Wednesday, May 13

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CHICAGO -- Pinch-hitting in the big leagues is a hard thing to do. A hitter must anticipate the situation he might appear, who he’ll face, the alternatives to that plan if the opposing team makes a different move, the optimal time to get ready and much more.

And usually he appears in the highest-pressure situations of a game, with his team needing a big, potentially game-altering, knock.

There’s a reason so many teams -- the Royals included -- search for veteran hitters they can stash on the bench to be able to take a professional plate appearance in late-game and high-leverage situations. Experience matters.

It’s also why it’s so impressive to see a hitter transform into a viable option a team can turn to off the bench, as Nick Loftin has for the Royals.

“Guys who control the zone make difficult outs,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “He understands it more now, how to stay prepared, not get too ready too early. Understand the situations that he might come up. Knowing that frequently, when you put him in, he might get a righty -- so, understanding that he’s got to be ready for the guy who’s warming up in the bullpen, too. 

“Nick sees the ball so well, and when he’s on time, he’s going to swing at good pitches, and we’re going to see good results.”

Loftin only has 17 game appearances under his belt this year, but he’s produced more than he had in the previous two seasons with a .279/.385/.419 slash line. He’s also hitting the ball hard more consistently than he has previously in the big leagues, with a 37.8% hard-hit rate this season. Loftin said that’s a result of the work he did this offseason to get stronger but also from making small tweaks to his swing. That work has continued into the season.

“It’s allowed me to just continue to have that strong bat-to-ball skill that I already had while also impacting the baseball a little bit better,” Loftin said. “Understanding that I can hit in pretty much any count. Elite bat-to-ball skills allow me to do that. Regardless of the count, I can do damage.”

That understanding has helped Loftin in any at-bat this season, but especially when he gets those pinch-hit opportunities. Off the bench this year, Loftin is 5-for-8 with four doubles and six RBIs. As a pinch-hitter specifically, he’s 3-for-3 with two doubles, one sacrifice fly and four RBIs. His latest clutch moment was a pinch-hit two-run double in the sixth inning Tuesday -- an early pinch-hit appearance, but the right button pushed by Quatraro.

It’s a small sample size, and teams will make adjustments to Loftin in those moments. But seeing success goes a long way toward building confidence in those spots.

“I think the biggest thing is having that confidence off the bench when I’m not playing,” Loftin said. “It’s a tough role to be in. But I’ve found what’s been working for me in the cages and my prep work, and having that confidence going into each and every at-bat that I get is a huge help. Putting my best swing on pitches that I can do damage on.”

To be clear, Loftin isn’t solely a bench player. He’s continuing to get starts, especially with Jonathan India out for the season after shoulder surgery. While he’s drawing the majority of his starts at second base, his defensive versatility is an asset. 

But Quatraro uses his bench quite a bit, trying to play the matchups and keep hitters fresh. That makes those bench players even more valuable, and Loftin is learning that, too.

“It’s not like I didn’t have confidence before,” Loftin said. “But it’s definitely growing. And it comes through preparation, more than anything, rather than through success. Understanding that what I do pregame, nights before games, scouting the opponent, brings the confidence that I need to go out there and compete at my very best.”

It has not been the start to the season that Carlos Estévez envisioned in his second year with the Royals, from the velocity struggles he encountered in Spring Training and his first outing of the season, to the foot contusion he sustained, to the right rotator cuff strain that will have him sidelined for a significant period of time. The Royals’ reliever will be shut down from throwing until the end of May or early June before he’s reevaluated.

“It’s been a crazy first part of the year already,” Estévez said. “Snowballing everything. It sucks. I’m not going to tell you I’m not mad. But it happens. I’ve been on a long run of being healthy. Knock on wood, hopefully this is the only sting. I’ll be fine.”

Estévez was facing hitters in Arizona about two weeks ago and feeling really good. Reports were that his fastball was 92-94 mph, which had him and the Royals encouraged after the drop in velo they saw early this year. But that good feeling did not last long when he took the mound for his first rehab outing last week. By the second or third baseball, Estévez could tell something was wrong.

“And I just felt a pinch,” Estévez said. “I was like, ‘OK, all right, that’s not good.’ I threw a few more pitches. Tried to [get through] it. It was cold. Give it time. But since it didn’t get any better, I was like, ‘Let me shut this down, let’s see what we got.’”

Estévez was frustrated with the injury but said he’s made “peace with it” a few days following the rotator cuff strain diagnosis. All he can do now is work his way back.

“I’ve been throwing a lot of innings for the past, I don’t know how many, years and being in the thick of winning games,” Estévez said. “If I have to step back just to get stronger and keep going, I’m fine with it. A lot of people have it a lot worse than me. I’m not going to complain about that. I’m going to put up the work and get ready to be back.”

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