Kansas City Royals DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Cole Ragans logged a quality start in Wednesday's victory over the hosting division-rival Minnesota Twins at Target Field, striking out eight batters in the win. Ragans tossed seven innings of one-run ball on Wednesday against the Twins, allowing five hits and no walks en route to his 10th win of the year for the Royals. On the season as a whole, the 26-year-old All-Star left-hander owns a 3.18 ERA and 1.15 WHIP with 174 punchouts and 47 walks over 25 starts (147 1/3 innings) in KC's rotation.

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith went 3-for-4 with a double, a solo shot, and two runs scored on Tuesday as his team beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-2. Smith has been on a bit of a cold streak as of late, slashing .140/.258/.228 in his last 15 games. However, the two-time All-Star has remained one of the best-hitting catchers in baseball this season and will look to build off this performance for more consistent play down the stretch. Overall, Smith is slashing .251/.331/.444 with 16 home runs, 62 RBI, and 57 runs over 420 plate appearances.

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (forearm) is starting at shortstop and is hitting second on Tuesday against the hosting division-rival Minnesota Twins and rookie right-hander Zebby Matthews, who is making his big-league debut. Witt underwent tests after Monday's series opener versus the Twins after being hit by a pitch on his left forearm, but everything checked out fine and he's good to go for Game 2 of the series. The 24-year-old needs to be in all fantasy lineups as one of the best all-around players in the game in only his third MLB season. Witt currently leads the league in batting average (.347), games played (119), runs scored (101) and hits (165) while adding 23 homers, 88 RBI and 25 stolen bases in 524 plate appearances. The kid is an absolute beast.

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (forearm, wrist) was hit by a pitch in the forearm/wrist area of his left arm in Monday's 8-3 loss to the hosting division-rival Minnesota Twins, but he said it hit his shoulder first. Witt has a bone bruise and underwent some tests after the game. "I think the loss hurts more than the hit by pitch," Witt said. The 24-year-old superstar stayed in for the duration of the game and finished 1-for-3 with a solo home run, his 23rd of the season. He's now hitting a league-leading .347 on the season with a 1.003 OPS, 23 homers, 88 RBI, 25 stolen bases and a league-leading 101 runs scored in 119 games played in his third year in the majors. It's possible that Witt could be rested on Tuesday, but it sounds like he avoided a long-term injury. Witt also leads the league with 165 hits.

Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey (back) is serving as the designated hitter and is batting leadoff for Monday's series opener against the hosting division-rival Minnesota Twins and right-hander Pablo Lopez. Massey was scratched from Saturday's starting lineup against the St. Louis Cardinals with back tightness, but he's feeling better to start the week after Sunday's rare scheduled day off. The 26-year-old is in a favorable lineup spot for the surging Royals but has offered fantasy managers a pretty empty profile with a .265/.290/.480 slash line, 10 home runs, 34 RBI and 34 runs scored in 204 at-bats in 2024. Massey has faced Lopez eight times in his career and is hitting .125 with a .250 OPS as well. He's been excellent so far in August, though, going 9-for-24 (.375) with a homer, two doubles, a triple and four RBI in seven games.