Around The AL Central: Evaluating Kansas City As 2022 Season Approaches
As Opening Day quickly approaches, we've decided to take a look at each of the teams around the division to see how the competition seems to be stacking up.
What can Guardians fans expect from the Kansas City Royals in 2022?
In 2021, Mike Matheny’s club finished fourth in the AL Central with a record of 74-88. In the offseason, the team made a few minor moves, but nothing to make them contenders in the AL Central.
Offseason Acquisitions
Zack Greinke
The first acquisition that the Royals made after the lockout was lifted, was signing right-hander Zack Greinke to a one-year contract. Longtime fans may remember when Greinke was a member of the Royals from 2004 to 2010 where he won the Cy Young Award in 2009. Greinke is long from his Cy Young form, but the Royals knew that was not who they were getting when they signed him.
Greinke brings valuable veteran experience to a young roster and heads back to the organization where he made his MLB debut. In 2021 with the Houston Astros, he made 29 starts with an ERA of 4.16 over 171 innings pitched. Greinkes’ 2022 projections are similar with an ERA of 4.05 over 163. As Greinke gets up in age, the question can be asked whether he will be able to avoid injury and pitch the full season.
Amir Garrett
Another pitcher the Royals brought in was longtime Cincinnati Reds reliever, Amir Garrett. Garrett admitted that his departure from the Reds organization came as a shock and was “emotional because I felt like I had a relationship with each and every single person in that organization.”
2021 was a difficult year for Garrett as he posted the worst ERA of his career since his rookie year at 6.04. Fans should not be fooled by this number though because just in 2020, Garrett posted a solid ERA of 2.45. However, Cleveland seems to like hitting against Garrett. Over his seven appearances against the club, they have hit five home runs, an average of .340, and forced a 10.97 ERA. The newly named Guardians will hope to have their same old success when they see Garrett this year.
Baseball's Top Prospect
Bobby Witt Jr.
The one name on the Royals that every Guardians fan should know is Bobby Witt Jr. He is the number one prospect in all of baseball and he is showing why this Spring Training as he has put up a .444 BA, .500 OPS, and a .889 SLG. The top prospect recently made headlines when his swing was put right next to arguably baseball’s top player Mike Trout. This is just another piece of evidence showing why he is not only going to be a problem for the Guardians but the rest of the division and the whole league. Witt Jr. has not officially made the Opening Day roster yet, but his time is coming, and when it does his impact will be real.
Team Strengths
Versatility
The Royals are arguably one of the most versatile teams in the entire MLB with players that can fill in all over the diamond. This gives manager Mike Matheny a lot of flexibility and matchups nightmares for opposing teams. For example, having a player like Hunter Doizer who can play all outfield positions, first base, and third base is a luxury other teams would love to have.
This does not stop with Dozier though. All-Star second baseman Whit Merrifield also spent time in the outfield in 2021 too. Hanser Alberto is another example of a Royal who can play anywhere in the infield. This versatility will be crucial as the organization decides whether the future of Bobby Witt Jr. lies at third base or shortstop.
Catcher
Salvador Perez’s offensive campaign came as one of the biggest surprises in the league in 2021. The All-Star catcher tied Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with the most home runs in all of baseball at 48 while beating out other superstars such as Shohei Ohtani and Marcus Semien. This kind of offensive production is what every other team in the MLB dreams of having from their catcher. While Perez is only projected to hit 35 this year on a .269 average, this is still a big strength for the club to have.
Weakness
Pitching
Even with the Royals bringing in a starter Zack Greinke and reliever Amir Garrett in the offseason, pitching is still an area of concern for the Royals. The pitching staff as a whole posted an ERA of 4.65 which ranked in the bottom 10 teams of the league and eleventh worst in the American League. Starting pitching is really where the team struggled the most with three starters with an ERA over five. If the Royals hope to be competitive, they are going to need to find more starting pitching.
Outfield
The Guardians are not the only team in the AL Central with an underperforming outfield. This is another weakness for the Royals heading into 2022. Outside of Andrew Benintendi in left field and Michael A. Taylor in center field, the Royals have not found any consistency or depth in this position group. They are lucky to have players such as Whit Merrifield who are able to fill in the outfield at times, but this may not be the long-term solution that the organization is looking for. If the Royals were to target any position group via a trade, expect it to be in the outfield.
Success Against the Royals in 2021
Last season the Guardians had a lot of team success against the Royals. Over their 19 matchups, Cleveland won 14 of them while scoring a total of 98 runs. This was the second most runs Cleveland scored against any team that they had faced. With the Royals running back a similar roster as 2021, the Guardians will look to continue this success heading into 2022.
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