Five Reasons the KC Royals Are Projected to Win the World Series

Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

2) Bullpen and Defense

2) Defense

The Royals, led by Lorenzo Cain, have shown the world in the past four games that they can play defense better than any team in the league. One of the reasons they had the fifth worst fielding percentages over the course of the regular season at .983 is because the Kansas City defense was making errors on some balls that other teams couldn’t even reach.

According to Ultimate Zone Rating from Fangraphs.com, , the Royals had the best defense in all of baseball. Their UZR was 61.1. Second place went to the Baltimore Orioles with a UZR of 54.8.

 According to Ultimate Zone Rating from Fangraphs.com, , the Royals had the best defense in all of baseball.

As you look around the Royals’ diamond, nearly every player has phenomenal range and Gold Glove potential. Eric Hosmer, Salvador Perez, and Alex Gordon already have the hardware. Perez and Gordon should be candidates again this season.

Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar were finalists last year, and both should be again. If Cain doesn’t win a Gold Glove, something is wrong. He accumulated a 17.6 UZR, 10.1 of which he earned playing center field.

Jarrod Dyson was actually THIRD in the majors with a 17.7 UZR in center; Cain’s 10.1 centerfield UZR was 8th.