Kansas City Royals Are Biggest AL Surprise of Season

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Shocking success and inexplicable ineptitude face off for the biggest AL surprise of the MLB season. It’s the Kansas City Royals who earned our praise.

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As we discussed last week, the New York Yankees have gotten off to one of the best starts in Major League Baseball, currently leading the AL in win percentage and run differential. But there have been some even bigger surprises out of the junior circuit. Let’s throw them all on the table and rank them based on level of surprise (Records as of June 3), or at least pick the MOST surprising team thus far.

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American League Surprises:
Tampa Bay Rays have -53 run differential, fourth-worst in the AL
Cleveland Guardians are 19 games over .500, second-best team in the AL
Kansas City Royals are 11 games over .500, with a +74 run differential
Chicago White Sox are 30 games under .500
Houston Astros are eight games under .500

 

Kansas City Royals Biggest AL Surprise So Far

 

Todd Salem: Wow Kansas City Is Really Good

The New York Yankees fit on the list somewhere, but I don’t believe it is close to the top. The biggest surprise thus far in the American League is definitely between the AL Central contenders and Houston, and it is hard to parse.

On one hand, Cleveland is always pretty good. The Guardians are usually good, though, because of elite pitching, Jose Ramirez, and scotch tape holding the offense together. That has not been the case this season. Cleveland, KC, and NY are nearly all tied for the most runs scored in the AL. The likes of David Fry, Josh Naylor, and Steven Kwan (before he got hurt) are playing at All-Star levels. Let’s just say I’m dubious this continues for much longer.

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Which, I suppose, makes Cleveland a huge surprise in my mind, and they are. But Kansas City is up there too. The Royals have manufactured an elite roster seemingly out of nowhere. Sure, they were accumulating young prospects for what felt like decades, and Bobby Witt is now one of the best players in the sport, and Cole Ragans is a premiere arm. But Sal Perez is having the best year of his long career; same with Brady Singer, and Seth Lugo, who is legitimately in the Cy Young discussion right now. It all feels so flimsy.

Houston resides at the other end of the spectrum. How could a team with so many stars and big names be this bad? A horrendous start set them back, and it’s been a deep ditch to climb out of. They started 7-19, and have since gone 19-15. Jose Abreu had to be removed from the 26-man, he was playing so badly. He, along with Alex Bregman, and a number of their preeminent bullpen arms, are having the worst season of their careers. But the Astros still have those stars to lean on, at least on the offensive side.

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To me, the Kansas City Royals are the answer. Maybe I’m being swayed by the name on the jersey. If we did a blind perusal of each team, are the Royals the most surprising, or does it help that it says “Royals” on the front of their jerseys, because this organization isn’t supposed to find success?

 

 

Dan Salem: Chicago’s Failure Shocks Me Most

Every team is eventually good, and so far the Kansas City Royals have only been good for a little over two months. This is not meant to belittle their success, but rather characterize my surprise. They do not win for me, because both Houston and Chicago have truly made me scratch my head with their ineptitude.

In August, being six or more games out of a playoff spot is usually a death sentence. That is not so in June, but how the heck are the Astros six games out of a wildcard spot? Their inability to put anything together thus far is definitely surprising, but if memory serves, they found themselves in a similar position last year or the season before. Houston has a -1 run differential, so they could truly go either way as the season pushes forward. The American League is once again highly competitive, but I’m not ready to count out the Astros. This is why they sit behind Chicago in my surprise rankings.

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No one thought the White Sox would be great this year, but after losing the last twelve games in a row, it’s safe to say that Chicago is eliminated. They aren’t the only team officially unofficially eliminated from postseason consideration, but the White Sox certainly have stamped their suckiness the hardest. With a -139 run differential, this is definitely the worst team in all of baseball and they may even set a record for poor play. Chicago is 25.5 games out of first place in their division. Since every other team in the AL Central is over .500 at the moment, it’s safe to say that the White Sox will not be gaining any ground as the season presses on.

How are they THIS bad? No other team even comes close to being this bad. It’s not like they aren’t scoring runs. The White Sox scored three or more runs in seven of their twelve straight losses. Chicago has lost 46 times, but only been shutout ten times. Conversely, three of their fifteen wins have been shutouts. About one in five of their losses and wins have been shutouts, so I suppose that tracks. But one would assume that a team which is THIS bad would be scoring fewer runs. Nope, they are just giving up an astronomical amount.

 

Meet our Writers:

Dan Salem is Lead Editor and Co-owner of BuzzChomp. He’s an award winning Actor, Director and Producer. Visit M Square Productions for his film work, or get lost in his old-school comedy on Pillow Talk TV. You can follow him on X, TikTok and Instagram. His latest film ‘Alone’ is now on Amazon.

Todd Salem is a Staff Writer and Contributing Editor at BuzzChomp. He’s also a champion of fantasy football and fantasy baseball, dominating leagues for over two decades. Comment below on his unfiltered opinions.

Kansas City Royals Photo Credits: lastwordonsports.com and royalsreview.com via Getty Images

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