Michael Massey DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Kansas City Royals outfielders Kyle Isbel and Hunter Renfroe and second baseman Michael Massey are all sitting in Thursday's series finale against the division-rival Minnesota Twins. Drew Waters is starting in center field and batting ninth, Cavan Biggio is in right field and hitting fifth, and Maikel Garcia is at the keystone and is batting sixth against Twins right-hander Bailey Ober. Isbel has gone 8-for-30 with a homer, double and three RBI in his first 11 games, while both Renfroe and Massey have struggled to get going early on in the 2025 season for the Royals. Garcia is probably the best DFS bet as a sleeper on Thursday, as he's hitting .308 (12-for-39) with two homers, three doubles, six RBI and a steal in 12 games so far this year. He's hit just .143 in seven career at-bats against Ober, but it's come with a home run and two RBI.

Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey (back) is serving as the designated hitter and is batting leadoff for Monday's series opener against the hosting division-rival Minnesota Twins and right-hander Pablo Lopez. Massey was scratched from Saturday's starting lineup against the St. Louis Cardinals with back tightness, but he's feeling better to start the week after Sunday's rare scheduled day off. The 26-year-old is in a favorable lineup spot for the surging Royals but has offered fantasy managers a pretty empty profile with a .265/.290/.480 slash line, 10 home runs, 34 RBI and 34 runs scored in 204 at-bats in 2024. Massey has faced Lopez eight times in his career and is hitting .125 with a .250 OPS as well. He's been excellent so far in August, though, going 9-for-24 (.375) with a homer, two doubles, a triple and four RBI in seven games.

Kansas City Royals second baseman Michael Massey will miss Saturday night's game against the St. Louis Cardinals with back tightness. Maikel Garcia will lead off and play second base in his absence. Massey is hitting .265 with 10 home runs, 34 RBI, and 34 runs in 219 plate appearances this season. Look for Massey to be back in the lineup for the next series which starts on Monday against the Minnesota Twins.