Ryan O’Hearn should start at first base for KC Royals

While he struggled most of the 2019 season, the KC Royals first baseman ended the year on a tear and it has continued into spring training.

Normally a .195/.281/.369 slash the previous year would not lead you to believe a player was improving. Especially since it was a drop from the season before by .300 points in OPS and an 84 point decline in OPS+. The KC Royals even made a late-season pickup of another player who would seem to receive a shot to earn playing time at first.

When you look at the September numbers, however, you see that Ryan O’Hearn batted .250, clubbed four home runs and produced a slugging percentage of .536. O’Hearn credits a change in diet and being in a better mental…