Kansas City Royals DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Chicago White Sox shortstop Paul DeJong hit his team-leading 15th home run on Saturday in an 11-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies in Chicago. DeJong is hitting .241 with 15 home runs, 33 RBI and 32 runs scored in 2024. The White Sox have now won three consecutive games for the first time since April and go for the series sweep on Sunday. DeJong continues to build potential trade value as the season heads into July and could find himself moved to a contender in a depth role for an organization.

Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in Friday's 10-3 win over the Guardians. The 26-year-old also walked once and scored twice in the contest. He's now hit safely in four of his last five games, going 6-for-19 (.316) during that stretch, and has recorded an RBI in five straight. The former 11th-round draft pick isn't hitting for average (.237), but is on pace to easily set a career-high in home runs this season and has driven in 53 runs so far. With a low K% (13.1%) and high Contact% (87.3%), there's reason to believe the second half will be better for his batting average than the first half.

Kansas City Royals relief pitcher James McArthur was called upon to hold a one-run lead versus the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday. The right-hander tossed a scoreless ninth inning to earn his 14th save of the season. McArthur has been a little shaky this season with a 4.41 ERA across 31 appearances. He's not an elite closer, but McArthur is the best option the Royals have at closer right now. Fantasy managers should expect McArthur to continue getting save chances going forward.

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Seth Lugo turned in another excellent effort in Tuesday's 2-1 loss to the Marlins. Lugo pitched six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. The 34-year-old emerged as a surprise fantasy starter last season and has been even better in 2024, going 10-2 with a 2.29 ERA, a 7.77 K/9 rate, and a 2.13 BB/9 rate in 17 starts and 110 IP. The veteran has been a fantasy steal and All-Star, considering he was drafted outside the top 250 picks on average coming into the season. He will face a tough test against the Guardians in his next start, but he has simply been too good to sit.

Kansas City Royals closer James McArthur earned his 13th save of the season in Monday's 4-1 win over the Marlins. McArthur came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning up by three and turned in a 1-2-3 performance with a strikeout. The 27-year-old has earned the closer's role for a surprisingly solid Royals team, although his overall numbers haven't been great. He has blown four saves this season and has a 4.70 ERA, a 1.43 WHIP, and a 20.3% strikeout rate in 30 2/3 innings of work. His relative role security does provide fantasy value in deeper roto leagues, but his high ratio stats and low strikeout rate limit his overall fantasy upside.