The Royals had a winning team last season, with an 86-76 record, the Royals reached the playoffs for the first time in nine years. For the first time in almost a decade, the Kansas City Royals are contenders in the American League. Led by superstar Bobby Witt Jr. and veteran catcher Salvador Perez, the Royals have newfound confidence heading into the 2025 season.
What’s different this year?
The bullpen is vastly improved from last season. In 2024, the Royals headed into the year with Nick Anderson and Will Smith, both of whom didn’t make it through the season with the club. Carlos Estevez joins the bullpen this year on a two-year $22 million contract, Along with Hunter Harvey and Lucas Erceg, the pen should be vastly improved from the unit that posted a 4.13 ERA. Although that metric was league average, their 20.8% strikeout rate was the worst in the majors. Kris Bubic moves from the bullpen to the rotation as well.
Offensively, Johnathan India is KC’s headline acquisition. Acquired from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Brady Singer, India slots in as the leadoff hitter in a lineup that was missing a conventional leadoff bat. The 2020 NL Rookie Of The Year posted a .357 on-base percentage, which ranked 21st in the league.
The Royals failed to upgrade upon one of the worst outfields in the league last season. Despite attempts to sign Anthony Santander and Jurickson Profar this winter, only Mark Canha was acquired to improve the outfield. The 36-year-old veteran was acquired via trade from the Brewers only a few short days before opening day.
Down On The Farm
The Royals currently do not boast a good farm system. Despite this, there are many prospects that could make an impact in the big leagues. 2024 first-round pick Jac Caglianone has taken the league by storm during Spring Training. Caglianone slashed .500 in the spring along with three home runs. Although he would start the season in Double-A Northwest Arkansas, it’s only a matter of time before he reaches the big leagues.
Another top prospect that could make an impact is pitcher Noah Cameron. The southpaw from St. Joseph, Missouri is the fifth-ranked prospect in the Royals farm system. Cameron has exceptional command, as shown by his 6.7% walk rate in 2024 across Double-A and Triple-A. His best pitch is his changeup that misses bats at a high rate. If Cameron starts the season well in Omaha, he could be a big leaguer by season’s end.
What About The Rest Of The AL Central?
The Highly competitive AL Central sent three teams to the postseason in 2024 and is going to be competitive again in 2025. Currently four of the five teams could win the division, with the exception of the Chicago White Sox, who set a record with 121 losses in 2024.
The Cleveland Guardians are the Royals’ opponent on Opening Day, and they had a turbulent offseason in Cleveland. They sent away all-star first baseman Josh Naylor to Arizona after his career year in 2024. They also traded second baseman Andres Gimenez to Toronto, which showed a belief in rookie Gabriel Arias to take over as the team’s primary second baseman.
Cleveland boasts an elite bullpen that carried them to the ALCS last season. Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin, Paul Sewald, Cade Smith and Emmanuel Clase are expected to pitch in leverage positions for Cleveland this season.
After a Cinderella run for the Detroit Tigers in the second half last season, the “Gritty Tigs” are back to prove that last year was no fluke. Gleyber Torres was their major offseason acquisition, but the Tigers failed to upgrade upon Javier Baez at shortstop. Baez was the worst shortstop in the league last season, both offensively and defensively.
On the pitching side, Tarik Skubal leads the charge for the Tigers. Skubal was dominant last season, posting an 18-4 record and a 2.39 ERA en route to the Cy Young Award. Skubal was so dominant in the second half that Detroit didn’t use any other starting pitchers by the time the playoffs came around. Detroit is looking to ride their pitching staff to a second consecutive playoff appearance.
Minnesota however, is coming off one of its most disappointing seasons in franchise history. Its big three of Royce Lewis, Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa are oft-injured, but when they stay on the field the Twins are a dangerous team. They weren’t healthy for the most part last season, with Lewis playing 82 games and Buxton playing 107. If the twins can stay healthy, they will be competitive this season.
The Chicago White Sox are a mess. After losing 121 games last season, they sent off all-star pitcher Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox for prospects. They failed to trade away Luis Robert Jr, who was widely expected to be dealt this winter. After losing so many games last year, the White Sox are destined to lose 100-plus games again in 2025
One of the most anticipated seasons in Kansas City starts this weekend, the Royals look to start their season strong as they take on the Cleveland Guardians. First pitch is on Thursday, March 27, and Saturday, March 29 at 3:10 p.m. and the first pitch on Sunday, Mar. 30 is at 1:10 p.m.
