Hunter Renfroe DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Per the team, the Kansas City Royals have designated outfielder Hunter Renfroe for assignment. Infielder Nick Loftin was recalled from Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move. The former first-round pick has been dreadful this season, batting .182 (18-for-99) with six doubles, five runs scored, four RBI, and no home runs (35 appearances). Kansas City will now have the week to decide what is next for the veteran. If Renfroe ends up in the minors, it will be his first trip there since 2018, during his time with the San Diego Padres. He hasn't posted a double-digit barrel rate since 2022, having plateaued around 6% over the prior three seasons after regularly achieving 10% or higher through the first seven years of his career.

Kansas City Royals outfielders Kyle Isbel and Hunter Renfroe are both starting on the bench for Thursday's tilt against the hosting Tampa Bay Rays. Drew Waters will start in center field and bat ninth, while Mark Canha gets the nod in right field and is hitting seventh against Rays right-hander Shane Baz. Isbel did have two hits in Wednesday's win over Tampa, but he's gone 6-for-31 (.194) with six RBI, a steal, no walks and five strikeouts in his last 11 games played. Renfroe, meanwhile, will probably continue to lose playing time in the Royals outfield after starting the year with a .167 average (11-for-66) with no home runs and only four RBI. Waters and Canha will both be low-upside DFS plays on Thursday, and neither player has faced Baz in their careers. Canha hasn't homered yet but has gone 9-for-26 with two RBI and five runs scored in his limited playing time.

Kansas City Royals outfielder Hunter Renfroe is out of the starting lineup for Monday's series opener in the Bronx against the New York Yankees. With Renfroe starting this one on the bench, Cavan Biggio will start in right field and hit seventh against Yankees veteran right-hander Carlos Carrasco. Renfroe started off the year as a lineup regular in right field for the Royals, but his playing time has been slipping after a slow start with the lumber. The 33-year-old veteran has gone just 5-for-39 (.128) with no home runs, a double, three RBI, four walks and 12 strikeouts in 12 games played. Renfroe hit just .229 last year but clubbed 15 home runs. The power is waning, though, and the strikeouts are piling up. Biggio hasn't been much better, hitting .217 (5-for-23) with no homers and two RBI in 11 games played. While Carrasco is a good matchup, fantasy managers setting DFS lineups can probably do better than Biggio.