Seven stats that show how badly the Royals offense is scuffling

It has been a rough week for the Royals’ offense.

A week ago Friday, the Royals beat the Angels 7-1. They scored two runs in both the first and third innings. Since then, they haven’t scored multiple runs in an inning. That’s 53 innings since the Royals have scored more than once in an inning.

With a 7-8 record, the Royals have played just 9.3 percent of their season. But so far the offense is struggling, and here are seven statistics that show how bad things have been.

41 runs

Last in the majors and four fewer than the Toronto Blue Jays, who rank 29th. Their 2.9 runs per game is the worst in baseball.

71 wRC+

The Royals’ Weighted Runs Created Plus (via FanGraphs) is better than the Rockies (69) and Blue Jays (68). But 100 is the league average, so in essence, this means the Royals hitters are creating runs at 29 percent below the league average.

.149

This is the Royals’ average with runners in scoring position, which is an astounding 27 points lower than the Blue Jays, who are ranked 29th. Their slugging percentage in such situations is also the worst in baseball at .168, which is 80 points worse than the Padres, who are 29th.

.137

With runners on base and two outs, the Royals are again last in baseball, hitting .137. By comparison, the Nationals are hitting a league-best .301.

13 doubles

This is tied with the Marlins for the fewest in baseball. And here is a depressing stat: Boston’s Mitch Moreland has 11 doubles this season.

.150

Batting average of the Royals’ six through nine hitters in the lineup. That includes 68 strikeouts, 16 walks and just four doubles.

26.5 percent

Per FanGraphs, Royals hitters are making hard contact a mere 26.5 percent of the time, which ranks 28th in baseball. Only the Mariners and White Sox are ranked lower.

This story was originally published April 21, 2017 at 9:02 AM with the headline "Seven stats that show how badly the Royals offense is scuffling."