Kansas City Royals Roster
- AL Central
- Stadium
- Kauffman Stadium
Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith went 4-for-5 in Friday's 12-2 victory over the Blue Jays, with two of his four hits going for extra bases, including a double and his second home run of the season. The 2023 All-Star also drove in three runs and scored three times. This was the second straight game Smith has recorded four hits, raising his season slash line to .376/.413/.527 and putting himself in position as the third-highest-scoring backstop for fantasy thus far. The Dodgers face Jays left-hander Yusei Kikuchi on Saturday night. Smith is hitting a scorching .520/.581/.680 against lefties so far this season and is 1-for-3 off Kikuchi in his career.
Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia hit two singles, drew a walk, drove in two runs and scored a run in the Royals' 8-0 win on Friday. Garcia now has multiple hits in four of his last seven games, a good sign after going through a bit of a slump over the past couple weeks. The 24-year-old is now hitting for a .651 OPS and has 18 RBI on the season. If Garcia is able to avoid another major slump, then he may be someone fantasy managers want to keep on their radar as an option to stash on their bench. Garcia will get matchups against Casey Mize on Saturday and Tigers ace Tarik Skubal on Sunday.
Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. notched three RBI in the Royals 8-0 win over the Detroit Tigers on Friday afternoon. Witt Jr. went 1-4 with a two RBI triple and an RBI sacrifice fly. He also scored a run in the Royals' seven-run ninth. The 23-year-old now has 14 RBI on the season with a .915 OPS and leads the league in triples with four. As a top option in fantasy baseball, Witt Jr. is delivering for fantasy managers who took him in the first round. Witt Jr. faces Casey Mize on Saturday and will have a tough matchup against Tigers ace Tarik Skubal on Sunday.
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Seth Lugo continued his stellar work on the mound during Friday's game against the Detroit Tigers. The right-hander threw seven shutout innings while striking out nine batters in the win. Lugo only gave up three singles during this game and a pair of walks. He holds a 1.66 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and a 23/9 K/BB ratio across six starts. He'll look to continue his strong campaign against the Toronto Blue Jays next week.
Kansas City Royals outfielder Hunter Renfroe finds himself on the bench again on Friday against the Detroit Tigers. This will be the second straight game that Renfroe will be starting on the bench. In his absence, the left-handed-hitting Adam Frazier will make the start in right field for the Royals and will hit eighth against Tigers right-hander Reese Olson. The 32-year-old Renfroe has hit just .149 (10-for-67) with two home runs, 10 RBI, five walks and 16 strikeouts in his first 72 plate appearances in 2024 and is quickly losing playing time in Kansas City's outfield rotation. Frazier, also 32, hasn't been much better, going 11-for-55 (.200) with no homers, four RBI and one stolen base in 22 games. He's never faced Olson in his career.