3 good reasons to keep watching the ‘new’ KC Royals

Seeing how the KC Royals’ group of talented rookies finish will be well worth it.

That Whit Merrifield and Andrew Benintendi are gone from the club hasn’t hurt the Royals—they’re 8-8 since trading Benintendi to the Yankees and 6-4 after dealing Merrifield to Toronto. And while fans may miss those two stars, plenty of rookies are capturing attention.

Bobby Witt Jr. continues to build his case as a possible AL Rookie of the Year candidate. His 15 homers trail only Salvador Perez’s 17 on the club, he’s stolen 22 bases (fifth highest in the majors), and his .254 average, while not spectacular, is 27 points higher than it was June 1.

MJ Melendez debuted May 3 and, although he’s hitting just .235, has 14 homers and 41 RBIs.

Vinnie Pasquantino beat Nick Pratto to Kansas City—the Royals called Pasquantino up June 27 and summoned Pratto July 22—and both are starting to make their presence known. Splitting time between first base and DH, Pasquantino has steadily improved his average to .247 and has a .331 OBP and six homers. Pratto strikes out too much, but shines defensively at first and has three homers, including this walk-off blast against Boston last Saturday:

Michael Massey is, with Merrifield gone, settling in at second base. He’s played there eight times since Merrifield’s departure, has erred only once and is hitting .333 with a .385 OPS.

Their play may not be overwhelming yet, but these rookies bear watching as the season winds down.

It isn’t great yet, but the KC Royals’ pitching is gradually improving.

Five pitchers from Kansas City’s heralded 2018 draft class—Brady Singer, Daniel Lynch, Jonathan Heasley, Jackson Kowar and Kris Bubic—have seen action this season. Zack Greinke is back with mixed, but lately good, results. Brad Keller has been unsurprisingly inconsistent. Scott Barlow is one of the majors’ best relievers and pitches like it, while Josh Staumont’s struggles are becoming more frequent.

But the staff’s body of work is disappointing. The rotation and bullpen both rank low, which helps explain why the Royals were on pace to lose 100 games not that long ago.

Fortunately, though, things are looking up. Singer, whose troubles helped earn him a stint in the minors earlier this season, is performing like the club thought he would when it picked him in the first round of the 2018 draft—2-1 with a 2.45 ERA in July and August (his record would be better but for weak run support), Singer is arguably becoming the staff ace: his 5-4 is the only winning record among the club’s regular starters.

Also in turnaround is Bubic. At least for now, pay little attention to his 2-6 record, which doesn’t reflect how good he’s been lately. His July-August 3.04 ERA contrasts sharply with the 7.45 he had through June and he hasn’t surrendered four or more runs in a game for almost two months.

Lynch is now a solid rotation piece. He held the Dodgers scoreless over five innings Friday night (LA scored all its runs off the bullpen and KC lost 8-3) and he’s giving his club a chance every game. His four wins tie Barlow, Greinke and Collin Snider for third most on the staff.

And Keller? Although inconsistency remains the name of his game, and the White Sox battered him for eight runs in 5.2 innings Aug. 2, he’s 4-3, 4.69 since June and showing some signs—especially a winning one-run, six-inning effort against Boston six days ago—of righting himself.

Barlow leads the bullpen. Primarily the closer until manager Mike Matheny recently began adding high-leverage eighth inning assignments to his portfolio, he leads the club in saves with 18 and hasn’t blown one since June. An ugly six-run disaster against the Yankees July 29 remains the only significant mar on his season—he’s 4-4, 2.32 in 50 games.

So, Kansas City still doesn’t have a top-notch pitching staff, but it will be a fun one to watch for the next several weeks.

Improving pitching, some exciting rookies, and a new team energy give fans good reasons to stay interested in the Royals.