Kansas City Royals: 100 games in and Royals are contenders

Once you’ve played 100 games into an MLB season, you can really decide what kind of team you have. The Kansas City Royals have a contender.

They weren’t supposed to be in this position. The Kansas City Royals were dead and buried. Sure, it was only April, but there was no other conclusion for the kind of baseball they were playing. It looked like a AA team on the field against pros. One night they couldn’t hit, the next they couldn’t pitch. Yet at the 100 game mark, the Royals now sit in a very strong spot.

With a rout of the Tigers last night, Kansas City improved their record to 53-47 on the year. That’s something that didn’t seem possible when they finished April with a lowly 7-16 mark. That is a huge comeback, and it has the Royals thinking about the postseason. Enough so that they look to be contenders in the trade market.

Kansas City has already added a trio of pitchers to the starting rotation and bullpen via a solid trade with the Padres. However, rumors are still swirling about their interest in more pitching help. That certainly does sound like a team that wants to compete late in the year. The key to success in the postseason generally lies with solid pitching.

Yes, the Royals are absolutely in a position to be thinking about that right now.

https://twitter.com/Royals/status/890393046940045314

They Can Play With Anyone

Not only are the Kansas City Royals winning right now, they’re beating just about everyone. That includes some of the top teams in baseball. The Royals own a 12-7 mark against the AL East and a 15-12 record against the AL West. Unfortunately, they still hold a losing record in their own division with a 21-23 showing so far.

Within those divisional records, KC holds a 4-3 record against the Astros, 5-4 against the Indians, and 2-1 against the Red Sox. If it weren’t for a terrible 4-8 showing against the Twins, they would probably be very much in control of the AL Central.

Related Story: Kansas City Royals Show They Are All In With Recent Trade

Of course, there are the 0-3 and 2-4 marks against the Dodgers and Yankees, respectively, that also stands out. So Kansas City still has some work to get done. However, you can’t argue that they haven’t held their own against some of the best teams in baseball so far this year.

The Bats Came Alive

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So what happened to turn the Kansas City Royals season around? Well, they found their offense. At the beginning of the season, the bats were eerily silent. A lot of strikeouts, and not very many well-hit balls into the field. It was bad enough that only Lorenzo Cain was hitting well at one point.

Now, things have changed. Even the sub-.200 club of Alcides Escobar, Alex Gordon, and Brandon Moss have climbed out of the depths. Granted, none of them is even close to a .250 hitter right now, but the fact they’ve come as far as they have is huge for the Royals.

On top of that, you have guys like Whit Merrifield and Eric Hosmer providing steady offense, while Mike Moustakas and Salvador Perez are absolutely crushing the ball. That’s the kind of thing a team with October aspirations likes to see…

…and the Royals definitely have October aspirations.

The Kansas City Royals absolutely have to be considered contenders for the postseason. This is a team that has shown they can make a lot of noise against some of the best teams in baseball. The Royals are absolutely on fire right now. As long as they keep the momentum going, there isn’t much that can stand in their way.