Are the Royals a team we need to be concerned with going forward?  Looks like they may be 14-7 by the end of today, and they appear to be a pain to play head to head.

The Royals are solid.  I could see them finishing with 77-82 wins.  Which is pretty good and enough to say we should definitely be thinking about them.  But they're well shy of a playoff team, IMO.  

4 minutes ago, Tomtom said:

Are the Royals a team we need to be concerned with going forward?  Looks like they may be 14-7 by the end of today, and they appear to be a pain to play head to head.

Nope. The Royals will be a pain on good days, but over the course of 162 they suck. 

Their pitching seems very likely to regress. They've done a good job beating up the Tigers though.

Their pitching is overachieving by quite a bit. Duffy has a ERA under 0.50, but his Baseball Savant page is half blue. His xERA is almost 4. He's throwing harder than before, but he always his issues staying healthy. I think at the end of the season Brady Singer is gonna be their best pitcher. Nothing about their roster quality jumps out at you. They may luck their way to above .500 record if everything goes their way, but I really doubt they can win 90+ games. 

Edit: after reading over what I wrote again, Danny Duffy reminds me a lot of Carlos Rodon. Oft-injured lefties who are throwing harder this year and aren't likely to sustain the massive success they've had early on. 

Edited April 26, 20214 yr by chw42

Edited April 27, 20214 yr by chitownsportsfan

I hate them.

I wasn't a fan for how Dayton Moore maintained their window, but he definitely can scout. They have collected some great talent, and they don't seem to g.a.f. about industry trends which is kinda fun, honestly.

We better get used to it. There is a fast expiration date on being the young exciting team.

Talk to me in late May when they're a couple games under .500

They play the Sox pretty tough I think. They look steady and competent.

They're going to be a pain in the ass, but Minnesota is till the concern. That hasn't changed. 

They beat Angels and Jay's lost to the Ray's. 00

No.  I've still got them ticketed to about 78 wins.

1 hour ago, daggins said:

Their pitching seems very likely to regress. They've done a good job beating up the Tigers though.

The WS will need to show up and play to their capabilities.  They look to be good enough to beat a team that would take them for granted.

1 hour ago, bmags said:

I wasn't a fan for how Dayton Moore maintained their window, but he definitely can scout. They have collected some great talent, and they don't seem to g.a.f. about industry trends which is kinda fun, honestly.

We better get used to it. There is a fast expiration date on being the young exciting team.

What else could he have done to sustain it without going well over $150-160 million?

The relievers started to fade from overuse.  Alex Gordon was a bad legacy contract, like Konerko.  They couldn’t afford to keep Cain, Moose and Hosmer as well (most would argue none of those guys have been worth their big FA deals, although you could certainly make a case for Moustakas).  Yordano Ventura was going to be their ace, and he died.  Zobrist and Cueto came in as free agents, and Zobrist always wanted to come back home.  We all know about Shields.

Also, they just swept DET for the first time ever on the road in a four game series.

Just like last year (with the Sox), strip away the results against the Tigers (and KC) and they’re at best hovering around .500 or slightly below.

The key will be their head to head against Sox, Twins and Indians.

Also, besides Merrifield and Perez (on an absolute tear recently), Carlos Santana and Michael Taylor have been quite good.  Solid veterans.  Benintendi and Soler haven’t played well yet. 

As always, surprising offense that comes down to pitching pitching pitching for them.

I think the Royals are legit. They have a good deal of pitching depth coming up from the minors, and if they continue to win or stay in the race they will not be afraid to bring up super stud Bobby Witt Jr and other pitching prospects. They also get back Aldaberto Mondessi soon. 

They have a legit roster and a tough team. With some luck, they can compete with the white sox or twins. They seem to have a management who will go for it as well. 

Lions do not concern themselves with the play of sheep

23 minutes ago, Nokona said:

Lions do not concern themselves with the play of sheep

Lol well said.  Not even close

3 hours ago, Tomtom said:

Are the Royals a team we need to be concerned with going forward?  Looks like they may be 14-7 by the end of today, and they appear to be a pain to play head to head.

Nope. No worries at all about KCR. Sox roster is better, way better. I figure Sox will go 12-6 against them this year; if KC is lucky maybe Sox will go 10-8 vs. KC. Royals are going to suffer a long losing streak at some point, 8 to 12 in a row I predict. Sox roster is way better; case closed.

1 hour ago, caulfield12 said:

 They couldn’t afford to keep Cain, Moose and Hosmer as well (most would argue none of those guys have been worth their big FA deals, although you could certainly make a case for Moustakas.

I tell you and nobody listens to greg that hardly any contracts are "worth" it after a few years max. Look at Manny M. Through 87 at bats he has three homers and 10 RBIs. So what? To this point this season, Yermin has been more valuable. Owners really blew it by paying these big salaries and outpricing the middle class. Does anybody think Hosmer was worth that kind of jack? Laughable. GO SOX.

Edited April 26, 20214 yr by greg775

17 minutes ago, greg775 said:

Nope. No worries at all about KCR. Sox roster is better, way better. I figure Sox will go 12-6 against them this year; if KC is lucky maybe Sox will go 10-8 vs. KC. Royals are going to suffer a long losing streak at some point, 8 to 12 in a row I predict. Sox roster is way better; case closed.

19 games vs division opponents since 2013...except last year. I’m hoping the Sox go at least 46-30 in the division, with a season series win against all four. 

I hate off days.

Granted, I don’t think they’re there yet, I do think KC is going to be the issue in the long term. 

This team is going to be real interesting come July when they call up Jr, Lynch and Kowar.