Kansas City Royals DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez hit his second home run of the season and drove in two runs in a 6-4 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Monday. Perez took Dean Kremer deep to give the Royals a 3-0 lead. Perez finished the game going 1-for-4 with two RBIs, while also striking out once. The Royals catcher is now slashing .250/.294/.625 with two homers and six RBIs. Perez will continue to bring value as a hitter as he's batting cleanup for Kansas City this season.

Kansas City Royals infielder Michael Massey (back) is progressing well and is playing in simulated games in Arizona and is on track to go on a minor-league rehab assignment this week, according to manager Matt Quatraro. Massey started the 2024 season on the 10-day injured list due to lower-back tightness that he experienced at the end of spring training, but Massey should be able to make his debut for the Royals sooner than later as long as everything goes well on his rehab assignment. In his first full MLB season for the Royals in 2023, Massey slashed .229/.274/.381 with 15 home runs, 55 RBI, six stolen bases and 42 runs scored in 461 plate appearances. He'll be an option for fantasy managers in AL-only leagues when he returns to KC.

After missing most of the 2023 season due to a shoulder injury, Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino has gotten off to a slow start in 2024. He has only one hit in 11 at-bats (1-for-11) and is slashing .091/.231/.091 over three games. Pasquantino will look to rebound this week against an awful White Sox team just swept by the Tigers. The 26-year-old is worth starting in all formats in a plus matchup versus Chicago, especially in OBP leagues. As long as Pasquantino is healthy, he is expected to be a four-category player and should be starting for your team in the long term.

Kansas City Royals shortstopBobby Witt Jr.went 3-for-5 with a single, triple, homerun, and three runs scored, falling just a double short of the cycle Sunday in the team's 11-0 blowout of the Minnesota Twins. Witt is hitting a scorching .545 (6-for-11) and an even hotter 1.888 OPS through three games in 2024. He will look to continue his hot hitting Monday against Dan Kremer and the Orioles for a three-game set. The 23-year-old is looking hot to start the season and is a must-start in all fantasy leagues and a great DFS option for Monday's main slate.

Pittsburgh Pirates closer David Bednar wasn't able to hold back the Miami Marlins on Sunday, blowing the save in what turned out to be a 9-7 victory. Bednar was tasked with holding onto a one-run lead, but gave up a one-out solo homer to Nick Gordon. That was the only baserunner he allowed in his inning of work, and he also struck out a pair, so it wasn't all bad for the 29-year-old. Hunter Stratton picked up the save an inning later, but the job should still belong to Bednar, who was stellar in the role last year.