The 19-27 Kansas City Royals are in freefall right now after a stretch in late April-early May that saw them win 10 out of 15 games and climb within 1.5 games out of first place in the AL Central. Losers of six straight and potential two consecutive series sweeps on the road, the Royals find themselves clawing for breath with the MLB’s fourth-worst record.
Kansas City’s pitching has been consistently horrendous over this poor stretch, giving up at least four runs in each game. Losing ace Cole Ragans to an elbow injury was going to be a test, and so far, the rest of the starting rotation has failed to pick up the slack.
The lone bright spot has, of course, been superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who has upped his batting average to .309 with seven home runs, 13 stolen bases, and is third in the MLB with 56 hits. What’s even more impressive is that Witt tops the league in WAR (Wins Above Replacement) at a whopping 3.1 according to ESPN analytics.
Following a recent plunge in the standings, the Royals could still dig themselves out
Despite the Royals being the worst team in baseball the past week, they are still just 2.5 games out of a Wild Card spot with upcoming matchups with the Boston Red Sox (19-26), Seattle Mariners (22-25), and New York Yankees (28-18), all American League opponents. If they can somehow regain their past firepower, Kansas City could soon find itself rising up the standings and quickly.
46 games into the season may not be nearly enough to get the full scope of what any team could look like come September, but it’s enough to understand where the team might be going. For the Royals and manager Matt Quatraro, putting complete games together consistently has been the biggest struggle.
A major factor in this struggle has been the tinkering with lineups that Quatraro keeps trying out. While I’m all for giving guys a chance to step up, it’s hard for anybody to really get into a groove when they are in and out of the lineup on a whim. Witt fits best at the two spot, right behind Maikel Garcia as the lead hitter. That’s easy. What’s hard is figuring out the rest.
I'm sure Quatraro wishes he could just wave a magic wand and make his players perform up to the level required of winning, because it may sound bad to say for a team down in the standings, as KC, but the Royals do have immense levels of talent on this team. That and Witt being one of the best players in baseball, along with better starting pitchers from guys who have shown they can do it, are all Quatraro has to hang his hat on. Let’s hope the “Boys in Blue” can turn it around.
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