2020 record - 26-34, 4th place in AL Central
Key Addition - Andrew Benintendi
The Royals picked up Andrew Benintendi from the Red Sox in a 3 team trade which also included the New York Mets. It seemed a strange time for Boston to trade Benintendi after he had a very poor 2020 season and his value is probably the lowest it's ever been. The Royals gave up Franchy Cordero and 2 PTBNL to Boston and Khalil Lee to the Mets.
Kansas City will be hoping that the Benintendi's downward trend over the last 2 seasons is a blip and that he can return to 2018 form. In that season he hit .290, 16 home runs and had 4.5 WAR. Not to mention the stunning game ending catch he made in game 4 of the ALCS that year as he helped the Red Sox win the World Series.
Over the 2019-20 seasons, Benintendi has seen his strikeout percentage climb significantly which will be something to watch as he joins the Royals in 2021.
But Benintendi has a ton of potential which is indicated by the 2017 AL Rookie of the Year voting when he finished 2nd behind Aaron Judge and that he was the #2 over all prospect in 2017.
We think that with the rib injury which cut short his 2020 season behind him, Benintendi should be able to have a solid - if not spectacular - season in Kansas City. A .250 average with 15 home runs seem like good targets for him in 2021.
Just missed out - Carlos Santana, Mike Minor, Michael A. Taylor
Key Departure - Maikel Franco
Franco is still a free agent at time of writing so it's still possible that the Royals bring him back for 2021 after he played in all 60 games for Kansas City last season.
He was one of the best players for the 2020 Royals, leading the team in both RBI and doubles.
They have Hunter Dozier available to play 3rd base if they need - he played 100 games there in 2019 - but they will miss Franco's bat in their line-up if he signs somewhere else.
Other than Maikel Franco, the Royals have done a good job in keeping the majority of their roster from 2020 in tact, losing only Matt Harvey (and his 11.58 ERA in 2020) and a few RP who have gone on to sign minor league contracts elsewhere.
Notable rookie cards - Edward Olivares, Nick Heath, Brady Singer
Kansas City have 3 rookie card representatives in the 2021 Topps Series 1 set.
Edward Olivares came over to the Royals as part of the Trevor Rosenthal trade with San Diego in August last year. He impressed in his first season playing in Kansas City, getting into 18 games down the stretch. His .274 average in those 18 games certainly showed signs of promise but his strikeout numbers (25:4 K:BB in 2020) will need to improve if the 24 year old wants to find a permanent home in the Kauffman Stadium outfield.
We think he makes the Kansas City Opening Day roster as the 4th outfielder and gets plenty of opportunities to impress.
Nick Heath was drafted by the Royals in the 16th round of the 2016 draft and finally got called up to the Majors last season. He played in 15 games but only logged 18 plate appearances as he entered 9 of his games as either a pinch hitter or pinch runner. So his 2020 numbers need to be taken with a large pinch of salt.
We think that he'll spend most of this season at AAA Omaha, getting called up a few times over the season to cover for injuries.
Brady Singer made an excellent start to his big league career in 2020. He started 12 games and finished the season with a 4-5 record with an ERA just above 4. But it was his control that really impressed. Singer limited his walk percentage to 8.8%, which is below the Major League average last season.
His performance last season was good enough to be voted for rookie of the year, where he finished in 8th place.
Singer will fit into Kansas City's rotation from Opening Day and we think that he'll be one of their best starters in 2021. They'll be happy with another season around .500 and and ERA in the low 4's, which is certainly doable.
Predicted 2021 Team MVP - Whit Merrifield
Merrifield has been excellent since he first made his debut for the Royals in 2016 and we find it hard to believe that he's only once been an All-Star over that 5 year stretch (admittedly there wasn't one last year). He has a career batting average of .295, averages 32 stolen bases over a 162 game season and has led all of the major leagues in hits twice.
It's a shame that he hasn't received more attention because he's one of the best players in the game.
We think that Merrifield will have another all-star worthy season in 2021, with a .290 average 15 home runs and 30 stolen bases.
Just missed out - Jorge Soler
Player to watch for the future - Bobby Witt Jr.
The Royals drafted Bobby Witt Jr. - son of former major leaguer Bobby Witt - with the 2nd overall pick in the 2019 draft. He was able to make his professional debut in rookie ball in 2019 before the cancelling of the minor league season in 2020.
Witt Jr. is the top Royals prospect and #7 overall according to MLB Pipeline. Scouts have been particularly impressed with his speed, defence & bat speed and control. He might not hit for a ton of power right away, but he projects to have decent pop as he develops as a professional player.
It will likely be a couple of years before Kansas City fans get to see the shortstop at the big league level and we think that he'll start the year at AA. But Royals fans will be watching his development closely as he has huge potential and the work ethic to achieve it.
Storyline to keep an eye on - Can the Royals stay healthy?
Every team sufferers with injury problems at some point over the marathon that is a 162 game regular season. But avoiding injury appears to be more important for the Royals than it is for most because while they have some really good talent in their farm system, most are still a couple of years away from making an impact in Kansas City.
The Royals don't have the luxury of having great quality in depth that can be relied upon in the Majors right now.
Catcher Sal Perez missed all of 2019, slugger Jorge Soler has played over 100 games just twice in 7 years and speedy infielder Adalberto Mondesi has only played over 100 games once in his 5 year career (although he did play all but 1 game in 2020).
Kansas City will need to stay healthy all season long if they are to mount a serious challenge to the Twins, White Sox and Indians.
Prediction for 2021 - 4th in the AL Central
We are big fans of a number of the Royals; Mondesi is a lightning bolt on the basepaths, Soler hit an enormous 36 more home runs than his previous career best in 2019 and Whit Merrifield is one of the best players in the game (as we described above).
They've also got 3 youngsters in the top 30 list of prospects in the game according to MLB Pipeline.
But their depth is thin and we don't think that they have improved enough to catch Minnesota, Chicago or Cleveland in the AL Central. 75 wins in 2021 would represent a good foundation for the Royals to build upon once their top prospects have had time to develop in the minors.
Do you agree with our predictions? Or have we got them horribly wrong?
Let us know in the comments or on twitter.
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