Shortly after the Atlanta Braves season ended, Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos announced that they would not bring back hitting coach Kevin Seitzer and two other hitting coaches from the Braves staff.
At the surface level, Atlanta’s coaching shuffle doesn’t seem like it would or should affect the Royals, especially with the club coming off an 86-76 season and appearing in the American League Division Series. However, Seitzer is a familiar name to longtime Royals fans, not just as a coach but also as a player and a Kansas City denizen.
Drafted in the 11th round by the Royals in the 1983 MLB Draft, Seitzer played 12 total seasons in the Major Leagues, six of those in Kansas City. In 741 games with the Royals, he hit .294 with a .774 OPS.
He wasn’t a home run hitter by any means, as he only hit 33 home runs with the Royals and 74 in 1,439 career MLB games. However, despite not possessing that premium power tool, he was known for his sound approach and production at the plate.
An ardent student of the game, Seitzer found a calling in coaching at the Major League and amateur level after retiring as a player following the 1997 season.
He and his former teammate founded the “Mac-N-Seitz” baseball and softball training program and facility in his adopted hometown of Kansas City. He also served as the hitting coach for the Diamondbacks, Royals, and Blue Jays before moving into the hitting coach role in Atlanta in 2015.
As of Tuesday, Seitzer remains a coaching free agent, even with many teams starting to make organizational changes. On Monday, the St. Louis Cardinals announced hiring former Royal Jon Jay, who will join the coaching staff after a brief stint with the Marlins.
Let’s examine why a Seitzer-Kansas City reunion could benefit both sides and what role he would fill in the Royals organization.
A Look at Seitzer’s Credentials
Seitzer’s ten-year stint as hitting coach with the Braves could be considered a success overall. When he came to Atlanta, the once-proud club was rebuilding. Since joining the organization, the Braves have won a World Series (2021) and made the postseason every season since 2018.
During his tenure, the Braves developed many successful homegrown hitters. They also saw significant turnarounds from key veterans they acquired through trade or free agency, as an article from MLB.com Braves beat writer Mark Bowman pointed out.
Seitzer joined the Braves coaching staff as the organization began a massive rebuilding process before the 2015 season. Along with influencing the development of homegrown products like Ronald Acuña Jr., Ozzie Albies and Dansby Swanson, he also helped Matt Olson and Marcell Ozuna produce the finest seasons of their respective careers.
The 2023 Braves were the first team in AL/NL history to produce a .500-plus slugging percentage. The powerful bunch matched a MLB record with 307 homers and set a modern era franchise record with 947 runs…
Unfortunately, this season was disappointing on a hitting end, which contributed to their early exit in the NL Wild Card round against the San Diego Padres.
According to Fangraphs, the Braves ranked 15th in batting average and runs scored, 16th in OBP, 12th in OPS, and 28th in stolen bases. The club did rank 4th in home runs, but that ranking was primarily propped up by Marcell Ozuna, who hit 39 home runs in 2024.
Injuries took their toll on the Braves this year, which can’t be credited to Seitzer. However, it seemed like many significant hitters (Olson, Michael Harris II, etc.) regressed, and even Seitzer admitted in an interview with Athletic writer Dave O’Brien that he struggled to connect with this group this season.
“It was a tough year this year, though,” Seitzer said, via David O’Brien of The Athletic. “I don’t blame Alex. I don’t blame him for a second.”
“It was the hardest season of my life, because guys were trying so hard and couldn’t get going, and I couldn’t get them to (not press),” Seitzer said. “If they can find somebody to get these guys to not try so hard, that needs to be the guy they hire. You can talk about mechanics until the cows come home, but this (struggles this season) was all between the ears.”
Despite the struggles in 2024 with Atlanta, Seitzer remains a proven hitting coach who can connect with younger hitters developed in a club’s farm system and veteran hitters looking to rejuvenate their careers.
Opportunity May Not Be on Royals Staff
Even though the Royals fired Seitzer after the 2012 season, things seem cordial between him and the Royals’ front office. During the Royals’ end-of-the-season press conference following their exit from the ALDS, Picollo mentioned that he would contact Seitzer after his firing.
However, it seems like Picollo isn’t planning on clearing any space on the current coaching staff to make room for a Seitzer return.
The Royals’ offense struggled down the stretch, especially in September after Vinnie Pasquantino’s thumb injury. However, the Royals’ offense took significant steps forward in 2024 under hitting coaches Alec Zumwalt, Keoni DeRenne, and Joe Dillon.
In 2023, Kansas City ranked 28th in wRC+ with an 86 mark. In 2024, they improved to 20th with a 96 wRC+, a 10-point improvement. They also had a .710 OPS as a team, good for 14th in the league. That’s an improvement from their .700 OPS in 2023, which ranked 25th.
The Royals are still far from a polished offensive product, and Bobby Witt, Jr., carried this group significantly. Thankfully, Witt is being recognized for his performance this year, as he was recently named a finalist for the MLBPA Player of the Year award.
That said, Zumwalt, DeRenne, and Dillon have made progress with this group and deserve at least one more year to see if they can take the next step with this group of hitters, especially young hitters like MJ Melendez and Maikel Garcia, who still appear to be critical pieces for this roster going into 2025.
Does a Player Development Role Make Sense for Seitzer?
Even though a spot on the Royals coaching staff doesn’t appear to be a reality, Seitzer could land a player development role with hitting coordinator Drew Saylor if he can’t land a spot on an MLB staff for 2025.
The Royals have invested a lot in hitting prospects over the last couple of seasons, whether through the draft or international signings. Of the Royals’ Top 10 prospects on MLB Pipeline, six of those prospects are hitters, including top prospect Jac Caglianone, who is currently playing in the Arizona Fall League.
Even though there’s some intriguing hitting talent in the Royals system, much of it is raw or still needs refinement, especially when avoiding strikeouts at the Minor League level.
No. 2 Royals prospect Blake Mitchell posted a .792 OPS and hit 18 home runs in 396 at-bats between Columbia and Quad Cities. However, he struck out 149 times. No. 5 prospect Carter Jensen also hit 18 home runs and posted a .809 OPS between Quad Cities and Northwest Arkansas, but he also had 128 strikeouts in 460 at-bats. No. 6 prospect Gavin Cross increased his OPS from .676 with Quad Cities in 2023 to .770 in 2024 with Northwest Arkansas. Unfortunately, he still finished the year with 105 strikeouts, only ten fewer than a year ago.
No. 8 prospect Yandel Ricardo and No. 10 prospect Ramon Ramirez showed flashes of excellence in the Dominican Summer League Arizona Complex League, but they are only 18 and 19 years old, respectively. They still need a lot of refinement and training to help them adjust as they transition to Low-A ball in 2025.
Seitzer could help those heralded hitting prospects in person at the Surprise Complex in the spring. Furthermore, once the season begins, he could collaborate plans and strategies with other hitting coaches for the Royals’ minor league affiliates. Being able to be in a player development role could also be less strenuous than having to grind every day on the coaching staff with a minor league affiliate.
The Royals’ hitting and player development team would benefit from Seitzer’s experience and expertise, especially with Kansas City needing some hitting prospects in the Royals to make their way in the next couple of years. That kind of matriculation would ease the burden of Picollo needing to build other spots in the lineup through free agency every year.
Seitzer and Saylor could help guarantee the Royals’ hitting development will make the necessary strides from the Minors to the Major League level in 2025, much like the pitching development did in 2024.
Photo Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images