Is It Time for the Royals to Move On From Alec Zumwalt?

[Philip Ruo]

Image courtesy of © Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

After a shaky season at the plate in 2025, the Royals have not made substantial progress offensively in 2026. Right now, the Royals sit at a wRC+ of 93, which is tied with the San Francisco Giants for 23rd in MLB.

Alec Zumwalt has been the Royals’ Major League hitting coach and Senior Director of Hitting Performance since May 2022. Since 2021, the Royals’ team wRC+ has not been above league average, and excluding the playoff season in 2024, that mark has not risen above 93. The Royals also currently rank 26th in runs scored, and their runs per game average is down 3% from 2025, with the team averaging only 3.91 runs per game.

Entering 2026, the Royals had aspirations of making the playoffs and pushing for the division title. After 53 games, roughly a third of the way through the season, the Royals sit nine games below .500 and nine games back in the AL Central. While the Royals’ situation is not great, there is still hope, as they are only four games back in the Wild Card race. Now could be the time to make a change to turn the season around.

While many players have struggled to reach their expectations this season, there are a few metrics that could highlight the Royals' struggles could be rooted in hitting philosophy rather than poor individual performance.

When looking at hitting performance in high-leverage situations, the Royals currently rank last with a wRC+ of 60. With runners in scoring position, the Royals also rank last with a wRC+ of 80. Since teams do not necessarily need power to drive in runs with runners in scoring position, it is also worth looking at runs per plate appearance in those situations, where the Royals rank 22nd.

This offseason, the Royals also specifically targeted players with good plate discipline. Acquisitions Isaac Collins and Lane Thomas, in particular, graded well above-average in chase and walk rates. Those additions have helped the Royals improve their overall walk rate to 9.2% in 2026 from 7.2% in 2025, but that mark is still only the 17th-best in MLB this year. However, the Royals rank 12th in strikeout rate at 21.5%, which is notably up from last year’s mark of 18.2%.

Another change that the Royals made this offseason was bringing in the fences by 10 feet in left and right fields. Have the Royals taken advantage of the shorter fences? The Royals this season rank 18th in home runs per plate appearance at home, which is up from ranking 27th last season. This is a notable improvement, which perhaps adds some perspective to the team’s lack of run creation. The Royals are still struggling to generate runs despite hitting more home runs at home.

Right now, Bobby Witt Jr. is at his absolute peak and is having an MVP-level season. He currently leads MLB in both bWAR and fWAR. However, if you combine all Royals hitters, they equal Witt’s bWAR mark of 3.4. The Royals need to take better advantage of Witt during his prime, and a change in hitting philosophy could help spark that improvement.

While it is difficult to place all of the blame on Zumwalt, it is definitely tough to see former Royals prospects like Ryan O’Hearn and Brent Rooker become all-star caliber players after struggling to make an imprint at the major league level in Kansas City. It is easy to come to the conclusion that the Royals are to blame for these players’ initial struggles in MLB.

Ultimately, it is easier to fire a coach than replace multiple struggling players in the lineup, and a change in philosophy and perspective could be what this lineup needs to find its footing and turn the season around. With the Royals' offense remaining stagnant year-over-year, the Royals continue to risk wasting another precious year of Witt’s prime if they don't make a change soon.

View full article