The Royals have surprised many around the league by playing well to begin the year. Already projection systems like ZIPS have revised their predicted win total for the Royals upwards to around .500 due to what looks like an “objectively stronger roster” than it appeared to be a few weeks ago with their playoff odds rising to 25 percent.
In a Central Division where no other teams made significant additions, the Royals have a very real chance of hanging around in contention for a few months and possibly even making a post-season run, something that seemed unthinkable for a team coming off an 106-loss season.