Kyle Isbel

26-Year-Old OutfielderOF

Kansas City Royals

10-Day IL

Injury Hamstring

Est. Return 6/18/2023

2023 Stats

AVG

.209

RBI

Rest-of-Season Projections

AVG

RBI

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2023 Fantasy Outlook

Entering his age-26 season, Isbel has yet to claim a full-time major-league role. He was mainly a strong-side platoon option in the Royals' outfield in 2022, but a brutal .211/.264/.340 slash line didn't strengthen his case to see more time. The Royals are at the point in their latest round of rebuilding where prospects are given a look in the majors, and that could make for an outfield logjam, though Isbel's speed and solid defense will keep him in the conversation for another year. He had five home runs, nine stolen bases and 28 RBI in 278 plate appearances last year -- that's not huge, but hitting anywhere around .260 would likely make him look like a much more viable player. The biggest concern for Isbel is the likes of Drew Waters, Edward Olivares and MJ Melendez picking up time in the outfield at his expense if he can't get his bat going early in the year. Read Past Outlooks

RANKSFrom Preseason

#554

ADP

League Majors

Bats L

Throws R

40 Man Yes

Height 5'11"

Weight 190

DOB 3/3/1997

Born Fontana, CA

College UNLV

Drafted 3rd Rd 2018 KC

Will miss six weeks with strain

OFKansas City Royals

Hamstring

May 5, 2023

Royals manager Matt Quatraro said Friday that Isbel will be sidelined around six weeks after the outfielder was diagnosed with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

ANALYSIS
Isbel was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday after he suffered the injury during Thursday's 13-10 loss to Baltimore. Isbel won't be ready to rejoin the big club until the latter portion of June at the earliest, and Quatraro noted that Jackie Bradley and Nate Eaton will get most of the reps in center field in his stead. Drew Waters (oblique/back) has yet to begin a rehab assignment and remains on the shelf, but he could also factor into the mix if he beats Isbel back from the IL.

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Batting Stats

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2023

2022

2021

2023 MLB Game Log

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Scoring

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2022 MLB Game Log

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2021 MLB Game Log

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Minor League Game Log

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Batting Order Slot Breakdown

vs Right-Handed Pitchers

vs RHP

vs Left-Handed Pitchers

vs LHP

Left/Right Batting Splits

Since 2021

+5%

OPS vs RHP

2023

+26%

OPS vs LHP

2022

+25%

OPS vs RHP

2021

+18%

OPS vs LHP

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2021vs Left	.611	88	13	0	10	2	.238	.299	.313
Since 2021vs Right	.639	369	43	7	34	11	.219	.268	.370
2023vs Left	.721	20	3	0	3	0	.263	.300	.421
2023vs Right	.570	76	5	1	6	2	.194	.237	.333
2022vs Left	.502	55	6	0	6	2	.204	.278	.224
2022vs Right	.627	223	26	5	22	7	.213	.260	.367
2021vs Left	.885	13	4	0	1	0	.333	.385	.500
2021vs Right	.750	70	12	1	6	2	.266	.329	.422
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Home/Away Batting Splits

Since 2021

+32%

OPS at Home

2023

+26%

OPS at Home

2022

+46%

OPS at Home

2021

+1%

OPS on Road

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2021Home	.713	242	33	5	27	11	.260	.299	.414
Since 2021Away	.542	215	23	2	17	2	.179	.247	.296
2023Home	.677	44	2	1	7	1	.238	.273	.405
2023Away	.537	52	6	0	2	1	.184	.231	.306
2022Home	.705	149	21	3	14	8	.257	.291	.414
2022Away	.483	129	11	2	14	1	.155	.233	.250
2021Home	.769	49	10	1	6	2	.289	.347	.422
2021Away	.775	34	6	0	1	0	.258	.324	.452
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Stat Review

How does Kyle Isbel compare to other hitters?

This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.

BB/K
Walk to strikeout ratio
BB Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
K Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
BABIP
Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
ISO
Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
AVG
Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
OBP
On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
SLG
Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
OPS
On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
wOBA
Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
Exit Velocity
The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
Hard Hit Rate
A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
Barrels/PA
The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
Expected BA
Expected Batting Average.
Expected SLG
Expected Slugging Percentage.
Sprint Speed
The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
Ground Ball %
The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
Line Drive %
The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
Fly Ball %
The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.

BB/K

0.21

BB Rate

4.2%

K Rate

19.8%

BABIP

.254

ISO

.143

AVG

.209

OBP

.250

SLG

.352

OPS

.602

wOBA

.264

Exit Velocity

90.8 mph

Hard Hit Rate

34.7%

Barrels/PA

6.3%

Expected BA

.234

Expected SLG

.379

Sprint Speed

24.4 ft/sec

Ground Ball %

47.9%

Line Drive %

11.3%

Fly Ball %

40.8%

Prospect Rankings History

View Complete Kyle Isbel Prospect Ranking History

Advanced Batting Stats

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Additional Stats

Games By Position

Defensive Stats

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Batted Ball Stats

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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers

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Royals Depth Chart

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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Kyle Isbel See More

AL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week

4 days ago

Erik Siegrist dives into the AL free-agent pool as Drew Waters tries to solidify center field for the Royals.

AL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week

18 days ago

Erik Siegrist looks over the AL free-agent pool as Nick Pratto makes some noise for the Royals.

Lineup Lowdown: American League

23 days ago

Ryan Boyer runs through a deep look at American League batting orders in this week's Lineup Lowdown.

AL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week

25 days ago

Erik Siegrist reviews the waiver wire in the American League as Liam Hendriks moves closer to making his triumphant return to the White Sox bullpen.

AL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week

67 days ago

Erik Siegrist digs into the American League free-agent pool ahead of Opening Day as Anthony Volpe appears ready to take over the starting shortstop role for the Yankees.

Past Fantasy Outlooks

2022

2021

2020

2019

Isbel has two of the most important things any hitting prospect can have: speed and opportunity. He is a plus runner and a potentially plus defender in any of the three outfield spots, and the depth chart is wide open in right field and slightly open in center. Michael Taylor is an excellent defensive center fielder, but he hits right-handed, has a career 85 wRC+ and is only getting paid $4.5 million per year, so he could sit against some righties as Isbel moves between center and right. His best run of the season came when he got his second cup of coffee with the Royals, hitting .286/.362/.524 with one home run, one steal, a 10.6 BB% and a 17.0 K% in 47 plate appearances to close the year. He hit .269/.357/.444 with 15 home runs and 22 steals in 105 games at Triple-A. Isbel lacks impact power but could be a prime Adam Eaton type of contributor. On this team, that type of player could eventually lead off against righties. Considering he turns 25 in March, this will be an important year for him to prove he is a regular going forward.

The one poor hitting stretch of Isbel's minor-league career was in the second half of 2019 when he was returning from a broken wrist. He was his normal self later that year in the Arizona Fall League, hitting .315/.429/.438 with six steals in 21 games. Isbel spent this past summer at the alternate training site, where he faced arguably the best collection of pitching prospects at any team's alternate site and still did plenty of damage. He will be hit over power, but Isbel has enough left-handed pop to bang out 15-plus home runs while potentially leading off. The big selling point for fantasy, however, is his plus speed. He puts it to use on the bases with high success rates and could be a 20-to-25 steal guy in his prime. Isbel also has a chance to be a plus defensive outfielder, which should help keep his bat in the lineup. If he handles the upper levels, he could debut during his age-24 season.

While Isbel missed almost three months with hamstring and hamate injuries, he still had one of the better 2019 seasons by a Royals position player prospect (Nick Pratto, MJ Melendez and Seuly Matias all flopped). This is important to factor in, as the organizational depth chart looks pretty bleak over the next couple years, so basic competency will give a player a chance to play a lot when they first get to Kansas City. Isbel, who turns 23 in March, hit .348 through his first 13 games before the injuries struck. His performance was poor upon his return, which could be chalked up to the long layoff, but he rebounded by hitting .315/.429/.438 with a 20:14 K:BB and six steals on seven attempts in 91 PA in the Arizona Fall League. Isbel has plus speed and could be a center fielder in the early-career Adam Eaton mold. Given his age, the Royals will keep him on a fast track to the majors.

Isbel, the 94th overall pick in the 2018 draft, put up some of the best statistics of any player in that class after signing for $592,300. Let's throw out what the 21-year-old did in the hitter-friendly Pioneer League. He was old for the level and there is a lot of noise in those numbers. After getting a promotion to the Sally League, his K% jumped from 14.3% to 24.7% and his walk rate dipped from 11.8% to 6.9%. However, he started using the whole field more, dropping his Pull% from 51.1% to 41.0%, which will be important for the left-handed hitter as he moves up the ladder. His plus speed and aggressiveness on the bases were apparent at both stops, and those are the top selling points in dynasty leagues. Isbel has a chance to develop into a center fielder who steals 25-plus bases and hits double-digit home runs. If he can improve his contact rate, or regain the patient approach he showed in rookie ball, he could be the Royals' leadoff hitter in a couple years.

More Fantasy News

Placed on 10-day IL

OFKansas City Royals

Hamstring

May 5, 2023

Isbel was placed on the 10-day injured list by the Royals on Friday with a left hamstring strain.