Royals set to give Ryan O’Hearn every chance to win first base job in spring training
Ryan O’Hearn’s saga at first base isn’t over. The Kansas City Royals have seen him struggle mightily at the plate, but they’ve also seen the flashes of him as an explosive offensive run-producer.
The Royals will have options at first base next season with Ryan McBroom, Hunter Dozier and All-Star catcher Salvador Perez bouncing back from Tommy John surgery along with O’Hearn. However, there’s a strong feeling in the organization that it can’t give up on O’Hearn yet, perhaps strongest from new manager Mike Matheny.
“We’re expecting more out of Ryan O’Hearn,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said this week during the MLB Winter Meetings, echoing sentiments he expressed during the general managers meetings last month.
The sturdily-built 6-foot-3, 200-pound left-handed slugger finished last season with a slash line of .195/.281/.369 with 14 home runs and 30 RBIs in 105 major-league games.
O’Hearn struggled so much early this season — a .188 batting average through the first 56 games — that the Royals demoted him in June.
Matheny, who spent last season as a special adviser for player development, pointed to film, track record, scouting reports and data to justify his belief in O’Hearn’s ability to thrive in the big leagues.
“Looking over what Ryan has done so far in his career, some of the projections that they saw that probably put him so high on everybody’s list are things that you can’t really turn your head to, and even what you saw this year,” Matheny said. “There’s plenty of information to provide that this guy was having some bad luck at times.
“We don’t look away from things that guys can control, which is hard hit rate, and realize there’s always something we can do, little adjustments that can be made along the way to hopefully open up that door. You watched Hunter Dozier and Ryan O’Hearn kind of go neck and neck through the system where you can see what may translate for somebody like Hunter could absolutely translate the same way for Ryan.”
O’Hearn made some mechanical tweaks when he went to the minors, and he slashed .295/.383/.597 with nine homers and 29 RBIs in 35 games at Triple-A Omaha.
He had several memorable moments late in the season such as a two-homer game at Cleveland on Aug. 25, as well as a pinch-hit walk-off homer against Detroit on Sept. 3. Though he still batted just .204 in the final 49 games of the season.
Almost nobody in club history started off his major-league career hotter than O’Hearn in 2018. His 34 RBIs tie him for the second-most in franchise history for a player in the first 49 games of his major-league career. During that same span, he registered 26 extra-base hits, including 13 home runs.
“So I don’t think you have to dig very deep to see the potential that’s there,” Matheny said. “And hopefully we’ll be able to continue to create tools and an atmosphere for Ryan O’Hearn to flourish.”
Matheny empathized with O’Hearn’s predicament, the grinding self-imposed high expectations, and how hard he’s taken failure as a young player.
At the same time, Matheny spoke about O’Hearn’s struggles as a challenge and responsibility of the Royals staff.
“So I think it’s just continuing those conversations, but also being realistic and not trying to fool anybody here,” Matheny said. “When you’ve seen the talent, you’ve seen the success that a guy’s had at multiple levels, at some point, what’s the key? I think that’s the whole trick to coaching is finding multiple keys, multiple voices, maybe something that he’s heard before, but say it a different way that allows him and frees him up, as well as a number of other players and guys that have had success.”
