5 KC Royals who’ll be the difference between success, failure

With four weeks until pitchers and catchers report to their respective spring training, KC Royals fans are beginning to stir. A nasty winter makes Opening Day seem like a distant milestone, but what is two more months after all?

Before spring training starts, let's look at a few integral KC Royals in 2024.

Any MLB roster starts at its 26-man roster, with the 40-man providing reinforcements if needed. But, every team has a handful of players that impact the season's performance more than most. The Los Angeles Dodgers notoriously added plenty of those impact players this offseason, but Kansas City already had some in-house options to drive the ship in 2024.

Let's take a look at five such players and how their roles affect the Royals so much.

Catcher Salvador Perez

What a tough 2023 season it was for catcher Salvador Perez. With the Royals captain returning, will fans see him rebound, or will it be another year in the inevitable decline?

Salvy posted the first negative fWAR of his career last year, thanks to baseball's new rules negating his defensive value behind the plate and struggling to produce with his bat. On a young team, Perez is the experienced veteran, the final reminder of the 2015 World Series championship. He has value in the locker room with his leadership and is still immensely popular among the fanbase. But his sizeable contract begs him to perform on the diamond, not just be a feel-good player.

Fans all know that Perez needs to turn things around at the plate. His 86 wRC+ was a career low but also showed a slugger performing well below league average. The hope is that Perez will find a sliver of the 2021 magic where he set career highs with 48 home runs and 121 RBI.

Frankly, all he needs to do is better than he was last year. This squad has players returning from injury, new blood in the lineup, and hopefully more consistency in the batting order. Perez is a cornerstone in all those facets. He is the captain; it's time to see why again in 2024.

Reliever Carlos Hernández

A singular reliever's value waxes and wanes, with the overall bullpen's performance mattering most. However, if the Royals need one reliever to rebound most of all, it has to be Carlos Hernández.

Hernández has shown flashes of brilliance in his outings, with a strong fastball that can keep hitters off balance. His average fastball velo sat at 99.1 last season, ranking in the 99th percentile among all MLB pitchers. That pitch led him to a stellar first half, posting a 0.99 WHIP and 10.3 K/9 in his first 37 games. That stretch, after Kansas City traded away several relievers, had Hernández in line for more high-leverage opportunities.

Those opportunities did not turn out very well for the fireballer. He flamed out, posting a 1.93 WHIP and 7.82 WHIP in the season's final 30 games. In the matter of 25⅓ innings, Hernández went from the Royals' future closer to one of the worst relievers in baseball.

Hernández rediscovering himself would be a major boost to the Royals bullpen in 2024. He is entering his fifth season with Kansas City, so something has to give this year. The Royals' closer job is still up for grabs, despite the Royals adding plenty of bullpen arms this offseason. A successful Hernández could not only help Kansas City win games but also become a valuable trade chip.

First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino

Do you know that Vinnie Pasquantino still hasn't played 162 career MLB games? After a late debut in 2022 and an injury-shortened 2023, Pasquantino returns with high expectations and a ton of fanfare.

Pasquantino got off to a slow start in 2023, but he was still above league average at the plate with a below-average .250 BABIP. All signs pointed to him bouncing back as the season progressed, but the universe had other plans for his season. He underwent surgery for a torn right labrum, ending his season in June. The only positive was that his surgery gave us this midseason gem.

Pasquantino stuck around baseball during rehab, with fans seeing his infectious smile and giving some stellar interviews. It was refreshing to see Pasquantino so much, despite him not being able to play. But the batting cages started calling, and now it is time to see the Old Dominion alum perform in 2024.

Pasquantino has a chance to cement himself as a franchise cornerstone, the missing piece in Kansas City's winning machine. His return will either cause immense questions at first base or solidify his spot for the foreseeable future. Fans saw what Pasquantino could do during his red-hot 2022 debut. That version of Pasquantino will carry the Royals far.

Starter Cole Ragans

There was no hotter and more surprising Royals starter down the stretch than the newly acquired Cole Ragans. Now, he has a chance to prove he can be an elite pitcher across a whole season.

Ragans had a historic start with the Royals last season, performing like an ace in the season's latter half. However, the same could be said of Brady Singer, and Royals fans know how that turned out. Ragans has plenty of expectations for 2024, starting by being the team's Opening Day starter.

Any team's top pitcher plays a massive role in their team's success or failure. Ragans' role in Kansas City feels even bigger than most, though. His 2024 season will be a prime example of how the Royals organization has changed for the better or not. Remember, the majority of fans reacted poorly to Cole Ragans being the primary return for Aroldis Chapman? That opinion changed quickly once he made his Royals debut, but the negative reaction was warranted because Kansas City has a history of losing trades.

Ragans continuing to dominate in 2024 fuels optimism in the scouting department while giving Kansas City their long-awaited ace. Like Pasquantino, Ragans can carry the rotation far and protect a middling bullpen in 2024.