Kansas City Royals
2024 record: 86-76
Second place, AL Central
Team ERA: 3.76 (8th in MLB)
Team OPS: .710 (14th in MLB)
What Went Right
At this point last year, the Royals were coming off a 56-106 season. What a difference an offseason makes. Kansas City not only improved its record by 30 games, but they were able to make the postseason and swept the Orioles to advance to the ALDS against the Yankees. There are plenty of reasons for why this happened, but none of them top the spectacular campaign of Bobby Witt Jr. He led the league in average (.332), homered 32 times, stole 31 bases and might have been the best defensive player in baseball; certainly the best shortstop in the American League. Oh, by the way? He’s 24.
On top of the MVP-caliber season from Witt Jr. (no, he’s not going to win, Aaron Judge has that locked up), the Royals had one of the best pitching staffs in the AL. Cole Ragans showed that 2023 was no fluke while striking out 223 hitters in 186 2/3 innings with a strong 3.14 ERA. Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha were both brought in as free agents and became stalwarts in the Royals’ rotation; Lugo forging an even 3.00 ERA and staying in the Cy Young hunt for much of the season, and Wacha a 3.35 mark with 14 quality starts and a 145/45 K/BB. Add in a solid — if inconsistent — season from Brady Singer and the Royals had one of the best and deepest rotations of anyone in baseball. Imagine me telling you that would happen in 2023.
What Went Wrong
Saying anything went wrong for a team that won 30 more games than the previous year seems a bit callous, but obviously an 86-76 team had flaws; flaws that saw them lose to the Yankees in four games in the ALDS. The offense was extremely top-heavy with Witt Jr., Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino finishing with OPS above .750; and no other regular who played more than 105 games finished with an OPS above .700. The starting pitching was fantastic. The bullpen left a bit to be desired even after some additions near the deadline. Kansas City finished 20th with a 4.13 ERA from its relievers, and until the acquisition of Lucas Erceg — more on him in a second — the Royals struggled to find a consistent stopper at the beck of the bullpen.
Fantasy Slants
– You cannot help but wonder how much better Witt Jr. can get based on his age and how successful he’s been in his first three seasons. His only real issue right now is that he swings at too many pitches outside of the zone — his chase rate of 32.1 percent puts…