Royals Drop Several Spots In Latest Power Rankings

The Kansas City Royals have cooled off a bit after overcoming an 8-14 start. They had won 17 of their last 21 games before suffering a four-game losing skid and losing a series against the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals.

The Royals have now dropped a spot in the American League Central. While they still hold the third AL Wild Card spot, they are now fourth in the division and just four games over .500 at 26-22.

Recently, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report provided updated power rankings, and the Royals have fallen to 17th on the list after rising to 12th last week.

"The Royals rank near the bottom of the league in batting average (.241, 20th), OPS (.659, 25th), home runs (30, 30th) and runs per game (3.31, 28th), yet they still have a winning record thanks to one of baseball's best pitching staffs. With that in mind, the recent injuries to Seth Lugo (5/11, finger sprain) and Cole Ragans (5/16, groin strain) could be a dagger," Reuter says.

The pitching staff has carried the load, but the offense has struggled. And with Lugo and Ragans out for a while, the starting rotation has taken a few major hits.

This could ultimately result in the Royals taking a bit of a nosedive as the season rolls along. Not having Lugo and Ragans is a big blow for a team that was performing well, and even with Kris Bubic and Michael Wacha still around, they'll be missing some key performers in the rotation.

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