To start the year, it has been said that Matheny is favoring Ryan O’Hearn as the Royals starting first baseman. In some light, that makes sense. He has been with the teams big league roster the last two years, he has shown the ability to hit for power, and he doesn’t seem to be a liability at first base defensively.
Unfortunately, O’Hearn spent nearly all of last year being a liability at the plate, especially while facing left-handed pitching. Against left-handed pitching, O’Hearn is hitting a lackluster .170/.262/.245 and it isn’t much better against right-hand pitching.