The Royals’ outfield has been a strange mix this season: some improvement at the plate, not enough consistency, and plenty of noise drowned out by the team’s bigger issues. The defense hasn’t looked like Kansas City’s usual standard, either.
Kyle Isbel is the only everyday regular in the group with a positive Outs Above Average, and he hasn’t been on the field for almost a month. Outside of Jac Caglianone in right, nobody has really grabbed the spot and held it.
That’s why John Rave has become such an interesting name again.
Rave’s first crack at the majors in 2025 didn’t leave much of a mark offensively. He chipped in some value with his glove and his legs, but the bat never really arrived. So he opened 2026 back in Triple-A Omaha, where he was supposed to be the depth option Kansas City could turn to when needed.
He handled that assignment well. In 60 games with Omaha, Rave posted a 125 wRC+, hit 10 homers and stole 16 bases.
He also kept showing off the glove. If his name carried a little more weight, the push for a call-up probably would have started much earlier.
Since Kansas City brought him back up two weeks ago, he’s made the most of limited chances. Across eight games and 18 plate appearances, Rave is hitting .267/.389/.733.
His home run against the Washington Nationals on June 17 kicked off his best day yet. In his first start of the year and in a Royals win, he put together a home run, a triple and an outfield assist - only the second time that has happened in franchise history, with Bo Jackson doing it in 1989.
The power has been the loudest part of the story so far. All four of Rave’s hits in Kansas City have gone for extra bases, which explains that eye-popping slugging line.
He’s only put nine batted balls in play, but three barrels is a strong early return by any standard. His 100.1 mph average exit velocity this season suggests there may be something real behind the surge, and Driveline Baseball may deserve some of the credit.
The bigger question is opportunity. Matt Quatraro has been careful with Rave’s playing time, and that’s kept the sample small.
He has only started three complete games, with three more appearances coming off the bench. Kansas City’s outfield is already crowded with lefties, and Rave’s speed may be keeping him in the club’s pocket as a pinch-running option.
Still, it’s getting harder to ignore what he’s done. Isaac Collins has not played like the player Kansas City traded for, and Lane Thomas and Starling Marte should be gone before the first week of August ends.
Rave is under team control for his better years, and the Royals need to find out whether they’ve got a useful role player or just another Quad-A name on the 40-man roster. Right now, he looks a lot more like the former.
In Other News...
Royals Just Became The Butt Of Another Brutal National Joke
The Royals have spent much of the season trying to climb out of a rough spot while still holding postseason hopes, but their latest wave of attention came from an especially unflattering place. A satirical Babylon Bee piece took aim at Kansas City with a joke built around the idea that the club managed to lose on a day it did not even play, a punchline aimed at a team already carrying the worst record in the American League.
The sting of it is made sharper by what happened last week, when Kansas City was outscored 35-3 over a two-game stretch, the kind of skid that invites ridicule from outside observers and weary reactions from fans. Royals supporters did exactly that on social media, weighing in on the joke in real time as the club once again found itself as the punchline in a national conversation it would rather avoid. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Make A Tense Coaching Decision As Season Keeps Sliding
With the Royals continuing to slog through a season that has tested just about every part of the roster, the attention has started to drift toward the coaching staff and whether change might be coming. General manager J.J. Picollo said the organization is not looking to make a sweeping move in-season, even as the club works its way through a 35-50 record and a steady stream of injuries that have made the year harder to evaluate in real time.
Matt Quatraros three-year extension signed in the offseason gives the Royals some continuity at the top, and the staff around him has already been reshaped with new voices in the hitting and pitching rooms. For now, Kansas City is keeping that structure intact while trying to steady things on the field, with any broader review pushed to the end of the year rather than the heat of the summer. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Downtown Stadium Push Just Took A Major Step Forward
A downtown ballpark move for the Royals is no longer just talk, as the club has filed a permit for the project and taken another tangible step toward reshaping where the franchise plays its home games. The plan calls for a major district built around the stadium site, with Populous lined up as the design lead and architect, giving the effort a more concrete structure as it moves from vision to paperwork.
The scope is sprawling, covering roughly 91 acres and split into 10 planned areas, with the timeline stretched well beyond the first shovels in the ground. Construction could begin this year and run through 2031, while the broader district is expected to keep unfolding all the way to 2040, depending on market demand and how quickly each phase can advance. [Read more 🡒]