Kansas City Royals: Checking on my five bold predictions for 2019
By Cullen Jekel
Bold Prediction No. 2: The Royals Lose Fewer Than 90 Games
Verdict: lol
What in the heck was I thinking? Let’s check back together.
I gave a couple of reasons for my thinking. First, to lose fewer than 90 games in 2019 called for a 15-win jump by the Royals from 2018. That, uh, didn’t happen: the Royals improved by just a game.
Baby steps, amirite?
Additionally, I looked at how the Royals played after the All-Star break in 2018, and they played decently, going 31-36 while being outscored by just two total runs. Before the break in ’18, the Royals’ winning percentage was a paltry .284. After the break: .463.
In 2019, the Royals went 30-61 (.330%) in the first half of the season and 29-42 (.408%) in the second half. Worse, the run differential barely improved: -90 in the first half to -88 in the second half.
The final reason I gave for this type of optimism was the expectation that the Royals would beat up on other rebuilding teams in the American League Central. I sort of covered my hide by calling the Minnesota Twins “an enigma” as they’d gone from 85 wins and a playoff spot in 2017 to 78 wins, missing the playoffs, and firing their manager in 2018.
Under first-time manager Rocco Baldelli, the Twins rebounded nicely in 2019, winning the American Central by eight games over the Cleveland Indians while topping 100 wins before getting swept in the Division Series.
Meanwhile, the White Sox finished 72-89, 12.5 games ahead of the Royals. That’s a 10-win improvement for the South Siders despite missing out on big-time free agents Manny Machado and Bryce Harper.
Finally, there’s the Detroit Tigers, who somehow managed to finish worse than the Royals. Hell, the Tigers finished dead last in the Majors, earning the No. 1 pick in the 2020 Draft in the process. Detroit finished a woeful 47-114.
In 2018, against the Twins, White Sox, and Tigers, the Royals went 29-28. Against those same opponents in 2019, the Royals finished 24-33 with a winning record against only the White Sox.