The final month of the main baseball season is here, and the Royals are just two games behind a wild card slot in the American League as of Friday, Sept. 5.
But how have the Royals fared this season in comparison to the other MLB teams? For starters, the Royals have been in the middle of the pack through the main season.
While holding a record of 86-76, the team has struggled to pick up a solid offensive game. The Royals offense isn’t performing to the level it wanted to this year. Offensive rankings include 21st in hits, 27th in RBIs, 29th in walks, and third of all teams in getting caught stealing. The outfield especially has been struggling without a set lineup of players, having around eight players rotating in and out of the three spots available.
In comparison, the team’s performance last year was on the upside. They just came off of an over 100-loss season and made it to the ALDS, getting taken down by the Yankees 3 wins to 1. This was a special moment for the team since the last time they made it to the playoffs was in 2015 when they became World Series champions.
The team made few changes in the off-season; notable pickups include second baseman Jonathan India and relief pitcher John Schreiber. The expectation was to rally with what they had and push further into the playoffs. It didn’t go as planned though, before the All Star break the Royals held a 47-50 record and had as far as an 11-home game losing streak from June 1 to the 28.
However not everything is going wrong with the team. Pitching has excelled this year. Stars like Seth Lugo, Kris Bubic and Noah Cameron, have held down the defensive game throughout the season, all having winning records this season.
The Royals have also had a 24-19 record after the All Star break, and are pushing to clinch a spot in the 2025 playoffs. The future is very bright for the Royals. Bobby Witt Jr. has had a historic rise, being the only shortstop in MLB history to have two 30-30 Seasons and is third in MVP voting, according to an MLB.com poll.
Earlier this year, the Royals activated Jac Caglianone, who was dominating the minor leagues with a batting average of .337 and an on base percentage of .408. So far, Caglianone hasn’t performed as he was, but once he gets used to the majors, he could be a threat to opposing pitchers.
The future of the season is bright, and with direction, the team can make a deep run into the 2025 playoffs.
