At the trade deadline, the Royals infused their roster with numerous players, among them outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, pitchers Bailey Falter and Ryan Bergert, and the man, the myth, the legend—Adam Frazier.
Some of those players have performed better as Royals than others in this short time. For example, Young Yaz has posted 0.4 bWAR in only 40 plate appearances. Bergert’s earned 0.3 bWAR in just two starts. Falter, meanwhile, mainly due to his first appearance against the Red Sox, has posted 0.4 wins
below replacement.
Around the deadline, I wondered who had the best debut season for the Royals. I went digging into both baseball-reference (bWAR) and FanGraphs (fWAR), though the following list isn’t based entirely on the average of the two. I went through every season from 1970 to 2025 (hey, I didn’t know if Jonathan India would crack the top 10*) and ended up charting stats on 57 different players, which I then whittled down to 10.
*He did not.
First, some ground rules:
- No rookies.
- No players from the 1969 expansion team.
- The player must have played at least one game for at least one other MLB team before playing for the Royals.
- The player must not have previously played for the Royals—The David Cone Rule.
- Either the season in which the player was acquired or his first full season with the Royals can count—The Paul Byrd Rule.
- The player can’t be Melky Cabrera—The Melky Cabrera Rule.
All right, I’m writing this on an off-day, so let’s get to it:
No. 10—Amos Otis, 1970
Never knew Otis played for any other team than the Royals, but turns out he both began and ended his career elsewhere—with the Mets and Pirates, respectively. But 1970 was his first full season, and he made the most of it with the Sophomore Royals, as he slashed .284/.353/.424 for an OPS 15% above league average. Then 23, he made his first All-Star Game as he led the AL in doubles with 36 and swiped 33 bases in just 35 attempts.
No. 9—Gil Meche, 2007
After starting his career with the Mariners, Meche joined the Royals in free agency, and put up two very solid years in 2007 and 2008. His first season in Kansas City, he tied for the league-lead in games started with 34 as he pitched a career-high 216 innings. He made the only All-Star Game of his career despite his 9-13 record as he posted a 3.67 ERA (125 ERA+), 4.02 FIP, and 1.296 WHIP. Opposing hitters were held to a .711 OPS, the second-lowest in Meche’s 10-year career.
No. 8—Tim Belcher, 1996
When Belcher, who won the World Series with the Dodgers in 1988, joined the Royals, it was his sixth team in as many years. His first season in Kansas City ranked as the best of his career, per bWAR, which was 4.8. That season, he finished 15-11 for the 75-86 Royals, with a 3.92 ERA (26% above league-average), 4.68 FIP, and 1.383 WHIP over 35 starts and 238-and-2/3 innings pitched, both career highs.
No. 7—Paul Byrd, 2002
Byrd came to the Royals in a June 2001 trade with the Phillies, and he left in free agency after 2002, but in his short time here, he pitched quite well. Based on bWAR (5.6), he actually had the best Royals debut season, but his fWAR (3.1) pulled him down to seventh. The line his only full season in Kansas City: 17-11, 3.90 ERA (27% above league-average), 4.47 FIP, 1.147 WHIP with a career-high 129 strikeouts over 33 starts.
No. 6—James Shields, 2013
Shields headlined the return package in the Wil Myers trade of yore, and he certainly made an immediate impact. While he wasn’t around for the 2015 World Series, Shields helped the Royals get back to winning baseball in 2013. He finished 13-9 with a 3.15 ERA and 3.47 FIP while he pitched a league-high 228-and-2/3 innings. He also made 34 starts for the first of three consecutive seasons.
No. 5—Bob Johnson, 1970
Our second player from the Royals’ second season, Johnson, who came over from the Mets with Otis in a trade for Joe Foy, posted the best season of his career in his sole season in Kansas City. Before joining the Royals, he’d pitched in only two other games. In 1970, he posted 4.5 bWAR and 4.6 fWAR as he started 26 games, completing 10 of them, while appearing in another 14 games out of the bullpen, finishing seven of them. In total, he went 8-13 with one save with a 3.07 ERA (121 ERA+), 3.11 FIP, 1.215 WHIP, and, by far-and-away, a career-high 206 strikeouts.
Johnson would win the World Series the following season in Pittsburgh, but never again came close to the individual success he enjoyed in 1970.
No. 4—Cole Ragans, 2024
While 2025 may be a bust for Ragans, his first full season in Kansas City was anything but that. Acquired the year before in a trade with the Rangers for Aroldis Chapman, Ragans showed ace-potential in 2024 over 32 starts. He finished 11-9 with a 5.0 bWAR (4.8 fWAR) as he struck out 223 batters in just over 186 innings pitched. His 3.14 ERA was 30% better than league-average, and his FIP was even lower, at 2.99. The southpaw, who finished fourth in Cy Young voting, led the American League in strikeouts-per-nine-innings.
No. 3—John Mayberry, 1972
A couple of years ago, someone asked me if Mayberry was still the Royals first baseman. I never did figure out whether the person was joking. I answered, “N—No,” before changing the subject/walking away.
Anyway, Mayberry rocked in 1972, despite not making the All-Star Game. He knocked 24 doubles to go with 3 triples and 25 home runs as he drove in an even 100 batters. He also walked (78) more times than he struck out (74) as he slashed .298/.394/.507. His .900 OPS was 68% (!) higher than the rest of the league’s. He’d have two more seasons in Kansas City in which he posted higher bWAR than in 1972, but it was quite the debut.
No. 2—Seth Lugo, 2024
Lugo is just one of two players, and the only pitcher, to average 5.0 WAR in his debut season. His bWAR in 2024 came in at 5.4 and his fWAR was 4.6. Do the math, people!
And while he might be getting torched right now, Lugo, who joined the Royals before the 2024 season via free agency, sparkled last season. After seven years with the Mets and one with the Padres, Lugo broke out for the Royals, making his first (and so far, only) All-Star Game as he finished 16-9 with a 3.00 ERA (135 ERA+) and a 3.25 FIP. He also struck out a career-high 181 batters over a career-high 206-and-2/3 innings pitched, which is 60 more than his next season-high. He finished second in Cy Young voting as he helped the Royals reach the playoffs for the first time since 2015.
N0. 1—Jay Bell, 1997
Does this surprise you? It surprised me.
I remember as a youngster being very excited for the 1997 season as the Royals had acquired a trio of players of whom I’d actually heard, Bell being one of them along with Jeff King (lol) and Chili Davis. In late July of that season, they made a deal to bring in slugging third baseman Dean Palmer from the Rangers. With the criminally undervalued Kevin Appier leading the rotation and Belcher behind him, the Royals were back, baby!
They went 67-94.
The l0ngtime Pirate, who’d go on to win a World Series with the Diamondbacks, had one of the best seasons in his 18-year career in 1997. He posted 5.4 WAR according to both FanGraphs and baseball-reference. In 153 games, he slashed .291/.368/.461 for an OPS of .829, 15% above league-average, as he collected 28 doubles, three triples, and 21 home runs. He scored 89 runs and drove in 92.
It’s oddly fitting that the top debut season in Royals history goes to a guy who spent only one year in Kansas City.
Good on you, Jay Bell.
