The Kansas City Royals are 10 games over .500. They’re a legitimate good team and their run differential proves it–they’re not a fluke. And yet, it can be easy to wonder how they’re so good. After all, their bullpen is in the bottom 10 of the league and struggles mightily to strike people out. After Salvy and Bobby, the lineup is disappointingly thin.
And then you look at the starting pitching and go, oh yeah, that’s why the Royals are good. Kansas City’s starting rotation has been incredible.
I can’t speak for everyone, but I tend not to think immediately about the rotation, in part because the Royals have rarely had good ones.