Kansas City Royals 2024 season recap: Bobby Witt Jr.

Kansas City Royals

Record 2024: 86-76

2nd place AL Central

Team ERA: 3.76 (8th in MLB)

Team OPS: .710 (14th in MLB)

What went right

At this point last year, the Royals finished the season 56-106. What a difference the offseason makes. Not only did Kansas City improve their streak by 30 games, they were able to reach the postseason and beat the Orioles to advance to the ALDS against the Yankees. There are many reasons why this happened, but none outweigh Bobby Witt Jr.’s spectacular campaign. He led the league in batting average (.332), hit 32 home runs, stole 31 bases and was arguably the best defender in baseball; by far the best player in the American League. Oh, by the way? He is 24.

In addition to an MVP season from Witt Jr. (no, he’s not going to win, Aaron Judge has it under lock and key), the Royals had one of the best teams in the AL. Cole Ragans showed that 2023 was no fluke, striking out 223 hitters in 186 2/3 innings with a strong 3.14 ERA. Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha were signed as free agents and became the leaders of the Royals’ rotation; Lugo has an even 3.00 ERA and remains in the Cy Young hunt for most of the season, while Wacha has a 3.35 mark with 14 quality starts and a 145/45 K/BB. Add to that a solid — if inconsistent — season from Brady Singer, and the Royals had one of the best and deepest rotations in baseball. Imagine if I told you it would happen in 2023.

What went wrong

To say something went wrong for a team that won 30 more games than last year seems a little callous, but clearly the 86-76 team was flawed; flaws that saw them lose to the Yankees in four games in the ALDS. The offense was extremely difficult, with Witt Jr., Salvador Perez and Vinny Pasquantino finishing with OPS above .750; and no other regular player who played more than 105 games finished with an OPS above .700. The opening pitch was fantastic. The bullpen left a lot to be desired even after some additions near the deadline. Kansas City finished 20th with a 4.13 ERA under its belt, and before the acquisition of Lukas Erceg (more on him in a second), the Royals struggled to find a consistent stopper in a bullpen wave.

Fantastic slopes

– You can’t help but wonder how much better Witt Jr. can get based on his age and how successful he’s been in his first three seasons. His only real problem right now is that he throws too much out of the zone — his 32.1 percent chase rate puts him in the bottom 25th percentile — but he’s a good hitter with a bad ball, and you , probably, there is not too much to change here. He is a third-year player who ranks in the 92nd percentile or higher in expected batting average, expected slugging, expected weighted on-base average and on-base percentage, while posting an elite slugging percentage (48.3) and strikeout rate (15 percent ). ). He should be one of the first few players in 2025, and if you wanted to take him first, I wouldn’t waste much time dissuading you.

– Perez continues to age gracefully and finished the year as the second-best fantasy defender in standard leagues; second only to William Contreras. No one hits more outside the strike zone than him, with a staggering 42.9 slugging percentage, but very few believe the top spot and barrel are better, and his .530 slugging percentage puts him in the 95th percentile of all qualified hitters . No one is rooting for this, but at some point it seems likely that Perez’s skill set will drop. Nothing he showed in 2024 suggests that will happen next year.

– Erceg was picked up by the Royals in an extreme deal with the Royals, and he has helped the Kansas City bullpen significantly, posting 11 saves along with a 31/3 K/BB and a 2.88 ERA in 25 innings. He also saved three games in the postseason and looks set to start 2025 as Kansas City’s closer. The 29-year-old Erceg, who was drafted in the second round of the Brewers as a third baseman, has no real skill deficits, though he averages 98.6 mph with his heater and forces hitters to whiff with his arsenal 31 percent of the time. . He may not be an elite closer, but assuming he keeps the job, there’s obviously a lot to like about him.- Since entering the league, MJ Melendez has been tantalizing with his power potential, and while there have been flashes of brilliance, those flashes have often burned out. quickly. He hit just .206 with a .673 OPS in the 2024 season, and while he did get some hard contact, as evidenced by his 90.1 mph average exit velocity, that doesn’t mean much when you’re hitting in a quarter of your bats and whiffs 29.5 percent of the time. That being said, Melendez is still only 25 and the talent is still evident. The only question is whether he can apply that talent on a more consistent basis.

Key free agents

Wacha ($16 million player option), Michael Lorenzen, Tommy Pham, Paul DeJong, Robbie Grossman, Yuli Gurriel, Adam Frazier (mutual option), Hunter Renfro (player option), Garrett Hampson, Will Smith, Chris Stratton (player option ).

Team needs

Not a short stop.

The Royals have a fair amount of free agents, but with the exception of Wachi, who will probably opt out of his option after his strong 2024 campaign, it’s mostly bench/platoon options that can be replaced. Kansas City is also in a somewhat enviable position where they can improve in several areas, and one would think they would explore the overseas market and add a bridge or two to help out Erceg. They are not yet a championship contending team, but a few more additions to the offensive core and the improvement of young players like Melendez and Pasquantino make them closer than anyone expected in 2023.