The Crazy Story of the 2024 Kansas City Royals

in the 2023 season the Kansas City Royals went 56 and 106 and finished in last place in the American League Central they were even worse than the white socks who in 2024 are on Pace for one of the worst seasons ever that team had almost nothing going for it save for shortstop Bobby Wood Jr and starting pitcher Cole Reagan however outside of them there weren't many players contributing and it's for this reason that with a terrible offense and terrible pitching that the Royals finished in last place in their division that team ranked 25th in Ops 26th in home runs 28th in erra 26th in pitcher strikeout rate and were bottom 10 in defensive run saved the 20123 Royal season was their worst since 2005 heading into the season this year they made a ton of Acquisitions in for agency first was signing relievers Will Smith and Chris Stratton on one-year deals from there the front off his targeted starting pitchers the first of which was 34-year-old veteran Seth Lugo the right-hander put up a 3.56 ER over the last three seasons with the Mets and the Padre's that deal was for 3 years and $45 million next in line after him was another veteran starter this time in Michael W he had been really solid for Boston in the 20122 season and then for San Diego in 2023 his contract was for 2 years and $32 million Hunter Renfro hit 80 home runs from 2021 to 2023 along with a 779 Ops for parts of Seasons with four different teams the Royals desperately needed a veteran bat in that lineup and ined him to a deal over 2 years and worth $13 million in about a week the Royals had partially addressed needs in the bullpen starting rotation and their lineup with these moves in mind people were optimistic about the team and how they would play in 2024 the most optimistic people had them winning 85 maybe 86 games and possibly sneaking into the playoffs as the number six seed having won only 56 games in 2023 there was infinite room to improve and as the playoffs get closer and closer this year we can see just how much they truly have improved it's been 5 months since opening day in that time a lot of things have happened around MLB one of the most notable stories has to be what has taken place in the AL Central the Cleveland Guardians took sole possession of first place in the division starting on April 13th they had not relinquished the lead since and even led the Royals in the division by 10 games on June 25th but since that point the two teams have been going in different directions while the Royals have won 32 of their last 52 games the Guardians have slumped and won only 24 of their last 56 the month of August has been especially kind to the Royals in particular since August 1st they are 15 and 10 which is one of the best records in MLB what has prompted the stretch of winning baseball has been any number of things obviously the most important has been the play of MVP candidate Bobby Wood Jr for the month of August the All-Star shortstop has been on fire at the plate in 110 plate appearances he is slugging a ridiculous 698 with a sparkling 409 on base percentage he's barreling up the pitch 16% of the time which is more than double the average player in MLB it doesn't need to be said really that his defense at shortstop has remained Platinum glove caliber during this time if it weren't for Aaron judge and what he's doing right now in New York Whit would rather easily be the AL MVP in my opinion another player contributing their best effort right now is third baseman Paul D young recently acquired by Kansas City the former Cardinal is raking for the Royals in the month of August right now the third baseman is complet completely resurrecting his career after a few down Seasons he has eight extra base hits in 60 plate appearances and has an average exit velocity of 90.6 mph off the bat for his career before 2024 his average exit voo was a measly 87.3 mph which is worse than about 80% of MLB hitters he hasn't been a royal for very long but is definitely making his impact known on the pitching side newly signed starter Mike Waka is having a great month in four starts on the mound he is pitching to an excellent 2.16 ER and has allowed just one home run in 25 Innings Waka isn't known for being a strikeout pitcher and during his recent hot streak he isn't disproving that what he is doing is limiting hard contact and keeping the ball in the park there are other players getting hot right now for the Royals but I picked these players in specific because they've elevated their performance a lot compared to the first 4 months of the season right now the Kansas City Royals are 75 and 59 and tied for first place in the AL Central with the Guardians they've made up a 10 game deficit in just over 2 months and the way each team is looking right now it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Royals end up winning the division outright their remaining schedule is admittedly really tough but if things keep going like they are right now it's definitely possible that they can make a run and can grab the first round by in the playoffs definitely like And subscribe if you haven't yet and thanks for watching this video