KC Royals: 3 reasons for excitement in new Royals’ era

The new year is here, and there’s plenty of excitement for the Kansas City Royals heading into this season and beyond. Will past disappointments launch the team into contention in the new era?

Anytime a team endures back-to-back 100-game losing seasons, it becomes numb to disappointment. There are waves of written pieces expecting more heartbreak within the next few seasons before the Royals get a taste of success. It’s like a tortured prisoner expecting more pain before being freed, while having the means and tools to escape, but missing the will to accomplish it.

A lot has happened and fallen into place that can give us all renewed hope that the team is on the cusp of finding their stride in the American League Central. This new decade should promise sustained success, and the most pessimists among us recognize that it’s coming, we just don’t know when.

It’s always difficult to predict ultimate success in baseball as winning a World Series title is not always guaranteed, regardless of which players take the field. So many things must happen to win it all, but that key phrase that keeps getting tossed around in “sustained success,” is certainly within the realm of possibility for the Kansas City Royals.

More from Kings of Kauffman

• Winter Meetings: Any blockbusters for the KC Royals?
• Grading the 2022 KC Royals: The versatile Nate Eaton
• KC Royals: Club appears ready to hire pitching assistant
• Grading the 2022 KC Royals: Infielder Nicky Lopez
• New pitching coach looks like a good fit for KC Royals

It’s often said that history repeats itself. Usually, that phrase represents some sort of world tragedy, but it can also apply to positive occurrences. There are some parallels between the trajectory of this Royals team and the early 1990s Atlanta Braves, which coincidentally employed Ned Yost as their bullpen coach under manager Bobby Cox. Four young starting pitchers powered those teams: Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, and Steve Avery (two right-handed, and two left-handed pitchers).

The team had come off eight consecutive losing seasons, with back-to-back 97 losses, and then, suddenly won 94 games in 1991. Was it sudden, though? Not really. The team made legendary manager Bobby Cox their skipper in 1990, and stole (really hired, but what’s a world without some exaggeration?) general manager John Schuerholz from the Royals (who also, coincidentally was Dayton Moore’s boss in Atlanta), where he won a World Series title in 1985. The team also struck gold with young pitching. The offense was good enough to provide run support, but the decades long domination primarily happened on the mound.

The question then becomes… Will the Kansas City Royals follow the path from the highly successful 1990s Atlanta Braves? There are no guarantees, but it sure provides an exciting prospect heading into a new era.

Let’s take a look at our three reasons.

The current Royals roster isn’t supposed to lose 100 games. There’s talent within this construct, and they could make a real splash as soon as this year.

A perfectly constructed batting lineup is key to maximizing each player’s potential and setting everything in motion on a nightly basis. Here’s my preferred lineup going into next season based on the current roster:

1. Adalberto Mondesi – SS (43 SBs)

2. Whit Merrifield – CF (16 HRs, 2019)

3. Jorge Soler – DH (48 HRs, 2019)

4.  Salvador Perez – C (27 HRs, 2018)

5. Hunter Dozier – LF (26 HRs, 2019)

6. Maikel Franco – 3B (17 HRs in 2019, but has slugged 29 HRs with more ABs)

7. Ryan O’Hearn – 1B (14 HRs in 2019, but will certainly surpass 20 HRs with more ABs)

8. Bubba Starling – RF

9. Nicky Lopez – 2B

This is a dangerous lineup, but it all begins with the leadoff spot. Adalberto Mondesi must become the team’s leadoff hitter. Having Merrifield hit in front of Mondesi compares to having David Wright hitting leadoff in front of José Reyes.

This duo can provide a double threat for years to come, but they must have the right order in place. Reyes tormented pitchers the moment he reached base, and it set the tone for the opening frame and the rest of the game, as much attention is placed on a speedster such as him or Mondesi.

It’s not the first time the “Reyes/Mondesi” comparison has been made, and for good reason. They’re both from the Dominican Republic, they play shortstop, and both have incredible speed, so why isn’t he hitting first? His inability to get on base at a “leadoff hitter” rate is understandable, but Reyes endured the same struggles coming up at a similar age as Mondesi. Let’s change things up a bit – what’s the worst that can happen, the team loses 100 games?

After those two comes some power, and the Royals are primed for more of it this season. Last year, only Jorge Soler and Hunter Dozier surpassed the 20-home run mark, and only Merrifield hit more than 15. That’s changing this time around.

Merrifield could hit 20 for the first time in his career, although he doesn’t have to and the team won’t require it. Soler should slug at least 30 (baseball reference projects 33), Dozier can also get to 30, Perez always hits at least 20, Franco has been hovering around 17 the last two seasons, but did hit 29 dingers in 2017. O’Hearn struggled terribly in 2019, and his power numbers suffered as his slugging percentage was the lowest in his professional career (he had a .479 SLG in the minors). However, he’s a walking 20 HRs a year and simply didn’t have enough plate appearances last year for us to discard his production.

The real weapon of the new Kansas City Royals era lies with the young pitching prospects. The baseball world should watch-out once all these players reach the majors.

We may see some of these names make an appearance this season, but pitching is a projected strength in the next few years. All four top KC Royals top pitching prospects, and 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft first rounders in Brady Singer, Daniel Lynch, Jackson Kowar, and Kris Bubic have enjoyed tremendous showings in the minors, let’s just look at the total numbers so far:

LHP Daniel Lynch: 11-3, 2.50 ERA, 157 Ks, 37 BBs, 1.192 WHIP (Class A and High A)

LHP Kris Bubic: 13-8, 2.59 ERA, 238 Ks, 61 BBs, 1.078 WHIP (Class A and High A)

RHP Brady Singer: 12-5, 2.85 ERA, 138 Ks, 39 BBs, 1.187 WHIP (High A and Double A)

RHP Jackson Kowar: 7-11, 3.50 ERA, 166 Ks, 55 BBs, 1.231 WHIP (High A and Double A)

The future is bright, and Royal contention is just a matter of time. It’s possible that half of those players become a bust, and never show true promise, but it’s also possible that all four of them fulfill their full potential with the Royals at least for the next decade.

It has 1990s Atlanta Braves type feel with this talent level as discussed during our introduction. It appears Dayton Moore is trying to follow the blueprint he witnessed first-hand during his time with the Braves organization.

Imagine a pitching rotation of RHP Brady Singer, LHP Daniel Lynch, RHP Brad Keller, LHP Kris Bubic, and RHP Jackson Kowar. I say bring them all up today… but good thing I’m not in charge of making those decisions. They’ll get to Kansas City in due time, and we’ll see what they bring to the table, but their development is paramount.

Nothing is promised. Not a World Series title, not a pennant win, not a playoff run, not a winning season, not even a 100-game losing season. At the end of the day, coaches must strategize and inspire, and players must buy into the system, and put their talents and hard work on display.

The new era of baseball in Kansas City certainly looks promising, and I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds.