Royals stat check: One KC player has been best in MLB at his position

This is the continuation of a weekly stats column to examine how this year’s Royals compare to the 2015 World Series champions. All numbers through Tuesday’s game.

Hitting

2015 — .269/.322/.412 (Batting average/On-base percentage/Slugging percentage)

2016 — .261/.309/.395

Last 7 games — .288/.315/.417

The last week was more like the vintage Royals of 2015: hard-hit balls, a high average, not many walks and a bit of pop. The offensive numbers also are helped when, over a week’s time, Paulo Orlando hits .611, Salvador Perez hits .480 and Lorenzo Cain is at .414. Those three players’ recent slumps appear to be behind them.

Hitting with runners in scoring position

2015 — .282/.347/.426

2016 — .263/.309/.388

The Royals went from a season batting average of .248 with RISP last week to .263 this week — a huge jump helped by a 21-for-64 effort in those high-leverage situations (.328) over the past seven games.

Starting pitching

2015 — 4.34 ERA, 16.8 K%, 7.6 BB%

2016 — 4.54, 19.4, 10.5

Last 7 games — 3.41, 20.9, 8.6

The Royals rotation had gotten a much-needed boost with the additions of Danny Duffy and Dillon Gee. The two had combined for eight strikeouts and one walk in 9 1/3 innings over the past seven days, though that was before Gee surrendered five earned runs in four innings on Wednesday against the Twins.

Relief pitching

2015 — 2.72, 22.9, 8.7

2016 — 2.50, 24.2, 8.3

Last 7 games — 1.44, 24.5, 10.8

Over the last two weeks, KC’s bullpen has pitched 48 2/3 innings with 52 strikeouts and a 1.48 ERA. Also during that time, Kelvin Herrera (7 2/3 innings), Joakim Soria (7) and Luke Hochevar (6 1/3) have not given up a single run. It’s amazing to think this year’s bullpen is better than last year’s ... but so far, it definitively has been.

Defense

2015 — 51 defensive runs saved (.315 per game, 2nd in MLB)

2016 — 9 defensive runs saved (.200 per game, 13th in MLB)

Interestingly, Cain, who was at 18 defensive runs saved last season, is at -1 through 45 games this year. That shouldn’t be considered too big a concern, as defensive numbers can disagree early in small samples. For example, FanGraphs’ defensive numbers still have Cain as the fourth-best defensive center fielder in the majors, which is more in line with what he did a season ago.

Top 5 in Fangraphs WAR

2015 — Cain 6.6, Moustakas 3.8, Hosmer 3.5, Gordon 2.8, Ventura 2.7

2016 — Perez 1.5, Cain 1.3, Herrera 1.0, Volquez 0.8, Moustakas 0.8

It was a huge week for Perez, who nearly doubled his WAR output while hitting .480/480/.840. With a strong bat and elite defensive numbers, Perez ranks as the top catcher in the majors in the WAR rankings for both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference.

Bottom 5 in Fangraphs WAR

2015 — Infante -0.9, Guthrie -0.9, Almonte -0.4, Gomes -0.3, Coleman -0.2

2016 — Morales -1.1, Young -0.7, Fuentes -0.2, Ventura -0.1, Escobar 0.0

It’s getting harder by the week to ignore the dilemma of Kendrys Morales, who continued his struggles with a .130/.231/.174 line over the last seven days. Out of 992 MLB players, Morales ranks 990th in Fangraphs WAR, ahead of only Atlanta’s Erick Aybar and Texas’ Prince Fielder. Though the Royals have been rewarded in the past by showing unending faith in their players, the leash should be running short for Morales based simply on performance.

This story was originally published May 25, 2016 at 11:39 AM.