Kansas City Royals DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino (hand) suffered a hand injury during a collision at first base late in Thursday's loss to the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park and is going for X-rays. "I can't say for sure because he is still over there getting X-rays. All I know is he said it was hurting him, so we took him out," manager Matt Quatraro said. Reliever Lucas Erceg (hand) was also injured on the same play and was removed. Pasquantino went 0-for-4 in the game and was replaced at first by catcher Salvador Perez. Fantasy managers will want to check back for updates on the 26-year-old on Friday and may want to brace for a potential injured-list stint. At this time of the year, a serious enough injury could cost Pasquantino the rest of the season. The Pasquatch has already contributed career-highs in homers (19), RBI (97) and runs scored (64) in 130 games in 2024 in his third year in the big leagues.

Kansas City Royals right-handed reliever Lucas Erceg (hand) was removed from his appearance early on Thursday against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park after taking a comebacker off his throwing hand. First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino (undisclosed) was actually injured on the same play during a collision at first base and was also pulled from the game. Erceg tried to field a comebacker with his bare hand on the play. The 29-year-old will surely undergo testing on his hand to determine the severity of the injury. He ended up allowing three earned runs on two hits while walking one in just one-third of an inning to get hit with a blown save (his fifth) and his fifth loss of the year. Coming into Thursday, Erceg had taken over closing duties in KC after being acquired from the A's in a deadline trade and had five saves with a 0.68 ERA in his 12 appearances. If he misses time, James McArthur is likely to get another shot in the closer's role.

Kansas City Royals left-hander Cole Ragans (calf, hamstring) is penciled in to make his next scheduled start this Saturday against the Houston Astros. Ragans was pulled slightly early from his last start on Monday against the division-rival Cleveland Guardians due to cramps in his left calf and hamstring. Manager Matt Quatraro downplayed the injury after the game, though, and the Royals were never really expecting the 26-year-old southpaw to miss his next turn through the rotation this weekend. While the matchup against the first-place Astros isn't the greatest by any means, Ragans has been a pretty reliable fantasy starter in 2024, going 10-8 with a 3.28 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 187 K's in 156 1/3 frames over his 27 starts. His lone start against the 'Stros came back on April 9, when he gave up three earned runs on 10 hits while walking one and fanning five in five innings in a no-decision.

The Kansas City Royals placed right-hander Michael Lorenzen (hamstring) on the 15-day injured list on Wednesday with a left-hamstring strain and recalled right-hander Steven Cruz from Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move. While covering first base in his start on Tuesday against the division-rival Cleveland Guardians, Lorenzen strained his hammy and now will not be able to return until mid-September. The 32-year-old veteran has been excellent in his five starts since being acquired from the Texas Rangers, going 2-0 with a 1.85 ERA (4.20 FIP), 1.15 WHIP and a 17:10 K:BB in 24 1/3 innings for KC. But with his injury, he's now only probably going to make several more starts in 2024. With Lorenzen on the shelf, Alec Marsh is the most likely candidate to jump into the Royals' starting rotation over the next several weeks.

Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia is not in the starting lineup in Wednesday's series finale against the division-rival Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field. Paul DeJong will get the start at the hot corner and will bat sixth against Guardians right-hander Tanner Bibee. Garcia will head to the bench after starting each of the team's last five games while going 6-for-19 with a homer, double and two stolen bases. The 24-year-old's playing time against right-handers has dwindled some in the second half of the season, though, since the acquisition of DeJong. Garcia is hitting .239/.287/.347 on the year with seven home runs, 52 RBI and a career-high 32 stolen bases in 129 games in his second full year in the big leagues. He's obviously been useful in all fantasy leagues for his speed, but he also isn't guaranteed a starting spot anymore when the team faces a righty.