Royals

Royals are up 7-1 against the Cubs and moving toward winning their 6 of their last seven games against the Astros and Cubs.

1. Royals younger starters are pitching better, Hernandez is 3-1 and been pitching lights out and Lynch is 3-1 since coming back from Omaha. Bubic is up and down but came back with 6 hitless innings against the Cubs. Singer had a good outing his last start but there are still questions on whether Singer can find a third pitch to compliment what he has. Brad Keller is 2-3 in his last seven starts but only a 3.43 ERA so he is getting better.
2. Perez is having a career year, and the good news over the final 40 games is Merrifield is hitting better, Benintendi is now hitting his stride again after his injuries, and Dozier is showing life now. If the pitching holds up and the hitting improves, Royals can be spoilers.
3. Young relievers Lovelady, Brentz, Barlow and Staumont are pitching well plus Tapia shows that he might a good reliever.

Royals are perplexing since they have shown they can beat the very good teams but still they are 14 games under .500. I thought they would be better than they are but there are signs of hope for the future.

In the minors, Witt, Jr. looks like the real thing as he has hit both Double and Triple A pitching, and Pratto is showing he may not be far behind from the Show even though I view him as being behind Witt, Jr. Melendez has hit 31 homers in both double and triple A and is another bright spot.

Kowar is another pitching prospects that maybe close. While he had a rough start in his start for the Royals in his first call up but he has the potential to be a number one or two starter.

The Royals have some questions for next year but the future is brighter than we think but how close are we to contending? Rick Sutcliffe observed about the Royals, the key to contending is to develop a solid starting rotation and he believes that Royals may be have that with their young pitchers. With Merrifield, Bentintendi, and Lopez along with Perez and Witt coming up, you have solid hitters in 2022. If Dozier returns to his 2019 form, that adds another bat and if Mondesi can actually play a few games, that is a potent line up.

The key will be depth, and with young players like Rivera is proving to be a good fielder and Olivares and Isabel could add depth to the out field position. Final question is the present team of GM Dayton Moore and Mike Matheny the guys to take the team to the next level. Moore has one World Series but through 2016 to 2018, his selection of trades and free agents were complete flops but since 2017, there are young players who are coming through the system who can be the building bloc for the next playoff contending and this year, Bentintendi may prove a good trade. Can Moore produce one more championship or is one miracle enough for a GM? Matheny has led Cardinals to the playoffs four times and one pennant during his tenure there. His overall record 671-576 so he has shown he can manage. Is he the right guy for this team? The question that Owner John Sherman must answer going into 2022.