When last we gathered here, the Royals were undefeated and rookie Bobby Witt Jr. had made two sensational plays in each of the Royals’ first two games to help secure victories. Since then, the Royals have lost five in a row and Bobby Witt has batted .100/.143/.250/.393. That which once seemed promising now seems doomed to failure.
All hope is not lost, of course. The baseball season is a long one. But the most commonly cited criteria for the Royals to have a winning or even morally winning season were that one or two of the young pitchers needed to step up.