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Stats That Show the Royals Solid Start Isn’t a Fluke

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports
By Matt Graves, Site Manager | Last updated 4/9/24

A year ago, the Kansas City Royals lost seven of their first 10 games, winning seven of them by the end of April. But now, the Royals have a 6-4 record and are over .500 for the first time in two years. They are tied with the Cleveland Guardians for second place in the American League Central. The Royals are even off to a nice start at home with a 5-2 record at Kauffman Stadium this season. Last season, they had a 33-48 record at home, but they are 23-14 since July. It’s fair to say there a good signs coming from the Royals and these stats justify how well they’re playing.

Stats Showing the Royals Are Doing Well

Royals Bombers

The Royals lead the AL in most home runs hit with 14, which is tied for the fourth-most in the majors. Kansas City is on pace to hit 227 home runs this season, and if they do, it will shatter the franchise record of 193 that was set in 2017. Seven different Royals players have hit a home run this year with MJ Melendez and Maikel Garcia leading the club with three each. The Royals also lead the AL in the fewest home runs allowed with 4.

Strong Starting Pitching

QUALITY STARTS SO FAR
===================
8 KC
7
6
5 BAL TB TEX
4 BOS CWS HOU PIT SD SF
3 ARI CIN CLE LAD OAK PHI SEA
2 CHC COL DET LAA MIL MIN NYM NYY STL TOR
1 ATL MIA
0 WSH

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 8, 2024

One other big storyline for the Royals has been the rotation. Their starting pitchers have a 1.60 ERA with 11 earned runs allowed in 62 innings. That also includes 36 hits allowed and an MLB-best eight quality starts. This is a massive turnaround after the Royals tied for last among AL teams with 32 quality starts. The best ERA by Royals starting pitchers through April came in 1975 with a 2.38 ERA.

“If you look at first-pitch strikes and early-and-ahead, these guys are doing a really good job.” said pitching coach Brian Sweeney on Sunday. “But when you look at the culture these guys are creating, it’s a lot of fun to watch. You see these guys here in the dugout, hanging out together, enjoying some time together. And the culture is created by people that occupy the space. They’ve done an amazing job together.”

Defense, Defense, Defense

To complement the home runs and solid pitching staff, the Royals are just as good on defense. They sit well above the rest of other clubs in Defensive Runs Saved Above Average. According to Baseball Reference, the Royals are +16 which is six points ahead of the Texas Rangers, who sit second at +10. On the other hand, FanGraphs ranks Bobby Witt Jr. as the top AL shortstop with 2.6 defensive runs saved. Teammates Salvador Perez (1.7) and Garcia (1.9) lead their respective positions.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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