Kansas City Royals Lose Vital Starter to Injury on Friday

The Kansas City Royals, one of the worst teams in baseball, got some bad news on Friday as starting first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino left the game early with a shoulder issue.

The following update comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:

Pasquantino left Friday's game against the Orioles with right shoulder discomfort, Jaylon T. Thompson of The Kansas City Star reports. He went 0-for-3 before exiting.

ANALYSIS
Pasquantino was replaced by Matt Duffy at first base. It's likely Pasquantino will likely undergo further testing on the shoulder to determine the severity of the injury, but at this point the 25-year-old should be considered day-to-day.

While this injury doesn't mean much in terms of the Royals place in the standings (they entered Friday as the second-worst team in the league), it does matter in terms of their development.

As the Royals go with a youth movement, Pasquantino is a central figure in their rebuild. He made his major league debut in 2022 and is a lifetime .272 hitter with 19 homers and 52 RBI.

This year, he's hitting .247 with nine homers and 26 RBI.

The 25-year-old was an 11th-round pick in the 2019 draft out of Old Dominion University.

He also played for Team Italy this year in the World Baseball Classic.

At the time of this posting, the Royals trail the Orioles, 3-2, in the top of the ninth inning. Should Kansas City lose this game, they'll fall to 18-45 on the year.

A win would move Baltimore to 39-24 on the year.