More Blanco, Please

I feel like I am beating a dead horse, but the Royals could improve the team by optimizing who is hitting leadoff. In the month of August, so far Matt Quatraro has platooned Michael Massey and Maikel Garcia as the club’s leadoff hitters (other than Fermin and Frazier each getting one start in the leadoff spot).

19 Aug Massey

18 Aug Garcia (Blanco in LF)

17 Aug Garcia (Blanco in LF)

16 Aug Massey

14 Aug Frazier

13 Aug Massey

12 Aug Massey

10 Aug Garcia (Melendez in LF)

9 Aug Massey

7 Aug Massey

6 Aug Massey

5 Aug Garcia (Hampson in LF)

4 Aug Garcia (Blanco in LF)

3 Aug Fermin (Melendez in LF)

2 Aug Garcia (Blanco in LF)

1 Aug Garcia (Hampson in LF)

As I write this article, the lineup for the game tonight (August 20, 2024) has been released. The Royals will face left handed pitcher Tyler Anderson. Who is the scheduled leadoff hitter? Maikel Garcia. Garcia actually has a reverse split with a .285 OBA against RHP and just a .275 OBA against LHP. Based on the numbers, there is no reason to move Garcia up to leadoff against left handed pitchers. However, there is a right handed hitter on the team that has a significant platoon split: Dairon Blanco has a .327 OBA against left handed pitchers this season! We all know that he is more than just a late inning pitch runner, which was proved by his offensive outburst in the series with the Reds. Going forward, Quatraro should consistently start Blanco as the leadoff hitter (instead of Garcia) against left handed pitchers. Blanco’s triple slash line this season against LHP is .308/.327/.539. Against lefties, he is an obvious OBA upgrade as the leadoff hitter over Garcia, and he offers similar base stealing abilities as Garcia. And I’d prefer Blanco playing left field against LHP over Hampson (who has a .289 OBA against LHP this season) or Melendez (who has a .127 OBA against LHP this season).

Based on the statistics produced so far this season, lineups should be constructed using the following two principles:

• Never let Melendez hit against a left handed pitcher
• Always hit Blanco leadoff against a left handed pitcher

Qutraro has been making adjustments all season to optimize the unique abilities of the players on the team. He has shown the willingness to be creative (he even hit his backup catcher in the leadoff position one game this month) and make analytically driven decisions. The Royals don’t need to look to the waiver wire to improve production in the leadoff spot. It can be improved by trusting the facts. In 100 career plate appearances against left handed pitchers, Blanco has a triple slash line of .294/.340/.522. This "bench" player can help the team get to the playoffs and win in the playoffs by being inserted as the leadoff hitter against lefties.