Abraxas

 

For the second year in a row, the Kansas City Royals have been insanely good out of Spring Training. 

Granted, they've lost two straight and that's dulled their appeal by a bit, but...just like last year, where they not only soar through Spring Training but were one of the best teams in the AL in April, they're coming off like a contender early. 

Now, we all know how things ended last season. The Royals' early lead gave out and they wound up in fourth to end things. And yet they kept the majority of their core, called up a few more prospects like Daniel Lynch and Jackson Kowar, signed Zack Greinke during the offseason, and are starting the 2022 season with Bobby Witt Jr. as the starting third baseman. 

If we're going to talk about the Royals' chances though, we need to contrast them with another AL Central team that kept their core intact and made some big roster moves, and that is the Detroit Tigers.

Like the Royals, the Tigers have been building their farm system up the last few years, with players like Casey Mize, Matt Manning, Tarik Skubal and Akil Baddoo. They've also figured out how to balance the farm system with acquired guys like Robbie Grossman, Jeimer Candelario and Jonathan Schoop, much like the Royals with Carlos Santana, Andrew Benintendi and Michael Taylor. The difference, though, is the Tigers getting Javier Baez and Eduardo Rodriguez. Those are two big contracts that have the promise of lifting this team. Even the Twins have Carlos Correa as a major addition. The Royals, by contrast, don't have that. They have Bobby Witt Jr., but is he Correa or Baez yet?

At the same time, the Royals might be the Rays of this division. They are playing the lower-budget game, organizing the talent they do have [Merrifield, Santana, Mondesi, Salvador Perez] while taking on the occasional contract, playing small-ball and hoping it can stop the divisional goliaths. Heck, with the White Sox without Lance Lynn for a bit, maybe the door is gonna be opened for someone else to sneak into the race. 

I genuinely think the AL Central race is gonna be tight this year. It's been a snooze the last 3 or 4 seasons, now there may actually be a lot of competitors in it. Anxiously awaiting how exactly it all goes down.