Kansas City Royals: Five Biggest Surprises in 2017

Whit Merrifield: AL Stolen Base Leader

It’s hard to believe, but the American League leader in stolen bases didn’t start the year in the big leagues. He also only stole eight bases while playing half of last season at the major league level.

That man is Whit Merrifield, and he entered Saturday with 33 stolen bases. The second baseman has been caught just five times. In 2016, he was thrown out on three of his 11 stolen-base attempts. Suffice it to say, Merrifield’s base-stealing propensity has been a major surprise.

It’s hard to believe, but the American League leader in stolen bases didn’t start the year in the big leagues.

In fairness, Merrifield’s entire offensive game has been a shock. The 28-year-old has 30 doubles, 18 home runs and 73 RBI. He’s slashing .291/.330/.465 and has an OPS of .795.

Merrifield is second on the Kansas City Royals in WAR. His 4.1 WAR is just ahead of Hosmer (4.0) and not far behind Cain (4.9).

Some of Merrifield’s base-running decisions have been called into question recently. But when it comes to straight steals, he’s been one of the best in the league. He entered Saturday just ahead of a pair of Houston Astros—Jose Altuve (32) and Cameron Maybin (31)—for the AL lead.

Merrifield would almost certainly have a larger lead if he had been on the Opening Day roster. Whether he should have been with the Kansas City Royals from Day One is hard to dispute in hindsight, because his season has been a pleasant surprise.

Jakob Junis

Draft picks taken in the 29th round are long shots at best to ever each the major leagues. It’s even more rare that a player taken that late in the draft becomes a front-line starter. But that’s the path Jakob Junis seems to be on.

Taken in the 2011 draft, Junis has been arguably the most consistent starter for the Kansas City Royals this year. Granted, the just-turned-25-year-old hasn’t spent an entire campaign with the big league club. If he had, he likely would have experienced the ups and downs of a full season.

Junis excelled in most of his 14 starts. The rookie currently sports a sparkling 8-2 record with a 4.05 ERA and 1.28 WHIP. He has 71 strikeouts in 86 1/3 innings—one of the main areas in which he can improve in 2018.

Junis has only gotten better as the season has progressed. He has yet to lose a decision since June. In that time span, he is 6-0 in 10 appearances (eight starts). His ERA and WHIP over the past three months are down to 3.04 and 1.05, respectively.

Fans have undoubtedly pictured a starting rotation anchored by Danny Duffy and Junis. Not a bad lefty-righty one-two punch. If the Kansas City Royals actually made the AL Wild Card Game, some fans would have clamored for Junis to start the winner-take-all contest.

Regardless, Junis is one of the bright spots that fans can hang their hat on entering an offseason full of question marks.

Bullpen Lefties

The Kansas City Royals bullpen has been a wasteland for much of 2017. It’s been a place where leads have gone to die. The offseason departure of Wade Davis didn’t help. Neither has the struggles of Kelvin Herrera, Brandon Maurer and Joakim Soria.

The only thing keeping the bullpen afloat has been the work of its left-handers.

The trio of Mike Minor, Scott Alexander and Ryan Buchter have been collectively outstanding for the Kansas City Royals over the course of the season. (Or since the trade deadline in the case of Buchter.)

Minor had a near-flawless first half of the year. Coming off a lengthy rehab process following shoulder surgery, he was a pleasant surprise in the first half of the year—even earning some love on our midseason awards list. Minor struggled early in the second half—regression to the mean, as it were—before coming on strong in September.

When Minor struggled during July and August, Alexander was there to pick up the pieces. The 28-year-old allowed just seven earned runs over 28 innings during the heart of the summer. He’s come back down to earth in September with a 4.50 ERA. However, it’s been impossible not to call 2017 a breakout success for Alexander.

Coming over from San Diego along with Trevor Cahill and Maurer, Buchter was the least heralded of the additions. Ned Yost tabbed Cahill the rotation’s No. 5 starter. Maurer had been closing for the Padres, so he looked to be a major upgrade. Neither has worked out, but Buchter has been tremendous. In 25 appearances with the Kansas City Royals, he has a 1-0 record with a 3.04 ERA and 0.93 WHIP.

Collectively, the three lefties have thrown 163 2/3 innings for the Kansas City Royals. They have a combined 3.34 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. In a year when their right-handed counterparts have struggled, the bullpen lefties have kept the Kansas City Royals in the hunt longer than they probably should have been.

Jason Vargas: Joint-MLB Wins Leader

Heading into Saturday’s action, there were six people tied for the most wins in MLB this season with 17. Among the joint-leaders are familiar names Clayton Kershaw, Chris Sale and Corey Kluber. Former Kansas City Royals pitcher Zack Greinke is also on 17 wins after a rough 2016.

Milwaukee Brewer Zach Davies is a surprising inclusion on the 17-win list. However, the most stunning member of the group is Jason Vargas. After missing almost all of 2016, Vargas has piled up wins this season.

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The 34-year-old pitched amazing in the first half and earned his first All-Star appearance. However, it’s possible Vargas would have been better served resting over the All-Star break. But you can’t blame him for wanting to participate in his first Midsummer Classic.

In the opening half of the season, Vargas put together a 12-3 record with a 2.69 ERA. Since his scoreless ASG appearance, the veteran left-hander is 5-7 with a ballooned 6.39 ERA. That’s with three straight wins and only four runs allowed over that span.

All told, Dr. Vargas has operated to a 17-10 record. He has a decent 4.03 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. Control has been arguably his biggest downfall this season. As a pitcher who gets few strikeouts, his 2.40 K/BB ratio is less than ideal.

Vargas seems unlikely to be back in Kansas City in 2018. But his 2017 will go down as one of the better seasons by a Royals pitcher in recent memory. That’s something few people—if any—would have predicted when the curtain was raised on the season five months ago.

Mike Moustakas: Royals Home Run Record Setter

Coming off a severe knee injury, there’s always a question about how a player will bounce back. After suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in 2016, Mike Moustakas came back about as well as possible this season.

Anyone who thought Moustakas would break the Kansas City Royals single-season home run record—set by Steve Balboni in 1985—missed a golden opportunity to win the lottery. Moose entered the year with a previous career high of 22 homers in a season. In fact, his two highest outputs together totaled 42.

So, of course, he has blasted 37 this campaign.

Not only has he set his career mark in home runs, but also his 83 RBI and .839 OPS are personal bests. The downside has been an increase in strikeouts with his 90 marking a steep increase over his stellar 2014 and 2015 seasons when he averaged 75.

Moustakas got off to a great start to the season—one of the few Royals who can say that. He hit seven home runs in April, six in May, eight in June and nine in July. Aided partly by a late first-half flurry, Moustakas earned his second All-Star Game appearance. (Both have come courtesy of a Final Vote win.)

Injuries and fatigue took their toll on Moustakas in August and September. After hitting his 35th homer in mid-August, it took over a month for him to break the 36-homer barrier. Even with his recent struggles, Moustakas has been a pleasant surprise in 2017.

Even those who were convinced Moose would come back strong from his knee injury, never could have envisioned the season he’s put together. It’s a shame that it’s taken until quite possibly his last year with the Kansas City Royals for Moustakas to put together this kind of season.

Next: Assessing the 2018 Schedule

What do you think, fans? What were your biggest surprises of 2017? Let us know in the comments and on social media.