Breakout Royals Hurler Ranked Among Players Facing 'Important September'
Will the Kansas City Royals find a way to make it back to the postseason for the first time since 2015?
Kansas City lost 106 games last season so it had very low expectations heading into the 2024 campaign. The Royals spent the last offseason looking to add bargain free agents with upside and their moves certainly have paid off.
The Royals have a 4 1/2 game lead over the Boston Red Sox for the final American League Wild Card spot and right now are looking like an almost guaranteed playoff team. There still is a few weeks to go in the regular season, but things are looking up for the Royals.
Kansas City certainly has been active lately and was busy around the trade deadline and playoff-eligible waiver deadline. One player who has been an intriguing pickup is reliever Lucas Erceg. He has been fantastic for the Royals and has a 2.63 ERA in 13 appearances so far.
Erceg has been so intriguing that he was called the No. 4 player in baseball facing an "important September" by CBS Sports' R.J. Anderson.
"We'll concede that Erceg seems like an odd choice for any number of reasons," Anderson said. "Bear with us. The Royals' bullpen hasn't been particularly good this season (they rank 25th in ERA as of this writing), and they're chasing down what could be their first division title since 2015. That combination could convince manager Matt Quatraro to press the button for Erceg more often than he might otherwise like to, in turn putting a lot on Erceg's shoulders -- in terms of workload and in terms of championship probability.
"We will note that Erceg (who was considered day-to-day after picking up a hand injury last week) has, of this writing, only worked consecutive games twice since joining the Royals at the deadline. If we had to guess, that won't remain true for long."
There certainly will be a lot to look out for in Kansas City over the next few weeks.
More MLB: Royals Could Target Ex-Red Sox Infielder To Add Depth In Playoff Fight
PATRICK MCAVOY
Patrick McAvoy's experiences include local and national sports coverage at the New England Sports Network with a focus on baseball and basketball. Outside of journalism, Patrick also recieved an MBA at Brandeis University. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org