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Kansas City Royals left fielder MJ Melendez (1) is congratulated by shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) after scoring a run during the second inning against the Boston Red Sox at Kauffman Stadium. Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Three reasons for the Royals' turnaround after dismal 2023 season

By Zach Wadley | Last updated Aug 14, 2024 10:35 PM ET

What a difference a year has made for the Kansas City Royals. On August 14, 2023, the Royals were 39-81, the third-worst team in Major League Baseball, and a whopping 35.5 games out of first place in the American League. Fast forward to this season and the Royals are 66-55.

Change has come quickly to Kansas City after nearly a decade of disaster on the diamond. Since winning the World Series in 2015, the Royals haven't had a season above .500, including a dreadful 56-106 campaign last year. Hope has arrived in 2024 though thanks to a couple of key factors. Here's a look at three reasons the Royals have improved.

Bobby Witt Jr.'s emergence

Every good team needs a star and Witt has emerged as an MVP candidate in his third season. The shortstop is leading the league in batting average (.347), hits (166) and runs (101). He's also striking out less and racking up more extra-base hits. In the last month alone he's hit .451 with a 1.313 OPS. He's the reason to tune into the Royals, and he will be for years to come.

Bobby Witt Jr., how did you hit this baseball out?!?! pic.twitter.com/BAMJLhiFnl
— MLB (@MLB) August 14, 2024

Pitching has improved

Last season, Kansas City had 20 pitchers start a game. This season, only nine pitchers have been credited with a start through 120 games. The Royals' rotation of Seth Lugo, Brady Singer, Cole Ragans, Michael Wacha and Alec Marsh have all started 19 games or more and they've all been better than last season's rotation. As a whole, the Royals' pitching is on pace to allow 156 home runs this season compared to 207 last year. They've also dropped their hits per nine-inning average from 9.1 to 8.4 while lowering their walks per nine-inning average from 3.5 to 3.0.

The 26-year-old Ragans and 28-year-old Singer have been solid all year, giving Kansas City fans hope for the future.

Better situational hitting

The Royals have been significantly better so far in 2024 in two-out situations and with runners in scoring position. With two outs they're hitting .246 and have driven in 203 runs, which contrasts to 2023 when they hit just .214 with 212 RBI. When runners are in scoring position they've been even better, hitting .303 this season compared to .246 last season. Better hitting has led to more run production and they've also struck out significantly less in those situations with just 181 compared to 356 last year.

The improvements have been a boon to the franchise. Through 120 games they are 11 games over .500 and in a wild-card spot. If they can hang on, it will be the franchise's first playoff berth since that 2015 World Series season. Hope has returned to Kansas City.

Zach Wadley

Zach Wadley's sportswriting career began at the age of 12 when he started covering Little League games for his local newspaper. Since then, he's worked in the sports information field where he merged his love of writing, social media, and broadcasting. He is a graduate of Anderson University (IN).

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