Kansas City Royals: Not long shots to win A.L. Central
For much of 2014 (and several years prior), the A.L. Central was Detroit’s world and four other teams were merely living in it without posing a major threat.
Partly due to their own gaffes, droughts, and injuries, the Tigers’ lead has evaporated to an opponent they are used to being well distanced from in the standings. Now they look up to them by a half game. It’s hardly accidental or by happenstance the Kansas City Royals lead the A.L. Central.
For owner David Glass and general manager Dayton Moore, fruits of their labor have bloomed remarkably in 2014. Expectations and hype aroused from Wren’s collection of young talent and draft picks have blossomed for a team who’s last playoff appearance was a 1985 World Series victory.
Manager Ned Yost has plenty of reasons to believe winning a division title is possible with his club running on all cylinders lately. The cornerstones of their success are deduced from excellent pitching and timely offense.
James Shields is Kansas City’s stabilizing ace and emotional leader. The 11 game winner has been polished over his past eight starts, yielding a minuscule 1.94 ERA. No coincidence he’s been a vital part of this current surge, in which the team has won 18 of 22 games.
Shields was part of a Rays teams with a familiar identity to this Royals one before he was packed with teammate Wade Davis to Kansas City in 2013. In his second year as Kansas City’s number one starter, Shields encouraged fellow hurlers to pitch deeper into games.
The Royals 735 1/3 innings thrown by the rotation is eighth most in the game. Jeremy Guthrie, Jason Vargas, Yordano Ventura, and Danny Duffy head up a starting five with a 3.68 ERA, 10th best in MLB.
Their bullpen is constituted for playoff baseball. The fashion in which all relievers are throwing in 2014 makes them an effective corps should Kansas City reach the promised land. Stats don’t quite explain the Royals’ bullpen dominance. A few stand out individually. Kelvin Herrera hits 100 mph effortlessly with 43 strikeouts in 50 innings pitched. Davis has been a hidden gem with a 0.86 ERA and 0.90 WHIP. Greg Holland’s 36 saves ties Francisco Rodriguez for the most in MLB.
ERA, WHIP, opponents batting average, strikeout to walk ratio aren’t in the upper echelon with San Diego, Washington, Seattle, Oakland, or San Francisco’s pen. Yet here’s one undeniably dominant trend. After a five run seventh inning against Oakland on Thursday, Kansas City improved to 54-1 when leading after seven innings with a 7-3 victory.
The Royals treaded water after Omar Infante went down in the first week of April. Eric Hosmer suffered a fractured hand on July 31, but signs point to him swinging a bat post-haste. In the midst of his recent injury, Kansas City has cobbled together an offensive effort suitable enough for their impenetrable bullpen to protect leads to pick up division ground.
Josh Willingham was brought over this week from Minnesota in a trade for one sole purpose, to knock balls out of the yard. Willingham brings 193 career four baggers to a Royals squad that has catcher Salvador Perez and third baseman Mike Moustakas tied for a team-high 14.
“The Hammer’s” power would add another dimension to a middle-of-the-pack Royals offense scoring-wise (4.04 runs per game). Seventy-two homers as a team ranks them dead last in baseball. Station-to-station is a facet experienced too often for Kansas City’s liking. Power is what they covet, adjacent to a versatile lineup, albeit one that ranges on a few extremes.
Kansas City has struck out 705 times as a team, lowest in baseball. Conversely, their 274 walks are fewest among MLB teams. A .263 batting average is third best in the MLB, but 303 extra base hits are third-worst in the game. The Royals have also grounded into the seventh most double plays (100) in 2014. Yet, only Detroit and Colorado have better averages with runners in scoring position (.271).
They’ve also got speed to utilize, evidenced by 103 swiped bags which are right behind the Dodgers’ 105. Last Sunday during their sweep of the San Francisco Giants, Norichika Aoki and Jarrod Dyson stole six of seven team stolen bases, an MLB season-high.
Detroit’s offense matches up with anyone’s in baseball. Unless starters throw complete games, it won’t help a bullpen a 27th ranked bullpen 4.35 ERA that opponents hit for a .275 average. Closer Joe Nathan’s successful reputation precedes itself, but he flipped off home crowds Wednesday night amidst boos even though it came in a win.
The Royals are playing free and easy. Without pressure because perception had it as the Tigers division to lose more than another team’s to win. Now in first, there’s no reason Kansas City can’t finish the regular season with this exact momentum to quench an elusive playoff drought.