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.

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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.

John Sherman’s group completed the purchase of the Kansas City Royals back in November 2019, and has made sure to say all the right things so far.

Plenty has been said about the new majority and controlling owner – who had a minor share, and later became Vice Chairman of the Cleveland Indians for four years. Apparently, he’s not afraid to spend under the right circumstances, but he’s right when he mentions that with a small market revenue the spending must be smart and innovative, so it’s important that smart and innovative personalities surround the staff.

From Jeffrey Flanagan, MLB.com: “I learned a lot in four seasons in Cleveland. We had seven straight winning seasons, and I think we won an average of 94 games the four seasons I was there. But I think as a small-market team, you have to be smarter. You have to evaluate and draft well. We wrapped up some people pre-arbitration, and certainly this team has done some of that. And then, when you have the opportunity, you have to trade away some assets to be able to compete. I think I learned that in Cleveland. I think these guys are pretty optimistic. I think I heard [Matheny] say, ‘It’s not a rebuild. It’s a transformation.’” – John Sherman

Having said that, hiring Mike Matheny came as a surprise, as he didn’t seem too innovative during his days with the St. Louis Cardinals, but he’s certainly heard about the desire to look at concepts such as analytics to gain an advantage. Matheny has been vocal about the newfound knowledge, and even took a course on the subject matter.

Nevertheless, these changes within the organization are a breath of fresh air as change needed to occur. The ballclub has hit rock bottom on consecutive seasons and something has to happen to start winning ballgames at a respectable clip.

Matheny stacked his coaching staff with personnel that have been with the Royal organization for some time, but also added his hitting coach from St. Louis in John Mabry as major league coach. Others such as hitting coach Terry Bradshaw, and pitching coach Cal Eldred, are still rather new to their posts as they’re walking into their third year in the position.

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.