The KC Royals deserve more respect in the power rankings

The KC Royals started out the season rough, but now that things have picked up, it seems like they should get a little more respect in the rankings.

Even for a KC Royals optimist like myself, expecting the Royals to find their way to the postseason before the season started was a stretch. It still is a bit of a stretch. But at the moment, expecting them to play like a contender is not.

The Royals started out the season rough. They managed a few wins to start, but their offense seemed to shut down and they were unable to keep up with their opponents, no matter how good the pitching staff may be doing.

Over the last week, though, the team seems to have started coming together. Maybe time was needed for some of the newer players to figure out how to play with the established ones, or players trying to figure out how to play a new or less than familiar spot. Either way, the last few games of play have looked different.

The defense has found a way to pick itself back up and get back to the greatness that fans know and love. The offense has finally come around, allowing the Royals to score when they are down, and add some padding to secure the lead. And the pitching staff continues to defy the odds and prove to fans that they really can make this work.

It looks like a different team in Kansas City, and when looking at the newest power rankings for the MLB, it was expected that the team might see a little more respect. Of course, that wasn’t the case with the ESPN and MLB power rankings.

Previously, the Royals were ranked at 26 (ESPN) and 25 (MLB). So it’s no surprise that after finding a way to climb out of the stats basement and bring themselves within just a few games of the AL Central leading Twins, that the Royal would drop, right?

In the newest rankings from yesterday, the Royals sit at 27 (ESPN) and 28 (MLB). I am biased, there is no denying that, but in looking at the stats, records, level of play, whatever you like, it’s obvious that the Royals should be given a little more of a look.

Let’s take a trip through stats real quick. By team, the Royals are tied for 2nd in batting average, 7th in slugging, 10th in OPS, 12th in home runs, tied for 1st in doubles, 2nd in hits, and 12th in runs. If looking at pitching, they are 12th in ERA with 3.95, 13th in strikeouts, 22nd in FIP but not far from league average, and middle of the pack in plenty of other categories, a huge difference from previous seasons.

As far as standings go, the Royals have a higher win percentage than 8 teams and are tied at .412 with 2 others. Of course, standings are difficult to judge at the moment with some teams not having played as many games, but there are multiple teams that have played about the same amount of games with a lower winning percentage and still manage to find their way ahead of the Royals.

In no way is it being suggested the Royals should be at the top of the power rankings. There are plenty of teams with better winning percentages, better stats, etc. But saying that after sweeping the Twins who are a leader in the AL, winning 4 in a row, and climbing their way into the top half of the stat boards, they should still drop in the power rankings is ridiculous.

In this 2020 season, the Royals have little to lose, and everything to gain. After multiple 100 loss seasons, a couple of game improvement would look like a lot. Though if winning games and competing for top spots on the leaderboards is what gets you pushed to the bottom of the rankings,  then here’s to hoping that the dropping continues and the Royals show that they have the team to watch.

The KC Royals picked themselves up and managed to better their record and show what they have to offer. Still, they dropped in the power rankings. Hopefully, the success will continue and the Royals will prove everyone wrong.