Former Detroit Tigers big-leaguer is helping ignite the Kansas City Monarchs’ offense

For Jacob Robson and the Kansas City Monarchs, little things can make a big difference.

The club is still fighting for positioning in the American Association’s West Division and entered Tuesday’s game at Lincoln, Nebraska with an 8-8 record. But manager Joe Calfapietra’s veteran hitters appear to be finding their groove.

Robson, in particular, is coming off a big weekend. The former Detroit Tigers player hit three home runs in three games in the Monarchs’ weekend series at the Lake Country DockHounds, helping Kansas City earn its third straight series win in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

“For me it’s all about my swing. It took me a little bit to find it, but the last few games or so I’ve been trying different things, trying to get it back, and some stuff clicked,” Robson said after Saturday’s victory. “My plan now is to bottle it up and try to repeat it each game.”

Robson, who stands 5-foot-10, knows he isn’t the biggest player in the Monarchs’ dugout. That makes the small details of his swing incredibly important. He even finds inspiration from a sport most ballplayers reserve for their off-days.

“The golf world is super into that stuff. You have these guys who are not big at all and not particularly in shape, and they can hit their drives so far, they can bomb it,” Robson said. “It’s because their mechanics are really sound.”

Robson has reached base safely in 10 of his last 20 plate appearances, part of a powerful Monarchs offense.

“It reminds me a lot of last year’s lineup; we were just banging one through nine,” Robson said. “If one guy had a bad game, other guys would step up and have a great game.”

Monarchs catcher Chris Herrmann continues to lead the offense with an American Association-best .439 batting average, six home runs and 22 RBIs.

The former major-leaguer extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a two-run double in Monday’s loss at Lincoln.

The streak includes his own run of three straight games with a home run — from last Wednesday’s wild 11-10 win over Milwaukee through Saturday’s contest at Lake Country.

UP NEXT

The Monarchs have two more games on their current road trip, in Lincoln on Tuesday and Wednesday night at 7 p.m. They return home this weekend, facing the Cleburne Railroaders Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 6 p.m.

This story was originally published May 30, 2023 at 12:36 PM.