\tThere Is Potential at the Bottom of the Lineup With Collins and Isbel<\/p>\n
\n\tWith windy and sunny conditions on Monday, it was expected that the Royals would have a good shot to hit some home runs against Twins starter Simeon Woods Richardson<\/a>. That said, Royals fans expected those home runs to come from big names like Maikel Garcia<\/a>, Bobby Witt Jr.<\/a>, Salvador Perez<\/a>, and Vinnie Pasquantino<\/a>. Those four combined for three hits, with Garcia’s double the only extra-base hit from the bunch (Witt and Pasquaintino went hitless).\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tInstead, it was Kyle Isbel<\/a> and Isaac Collins<\/a>, the Royals’ nine and eight hitters, respectively, who produced big flies in front of a sold-out Kauffman Stadium crowd.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tIsbel struck first for the Royals, as he launched a 403-foot home run on a slider from Woods Richardson in the second inning, not long after Minnesota’s Matt Wallner<\/a> launched a 424-foot home run into the fountains. Isbel’s home run gave the Royals a 2-1 lead and would’ve been a home run in Kauffman’s old dimensions.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tAfter collective struggles from both lineups for over four innings, Collins, who was hitless on the Atlanta road trip, came up big with a solo home run of his own against Twins reliever Kody Funderburk<\/a>. Collins’ home run traveled 400 feet, had an exit velocity of 103.9 MPH, and was a home run in all 30 MLB Ballparks (like Isbel’s).\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe Royals haven’t gotten off to the greatest start on the hitting end in 2026. According to Fangraphs<\/a>, they rank 28th in batting average and OBP,\u00a0and 29th in runs scored. Granted, it’s only a four-game sample, but the offense needs more production from the bottom of the lineup to see an improvement from their 93 team wRC+ last year, which ranked 22nd in baseball<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIndia got a base hit on Monday, which snapped his hitless streak as well (though it probably should’ve been caught, as Wallner got a late read on it). However, Carter Jensen<\/a> and Jac Caglianone<\/a> went 0-for-6 with three strikeouts. That was disappointing to see, especially considering the promise they showed in the Atlanta series.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tIt is expected that the bottom of the Royals’ lineup, like any MLB lineup, will go through ebbs and flows throughout a season. That said, Collins and Isbel hitting well would be a huge boost to this lineup and give more scoring opportunities for the top of the Kansas City batting order.\n<\/p>\n \n\tHopefully, their home runs on Monday were a spark in the right direction for Collins and Isbel.\n<\/p>\n \tThe Royals Have Bullpen Depth With Lynch IV, Mears, and Schreiber<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tAfter a meltdown by Carlos Estevez<\/a> in game two of the 2026 season, there were some questions about the Royals’ bullpen and whether or not they could step up as the veteran closer figures it out.\n<\/p>\n \n\tThey showed they could on Sunday, as Lucas Erceg<\/a> notched the save. On Monday, the result was the same, though a couple of different names were involved.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tDaniel Lynch IV<\/a> and Nick Mears<\/a> made their 2026 debuts and absolutely shut down a reeling Twins lineup. In two innings of work, Lynch IV and Mears gave up no runs, no walks, and only one hit. They also combined to throw only 17 pitches, a sign of efficiency on the mound.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tLynch IV showed excellent efficiency on the mound, not just flooding the strike zone, but also generating a good amount of chase and whiff, as illustrated by his TJ Stats summary below.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\t \n\tThe TJ Stuff+ was slightly below average, with an overall score of 99. However, one can’t argue with the results, especially with a 77.8% zone rate, 50% chase rate, and 28.6% whiff rate. His sinker and changeup velocity did play a little bit up from 2025, though both pitches saw slight declines in their TJ Stuff+ marks (-2 for the four-seamer and -4 for the changeup). It’ll be interesting to see how Lynch fares in his next outing, especially against a better lineup.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAs for Mears, the TJ Stuff+ numbers were great, as was the chase and whiff, as illustrated in his summary below.\n<\/p>\n \n\t \n\tMears posted a 105 TJ Stuff+, and he also sported a 50% chase and 33.3% whiff. His zone and xwOBACON were about average at 50% and .354, respectively. What’s interesting to see from his TJ Stuff+ is that it was down two points from a year ago. That said, this was his first outing of 2026. Hence, he could see some improvement in his TJ Stuff+ over the course of the year, which could further improve the results.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tWith the Royals holding a two-run lead in the ninth, Matt Quatraro<\/a> opted to go with Royals veteran John Schreiber<\/a> in the ninth, especially with Matt Strahm<\/a> and Lucas Erceg<\/a> having pitched in back-to-back outings. Schreiber closed the door on the Twins hitters, allowing only one hit and getting the save on 15 pitches. Schreiber had pitched on Sunday in a setup role, but he didn’t seem to miss a beat against Minnesota.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\t \n\tSchreiber didn’t generate a whole lot of chase (14.3%) or whiff (0.0%), and he gave up some hard contact, with Ryan Jeffers<\/a> and Byron Buxton<\/a> collecting hard hits (though only Jeffers’ was a base hit). That explains why his .454 xwOBACON was so high. However, his 100 TJ Stuff+ was one point better than a year ago, and his sinker and sweeper velocity were up as well.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe Royals have the depth to not only handle the Estevez situation but also allow him to take his time as he works to regain his velocity. The fact that the Royals can turn to someone like Schreiber in an emergency situation, and he’s able to collect the save, shows that the bullpen could be a strength of this club in 2026.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \tBubic Will Be A Solid Starter Again (Even With Some Tough Spots)<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\tIt was a brutal start for Bubic, initially.\n<\/p>\n![\"tjstuff_summary](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tjstuff_summary(20).png.b75929d03b393780b28a9d0d26dd8045.png\"\/)
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