Kansas City Royals Star Makes Shocking Return Just in Time For Playoffs

Talk about beating projections...

Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino (9) hits a home run during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians on Aug 28. / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Kansas City Royals have made the playoffs for the first time since 2015 this season and will open up play on Tuesday afternoon against the Baltimore Orioles.

As they do that, they will shockingly have the services of first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, who has been recovering from a broken thumb - at historic speeds.

The following comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:

ANALYSIS
Pasquantino was supposed to be sidelined for 6-to-8 weeks when he required surgery to repair a fractured right thumb in early September, but he's beat that timetable by a wide margin and will be part of the Royals' wild-card series roster. The expectation is that Pasquantino will be used at designated hitter, at least initially, which would free up at-bats at first base for Yuli Gurriel and/or Salvador Perez.

The 26-year-old is a key piece of what the Royals have done in this magical 2024 season, as he hit .262 with 19 homers and a whopping 97 RBI before getting injured at the very end of August. Getting him back is absolutely critical for the lineup, as he'll pair with Perez and Bobby Witt Jr. in the middle of that order.

First pitch in that series is set for 4:08 p.m. ET. Cole Ragans will get the ball for Kansas City while right-hander Corbin Burnes will pitch for Baltimore.

Ragans went 11-9 this season with a 3.14 ERA while Burnes was 15-9 with a 2.92 ERA. Burnes is 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA in the playoffs lifetime. He has made two starts for the Milwaukee Brewers.

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