KC Royals: New Royals Continue To Prove Themselves

The KC Royals welcomed some new faces to their team for the 2015 season. Those new faces have continued to be the difference maker in an impressive season.

The Kansas City Royals had to let some fan favorites go this past off season. Guys like Billy Butler and James Shields parted ways and headed to California, leaving the Royals with some open spots on their roster that they needed to fill.

The Royals signed Kendrys Morales to fill Butler’s shoes, and he’s definitely been worth every penny that the Royals are paying him. Morales finished the regular season with 22 home runs and 105 RBI, and became a reliable designated hitter for Kansas City. Butler, as much as fans adored him and what he did for the city, was not a reliable DH by the end of his days in Royal blue.

Morales has solidified his worth even more so this postseason, smashing three home runs during the ALDS with Houston. Morales cranked out a three-run homer on Wednesday to put the Royals up 7-2.

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Kansas City also brought in Alex Rios on a one-year deal. Rios’ time in KC has been different from Morales. He started off hot, smashing a home run on Opening Day, but was injured shortly after and missed a month.

Rios didn’t look as good once he came off the DL. He struggled to get into a groove throughout the regular season, but has looked good in the playoffs. Rios was the first to get on base in the eighth inning in Game 4 of the ALDS, which started that crazy five-run rally. He also had a clutch hit in Game 5 down the left field line to score both Salvador Perez and Alex Gordon and put the Royals up 3-2 over the Astros.

We then move to the newer newbies (if that’s even a term). Dayton Moore traded valuable pieces for ace pitcher Johnny Cueto and utility guy Ben Zobrist.

Cueto’s time in Kansas City has been weird. He has been incredibly inconsistent throughout his time in a Royals uniform, but he came through when the Royals needed him the most. Game 5 saw Cueto taking the mound for Kansas City in a win or go home situation.

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Cueto went out and pitched lights out baseball for the Kansas City Royals. He gave up a two-run home run in the second inning, but really… That shouldn’t have happened. The Royals should have been out of the inning, but instead a runner ended up on first and the next batter hit Cueto’s pitch for a homer.

After that, Cueto handled the next 19 batters and held the Astros to those two runs. He struck out eight batters in eight innings. THAT was the Johnny Cueto the Royals traded for. It was nice to see him show up when Kansas City needed him the most.

As for Ben Zobrist, he was absolutely worth the trade. He’s been a force on offense and on defense since coming to Kansas City. I mean… Did you SEE that leaping grab he had in Game 5 to rob the Astros of a hit? Incredible.

All of these guys have made an impact in the regular season and continue to show their worth during the playoff run. Let’s hope they can continue to impress as the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays begins on Friday.

Next: Royals VS Blue Jays: Opposites Attract

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