For the past two seasons the Kansas City Royals have been considered among the cream of the crop in the American League. Highlighted by a World Series championship in 2015 and a World Series appearance in 2014, the Royals have also changed much of the thinking across baseball that it’s not how you start a game, rather it’s how you finish.
Featuring a dominating bullpen that has been nearly untouchable for two seasons, the Royals look to repeat that success in 2016 and have to be considered a favorite to finish atop the American League Central Division for a second consecutive season. It will be a tough task to knock the crown off this ballclub.
Starting Pitchers
The Royals are counting on Edinson Volquez to be the top starter in the rotation that also projects to include Yordano Ventura, Ian Kennedy, Chris Young and Kris Medlen. Each of these starters are solid, but none are exactly spectacular. Volquez is arguably is at the top of the Royals list, but he might be considered only the fourth or maybe even the fifth starter in Cleveland. But as we’ve seen in the recent past, if the Royals can get five to six quality innings from a starter and keep the team in the ballgame or leave with a lead, the odds of the Royals finishing the game with the win are great especially because the team defense doesn’t give away many runs and the offense has proven an ability to come through with timely hits late in the game.
Starting pitching is obviously going to be the strength of the Cleveland Indians with all five starters including Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Danny Salazar, Trevor Bauer and Cody Anderson/Josh Tomlin collectively as good or better than any starter for the Royals. Tribe pitchers are capable of complete games and dominant performances that can leave the need for a bullpen finish unnecessary, so if the offense can scratch out four or five runs, then the Indians will win their fair share of games.
Advantage: Indians (not even close)
Defense
Another strength of the Royals for the past two seasons has been the team’s ability to catch and throw the ball. In fact, because the Royals have been so good at it, there seems to be a renewed sense of just how important this part of the game truly is. Kansas City led the American League with three Gold Glove winners in 2015 with catcher Salvador Perez and first baseman Eric Hosmer both awarded their third consecutive Gold Gloves. Shortstop Alcides Escobar also won his first. Outfielder Alex Gordon had won four in row, but did not repeat in 2015, because he only played in 104 games, but he’s still considered among the best at his position.
Meanwhile, the Indians haven’t had a Gold Glove winner since 2008, when Grady Sizemore won his second consecutive award in the outfield. In fact, Cleveland hasn’t really been considered among the better defensive clubs since 2001 when Omar Vizquel and Roberto Alomar were dominating the middle of the diamond. However, that might change with the promotion of Francisco Lindor and the move of Lonnie Chisenhall from third base to the outfield. Newly acquired Mike Napoli is a quality defensive first baseman and Jason Kipnis has also improved his play at second base. Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez are also quality catchers, so the Indians have closed the gap. The Tribe should be among the better defense clubs in 2016.
Advantage: Royals (not as much as you think)
Relief Pitching
Here’s where the Royals excel as I stated earlier. The bullpen has often been unhittable with guys such as dominant closer Wade Davis and setup artists Joakim Soria, Kelvin Herrera and Luke Hochevar ready to step in when it’s time for the starter to come out of the game. Any of these guys can close a game if needed and might be closers if they played on other teams.
The Indians also have a stud closer with the reliable Cody Allen finishing up games. Bryan Shaw has been one of the top setup men in the American League and the hope is that he still has gas in the tank after big workloads the past two seasons. Zach McAllister also seems to have found his role or perhaps even resurrected his career as a reliever, rather than in the starting rotation, and the same holds true for veteran Jeff Manship. The makeup of the rest of the bullpen is anyone’s guess as a multitude of relievers now vie for jobs in Spring Training.
Advantage: Royals
Offense
Kansas City finished 14th out of 15 in home runs in the American League in 2015, but sixth in runs scored despite a perceived lack of power. However, the Royals finished fourth in triples, third in doubles, second in total hits and just .001 behind Detroit in overall team batting average with .269 while finishing second in the league in steals. This is a team that gets hits and puts the ball in play enough while having an overall good amount of team speed to add up to a fairly productive offense. This team also knows how to hit in the clutch as the Royals ranked second in batting average with runners in scoring position hitting .281. Some other noteworthy stats involving hitting in the clutch is the Royals lead the league in fewest strikeouts with runners in scoring position and had the second least number of walks with runners in scoring position.
A big key for the Indians season in 2016 will be if the team can hit well enough to compliment a potentially dominant starting rotation and competent bullpen. Hurting this endeavor to start the season is the injury of Michael Brantley, who could miss the first month of the season, but hopefully will be back sooner. The loss of Abraham Almonte hurts as I have written before and weakens an outfield that doesn’t have a ton of quality depth, but there is optimism with a full season of Lindor and the hope for a bounce back season from Gomes. With the emergence of someone unexpected, perhaps Tyler Naquin in the outfield, and if guys like Kipnis, Napoli and even Juan Uribe and Chisenhall can have productive seasons or even exceed expectations then it could be a special season for the Tribe, but that’s a lot of “ifs”.
Advantage: Royals
Overall
The Indians starting pitchers are going to need to have great years again if the Indians expect to contend in 2016. If the offense can perform better than last year then an improved defense will also help prevent the other teams from scoring runs. So there is potential for a magical season if everything falls into place for the Tribe. But it’s a lot to ask, although not out of the question.
The Royals need to stay the course and Kansas City should be in the playoff mix once again and a possible favorite to make a third straight World Series. I expect the Royals to repeat as division champions because this is a team that knows how to win and seems to have fun doing it while at times making it look smooth and easy. However, if the Royals starting pitchers are atrocious or the bullpen declines to just “good’, rather than ridiculously great, then all might not be so special in Kansas City. Again, it’s a lot to ask, but not out of the question.
Advantage: Royals
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
