2022 Series Poll: Houston Astros @ Kansas City Royals

Quick Notes

The Royals continue to remain a listless team without much prospect for rising in either their division or the league. KC has been on a steady decline since the World Series victory over the Mets in 2015, resulting in the current iteration of the team, which is a far cry from any sort of success or glory.

There hasn’t been much hope for the KC faithful this season since the team won their first two games of 2022. They slipped below .500 three games later though and haven’t been able to recover since. The Royals now sit dead last in all of MLB when it comes to record at 16-33, and it’s not certain that status will change any time soon.

KC’s front office doesn’t look to be making any significant moves in the near term, so I wouldn’t expect any reversal fortunes for a while. The biggest offseason move was bringing back Zack Greinke who, while wily at times, is not anywhere near his ace form when the Royals first brought him up over a decade ago.

Probably the most exciting development this season was the promotion of Bobby Witt Jr. (.227/.269/.431), considered to be one of the top prospects in baseball. Witt didn’t exactly explode out of the gate and his numbers reflect that, but he has been steadily improving as of late and comes into this series as one of the Royals’ hottest hitters in the past week. He’s tied for the team lead in both homers (6) and stolen bases (7), and is sole owner of the lead in doubles (13).

Andrew Benintendi, who came over from the Red Sox in a trade, has been the best Royal stat-wise this season, sporting a .337/.402/.431 slasher. His .833 OPS is the best mark on the team in that category for 2022 and his 61 hits is far and away the most on the team, with the next closest being Hunter Dozier’s 46.

As for pitching, well, it’s been about as good as you would expect from a team that’s 17 games under .500. Their three pitchers with the most innings, Brad Keller, Zack Greinke, and Daniel Lynch, all have ERA’s north of 4.00 with 4.15, 5.05, and 4.81 marks, respectively. The pitching staff as a whole has brought shame upon their houses with a 5.09 collective ERA, good for 27th in the league.

As for the bullpen, it’s a closer-by-committee situation, which is not so unusual for teams in rebuild mode the way the Royals are. Scott Barlow (RHP, 1.64 ERA, 22.0 IP, 21 K’s) seems to be getting the lion’s share of the 9th inning duties. His 1.54 ERA has been the best of any reliever in his team-leading 22.0 IP, and he has successfully converted 5 of 6 save opportunities.

Josh Staumont (RHP, 3.86 ERA, 18.2 IP, 27 K’s) also has 6 opportunities, but has only managed success in 3 of those. Expect to see Barlow or Staumont in the 9th innings of this series.

Last 10 Games: 2-8 Record, 2 Series Swept, 1 Series Loss, -22 Run Differential (43 scored, 65 allowed)

W/L Splits: 8-15 at home, 8-18 on the road, 5-12 against teams over .500

Injured List: Matt Peacock: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Gabe Speier: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Zack Greinke: 15-Day IL (flexor), Amir Garrett: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Adalberto Mondesi: 60-Day IL (knee), Michael A. Taylor: 10-Day IL (illness), Edward Olivares: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Cam Gallagher: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Jake Brentz: 10-Day IL (flexor), Tyler Zuber: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

Starters

Game 1: Jose Urquidy (RHP, 4-2, 4.80 ERA, 34 K’s) vs Brady Singer (RHP, 2-0, 2.49 ERA, 26 K’s)

Game 2: Luis Garcia (RHP, 3-3, 3.14 ERA, 51 K’s) vs TBD

Game 3: Framber Valdez (LHP, 5-2, 2.57 ERA, 50 K’s) vs Jonathan Heasley (RHP, 0-2, 4.66 ERA, 10 K’s)

For Your Viewing and Listening Pleasure

Game 1: Friday, June 3rd @ 7:10 pm CDT
Listen: Astros - KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, KTRH 740 AM/99.1 FM HD-2, TUDN 93.3/KLAT 1010 / Royals - KCSP 610
Watch: Astros - ATT SportsNet-SW / Royals - Bally Sports Kansas City

Game 2: Saturday, June 4th @ 3:10 pm CDT
Listen: Astros - KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, TUDN 93.3/KLAT 1010 / Mariners - KIRO 710
Watch: Astros - ATT SportsNet-SW / Royals - Bally Sports Kansas City

Game 3: Sunday, June 5th @ 1:10 pm CDT
Listen: Astros - KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, TUDN 93.3/KLAT 1010 / Mariners - KIRO 710
Watch: Astros - ATT SportsNet-SW / Royals - Bally Sports Kansas City