Tuesday marks the beginning of the most important week of baseball the Kansas City Royals have played in a very long time.
With six games remaining in their season, there is just one game separating the Royals between the playoffs and heading home early. Mired in a seven-game losing streak, Kansas City has only itself to blame for making things so difficult on themselves in crunchtime.
Zooming out on the big picture, though, the Royals are in a position that would have seemed completely miraculous a year ago. After losing a franchise record-tying 106 games in 2023, their playoff destiny is entirely in their own hands with under a week to go in 2024.
It’s a difficult concept to wrap one’s head around: the Royals have come so far, but now, it’s like they have to pay it off with a playoff berth for all the progress to count. And it makes evaluating the season Kansas City has had a tricky proposition.
ESPN’s David Schoenfield assessed the seasons of all 30 Major League Baseball teams with letter grades, and gave the Royals an A- for their work so far in 2024.
“A couple weeks ago, when they had a shot winning the division, this could have been an ‘A+.’ Then, with a wild-card spot at least secure, it was still an ‘A.’ Now, with the playoffs suddenly in jeopardy as the offense has forgotten how to hit, it drops to an ‘A-,'” Schoenfield said.
“Still, the Royals will have one of the biggest year-to-year improvements we’ve witnessed in MLB history after they finished 56-106 in 2023. They hadn’t been bad for just one year either; they had the worst overall record since 2018.”
Countless things have gone right for the Royals this year: Bobby Witt Jr.’s continued rise to superstardom, the emergence of Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans at the top of the rotation, and a newfound speed-and-defense identity that has helped K.C. pull out countless close games.
However, first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino’s injury was a turning point for this lineup, which has gone ice-cold with runners in scoring position. The bullpen has also proved untrustworthy at times, losing a few very winnable games that could have given the Royals some breathing room right about now.
At 82-74, the Royals are tied with the Detroit Tigers, one game clear of the Minnesota Twins (81-75) and 1 1/2 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners (81-76). Kansas City opens up a series with the Washington Nationals on Tuesday before heading to Atlanta to finish their season on Friday.
Consider this week K.C.’s final exam. We’ll be able to assign them a proper grade soon enough.
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