Kansas City Royals
2015 Win/Loss Record:
95-67, 1st in American League Central, Won World Series
Last Postseason
Appearance: 2015
Last World Series
Championship: 2015
Key Arrivals: Tony
Cruz (C), Joakim Soria (P)
Key Departures: Johnny
Cueto (P), Ben Zobrist (2B), Ryan Madson (P)
Manager: Ned Yost,
7th Year W/L 468-469
(925-971 in 12 years with Brewers and Royals)
(925-971 in 12 years with Brewers and Royals)
Overall Review: For a while during the
ALDS against Houston, it appeared that the Royals were finished. Down two games
to one and trailing Game 4 by a score of 6-2 in the eighth inning, the Royals showed why they
were the best team in baseball. They rallied to win the fourth game, came from
behind again in the fifth game to knock out the Astros, outlasted the Blue Jays
in the ALCS and easily disposed of the Mets in the World Series.
There’s no reason to think the
Royals won’t repeat. They didn’t lose much. Their offense is still intact and
their pitching will survive the loss of Johnny Cueto, who really didn’t help
them much anyway. They are in the toughest division in baseball (top to bottom)
and as the champions, they’ll be sporting a big bull’s eye, but the Royals have
already proven they can overcome adversity.
Offense: Yes, the Angels’ Mike Trout
and the Pirates’ Andrew McCutcheon are outstanding ball players. But I will
take Lorenzo Cain as my starting centre-fielder over anyone in all of baseball.
A few injuries limited him to 140 games last year, but he still hit .307, 16
home runs and added 72 RBIs, while stealing 28 bases. Yes the two centre-fielders
I mentioned have put together better stats…in the regular season. Cain can get
it done when it counts: the postseason. In 31 playoff games in 2014 and 2015,
Cain has a .295 average, one home run, 19 RBIs and eight stolen bases.
He has a lot of help in the
line-up as well. Catcher Salvador Perez (.260, 21, 70), first baseman Eric
Hosmer (.297, 18, 93) and left-fielder Alex Gordon (.271, 13, 48) all made key
contributions during Kansas City’s playoff runs over the last two years. And it
looks like speedster Jarrod Dyson will finally get his chance to play everyday
as he’s scheduled to start in right field. In 90 games last year, Dyson only
batted .250 but he did steal 26 bases. The more he plays, the more he’ll get on
base, and the more he’ll steal.
Pitching: Even with the timely hitting
of the offense, it’s the pitching that won the World Series for the Royals. The
starting staff is led by two Latin-American fireballers: Yordano Ventura and
Edinson Voloquez. Ventura will be the ace and in 2015 he was 13-8, posted a
4.08 ERA and struck out 156 batters. He’s still only 25 and is learning to be a
better pitcher every year. Voloquez finished 2015 with a 13-9 record, a 3.55
ERA and struck out 155 batters. The other three hurlers will be Chris Young
(11-6, 3.06, 83), Danny Duffy (7-8, 4.08, 102) and Kris Medlen (6-2, 4.01, 40,
in eight starts and seven relief appearances.)
The bullpen took a hit with the
loss of Ryan Madson but they’re still potent. The closer will be Wade Davis
again. Last year, Davis saved 17 games after the team lost Greg Holland to an
elbow injury. Davis also won eight games out of the pen, had a 0.94 ERA and
struck out 49 batters. Kelvin Herrera will be the Royals’ set-up man, but he
has the tools to one day be a Big League closer. In 2015, Herrera made 72
relief appearances, striking out 62 strikeouts in 69 2/3 innings, had a 4-3
record and posted a 2.71 ERA.
 |
| Kansas City centre-fielder Lorenzo Cain |
Prediction: Another first place finish
in the AL Central is in store for the Royals. But another World Series
championship might be hard to come by. The Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays
both have line-ups capable of ousting the Royals in a short series. However,
never count the champions out. They didn’t get there by accident and they still
have a line-up worthy of being baseball’s first back-to-back champions since the
Yankees won three in a row from 1998 to 2000.
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