Kansas City Royals DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Kansas City Royals outfielder Nelson Velazquez had a strong night in Thursday's blowout victory against the Chicago White Sox. The outfielder went 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs and two RBI on the evening. Velazquez was a popular sleeper entering this season with his ability to go yard and he now has two round trippers on the season. In addition to the outfield, Velazquez also has slotted into the designated hitter spot. Although he has big bat ability with his power, he does strikeout a lot. As long as managers are willing to take the good with the bad, he is a fine option in deeper leagues.

Kansas City Royals outfielder MJ Melendez continued his hot start to the season on Thursday, leading the Royals to a 10-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. Melendez went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer, two runs scored, and two RBI. The 25-year-old hasn't lived up to expectations in his first few years in the bigs, but it is important to remember that he is still young and he may be coming around, as he is hitting .333/.391/.667 so far this year. It is a small sample, but it is something worth keeping an eye on, especially in leagues where he is still catcher eligible.

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Seth Lugo had another solid start on Thursday, picking up the win in a 10-1 trouncing over the Chicago White Sox. Lugo threw 6 innings of one-run ball, allowing eight hits and two walks while striking out three. The baserunners allowed were a bit alarming in this one, but Lugo was able to escape damage by inducing four double-play balls. That obviously isn't sustainable, but Lugo has shown that he can be a solid starter who can give decent length. He should be a good source of quality starts and shouldn't hurt fantasy manager's ratios either. Lugo is also a very good points league option.

Texas Rangers right-hander Michael Lorenzen (neck) allowed one run in four innings in his second minor-league rehab start with Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday night. Lorenzen allowed three hits while walking two over 70 pitches (41 strikes). Because the 32-year-old veteran signed with the Rangers so late in spring training, he was placed on the injured list to start the regular season so that he could go to the minors and build up his arm before joining the big-league starting rotation. It's unknown if the team wants him to make another start down on the farm, but if they choose to activate him and bring him to the big leagues, his first start of 2024 could be as good as it gets next week against the lowly Oakland Athletics. Lorenzen doesn't have a ton of fantasy upside for those in mixed leagues, but there is still some streaming appeal in the right matchups in DFS and deeper formats.

Kansas City Royals infielder Michael Massey (back) will start a minor-league rehab assignment with Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Friday. Massey suffered a lower-back strain in spring training in the middle of March and was forced to open the 2024 regular season on the injured list for the Royals. The 26-year-old infielder is nearing a return, though, and could make his season debut in KC at some point next week as long as he doesn't suffer a setback during his rehab assignment. The former fourth-rounder in 2019 out of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is an infield bench option, at best, in deep-mixed and AL-only leagues when he's healthy. Massey hit just .229/.274/.381 with 15 home runs, 55 RBI and six stolen bases in 129 games in his first full season in the majors in 2023.