KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The Kansas City Royals announced this afternoon that infielder Vinnie Pasquantino and left-handed pitcher Aroldis Chapman have been named Royals Player and Pitcher of the Month, respectively, for March/April. The awards are determined by a local media vote.
Pasquantino slashed .279/.375/.500 (29-for-104) over 29 games through the end of April. His .375 on-base percentage over that stretch led all Royals and ranked 9th in the American League, trailing leader Matt Chapman (.465 OBP). Vinnie also led the club in total bases (52), hits (29), doubles (8), home runs (5) and walks (15) over the first month of the 2023 season. He drew nearly as many walks as he had strikeouts (16) and his 7.56 rate of plate appearances per strikeout ranked 10th best in the AL. Vinnie reached base safely in 26 of his 29 games played, including in 21 straight from April 5-27, which matched his career-best on-base streak and at the time was the 4th-longest active streak in the Majors. Over his 21-game run, he slashed .312/.398/.584 (24-for-77) with 11 extra-base hits (6 doubles, 5 home runs). Of his team-leading 5 home runs in April, 3 either tied the game or gave the Royals a lead, including his game-tying 2-run homer with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th inning on April 16 vs. Atlanta. This marks Pasquantino’s second consecutive monthly honor, following last September/October.
Chapman led all Royals pitchers with a 1.74 ERA (2 ER in 10.1 IP) over 11 appearances in March/April and posted a 16.5 K/9 rate (19 K in 10.1 IP), which led all American League relievers (min. 10.0 IP) and trailed only Philadelphia’s José Alvarado (17.5 K/9) for the highest rate in the Majors. Of his 11 relief outings, 9 were scoreless, and he held opponents hitless in 7 of those appearances. He earned his 1st save as a Royal on April 8 at San Francisco, where he spun a 1-2-3 9th inning with 2 strikeouts in a 6-5 victory. On April 4, he threw 10 pitches of at least 100.0 mph in the 9th inning, marking just the 10th time since 2008 that a Royals pitcher has thrown at least 10 pitches at that speed. His 0-2 pitch in that game to Bo Bichette registered at 103.5 mph, matching the fastest pitch by a Royal since data is available (2008), previously done by Kelvin Herrera on April 17, 2012. After making just 11 appearances this season, Aroldis has thrown 7 of the fastest 10 pitches ever recorded by a Royal. This is Chapman’s first monthly honor as a Royal after signing with the club as a free agent in January. The 14-year veteran has earned seven All-Star Game selections and was named the Mariano Rivera American League Reliever of the Year in 2019.
