As odd as it may sound, the Royals are both first in the AL Central and only half a game away from being last. After an 86-win season that saw the Royals make it past the Wild Card round, the ‘Boys in Blue’ were poised for a 2025 campaign that would cement them as a consistent playoff contender.
While it’s still extremely early in the season, and over 150 games are yet to be played, here are some early takeaways from the Royals' first two series matchups against the Cleveland Guardians and the Milwaukee Brewers.
Royals Need More From Offensive Elite
The “Big 3” have to play better. For much of this offseason, Royals President of Baseball Operations J.J. Picollo and General Manager Matt Quatraro were focused on easing the burden of pressure offensively on Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, and Salvador Perez. And for the most part, they did a solid job in acquiring some key additions while also giving a couple of guys bigger roles to flourish in (more on all that later). But more help or not, it will mean nothing if Witt, Vinnie, and Salvy can’t sustain the elite level of play exemplified last year.
Through 6 games, they have combined for just 14 hits on 67 at-bats (.208 average), 2 home runs, and 15 strikeouts. I’m not at all saying that these stats are what I expect to continue for the majority of the season, but for the Royals to put runs on the scoreboard consistently, the meat of the order needs to improve.
Starting Pitching
Starting pitching - Aside from a masterful six scoreless inning performance from Kris Bubic that saw him strike out eight in the Royals 11-1 rout of the Brewers to end March, the Royals starting rotation has been pretty shaky, to say the least. One of the Royals' biggest strengths when it came to pitching was that they did not have a truly bad starter like years past, where the bullpen would need to be exerted.
But like it or not, they don’t have a couple of aces they can throw out there and fully trust that they’ll get seven great innings. 27-year-old Cole Ragans and veteran Seth Lugo are very good pitchers and were both in the conversation for the Cy Young award in 2024, but I would view last season from those two as an aberration rather than a sign of things to come.
Complementary Pieces
As I mentioned earlier, the biggest addition to the 2025 Royals may prove to be former Cincinnati Red and do-it-all defensive guy Jonathan India. As the Royals leadoff man, India is hitting .320 with a .393 on-base-percentage, providing a much needed offensive jolt. India is also a versatile defensive player, primarily manning third base for KC but also stepping out to left field and second base when needed.
Fourth-year player out of Venezuela, Maikel Garcia, is off to a red hot start this year, hitting .353 with an .824 slugging percentage and a team leading two homers. Garcia is still not a full-time player in the lineup, but if he keeps this up, he’ll no doubt force Quatrato to move some pieces around to fit him in. The last guy who’s taken a step this year is second baseman Michael Massey, who compliments Witt Jr. at shortstop very well and is never pressured by the situation. Massey provides consistent pro-level play on both sides of the diamond, hitting .273 so far this year.
Bullpen Lapses
The Royals' bullpen for the most has been very solid through six games, minus the two guys who have seen some of the most action in Angel Zerpa and Sam Long. In 6.2 combined innings, Long and Zerpa have posted a 9.00 ERA and 6.75 ERA, respectively, giving up the same number of walks (3) as strikeouts (3). Aside from Long and Zerpa, Kansas City’s bullpen has been nearly perfect, thanks in large part to John Schreiber, Lucas Erceg, Daniel Lynch, Carlos Esteves, and others. The Royals will need some of the shine from these guys to rub off on Long and Zerpa if they want to close games out.