Royals Surge Up Latest MLB Team Talent Rankings; Still In Bottom Half
The Kansas City Royals' 2024 season has already surpassed any reasonable preseason expectations. But how will the Royals build upon that progress?
As of now, the Royals are primarily focused on shaking off their recent seven-game losing streak and getting themselves ready for October. But for the rest of us, it's intriguing to think about the future of this team, given the upward trajectory they seem to be following.
Not long ago, the Royals' future looked bleak, with only superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. standing out in terms of team-controlled talent. But with some shrewd moves, the Royals have started building a real core, and the national baseball consciousness has begun to take notice.
On Thursday, ESPN's Kiley McDaniel ranked all 30 Major League Baseball teams by the strength of their "core" talent over the next two seasons. The Royals rose 11 spots from the same rankings a season ago, but still just missed out on the top half, placing 16th.
"Witt has turned into arguably the best player in baseball and the rest of the roster collectively jumped forward to make K.C. a division title contender out of nowhere," McDaniel said. "The next challenge is to weather the storm with even more depth when injuries/regression/expiring contracts hit, so this will be a crucial offseason to create margin for error."
McDaniel sorted players on each team into tiers, the "elite" tier, the "plus" tier, and the "solid" tier, based on future wins above replacement expectations. Witt, who is already putting up enough WAR to win a Most Valuable Player award, was the Royals' lone "elite" player.
Starting pitcher Cole Ragans and catcher Salvador Perez were rated as "plus" players, while 14 players, headlined by names like Brady Singer, Vinnie Pasquantino, and prospect Jac Caglianone, were designated as "solid."
Though it might not be the full amount of respect Royals fans believe their team deserves, it's clear that Kansas City is a team on the rise, and most around the game believe they can stay in the playoff picture moving forward.
But still, to win their first championship since 2015, the Royals will need to shock the national audience just a little.
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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