Maikel Garcia

It looks to be nothing more than a routine night off for the speedy 24-year-old infielder. Nick Loftin will start in his place at the hot corner and will bat seventh for the Royals against soft-tossing right-hander Kyle Hendricks on Friday evening in Kansas City.

The bad news is that Garcia has continued to hit eighth coming out of the break, but at least he's picked it up some, having gone 9-for-26 with a homer and four RBI since July 7. Plus, it's not like Adam Frazier is any significant obstacle preventing him from going back to leading off.

It's understandable that the Royals got frustrated with Maikel Garcia's low OBP from the leadoff spot, but their only two better options are the guys they have batting second and third: Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino. Instead, they've chosen to go with Frazier for now, even though he's hitting .206/.286/.300. Such is the problem with signing Adam Frazier in the first place. Does he belong in the majors? Yeah, sort of, probably. Will his manager play him way more often than is appropriate? Yes, absolutely, always.

Garcia's last stint of being dropped from the leadoff spot lasted two games, so we'll see if this one is any longer. He's been quite a disappointment for the Royals this season, though not really for fantasy purposes with his 21 steals, 52 runs scored and 40 RBI. It's big for his fantasy value that he lead off, though, and since the Royals aren't moving Bobby Witt Jr. or Vinnie Pasquantino up to that spot, Garcia probably remains the team's best option. Adam Frazier got the nod there today and went 0-for-4.