The KC Royals are facing a pivotal season as an organization. Once games begin — and let’s hope they do — things will take shape for the future. The rebuild should almost all be downhill now, with the rest of it coming from internal development and smart drafting by Dayton Moore. The common expectation has been that the Boys in Blue will return to being near-playoff-caliber (or in the big dance) in 2022.
One Royal who is facing a critical 2020 campaign is outfielder Brett Phillips. He’s hands-down one of the nicest guys in baseball. He has a rocket arm and great range in center field to boot.