Fansided

5 reasons the Royals can win the World Series in 2015

By Nathaniel Reeves

Jul 28, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer (center) celebrates a 2-1 win over the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 28, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer (center) celebrates a 2-1 win over the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aug 2, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Kansas City Royals left fielder Ben Zobrist (18) hits a two run homer against Toronto Blue Jays in the eighth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 2, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Kansas City Royals left fielder Ben Zobrist (18) hits a two run homer against Toronto Blue Jays in the eighth inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Peter Llewellyn-USA TODAY Sports /

Few weaknesses in the lineup

While Kansas City’s lineup doesn’t compare to the powerful Blue Jays, or even the Yankees, it still ranks a strong seventh in the Majors by wRC+ according to FanGraphs. With very few offensive weaknesses among regular starters, the Royals lineup is more than good enough to win the World Series.

Kansas City’s roster is built around a core group of players who were top prospects when the Royals were rebuilding and have played together for the past four or five years. Some of those prospects didn’t quite pan out as well as Kansas City would have hoped, but they are all peaking at the right time.

Leading the offensive is Eric Hosmer, who is one of the hottest hitters in baseball and on pace for his best offensive season. Mike Moustakas is also having his best season at the plate, improving his OPS by over 100 points from a year ago.

A huge key has been Kendrys Morales, as he was projected to struggle this season, but has easily replaced the production of Butler from the DH position. After a terrible shortened 2014 season, Morales is hitting an impressive .289/.349/.459 with Kansas City this year.

The Zobrist acquisition will pay huge dividends for the lineup over the last quarter of the season. When Gordon returns, Zobrist can move to second base and replace Omar Infante, easily the worst regular in the Kansas City lineup.

That leaves Escobar, Perez and Alex Rios as the only below-average regulars in the everyday lineup. Even Escobar and Perez are posting wRC+ marks of 77 and 87 respectively, so the Royals don’t have a lot of black holes to deal with.

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