8 KC Royals chasing good marks before season ends

With just 21 games left on the schedule going into tonight’s game at Minnesota, not much remains for the KC Royals to accomplish this season. Whatever playoff chance they may have had (and there wasn’t much of one) evaporated months ago, leaving finishing somewhere other than last place in the American league Central Division their only realistic goal.

And although there isn’t enough time left for the club to significantly improve its disappointing team pitching and batting numbers, several players can avoid making their disappointing stats even worse.

Pitcher Brad Keller is 6-13 with a poor 5.24 ERA, putting him only one loss away from tying his career worst 14 defeats and in danger of surpassing the 5.39 ERA he posted last year. Kris Bubic has already lost four games more than the seven he lost last year and it’s doubtful he can decrease his 5.40 ERA enough to get it under his career worst 4.43. Daniel Lynch doesn’t want any more pitching defeats than the 10 he has.

Zack Greinke surely hoped for more out of his return to Kansas City; instead, in a season marred by poor run support and two trips to the Injured List, he’s 4-8, and winning the last three or four starts he’ll get this season would be nice.

Some KC Royals have chances to achieve notable personal numbers this season.

Other players’ statistics are a different story. Good individual marks are within reach of at least eight Royals as the campaign enters its final three weeks.

Let’s see who they are.