Adam Frazier

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.

Fermin has been seeing regular action at designated hitter when he hasn't been behind the plate, so it's strange to see the 29-year-old getting a day off. Adam Frazier will function as the team's designated hitter on Saturday against Jonathan Cannon and the White Sox, which will allow Drew Waters to get a start in left field.

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.

It's nice to see that Waters was promoted from Triple-A Omaha to start the second half of the season, but it looks like he's going to have to fight his way into the lineup. The Royals will use an outfield of Adam Frazier, Hunter Renfroe and Kyle Isbel against White Sox' right-hander Chris Flexen on Friday evening in Kansas City.

It looks like the Royals are taking Andre Pallante's reverse splits seriously; they have left-handed hitters Massey, Adam Frazier and Kyle Isbel on the bench for Game 1. They'll likely all get starts in the second game against Gordon Graceffo.