Kansas City Royals

Mike Moustakas gets three hits and three RBIs in the Royals' 16-4 rout

Fri, Jul 21st 10:53am EDT
By Dennis Sosic

Mike Moustakas finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored as the Royals rout the Tigers 16-4 Thursday.

Fantasy Impact: Moustakas continues his career season as he is hitting .275/.304/.544 with 25 homers and 59 RBIs in his contract season. He will look to continue to prove his worth when the Royals start a series at Minnesota against the Twins on Friday.

Eric Hosmer homers in the Royals' 16-4 rout of Tigers Thursday

Fri, Jul 21st 9:14am EDT
By Dennis Sosic

Eric Hosmer finished 2-for-4 with a home run, 2 RBIs, and scored three times in the Royals' 16-4 rout of the Tigers on Thursday. The Royals set season highs for runs (16) and hits (19) in the blowout.

Fantasy Impact: Hosmer has three multi-hit games since the break with two home runs as he is leading the Royals' charge back in the AL Central Division race. The Royals are now only 1.5 games within the Cleveland Indians. Hosmer and the Royals start a series with Tigers on Friday. Hosmer is a no-brainer start in all formats, including DFS.

Kelvin Herrera blows up against Tigers

Thu, Jul 20th 1:35pm EDT
By Carmen Maiorano

Kelvin Herrera, pitching on a 102 degree fever, gave up a two-run homer to Mike Mahtook of the Tigers in the top of the ninth Wednesday, blowing a save in the process. The Royals came back to win 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth.

Fantasy Impact: Only Ned Yost knows why Herrera was sent out there with that high of a fever. Hopefully he can recover soon and get back to establishing a better second half. Herrera's ERA now sits at 4.75 with 36 Ks in 36 innings.

Jason Hammel with another mediocre start Wednesday

Thu, Jul 20th 1:32pm EDT
By Carmen Maiorano

Jason Hammel went 6 1/3 innings Wednesday against the Tigers. He struck out two and walked one to go along with scattering four hits. He only allowed one run but could not pick up the win, as the Royals won in some late inning drama.

Fantasy Impact: Hammel continues to have a resurgent second half, but his lack of Ks and ability to regularly go deep into games hurts his fantasy value. He now has a 4.81 ERA and an ugly 1.43 WHIP to go with 83 Ks in 106 2/3 innings.

Whit Merrifield collect two hits in the Royals' 4-3 win against the Tigers

Thu, Jul 20th 9:18am EDT
By Dennis Sosic

Whit Merrifield finished 2-for-4 in the Royals' 4-3 win over the Tigers Wednesday. The Royals had lost seven of eight overall.

Fantasy Impact: Merrifield has been on fire coming out of the All-Star Break. He is hitting .375 (9-for-24) with five doubles and a stolen base since the Break. He will look to continue his hot hitting when the Royals take on the Tigers in their series finale on Thursday.

Salvador Perez goes 1-for-3 on Monday night

Tue, Jul 18th 1:29pm EDT
By Rich Pallarino

Salvador Perez batted in the fifth hole on Monday night for the Kansas City Royals. Perez had a good game at the dish, going 1-for-3.

Fantasy Impact: Perez is one of the best catchers in baseball. he's hitting .282 this season and has 18 home runs. Keep him if you own him.

Lorenzo Cain goes 1-for-3 on Monday

Tue, Jul 18th 1:27pm EDT
By Rich Pallarino

Lorenzo Cain had a good game at the plate on Monday night. Cain went 1-for-3 and left just one runner on base.

Fantasy Impact: Cain is batting .272 on the season and is getting opportunities to produce. Keep Cain in your lineup as he does return on the investment made into him.

Jason Vargas punished by Tigers

Tue, Jul 18th 9:34am EDT
By Carmen Maiorano

Jason Vargas was lit up in Monday's game against Detroit, as he surrendered six runs on seven hits and four walks in 2 2/3 innings. He did manage to get four strike outs. His record drops to 12-4 on the year.

Fantasy Impact: That is back-to-back awful starts for Vargas, as he gave up six runs against the Mariners in his last start. It looks like Vargas' poor peripheral stats (xFIP higher than ERA, low K/9 rate) are finally catching up to him. Owners have probably missed their chance to sell high on him.

Jorge Soler returns to Triple-A

Tue, Jul 18th 8:31am EDT
By Blaine Blontz

The Royals optioned OF Jorge Soler to Triple-A on Monday.

Fantasy Impact: One of the larger disappointments in real baseball this season, Soler has struggled to a .520 OPS over 91 at-bats. Soler has been given every opportunity to succeed, but he isn't likely to be a fantasy contributor for the 2017 season.

Ian Kennedy posts quality start in no-decision Sunday

Sun, Jul 16th 10:10pm EDT
By Carmen Maiorano

Ian Kennedy tossed 6 2/3 innings pitched Sunday, giving up only two runs (both homers) on five hits and a walk. He also struck out six on the day. His record stays still at 3-6.

Fantasy Impact: Kennedy has had a rocky year, but he has now posted four quality starts in a row and looks to be headed into the right direction for the rest of the year. Kennedy has now posted a 4.32 ERA and 1.15 WHIP on the year. Kennedy will face the rebuilding White Sox next.

Danny Duffy lights out against Rangers, but takes tough-luck loss

Sun, Jul 16th 10:05pm EDT
By Carmen Maiorano

Danny Duffy spun a gem against the Rangers Saturday, however he was out-dueled by Cole Hamels in a 1-0 loss. His record dropped to 5-6.

Fantasy Impact: Duffy was able to twirl 8 1/3 innings while only giving up one run on five hits and no walks. Fantasy owners would like to see more than the four strikeouts he got Saturday, but these ratios and innings eaten are just what owners are looking for. Duffy now has a 3.51 ERA and 1.25 WHIP with 71 strikeouts in 89 2/3 innings pitched. He has been solid since coming back from his oblique injury right before the All-Star Break.

Nathan Karns likely to miss rest of season

Sun, Jul 9th 12:01pm EDT
By Carmen Maiorano

Ned Yost reported Friday that Nathan Karns is likely to have thoracic outlet surgery, which would keep him out for the rest of the season.This is not the definitive outcome, as he will be seeing a specialist soon. (Source: Royals Review)

Fantasy Impact: Terrible news for Karns, who was looking to have a nice rebound season prior to going on the DL. These types of surgeries can be very difficult to come back from (just ask Matt Harvey). Look for the final outcome on Karns over the next few days.

Neftali Feliz featured in set-up role for Royals

Sun, Jul 9th 11:49am EDT
By Carmen Maiorano

Neftali Feliz, since being acquired by the Royals, has been a set-up man to Kelvin Herrera. He has been pitching fairly well, but gave up a double to Chase Utley on Friday, which drove in a run.

Fantasy Impact: Feliz has the ability to throw hard, and the move out of Milwaukee benefits him. He will likely not be taking over the closer's role anytime soon, but it is worth monitoring if Kelvin Herrera gets dealt to another contender to see which role Feliz will be filling. For the year, Feliz has a 5.29 ERA and 1.32 WHIP to go along with 27 Ks over 34 innings pitched.

Alex Gordon singles in runner Wednesday

Thu, Jul 6th 3:17am EDT
By Matthew Van Winkle

Alex Gordon went 1-for-4 with an RBI a run and a walk. He also struck out three times on the night.

Fantasy Impact: Gordon is having a horrible season and must be avoided. There are far better options off the wire if you're in need of OF depth.

Matt Strahm diagnosed with torn patellar tendon

Mon, Jul 3rd 10:27am EDT
By Blaine Blontz

Matt Strahm has been diagnosed with a torn patellar tendon. He'll seek a second opinion and is out indefinitely. (Source: Jeffrey Flanagan on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact: Strahm is likely done for the season, though this hasn't been confirmed. He struggled in the Royals' rotation, finishing with a 5.45 ERA and 1.50 WHIP over 24 appearances, including three starts.

Alcides Escobar had two hit and two RBIs in the Royals' 6-2 win over Twins

Mon, Jul 3rd 8:51am EDT
By Dennis Sosic

Alcides Escobar finished 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and scored a run as the Royals continue their hot streak in beating the Twins 6-2 on Sunday. The Royals have now won 15 of 21 games to move a game above .500.

Fantasy Impact: Escobar had a great series against the Twins. He went 7-for-16 with four extra-base hits, including a home run, with seven RBIs and scored four runs in the series. He has raised his batting average 50 points since June 13 from .180 to .230. Escobar maybe someone to start in daily leagues while he is on his hot streak. Although I would not believe that this will last, so I keep him out of my lineups in seasonal leagues.

Jake Junis hammered by Tigers

Fri, Jun 30th 9:29am EDT
By Carmen Maiorano

Jake Junis tossed six innings Thursday in a loss to the Tigers. He surrendered six runs (all earned) on seven hits and three walks. Three of those hits were homers by the power bats in the Tigers lineup. He also struck out five.

Fantasy Impact: Junis is not much of a fantasy candidate, and he showed that in this outing. For the season, he has pitched 35 innings with a 5.66 ERA and 1.63 WHIP to go along with 28 strikeouts. His xFIP and FIP are hanging out in the 5-6 range as well, so avoid Junis for now.

Brandon Moss mired in slump

Wed, Jun 28th 8:58am EDT
By Carmen Maiorano

Brandon Moss has gone 0-4 in back-to-back games, and is just 7 for 46 in the past month, equivalent to a .152 average.

Fantasy Impact: Fantasy owners should not be going anywhere near Moss, even with a ten-foot pole. His average for the year is .179. He does have nine homers, but only 17 runs scored and 15 RBIs. Stay away.

Joakim Soria gets another win in relief Friday

Sat, Jun 24th 12:27am EDT
By Carmen Maiorano

Soria pitched the top of the ninth against the Blue Jays Friday, and did not perform well. He allowed two runs on three hits and a walk. He struck out two. Fortunately, the Royals rallied for four runs in the bottom of the ninth to win the game.

Fantasy Impact: That's back-to-back wins for Soria, who has been a bit fortunate recently. He is not a serious threat to take Kelvin Herrera's job. For the season, Soria has struck out 38 batters in 29 innings to go along with a 3.41 ERA and 1.41 WHIP.

Eric Skoglund lasts just 1 1/3 innings Friday

Sat, Jun 10th 8:25am EDT
By Dan Harris

Eric Skoglund gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks in just 1 1/3 innings on Friday against the Padres.

Fantasy Impact: This is the second consecutive start for Skoglund where he lasted two innings or less. It seems fairly clear that he's not ready for the big leagues just yet, and cannot be relied upon for fantasy production going forward.

Jorge Bonifacio homers again

Tue, Jun 6th 9:45am EDT
By Blaine Blontz

Jorge Bonifacio finished 2-for-5 with his eighth homer of the season on Monday.

Fantasy Impact: Bonifacio has been solid in his time with the Royals this season, supplanting Jorge Soler and providing what production was expected from the former Cub. Bonifacio has an .856 OPS with the eight homers, 17 RBIs, and 20 runs scored.