I will admit that I’ve never been much of a Kyle Isbel guy. I’m generally not a huge fan of players who derive all of their value from fielding, which has been Isbel’s story in the majors. When I saw that I was writing about Isbel in our Season in Review series, however, I realized that my feelings and impressions towards Isbel were much warmer now at the end of 2025 than they have been previously. I think those feelings mostly are about everyone else who played outfield this year for the Royals, because Isbel himself was what we’ve come to expect from him. He played great defense, he was a a below-average hitter, and he really should only play against right-handed pitching. In a Royals outfield that was collectively worth -1.1 fWAR this season, the lowest mark in the majors and the only below replacement level outfield by fWAR in baseball, Isbel was one of the few positive contributors.
2025 was the third straight season that Isbel has played all of his innings in centerfield instead of one of the corner spots, and it’s easy to see why that is the case. He is a very good centerfielder; by Outs Above Average he was the sixth-best outfield defender this season. While he’s not one of the truly special defenders, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Ceddanne Rafaela both had remarkable seasons, Isbel plays a tough defensive position very well in a ballpark with a big outfield. As long as they play in Kauffman Stadium, I think the Royals will emphasize having good outfield defense, centerfield defense in particular, which makes sense. Isbel is by far the best defensive centerfielder they have on their roster, and as a fan I’ve come to really appreciate when he’s out there.
At the plate, however, Isbel continues to be a below average hitter. He finished 2025 with the same .654 OPS that he finished 2024 with, and his career average OPS is .653. Isbel does not hit for a lot of power, he only sent four over the wall this season, so he’s extremely vulnerable to fluctuations in BABIP at the plate. In May, Isbel had a .340 BABIP, and subsequently posted an .850 OPS for the month. Then in June, Isbel had a .245 BABIP, which led to a .517 OPS. Those numbers even out over the course of the year, but makes for an inconsistent viewing experience. Some months you feel like the Royals have the ideal second leadoff hitter in the number nine spot, while other months you wonder if Michael Lorenzen would be a better option swinging the bat.
One thing that is clear is that the Royals don’t trust Isbel against left-handed pitching, and the numbers back up their choice. 334 of the southpaw’s plate appearances came against right-handed pitching, and his .677 OPS against righties was only 13% below league average compared to his 21% below league average mark overall. He only had 75 plate appearances against left-handed pitchers, and his .546 OPS against lefties suggests that the Royals were wise in platooning Isbel as much as they did.
Overall, Isbel posted a 1.1 fWAR on the season, which is the second highest mark for any Royals outfielder. This is in line with what he’s done the past few seasons; he was worth 1.1 fWAR in 2023 and 1.5 fWAR in 2024. Only Mike Yastrzemski had a higher mark this season, which he was able to accomplish in only fifty games for the Royals. I think this fact sums up Isbel’s season rather well. Isbel was the best outfield option that the Royals had on their roster to start the season in 2025, but his overall value to the team was very similar to a guy who had less than half Isbel’s plate appearances and also did not face left-handed pitching.
Isbel will be 29 years old for the 2026 season and is projected to make around $2.7 million in arbitration, which makes him an affordable piece for the team. I think we can expect him to put up a similar season next year if he’s the starting center fielder; very good defense, below average hitting and a little over 1 WAR of value. If there weren’t major issues in both corner outfield spots and at second base, I would advocate for the Royals to upgrade in centerfield. Isbel, however, has shown that he can contribute to the team as a platoon player, so finding a right-handed hitter to pair with him in center (I don’t think Tyler Tolbert is a great option for that) would allow the Royals to upgrade their hitting while putting whatever resources they have this offseason to the bigger lineup deficits.
Kyle Isbel in 2025 had a very Kyle Isbel like season. In light of the rest of the Royals outfield, he was at least a positive contributor and someone who I didn’t dread seeing in the lineup everyday. For that at least I appreciate the season he had and hope that he can contribute another one to the Royals in 2026.