Royals fans shouldn’t panic amid poor record thanks to AL Central reason originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The 2026 MLB season has not gone well for the Kansas City Royals this season. Their offense has been rough, and at 12-17 entering Wednesday’s slate of games, the Royals need to turn things around to climb back into a postseason spot.
With the team having some pre-season expectations to make the postseason, this last-place start for Kansas City has been concerning. But should fans be panicking?
ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle highlighted why Royals fans don’t need to panic about their team too much, and it’s thanks in large part to how they can fix things, and the incredibly weak AL Central.
Royals fans don’t have to panic despite a poor start, thanks to weak AL Central
“At the bottom line, the core tenets of Kansas City’s roster construction have held up – starting pitching, team defense, Bobby Witt Jr. — so with regression elsewhere, the Royals can make progress,” Doolittle writes. “And let’s not forget that the bar for entry in the AL playoff race is very low. No reason to freak out, just yet.”
There are things to be worried about, namely the bullpen, especially with Carlos Esteves. But the Royals aren’t in such a terrible spot with their record.
At 12-17, the Royals are in last place in the AL Central. That seems very bad, but in reality, they’re just 2.5 games out of the top spot in the division. That’s very easy to make up over the course of May, June, July, August, and September.
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The Detroit Tigers, in first place in the division, are just 15-15. If there were ever a time for a 12-17 team with the Royals’ issues to not panic, it would be now.
What’s helped is the sweep of the Los Angeles Angels and the four-game winning streak. Things are trending up for this team, even if things aren’t going perfectly overall.
As long as the offense can continue to progress, especially when it comes to hitting homers, things should be trending in the right direction.
There are plenty of other teams, like the New York Mets, Houston Astros, and Philadelphia Phillies, that should be panicking a lot more than the Royals. Things aren’t great, but they’re getting better, and could be a whole lot worse.
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