Is the Royals’ Leadoff Switch the Spark They Need?

What’s impressive about Yastrzemski’s line with the Royals is that he’s producing excellent offensive value in 16 games despite a subpar BABIP, which is .167. Conversely, his average exit velocity with the Royals is 92.7 mph, his barrel rate is 17.1%, and his hard-hit rate is 51.2%.

Thus, it’s not surprising that the expected wOBA rolling chart is spiking in a positive direction, as illustrated in his chart via Baseball Savant.

Therefore, Yastrzemski’s performance at leadoff not only feels sustainable for the remainder of the season due to his plate discipline, but his batted-ball and hard-hit ability as well. He could see some positive regression in his batting average if those hard-hit balls start to find some holes and gaps in the coming weeks.

Moving Down Suits India

While India hasn’t quite lived up to expectations at leadoff in Kansas City, he’s found new life batting lower in the order since August 6.

In 41 plate appearances since moving out of the leadoff spot, India is hitting .250 with a .374 wOBA and 138 wRC+, according to Fangraphs. Additionally, he has three home runs, nine RBI, and an ISO of .278.

India has also hit his recent home runs in clutch situations, as evidenced by this 451-foot two-run shot against the White Sox on Sunday that tied the game:

Since moving down in the order, he is striking out more, as his 24.4% strikeout rate is higher than his 17.4% K rate for the season. However, the Royals will be okay with the strikeouts if it means more power, especially at the sixth/seventh spot in the batting order.

A significant improvement for India is that his Ideal Attack Angle (IAA) percentage has improved dramatically since he changed spots in the batting order.

IAA is when the ball is hit with an attack angle between five and 20 degrees. IAA can lead to more barrels, and thus, more productive contact. India was going through a patch, especially after the All-Star Break, where he wasn’t getting to those optimum angles. That likely led to poor performance, despite his contact ability (19.5% whiff rate, which ranks in the 78th percentile).

However, he’s seen a positive spike in IAA percentage that has correlated with his move down in the batting order, which is a promising sign for his outlook this season.

In August, he is slugging .423, and his OPS is .762. Both are the best marks of any month he has had so far this year (excluding March, in which he only had 19 plate appearances).

The only downside with India this month is that his average is only .212. However, his wRC+ is 113, and his low average could be due to a .235 BABIP this month, the lowest mark of any month for him this season. His BB/K ratio of 0.40 is trending in the right direction as well when compared to previous months.

Thus, the move down in the order has not just helped India with his power, but arguably his plate approach as well.

With Yastrzemski getting another home run on Tuesday against the Rangers, there seems to be no reason for Quatraro to move India back to the leadoff spot anytime soon. Even against lefties, when Yastrzemski will likely sit, Garcia has handled leadoff duties much better this year, as evidenced by his .395 average and 166 wRC+ in 51 plate appearances at leadoff this year.

The Royals need to let India continue to get comfortable at this new spot in the batting order. If he does, he could give some nice pop and length to the batting order, which will not only improve the lineup down the stretch but also boost their playoff chances as well.