Number 27: Kansas City Royals
Since their World Championship in 2015, the Royals have regressed each year. This year with a 5-15 record through their first 20 games and a lot of fresh faces it feels like that championship was eons ago.
The Royals are now without Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain in the lineup so it’s certainly a new look. The lone standing familiar face is Mike Moustakas who was brought back with a somewhat surprising new contract.
Moustakas is by and large their best player as he’s hitting .318 with six homers and 17 runs batted in. One of their recent additions in Lucas Duda is also one that catches the eye slightly. He’s second on the team with 10 runs batted in and has hit for 30 home runs twice in his career including last season.
Their best pitcher right now is 25-year-old Jakob Junis who is 3-1 with a 2.03 ERA in four starts. Last year in 16 starts he was 9-3 with a 4.30 ERA. Junis is someone the Royals can build their staff around for the future, so it’s understandable for fans to get excited to see him every go-round in the rotation.
For 2018, there isn’t much to see. The only connection back to the glory days runs is Mike Moustakas and they’ve just started a rebuild.
Kansas City baseball in 2018 is probably something you’d like to avoid. If there’s nothing else on you can flip it on, almost like Family Feud, but MLB is like a Football Sunday, and there’s no way you’re locked into Family Feud on a Sunday in the Fall.