Rays. Drew Waters will start in center field and bat ninth, while Mark Canha gets the nod in right field and is hitting seventh against Rays right-hander Shane Baz. Isbel did have two hits in Wednesday's win over Tampa, but he's gone 6-for-31 (.194) with six RBI, a steal, no walks and five strikeouts in his last 11 games played. Renfroe, meanwhile, will probably continue to lose playing time in the Royals outfield after starting the year with a .167 average (11-for-66) with no home runs and only four RBI. Waters and Canha will both be low-upside DFS plays on Thursday, and neither player has faced Baz in their careers. Canha hasn't homered yet but has gone 9-for-26 with two RBI and five runs scored in his limited playing time.

Washington Nationals infielder Paul DeJong (nose) had sinus, orbital plate and nose surgery on Monday after getting hit by a pitch in the face against the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 15 and breaking his nose. It will be at least two months, if not longer, before DeJong will be able to play again. "I will start using the C-flap helmets now to give me protection," DeJong said. The 31-year-old veteran plans to rejoin his teammates in D.C. when they begin their next homestand on May 5, but he won't be playing anytime soon. DeJong's goal is to simply be playing again before the All-Star break in mid-July. He was playing regularly at third base for the Nats before his injury, but he went just 11-for-54 (.204) with no homers, two RBI, two steals, three runs, two walks and 24 K's in 16 games, so he won't be guaranteed a starting role when he returns by any means.

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Noah Cameron made his MLB debut against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday. The 25-year-old earned the call-up after posting a 3.22 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 27/8 K/BB ratio across 22 1/3 innings in Triple-A. Cameron looked impressive on Wednesday as he tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings against the Rays. He allowed only one hit in this outing, but he also walked five batters. The rookie southpaw clearly had some command issues, but that shouldn't take away from his solid outing. He figures to have some streaming appeal for a favorable matchup against the Chicago White Sox, assuming Cameron stays in the rotation.