Royals' Hitters Fantasy Baseball Preview | Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez, Vinnie Pasquantino, Jonathan India, Maikel Garcia and More

Let's continue our fantasy baseball team preview series with the Kansas City Royals. We'll tackle hitters in this story - check back later for the pitcher writeup.

We've covered the Dodgers (hitters and pitchers), Rangers (hitters and pitchers) , Nationals (hitters and pitchers), Orioles (hitters and pitchers), Reds (hitters and pitchers), Red Sox (hitters and pitchers), Mets (hitters and pitchers), Twins (hitters and pitchers), Giants (hitters and pitchers), Athletics (hitters and pitchers), Pirates (hitters and pitchers), Mariners (hitters and pitchers), Rockies (hitters and pitchers), Rays (hitters and pitchers), Braves (hitters and pitchers) and White Sox (hitters and pitchers) already.

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Top Fantasy Hitters

There's a few Kansas City hitters appearing on the ADP list so far.

Bobby Witt Jr. leads the way, appearing at pick 2.95 on average.

Salvador Perez is at pick 93, while Vinnie Pasquantino sits at pick 114.79.

Jonathan India is at pick 147.8 on average. Maikel Garcia is at pick 165.45.

Witt is a top-three pick for me, and my preferred choice after Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge. He's coming off an elite fantasy season, and should only get better as he gets older.

In 161 games in 2024, Witt had a .332 average and .389 on-base percentage. He hit 32 home runs, drove in 109 runs, stole 31 bases and scored 125 times.

He's a fantasy stud and has a bit brighter fantasy outlook after the team traded for India. Witt should challenge for the top fantasy hitter spot in 2025. You can draft him early in round one and then not have to worry about the shortstop position the rest of the draft.

Perez is one of my favorite mid-round fantasy picks. That's because he can slot in as a first baseman or catcher.

In 158 games last season, Perez hit .271 and got on base at a .330 clip. He also had 27 home runs, 104 RBIs, no stolen bases and 58 runs scored.

Even if he regresses a little bit, I see plenty of fantasy value in getting Perez around his current ADP. The position versatility he provides is a nice bonus, and can allow you to get creative with your lineup after picking him.

Pasquantino is the team's regular first baseman and coming off his best season.

In 131 games, he had a .262 average and .315 OBP, along with 19 homers, 97 RBIs, one stolen base and 64 runs scored. Durability is still an issue, but he at least showed his fantasy upside by playing most of last season.

I have no issues taking Pasquantino around his ADP, but would probably want another fantasy 1B option just in case Pasquantino misses any time this season.

India played the first four years of his career with Cincinnati. He's expected to hit leadoff in KC, before Witt, Perez and Pasquantino, which is obviously great for his fantasy outlook.

India played in 151 games last season, hitting .248 and getting on base at a .357 clip. He had 15 homers, 58 RBIs, 13 stolen bases and 84 runs scored.

He's expected to be the team's designated hitter most days, but has second base fantasy eligibility going into the season to utilize. I think India is a bit of a sleeper at his ADP - I wouldn't want to take him any earlier, but I think his fantasy ceiling is significantly higher than that pick. He's a great backup fantasy 2B, with a chance to be a utility or extra infield starter everyday.

Garcia is another guy who I think has a ton of fantasy value near the end of standard drafts. 

Despite a .231 average and .281 OBP last season, Garcia had 58 RBIs, 37 stolen bases and 84 runs scored. He also had seven homers, while striking out just 103 times across 157 games.

With fantasy eligibility at second and third base at least, Garcia is a versatile fantasy infielder who can put up big numbers despite batting near the bottom of the order. Hitting there will allow him to steal bases, and if he keeps getting on base enough, he'll score enough runs to be a daily fantasy starter.

Other Starting Options

According to FanGraphs, Hunter Renfroe is the only other projected everyday starter. Michael Massey, MJ Melendez and Kyle Isbel are in projected platoons with Freddy Fermin (the backup catcher), Dairon Blanco and Nelson Velazquez. Nick Loftin is the other projected bench player in KC.

In 120 games last season, Renfroe had a .229 average and .297 OBP. He also had 15 homers, 52 RBIs, one stolen base and 44 runs scored. He's got deep-league fantasy appeal to kick off the season, but maybe could be streamed in standard leagues when he's going well at the dish this coming season.

Massey had OK numbers across 100 games last season. He posted a .259 average and .294 OBP, along with 14 home runs, 45 RBIs, one stolen base and 45 runs scored. If he ends up hitting fifth, like he's projected, Massey also has standard league streaming potential. In a platoon though, he's a better deep-league option to begin the season.

Melendez and Isbel would need pretty significant improvements in several stats to be standard league options at any point in 2025. They are still decent deep-league options.

Fermin, Blanco and Velazquez are all deep-league options, but if they are in platoons, they likely won't get enough at-bats to be good fantasy assets in those leagues. Fermin is the guy I'd keep closer tabs on - he had hot stretches last season, and could gain the most fantasy value with an injury to a guy like Perez or Pasquantino.

Loftin would only have fantasy value if an infielder or two went down.

Top Prospects

Jac Caglianone is ranked 22nd on the MLB's top-100 prospect list going into 2025. His ETA is 2026. Blake Mitchell has a 2027 ETA and is ranked 48th, while Carter Jensen is ranked 85th and is expected to debut in 2026.

Gavin Cross, Javier Vaz and Tyler Gentry are some other members of the team's top-30 prospect list who are expected to debut in 2025.

Caglianone is a first baseman that hit .241 and got on base at a .302 clip across 29 minor league games in 2024. He was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft.

Mitchell is a catcher who has a .226 average and .374 OBP across 124 minor league games so far. He has 18 home runs, 54 RBIs, 27 stolen bases, 74 runs scored, 97 walks and 163 strikeouts as well.

Jensen is another option at catcher. In 373 minor league games, he has a .235 average and .361 OBP, along with 41 home runs, 169 RBIs, 40 stolen bases, 203 runs scored, 257 walks and 371 strikeouts.

Cross has a .243 average and .336 OBP across 226 minor league games so far. He also has 35 home runs, 142 RBIs, 57 stolen bases, 127 runs scored, 112 walks and 253 strikeouts.

Vaz has played in 263 minor league games, posting a .270 average and .376 OBP. The second baseman and outfielder has accumulated 17 home runs, 105 RBIs, 162 runs scored, 51 stolen bases, 158 walks and just 127 strikeouts.

Gentry played in three MLB games in 2024, not collecting a hit across five at-bats. In 402 minor league games, the outfielder has a .273 average, .378 OBP, 59 homers, 244 RBIs, 36 stolen bases, 245 runs scored, 223 walks and 436 strikeouts.

Luca Tresh and Omar Hernandez are a couple more hitters age 25 or below who are in big league camp with the team this year.