Grading Every 2026 Royals Player: Infielders

The 2026 results were disappointing for the Royals, but some individual performances turned out pretty well. Beyond the obvious in Bobby Witt Jr., there are a few other infielders who had solid years in 2026 as well. 

Here is a look at the infielders and what grade they deserve for their performance during the 2026 season.

Carter Jensen, C

149 games, .239/.323/.467, 120 OPS+, 27 HR, 81 RB, 2 SB (35 2B), 3.3 bWAR

Jensen had a tough month of May, where he hit .198 with 1 home run and 10 RBIs over 25 games played. Luckily, this was not the case for the rest of the year, but his overall numbers did take a hit due to a slow start to the season. 

Jensen finished the year strong with a slash line of .338/.407/.788, which was good for a 1.195 OPS. Another value that Jensen brings is that he was able to serve as the designated hitter on days he wasn’t catching, which keeps his bat in the lineup. He played 106 games behind the plate, with another 42 as the DH.

At 22 years old, Jensen has cemented himself as a player to build around in the Royals lineup and is someone that Royals fans should be extremely excited to have in the lineup going forward.

Grade for 2026: B+ (due to a tough start, but he bounced back nicely)

Vinnie Pasquantino, 1B

114 games, .249/.333/.428, 113 OPS+, 17 HR, 63 RBI, 5 SB (20 doubles), 2.5 bWAR

Pasquantino, like many Royals hitters, had his ups and downs throughout the year. His 2026 season was marred by injury, with a fractured hamate bone that sidelined him for about one month, as well as dealing with wrist issues that sidelined him for another few weeks in early August. 

He finished the year strong, which was a nice thing to see and hopefully an ending he can build on to start 2027, a year the Royals are looking to return to contention.

Grade for 2026: B

Michael Massey, 2B

131 games, .272/.303/.428, 104 OPS+, 13 HR, 50 RBI, 3 SB (25 doubles), 2.0 bWAR

Massey was solid for most of the year, with a 104 OPS+. He played the majority of his games at second base, with a few other games sprinkled in at third and in the outfield. He took hold of the second base job after Jonathan India struggled to start the year as the starting second baseman.

Massey is under team control for another two years and will likely warrant a solid raise from his $1.5 million salary in 2026. If he continues to hit like he did in 2026, he will be worth that raise, no question. He outperformed his expectations, ever so slightly, which makes the grade solid, but not spectacular.

Grade for 2026: B

Bobby Witt Jr. SS

143 games, .281/.359/.441, 125 OPS+, 18 HR, 54 RBI, 45 SB (8 CS) (33 doubles), 6.7 bwAR

Bobby Witt Jr. is a bona fide superstar, and anyone who says otherwise clearly has never watched him play. He plays a Gold Glove-caliber defense on top of being an above-average hitter at a position that is hard to find the kind of offense he provides. On top of being an above-average hitter, he also stole 45 bases, good for second in the American League.

With Witt Jr. under contract for the long haul, the key will be surrounding him to help him see the postseason sooner rather than later. He’s in his prime, and the Royals front office will not want to waste that.

Grade for 2026: A

Maikel Garcia, 3B

82 games, .268/.334/.381, 102 OPS+, 3 HR, 38 RBI, 5 SB (9 attempts), 20 doubles, 2.2 bWAR

Playing in just 82 games is a disappointment, especially coming off a career year in 2026, where he was worth 5.8 bWAR over 160 games played. The hope is that the injuries that kept him out of half of the Royals games will be a one-year blip and not a new normal for him going forward.

His numbers, when healthy, were decent, but not to the level that he, or others, expected. At just 344 plate appearances, he didn’t get the counting stats that he would have if he were healthy. Because he was still solid when healthy, I won’t penalize him too much, but his staying healthy will be key in extending the Royals lineup going into 2027.

Grade for 2026: C- 

Nick Loftin, 2B/3B

118 games, 240/.322/.388, 100 OPS+, 8 HR, 45 RBIs, 4 SB, 27 doubles, 1.5 bWAR

Loftin filled in admirably during various injuries to Royals infielders. Playing in 118 games is more than most would have probably expected going into the year; he held his own and was a league-average hitter in terms of OPS+.

Playing mostly at third base in the absence of Garcia, he also filled in at second base, in the corner outfield, as well as some appearances at shortstop and first base as well. He isn’t the most feared hitter in the Royals lineup, but he provided enough production that putting him down as a utility option is a great outcome for the Royals going forward.

Grade for 2026: B

Tyler Tolbert, INF

78 games, .285/.347/.392, 109 OPS+, 3 HR, 8 RBIs, 0.9 bWAR

Tolbert was a nice surprise for the Royals in 2026 after being called up. He was significantly better at the plate than projection systems had him, so if he can build off of that going into 2027, that provides more depth both in the infield and in the outfield corners as well.

Tolbert also played a handful of games in center field, which adds even more value to a guy who will likely bounce around to different positions in 2027 and beyond. If he can hit like he did in 2026, a super utility role is the minimum of where Royals fans should expect to see him going forward.

Grade for 2026: B+

Josh Rojas, 2B/3B

43 games, .226/.265/.321, 65 OPS+, 2 HR, 14 RBIs, 4 doubles, 0.6 bWAR

Rojas spent most of his year with Triple-A Omaha, and when called upon to play in the big leagues, he didn’t hit particularly well. He did provide some value defensively, so not all is lost, but his 65 OPS+ is basically unplayable as an every day option, but as a defensive-first, depth option, he is an alright option.

Rojas did play second, third, and shortstop defensively, so the versatility is a nice option. Due to the lack of production with the bat, the grade will be lower, but the expectations for Rojas were also not high, so I don’t want to penalize him too much.

Grade for 2026: C-

Jonathan India, 2B

17 games, .167/.310/.313, 77 OPS+, 2 HR, 8 RBIs, 1 double, 0.2 bWAR

India’s year, to put it simply, was not great. He struggled in limited action offensively and spent the majority of the year with a left shoulder injury, keeping him out for the rest of the season after going on the injured list in late April.

He signed a 1-year, $8 million deal with the Royals for the 2026 season to avoid arbitration, and due to the injury, his value was extremely limited, and he didn’t even provide the value of that deal. 

India is a free agent, and due to the likes of Michael Massey, Tyler Tolbert, and other depth options, it would not be surprising to see the Royals move on from India. Because he was injured for the majority of the year, I don’t want to penalize him too much, but the 77 OPS+ when healthy was still not great.

Grade for 2026: D

Luke Maile, C

18 games, .159/.229/.273, 41 OPS+, 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 2 doubles, -0.2 bWAR

Maile came into the year as the third catcher behind Jensen and Salvador Perez and served in that role for the majority of the year. He played with Triple-A Omaha for the majority of the year, where he hit slightly better than he did in the majors (.627 OPS in Triple-A and .502 in the majors).

He did not provide much value at all when with the big league club, actually being worth negative bWAR and 0 fWAR. For a third catcher, there are worse options, but because of his limited upside offensively, being a third option was the correct role for him with the Royals.

Grade for 2026: C

Elias Diaz, C

10 games, .227/.261/.591, 132 OPS+, 2 HR, 5 RBIs, 2 doubles, 0.3 bwAR

Diaz was signed to a minor league deal in the offseason but wasn’t in the organization long, as he elected free agency on June 3. He played in 10 games at Triple-A and then 10 additional games at the major league level. He hit well in that short stint, with two home runs, two doubles, and a slash line of .227/.261/.591 in that short stint.

With it being a small sample size, it’s hard to grade him as if he would have continued to hit at the clip for the entirety of the year, but he did go on to provide a combined 1.2 bWAR between his time with the Royals and then signing with the Texas Rangers.

In grading his time with the Royals, it was short but solid, so I will give him a decent grade, even though he played the majority of his time in another organization.

Grade for 2026: B

Andrew Velazquez, INF

6 games, .067/.067/.067, -62 OPS+, 0 HR, 0 RBIs, 0 doubles (1 hit), -0.2 bwAR 

Velazquez started the year in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, where he was released in mid-June. He signed a minor-league deal with the Royals a few days later, and spent the majority of the remainder of the season at Triple-A. 

With 18 games at Omaha, he hit okay, with a .643 OPS with zero home runs and three doubles. Once called up to the big league club, his value was extremely limited in his six games, getting one hit (a single), but he did put the ball in play, striking out just two times over 15 plate appearances.

With it being a small sample size, I don’t want to be too rough on him, but he served as a call-up and got some time, but didn’t provide much at all when called upon.

Grade for 2026: D

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