This season for the Kansas City Royals will be unlike anything we’ve experienced in quite some time. They were a remarkable team, winning 30 more games in 24′ than they did 23′. Kansas City joined the 1946 Boston Red Sox and the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays as the only teams to improve by at least 30 games, then go on to win more than one game in the playoffs.

It was 2016 when the Royals were last expected to do something of significance. It was the year after winning the World Series and injuries unfortunately derailed that team from staying at the top.

That team had guys like Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, Alex Gordon, and Mike Moustakas; a really good collection of players that were better than the sum of their parts.

There was no MVP candidate on that team, but there is on the 25′ version.

There were zero Cy Young finalists on that 2016 team, but there is one on this team.

One constant still remains: Salvador Perez is still the heart and soul of this team.

Lineup

Perez will be 35 in May but is still producing like an MLB All-Star. Honestly, he doesn’t get the respect he deserves across the league. If the league doesn’t recognize how great this man is that’s on them. We know how special of a human being (the human being part hasn’t been confirmed yet) Salvador Perez is. The Royals will need him to run it back in 25′, when he was 2nd on the team in RBI’s with 104 (Witt Jr had 107).

The Royals return the bulk of their offense from last season but added Jonathan India via trade in the off-season. They had to trade homegrown pitcher Brady Singer to do it, but India could be exactly what the Royals need to have a more consistent offensive attack this season.

India is known around the league as on-base machine, and his .351 mark would have ranked 2nd on the Royals last season. On-base ability was the one ingredient missing from this team being a serious World Series threat in 24′. The Royals hope sliding India in as the lead off hitter will ignite the lineup and help produce even more runs for the middle of the lineup which is formidable.

Bobby Witt Jr. is going to be the best American-born (no one is touching Shohei, we can keep it a buck) definitively by the end of the year. His 24′ campaign was just scratching the surface of what he can do and that is a scary thought. He came in 2nd in MVP voting hitting .332 with 32 dingers, 109 RBIs and 31 stolen bases. I think there’s actually some meat left on the bone for the kid. Witt Jr. could seriously flirt with a 40-40 season.

Vinnie Pasquintino showed that he was more than just a power hitter and drove in 97 runs in 131 games. He would’ve had over 100 RBI if not for a thumb injury late in the season. This year I want to see Vinnie turn in more professional at-bats. He needs to see more pitches and get deeper into counts. I want to see him spit on more pitches that he can’t do damage on. That’s the next evolution in his game. A deeper understanding of the strike zone. He needs to be a picky eater and choose his pitchers wisely. Expect a higher OBP and OPS and maybe even an All-Star appearance.

A player I believe could be on a meteoric rise this season is Michael Massey who should pencil in as the No. 5 hitter in this lineup. Massey has shown flashes of being a quality major league hitter but back injuries have forced him to miss games the last two seasons. He hit .259/.294/.449 in 100 games and he should be healthier in 25′ with the arrival of Jonathan India. India will take more reps at 2nd base which is Massey’s natural position. Massey has been on record saying playing 2nd aggravates his back so the Royals have made efforts to get him in the outfield and DHing more often. This will allow him to available at the dish more regularly. 140 or more games of Massey could look like a .280 average with 20 or more home runs. Keep your eyes on Massey, he’s about to blossom into an above average player on could flirt with All-Star status this season. He had a great spring and there is something to be said about Postseason success spilling over to the next season. Massey was clutch in the ALDS and that boost in confidence will make him a breakout player in 25′.

Once you get past the top four in the lineup, there are a lot more question marks than answers. Hunter Renfroe pencils in as the 6 hitter and needs to have a rebound season after a poor .229/.299/.392 slash line. He will have to get off to a hot start to keep his job in KC because there could be young blood coming for him in Jac Caglianone is he can’t produce (we’ll come back to him later). I could just copy and paste what I just said about Renfroe and apply it to MJ Melendez as well. The second round pick from 2017 won’t have many more chances to prove he’s a real major league hitter and not just a fourth outfielder who can run into a few home runs.

Maikel Garcia, Kyle Isbel, Cavan Biggio, Dairon Blanco and Mark Canha round out the rest of the lineup. Those are fine players for the bottom of the lineup, as they make a lot of contact and can get hot at the dish and provide more length for the rest of the lineup. Garcia and Isbel are defensive-first players but I think Garcia will have a bounce back season at the plate. Canha was signed last week and will provide another player who excels at getting on base. in 125 games he sported a .344 OBP.

Now the million dollar question is, when will Jac Caglianone be on this team? The No. 1 prospect for the Royals was the topic of discussion all Spring Training. The kid had a hell of a Spring, hitting three dingers and posting a 1.871 OPS across 17 Cactus League games. His power is otherworldly and chicks dig the long ball, we know. But give Jac some time to get acclimated in the Minors. He’s still only 22, and he needs to learn how to get through adversity. I want to see how he will adjust after a tough stretch in the minors. He hasn’t experienced failure yet and we know all Major Leaguers will. He needs to experience it, get through it. How he performs in AA will tell the Royals everything they need to know. If he hits well, he could be up in the Majors by June/July. Stay tuned for that as we keep an eye on the young phenom’s rise to Major League Baseball.

Pitching Staff

The Royals return one of the best rotations in the American League. It was by far, the best staff the Royals have had in Kansas City maybe since the early 90s and it showed in the win column. Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, and Michael Wacha are as good as it gets for a rotation one through three. Ragans had a career year and was fifth in MLB in strikeouts with 223. Lugo was a finalist for the Cy Young, and ate up over 200 innings. Wacha pitched his most innings and strikeouts since 2017. But there are reasons to be skeptical about this staff in 2025. Ragans is 27, but Lugo is 35 and Wacha is 33. At the latter stages in their careers, it may be asking a lot for Lugo and Wacha to repeat their numbers and innings they pitched in 24′. Ragans lost velocity towards the end of the year, but he was a stud last season and I expect him to lead this rotation again. Bubic and Lorenzen are the 4 and 5 starters and provide a solid floor to keep the Royals in every game they play.

There were some who thought Daniel Lynch IV could’ve grabbed that last starters spot but the Royals have been behind Bubic being a starter all along. Lynch IV should be the first option if someone goes to the IL with Noah Cameron being an option down in AAA. This rotation needs to be as dominant if not close to it, to be able to keep the Royals at the top of the division.

Bullpen

The bullpen is the facet of the team that is the most improved over last season. Having Erceg and Estevez as foundations in the back end of the bullpen along with Hunter Harvey, John Schreiber, Sam Long, Daniel Lynch IV and Angel Zerpa will serve this team well throughout the season. Their starters more times than not will eat up 5-6 innings. Most MLB teams do not have six guys they can go to that they trust fully. When the Royals missed out signing a power bat for the middle of the lineup, they focused on making the bullpen a “super power”. Now they have created a clear strength and can lean on their strong pitching to carry them to a few more victories than they had in 24′

Prediction:

The Royals won 86 games last year and 89-92 wins are absolutely in play. If they can’t hang on for the division crown, they should be able to wrap up a Wild Card spot at minimum. The Royals are in uncharted territory as anything less than a playoff berth will be unacceptable. The American League is wide open this year and the Central division is not exactly a murderer’s row. The Twins, Tigers and Guardians all believe they can win the division, but the Royals will get to play the White Sox 13 times this year. With their revamped bullpen, I think some of those L’s they suffered early last season will turn into W’s this season. The Tigers will be the biggest competition for the Royals, but I like the makeup of this team and Manager Matt Quatraro knows the temperature of this team and how to get them to respond. Their continuity and last season’s postseason success should propel them to new heights as they embark on their quest to prove that last season was no fluke.