With the start of the 2019 season rapidly approaching, I believe it’s time that we give you the ultimate breakdown of each division and predict their position in the standings come season’s end. It’s hard to predict record, so we’ll just give you their placement in the standings. Of course, this is coming from a fan’s perspective and what we think it could look like, not what it will. Today, we focus on the American League Central and the Kansas City Royals:
Kansas City Royals
2018 record: 58-104, 5th in AL Central
Projected Lineup:
2B Whit Merrifield
SS Adalberto Mondesi
LF Alex Gordon
DH Jorge Soler
3B Hunter Dozier
1B Ryan O’Hearn
C Martin Maldonado
RF Jorge Bonifacio
CF Billy Hamilton
Starting Rotation:
LH Danny Duffy
RH Jakob Junis
RH Brad Keller
RH Homer Bailey
Key Bullpen Pieces:
RH Wily Peralta
RH Brad Boxberger
LH Jake Diekman
RH Ian Kennedy
Key Bench Pieces:
OF Brett Phillips
INF Chris Owings
OF Brian Goodwin
It’s been such a far fall from the 2015 World Championship season for the Royals. From 95 wins that year to just 58 last year, Kansas City is back in their rebuild phase and they will have to go through the 2019 season without their star backstop, Salvador Perez, who will be receiving Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire season, prompting GM, Dayton Moore, to sign Martin Maldonado to take his spot. Whit Merrifield came out of nowhere last year and had a tremendous season. .304 average, 192 hits and 47 stolen bases. He will be the anchor of that downgraded offense for 2019, but be sure to keep an eye on Mondesi as well. In 75 games last year, he hit .276 with 14 home runs and 32 stolen bases. If there’s one thing the Royals look like they have is speed with Merrifield, Mondesi and the newly acquired Billy Hamilton. Don’t be surprised if we see these three at the top of the league with swiped bags.
Starting pitching is decent, but won’t overwhelm the opponents with Duffy, Junis and Keller as the top three starters in the rotation. The Royals seem to be a bit higher on Keller heading into 2019 as they named him the team’s Opening Day starter. In 41 games last year with 20 starts, Keller had a 3.08 ERA, a 139 ERA+ and a 3.6 WAR, which was second on the team. If given the opportunity, the 22-year-old looks to open some eyes this season.
The bullpen has come a long way since Davis, Holland and Herrera. They did pick up some insurance with Boxberger, the former All Star who saved 32 games in 2018. They’ve also decided to move Ian Kennedy to the pen for the time being, but I don’t see that to be a long term ordeal.
The Royals are not the championship caliber team they were just a few short years ago, but they are not the worst in this division.
2019 prediction: 4th on AL Central
