Kansas City Royals DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Cole Ragans will aim to notch his third straight quality start on Saturday when he takes the hill against the Los Angeles Angels. Ragans has been living up to the potential the Royals were looking for when they traded for him last season. The lefty ranks third in K/9 among American League starters who have thrown at least 20 innings with an 11.39 K/9 behind only Garrett Crochet and Jack Flaherty. The lefty should continue to dominate and may even have room for improvement as his 3.38 ERA and 2.35 FIP suggest he could be even better. Fantasy managers and DFS players will want to target the lefty Saturday against the struggling Los Angeles Angels, who are only hitting for a .217 BA over the last seven days.

Kansas City Royals outfielder Garrett Hampson contributed in a lot of different areas in Thursday night's 10-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels. Hampson went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI, a stolen base, a run scored and a walk at the bottom of the Royals' batting order. The 29-year-old is currently hitting .268/.302/.317 with no home runs, three RBI, four stolen bases and five runs scored in just 41 at-bats in 2024. The former third-round pick of the Colorado Rockies in 2016 out of Long Beach State offers plenty of defensive versatility but is merely an option for fantasy baseball managers in AL-only leagues because he's currently on the short side of a platoon with Kyle Isbel in center field for the Royals.

Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia went 3-for-5 at the plate with two RBI and two runs in Thursday's victory. Garcia tallied his first hit of the night with a single in the third and then laced a double in the fifth. Later in the sixth, he knocked his second double of the game, which scored two. This excellent performance brings Garcia to a .247/.302/.396 slash line with four long balls and eight swiped bags. His underlying metrics suggest he could be in for a big summer, as he holds a strong 91.7 mph average exit velocity and 47.6% hard-hit rate, which are both well above-average among qualified hitters. Garcia should be rostered in all leagues with his potent combination of power and speed.

Kansas Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino went 2-for-4 at the plate on Thursday and launched his fifth home run of the campaign. After getting off to a slow start to the season, Pasquantino looks to be rounding into form. Overall on the season, the 26-year-old has a solid .256/.340/.457 slash line, but it has been even better as of late. Since May 1, he is riding an incredible .429/.441/.714 line with 11 RBI and a 3:4 BB:K. Hitting third in the Royals lineup every day presents him with significant opportunities to get on the scoresheet while batting behind superstar Bobby Witt Jr. and in front of backstop Salvador Perez. Pasquantino is a solid play in any DFS matchup and should always remain in your fantasy lineup.

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Michael Wacha tallied his second victory of the season against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday by tossing six innings of three-run ball (two earned). Wacha allowed just three hits but struggled with his control, giving up five free passes. He struck out six. This was a big bounce-back performance for the 32-year-old as he got chased out of his previous start on May 4 against the Texas Rangers, allowing seven earned runs in just three innings. Wacha now sits with a 5.15 ERA and 1.44 WHIP with just 37 punchouts across 43 innings. Wacha has done well with limiting hard contact with an excellent 35.0% hard-hit rate and sports a 4.08 xERA, suggesting he could be due for some positive regression. However, Wacha remains an option for deeper leagues and should only be deployed in favorable matchups.