Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Royals fans and fans across the country.
As we enter the season’s final month, the Royals will prepare to recall three younger players from the minor leagues to fill out their now-28-man roster. But we’re not here to talk about them; we’re here to talk about the things that have happened in the first five-ish months that occurred in the season. The Royals plan to compete in 2028,
so let’s talk about some of the positives that have occurred this year that might lead us to believe that the team could be right!
Bobby Witt Jr. is still one of the top five best players in MLB, and he’s not fifth. His power is down significantly, leading to him having the worst season ISO of his career, but everything else is pointing up. He’s stolen just two fewer bases than last year despite missing more than a day or two for the first time in his career; he’s on the way to setting a career mark in walks, having reached a double-digit percentage for the first time; and he’s been on an absolute tear since returning from the injury list, slashing .306/.398/.459/.857.
That leads me to wonder if he was hurt for a while before he went on the IL, but I’ve had that question about a lot of guys. The fact that he was still as good as he was while potentially injured is just one more mark in his favor. But the stretch also coincides with him batting in front of a truly good bat, making it much more difficult to just pitch around him as some teams seemed content to do early in the season. Speaking of that bat…
Jac Caglianone was deemed a bust by many after he finished last season slashing .157/.237/.295/.532 in 62 games following his rocket ascent through the minor leagues. This year, after a bit of a slow start that was still miles ahead of last year, he is now slashing .284/.333/.499/.832 and is the most likely candidate for AL Player of the Month. He’s showing off not just the light tower power that everyone knew was there, but also an ability to hit for power to all fields that makes him incredibly dangerous on a level none but the best hitters are able to reach.
He may never be the best hitter in the league or win MVP awards because of his propensity to chase pitches, but his large frame and lightning-fast bat allow him to do damage with pitches that, technically speaking, he maybe oughtn’t swing at. But as Batman needs Robin, Bobby Witt Jr. has badly needed a sidekick, and Jac seems to be rising to the role wonderfully. Get a healthy Maikel Garcia batting cleanup – or maybe someone even better! – next season and the Royals could really be cooking with gas.
Carter Jensen was being perceived very differently by fans after last season and even early this year. Jensen’s September callup led to him slashing .300/.391/.550/.941. He started off hot this year, but rapidly cooled off and was slashing .236/.303/.421/.724. Add in some early defensive struggles and a single episode of oversleeping, and fans started to sour on the other left-handed 23-year-old in the everyday lineup.
However, he’s cleaned up his defense considerably, even moving into positives across many defensive stats on the whole. He still has some work to do on his blocking, but that’s OK. And after a long slump, he has slashed .244/.397/.467/.864 over the past couple of weeks, walking almost as many times as he has struck out. He needs to keep up the hot hitting to get his batting numbers back above average on the whole, but as a 23-year-old getting a lot more catching time than originally envisioned, a 98 wRC+ on the season is nothing to sneeze at.
Noah Cameron is the only pitcher on our list; most of the rest of them are hurt. And, obviously, it’s been a rough season for him in a lot of ways. But while Jac Caglianone is nearly guaranteed to be the AL Player of the Month, Cameron is certainly in the conversation for pitcher of the month. He made five starts totaling 33.2 innings and compiled a 1.87 ERA. One possible concern is that three of those starts saw him strike out three or fewer batters, but he has also allowed just a scoche over one hit per two innings, helping guide him to a 0.80 WHIP and has allowed only one home run. If you can’t even get a single runner per inning and you’re not hitting it over the wall, you can’t score runs.
Cameron will need to get the strikeout numbers back to what he was doing in the final three appearances of July to make people completely confident in his skills, and it would also be great to see him do in September what he did in August, but the 2.99 ERA of last season no longer seems entirely a fluke. Considering the Royals are in such dire need of starting pitching that Randy Dobnak and Daniel Lynch IV are going every day for them right now, having Cameron prove himself more than just a swingman for 2027 seems promising indeed.
So, all four of these players have done a lot to make us feel better about the team going forward. Even if you don’t think much of the 2027 squad’s chances, you have to like what these guys can do. But here’s the most important question. Which one makes you most excited for the future?
