Kansas City Royals slugger Ryan O’Hearn hoping to have success ‘when it really counts’
The MLB lockout kept Kansas City Royals coaches from having any contact with players for months, but Ryan O’Hearn didn’t let that keep him from refining his swing.
O’Hearn, a left-handed hitting first baseman/outfielder, blasted two home runs in a 13-12 loss to the Chicago Cubs in a Cactus League game Sunday played in front of an announced 12,429 at Sloan Park.
The 28-year-old who made his major-league debut late in the 2018 season is 9 for 17 (.529) with two doubles, two home runs and just three strikeouts in six games.
“I know it’s spring training,” O’Hearn said. “I’ve had a couple good spring trainings. I’m not going to talk about it too much. I’m just going to keep doing it and leave it there.”
He has victimized right-handed pitchers for all four of his extra-base hits, a sign of the potential he could have as a left-handed power bat off the bench.
O’Hearn, who has played in 275 major-league games in the past four seasons, has been encouraged that the offseason changes he made have gone well.
“It has definitely been a process, if you take the different parts,” O’Hearn said. “I had to understand how to use my lower half. I think a year of a toe tap helped me do that. I think it’s kind of trimming off the edges, trimming off the fat. I think my swing is cleaner than it has ever been. I think, physically, I’m in better shape than I ever have been. And I feel really good. I feel confident.
“I’ve just got to keep it rolling. I’m not going to jinx anything. It’s spring training. The ball is flying everywhere. Hopefully, I’ll have some days like this come April when it really counts.”
O’Hearn credited work he did with hitting coach Dan Hennigan this offseason for reinforcing work he’d done with Royals hitting coach Terry Bradshaw and coach John Mabry in recent years.
O’Hearn said he spent hours breaking down his at-bats from the past four years with Hennigan via FaceTime. The two never actually met in person, but O’Hearn’s agent connected the two. Their first FaceTime session was three hours. The next was two hours.
“[Hennigan] helped me out,” O’Hearn said. “I’ve got to give credit to Mabry and Terry because those guys have been grinding with me for a couple years now. I think sometimes — it’s not like Dan Hennigan was saying anything differently than John Mabry or Terry Bradshaw — you just kind of hear some different terminology and things click, you kind of understand.”
O’Hearn burst onto the scene for the Royals in historic fashion in 2018. He hit 12 home runs and 24 extra-base in his first taste of the majors (44 games) that season. Those were the most by a Royal through 44 career games, and his 30 RBIs in that span ranked third behind Mark Quinn (32) and Bob Hamelin (31).
However, he has struggled to build on that initial success. In 231 games in the majors from 2019-21, he has slashed .205/.280/.358.
“He can hit. He can flat hit,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said of O’Hearn. “I talked to you guys early on before we even started this spring and said he was going to have a huge spring. The guy can hit. He just hasn’t really been able to put it together on a consistent basis at the major-league level. He’s a major-league threat as a hitter every single time he walks into the box.”
When O’Hearn was told about the confidence Matheny has repeatedly expressed in him to reporters, O’Hearn said he has always been confident in himself. He also quipped that a key for him has been to avoid Twitter.
“I had some fun with it this offseason, kind of acknowledging it because I love the fans,” O’Hearn said as he laughed. “I love the fans of Kansas City. You’re going to have haters. Everyone does. I’m staying off Twitter. I’m not worrying about what they’re saying on there. Just showing up to the ballpark and letting my bat do the talking.”
Not in command
Real estate folks have a saying: Location, location, location. Unfortunately for Royals left-hander Angel Zerpa, he didn’t win the battle for the piece of real estate called home plate.
Zerpa, who has shown a propensity to pitch to contact and come right at hitters, allowed three runs on one hit. He walked three, two of which came back to haunt him in the second inning when he gave up his lone hit, a two-run home run by Cubs third baseman Patrick Wisdom.
Zerpa acknowledged that the walks were the biggest issue with his outing.
“The location,” he said. “I missed, sometimes, the fastball up.”
He wanted to go inside with the fastball to Wisdom, but it leaked back over the middle of the plate.
Zerpa wasn’t discouraged by his outing. He just would’ve liked to locate pitches better. He felt confident in his slider and “trusted it.”
“I feel good,” Zerpa said of camp overall. “This season, I feel more confident. I’m not afraid of throwing those pitches. Misses are going to be a part of it.”
Cox faces Rangers
Royals left-hander Austin Cox pitched in a “B” game against members of the Texas Rangers on a back field at the team’s complex in Surprise on Sunday morning.
Cox, rated the 22nd-best prospect in the Royals farm system by Baseball America and 19th-best by MLBPipeline.com, faced a lineup that included members of the Rangers’ 40-man roster such as Willie Calhoun, Zach Reks, Jonah Heim and Yonny Hernandez as well as non-roster invitees Jake Marisnick and Joe McCarthy.
Cox allowed two runs (one earned) on a walk and three hits, including one home run by Reks, in four innings. He also struck out one.
Josh Dye, who was assigned to minor-league camp after Saturday night’s game, pitched two innings in the “B” game. He allowed one unearned run on one hit and one walk. He also struck out one.
Greinke goes again
Veteran right-hander Zack Greinke will make his second appearance of the spring on Monday. He’s listed on the Royals’ pitching probables for their matchup with the Cleveland Guardians at Surprise Stadium.
Greinke pitched three innings and allowed one unearned run on two hits and a walk in his first start of the spring.
The Royals’ other pitching probables for that game include Foster Griffin, Amir Garrett, Taylor Clarke and Joel Payamps.
