Jeff Francoeur Is Third on the Team in Walks

Here are your Royals team leaders in walks:

1. Alex Gordon - 17 (134 PAs)
   
2. Eric Hosmer - 11 (127 PAs)
   
3. Jeff Francoeur - 9 (120 PAs)
   
4. Mike Moustakas - 7 (112 PAs)
   
5. Mitch Maier - 7 (47 PAs)

So kudos to Francoeur, I guess. He's only two walks behind supposed budding star Eric Hosmer, and he's drawn more free passes than supposed budding star Mike Moustakas. And hey, eat it Mitch Maier.

But this isn't about Francoeur. It's about the Royals. They just don't walk and they never really have. The Royals are 13th in total walks drawn in the American League and 13th in walk rate. The Royals draw a walk 7.1% of the time. Francoeur's number, 7.5% actually brings up the team average. Yuni-bomb is walking 7.4% of the time.

For now, the team is exactly league average in OBP at .317, thanks to a little extra juice from batting average. Without more walks however, they'll never be, dare I say it, dare I dream it, above average.