Royals Struggles Earn Team 'Pretenders' Label After Series Loss

The Kansas City Royals are struggling a bit. After winning 86 games last year and earning a Wild Card berth, they have come back down to earth a little bit. At 38-40, they are 10 1/2 games back in the American League Central.

They are still close in the Wild Card race, but they have struggled offensively. Their strong pitching staff can only do so much as they try to repeat their success from 2024.

In Joel Reuter's latest power rankings on Bleacher Report, the Royals ranked 19th out of all 30 Major League teams. However, Reuter had some harsh criticism for the team.

"With a 19-30 record against teams above the .500 mark and a minus-21 run differential, the Royals might end up falling into the "pretenders" category a year after making a trip to the postseason. They simply don't have the offensive firepower to back a strong pitching staff with a .672 OPS and 56 home runs in 78 games. Rookie Jac Caglianone hit the first two home runs of his young MLB career on Thursday," Reuter wrote.

The Royals have struggled against teams above .500, and that is something that they are going to need to improve upon if they want to be considered a real contender in the AL.

It has been a struggle for the Royals this season. If they add at the trade deadline, their focus should be on improving their offense for the stretch run. We'll see if the Royals can prove themselves as a true contender.

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