Insider's Surprising Grade For Royals 2024 Season Could Backfire Within A Week
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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JACKSON ROBERTS
Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org