Royals Path To Playoffs: Where Things Stand And How They Stack Up
The Kansas City Royals have a big series this weekend with the Atlanta Braves, a fellow playoff hopeful. With just one win, they can clinch a Wild Card spot.
The American League Central has already been won by the Cleveland Guardians, but there are still things left to play for. As things stand right now, the Royals would be the second Wild Card team, thanks to winning the season series with the Detroit Tigers.
That would guide them to a best-of-three matchup with the Baltimore Orioles, who will be waiting with Corbin Burnes and Zach Eflin ready for the first round. Now is a good time to see how the Royals would stack up with Baltimore.
The Royals would be able to throw Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, and Michael Wacha in the three Wild Card games. The one weakness for Kansas City would have to be their bullpen. James McArthur and Hunter Harvey went down recently with injuries.
However, the lineup looks to be in good shape. They'll be able to ride the hot bat of Bobby Witt Jr., while other pieces such as Paul DeJong, Salvador Perez, Michael Massey, Maikel Garcia, MJ Melendez, Kyle Isbel, and Hunter Renfroe provide more firepower.
Baltimore's pitching staff has been depleted thanks to the injuries to Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells, and John Means. It certainly won't be easy to face Burnes and Eflin, but the Royals do have the offensive firepower to stand up to Baltimore.
The starting rotation should also be in good shape as the playoffs near. We'll see if the Royals can clinch a spot on Friday.
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Curt Bishop is a freelance sports writer who graduated from Maryville University of St. Louis with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the field of Communication and currently writes as a contributor for various platforms covering Major League Baseball. Curt’s work includes covering trade and free agency predictions, as well as rumors and news.