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ESPN\u2019s David Schoenfield predicts the Kansas City Royals will push the Seattle Mariners out of the AL playoff bracket<\/a> as the September slate starts.<\/p>\n The Kansas City Royals will make the playoffs. Crazy? Not so. They\u2019ve played great in July and August. Vinnie Pasquantino is mashing home runs, Bobby Witt Jr. is red hot and the players they added at the trade deadline have chipped in to make this a good offense. The Royals also have a pretty easy schedule the rest of the way. But which team can they catch?<\/p>\n It might hinge on a three-game series at home against Seattle in mid-September. The Mariners have a recent history of falling just short of the postseason \u2014 including last year, when the Royals clinched a wild-card spot with 86 wins and the Mariners won 85 (the Mariners blew an 8-0 lead against Kansas City in June, which loomed large at the end of the season). Seattle has struggled on the road, so the aforementioned series can catapult the Royals back into the postseason.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Into the Foutains\u2019 Craig Brown returns and has a realistic, yet stinging prediction for how the 2025 season ends<\/a>.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s fantastic that the Royals are playing meaningful baseball in September, and while I\u2019ve been optimistic about their chances of hanging around in the race, I cannot shake the feeling that they\u2019re just not good enough to snag that third spot. They\u2019re better than Cleveland and they\u2019ve shown they have the advantage over the Rangers. Maybe the Mariners continue to rediscover mediocrity. Maybe the Red Sox or Yankees hit a massive stumbling point. However this ends, I\u2019m not sure the Royals can just get hot and sneak in. They\u2019re going to need some help.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Baseball America\u2019s Eli Ben-Porat calls catcher Carter Jensen\u2019s Statcast data \u201cbreathtakingly good\u201d<\/a> following the backstop\u2019s call to the MLB.<\/p>\n This is a remarkably complete profile, and it comes with a combination of plate discipline, raw power, launch angles and a lack of a platoon issue that strongly suggests future 30-home run upside, if not more. It comes as no surprise that Jensen has earned his callup. Royals fans, you\u2019ve got a good one.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n MLB.com\u2019s Anne Rogers emphasizes the home in hometown kid<\/a> for Jensen.<\/p>\n It was, Jensen said, one of the most electric atmospheres he\u2019s ever seen \u2014 even in one of the highest sections at The K. A Kansas City native who went to Park Hill High School about 20 miles northwest of Kauffman Stadium, Jensen has been a Royals fan his entire life. He grew up attending games. He played for the Royals Scout Team at the\u00a0Urban Youth Academy<\/a>. Salvador Perez is his idol. Eleven years later, Jensen is on the field,\u00a0as a Royals player<\/a>, trying to help them get back to October.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen it comes to playoff baseball in Kansas City, I feel like it turns up a notch,\u201d Jensen said. \u201cThat\u2019s honestly what I\u2019m striving for, and to be on the field and not in the stands, that\u2019s some extra motivation that I\u2019m always keeping in the back of my head.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Royals Data Dugout pontificates about where Jensen slots long-term in Kansas City<\/a>.<\/p>\n Perhaps Jensen could slot in as a new era leadoff man, a la Kyle Schwarber? It would prevent three straight lefties in the lineup, giving opposing managers an easy button with their bullpens in the late innings, but without necessitating a slide all the way to sixth in the order \u2014 again, assuming Jensen hits the ground running. These are all 2027 and beyond \u201cproblems\u201d to solve \u2014 having three highly productive bats who happen to all hit from the same side of the plate is an issue you can live with, particularly in an analytics age when no one scoffs at a power hitter leading off a game.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Bleacher Report\u2019s Joel Reuter picks a no-brainer name for Kansas City\u2019s best rookie during this season<\/a>.<\/p>\n Noah Cameron made his MLB debut on April 30 and kicked off his big league career with a bang, rattling off five straight quality starts while logging a 0.85 ERA in 31.2 innings. His performance was inevitably going to level off after that red-hot start, but he has settled in as a rock-solid MLB starter, pitching to a 3.77 ERA in 76.1 innings in his next 14 starts. With Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic both missing time to injury, his emergence as a reliable option behind Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha has been invaluable for a team still fighting for a wild-card berth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Baseball America\u2019s J.J. Cooper thinks Royals prospect Gavin Cross still has plenty of work to do<\/a> after an excellent final week of August baseball.<\/p>\n It was a great week for Royals prospects\u2014as the rest of this Hot Sheet attests\u2014but none had a better week than Cross. It was much needed, as in his second try at the Texas League, Cross has found the league to be even tougher than it was in 2024. He still has an outside shot at a 20-20 season if he stays this hot\u2014he has a career high 16 home runs and 20 steals\u2014but he\u2019s also trying to get his on-base percentage above .300<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Bleacher Report\u2019s Tim Kelly looks at each team\u2019s top pending free agent<\/a>, and thinks Kansas City will retain theirs.<\/p>\n Mike Yastrzemski has homered seven times and posted a .976 OPS since being acquired at the trade deadline. Considering how bleak Kansas City\u2019s outfield production was before his arrival, it stands to reason they could try to bring him back on a one-year deal for his age-35 season in 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n Kings of Kauffman\u2019s Oliver Vandervoort comments on a bad slump for former Royals catcher Freddy Fermin with the San Diego Padres<\/a>.<\/p>\n It seems the Padres are hoping his slump is about fatigue more than something that will plague Fermin the rest of the season. The reality is that the former Kansas City Royals player has always been a good, but not great, offensive force. His ability to hid for a solid mid-.200s has always been there, including now in San Diego, but he doesn\u2019t get on-base otherwise or hit for power enough to make him any more than decent average in the lower end of the lineup.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n ESPN omits Kansas City completely when looking at the AL playoff race<\/a> as the Royals open a series against the visiting Los Angeles Angels.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Baseball America\u2019s Hot Sheet Show mentions Jensen\u2019s promotion and looks at the return of Jac Caglianone. <\/a><\/p>\n Omaha Storm Chasers utilityman Harold Castro leads several minor-league batting metrics in red-hot August.<\/a><\/p>\n The Boston Red Sox extend former Royals closer Aroldis Chapman<\/a> after a dominant 2025 season.<\/p>\n Arizona Diamondbacks announce outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. suffered a torn right ACL<\/a> on Monday night, impacting the pending free agent\u2019s winter.<\/p>\n Could Kansas City\u2019s pitching coaching staff find another project this offseason in the struggling Walker Buehler<\/a>?<\/p>\n Shortstop Ha-Seong Kim joins the Atlanta Braves after being claimed off waivers<\/a> amidst an injury-riddled 2025 campaign.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani records his 100th home run as a Dodger with the team\u2019s hardest hit ball in the Statcast era.<\/p>\n Culture of Sport looks at how arenas and stadiums are turning from sports-forward to an overall experience<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lance Brozdowski updates his top 40 pitching prospects in his late 2025 season update<\/a>.<\/p>\n A trio is ejected in a benches-clearing brawl between the San Francisco Giants and the Colorado Rockies<\/a>.<\/p>\n Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony leaves Tuesday\u2019s game early clutching his back<\/a>.<\/p>\n Activists\u2019 fight against Mexico\u2019s soccer fans rages on ahead of next summer\u2019s World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kraft Heinz announces the two companies will split again after so-so decade of results and products<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n\n
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