Royals 2015 MLB Postseason

         With the 2015 MLB regular season winding down the "Royals Magic Number" to clinch the division is four. This means that any combination of the Kansas City Royals winning and the Minnesota Twins losing four times would result in the Royals clinching the American League Central Division, which they have never done.

         The 2015 season for the Royals has had its downs, but mostly it’s been ecstasy coming off of a devastating 2014 World Series loss. Many people thought that the runner-up finish was a fluke, but this season shows that the Royals are here to be playoff contenders for the 2015 Postseason. 

         The issue the Royals have been running into this season is not lack of hitting or run support like we saw last year, but it is the issue of starting pitching. This issue is very serious entering the Postseason where we will be facing AL teams that are offensive juggernauts like the Yankees, and Blue Jays.

         With Dayton Moore not bringing back James Shields and the early season injury that left Jason Vargas out for the season, the Royals had to find good pitching fast. Acquiring Johnny Cueto from the Cincinnati Reds at the end of the trade deadline was bound to be a surefire move for the starting rotation but that has been all but true. Aside from Cueto struggling there has been the ongoing issue of what to do with Danny Duffy and Jeremy Guthrie  who have sky high ERA's. Those issues aside we have seen good years from Volquez, Ventura, and Young, but those guys can only pitch so much in the Postseason.

         The few Royals starting pitchers that are banged up will have to dig deep this postseason and find some way to not give up runs because our offense can only do so much. If they can’t find a way to have good quality starts the Royals could be heading to offseason workouts a lot earlier than expected.