{"id":2036934,"date":"2025-09-20T12:20:20","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T12:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2036934"},"modified":"2025-09-20T12:20:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T12:20:20","slug":"espns-take-on-royals-biggest-success-and-failure-in-2025-should-surprise-no-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/espns-take-on-royals-biggest-success-and-failure-in-2025-should-surprise-no-one\/","title":{"rendered":"ESPN\u2019s take on Royals\u2019 biggest success and failure in 2025 should surprise no one"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div q:key=\"QW_4\"><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=5o q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>As the Kansas City Royals play out the string in the regular season with just eight games to go, the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/kingsofkauffman.com\/al-wild-card-standings-royals-postseason-hopes-seem-nothing-but-a-pipe-dream-now-01k59nkwd8et\" target=\"_blank\">postseason looks increasingly unlikely<\/a>. That means that it&#39;s officially time to start looking towards 2026 and figuring out what worked and what didn&#39;t in 2025. ESPN has a pretty good idea about KC should consider a success and what the Kauffman denizens should consider a failure.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=5p q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5q\">As the Kansas City Royals play out the string in the regular season with just eight games to go, the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/kingsofkauffman.com\/al-wild-card-standings-royals-postseason-hopes-seem-nothing-but-a-pipe-dream-now-01k59nkwd8et\" target=\"_blank\">postseason looks increasingly unlikely<\/a>. That means that it&#8217;s officially time to start looking towards 2026 and figuring out what worked and what didn&#8217;t in 2025. ESPN has a pretty good idea about KC should consider a success and what the Kauffman denizens should consider a failure.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=5r q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>To the surprise of no one, columnist Bradford Doolittle believes the big success for the Royals this season was the pitching staff. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/royals\/news\/royals-all-star-starter-named-one-of-team-s-breakout-players-curt9\" target=\"_blank\">Whether talking about Kris Bubic<\/a> or Noah Cameron, the rotation did everything it could to keep the club afloat.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=5s q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5t\">To the surprise of no one, columnist Bradford Doolittle believes the big success for the Royals this season was the pitching staff. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/royals\/news\/royals-all-star-starter-named-one-of-team-s-breakout-players-curt9\" target=\"_blank\">Whether talking about Kris Bubic<\/a> or Noah Cameron, the rotation did everything it could to keep the club afloat.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=5u q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>Meanwhile, Doolittle made it clear that he believes the offense held the Kansas City Royals back this year. Despite breakout seasons from <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/kingsofkauffman.com\/why-maikel-garcia-deserves-all-star-recognition-amid-his-stellar-breakout-season-01jy4cn0qean\" target=\"_blank\">guys like Maikel Garcia<\/a>, he&#39;s definitely right there too. <\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=5v q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5w\">Meanwhile, Doolittle made it clear that he believes the offense held the Kansas City Royals back this year. Despite breakout seasons from <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/kingsofkauffman.com\/why-maikel-garcia-deserves-all-star-recognition-amid-his-stellar-breakout-season-01jy4cn0qean\" target=\"_blank\">guys like Maikel Garcia<\/a>, he&#8217;s definitely right there too. <\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=5x q:key=vcaa:\n\n<h2>The Kansas City Royals rotation was among the best in baseball, but their offense was among the worst<\/h2>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=5y q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"5z\">The Kansas City Royals rotation was among the best in baseball, but their offense was among the worst<\/h2>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=60 q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>&#34;Kansas City has MLB&#39;s sixth-best rotation ERA. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/mlb\/story\/_\/id\/46269338\/mlb-2025-30-teams-biggest-failure-success-season\" target=\"_blank\">Whether it&#39;s converting relievers<\/a> (Kris Bubic),&#34; Doolittle wrote. &#34;Developing midlevel prospects (Noah Cameron) or identifying trade targets (Ryan Bergert), the Royals have become adept at finding rotation answers that fit their system.&#34;<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=61 q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"62\">&#8220;Kansas City has MLB&#8217;s sixth-best rotation ERA. <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/mlb\/story\/_\/id\/46269338\/mlb-2025-30-teams-biggest-failure-success-season\" target=\"_blank\">Whether it&#8217;s converting relievers<\/a> (Kris Bubic),&#8221; Doolittle wrote. &#8220;Developing midlevel prospects (Noah Cameron) or identifying trade targets (Ryan Bergert), the Royals have become adept at finding rotation answers that fit their system.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=63 q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>He also laid out why the offense was the big weakness of the franchise.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=64 q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"65\">He also laid out why the offense was the big weakness of the franchise.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=66 q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>&#34;Bobby Witt Jr. remains a superstar. Maikel Garcia has been one of baseball&#39;s most improved players. Vinnie Pasquantino remains a high-level run producer,&#34; Doolittle worte. &#34;But other than a midseason surge, the Royals have just not been able to score consistently enough to hang in the playoff chase, despite their elite pitching-and-defense combo.&#34;<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=67 q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"68\">&#8220;Bobby Witt Jr. remains a superstar. Maikel Garcia has been one of baseball&#8217;s most improved players. Vinnie Pasquantino remains a high-level run producer,&#8221; Doolittle worte. &#8220;But other than a midseason surge, the Royals have just not been able to score consistently enough to hang in the playoff chase, despite their elite pitching-and-defense combo.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=69 q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>&#34;They&#39;ve tried to paper over their holes with trades during the season, but the baseline for the lineup is just too low to fix on the fly,&#34; he wrote.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6a q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6b\">&#8220;They&#8217;ve tried to paper over their holes with trades during the season, but the baseline for the lineup is just too low to fix on the fly,&#8221; he wrote.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=6c q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>Neither of those issues was a secret by any means. The Kansas City Royals likely know quite well where they need to find a solution this offseason. Here&#39;s hoping they get it done in order to better position themselves for a more successful 2026 campaign.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6d q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6e\">Neither of those issues was a secret by any means. The Kansas City Royals likely know quite well where they need to find a solution this offseason. Here&#8217;s hoping they get it done in order to better position themselves for a more successful 2026 campaign.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_2--><!--qv q:id=6f q:key=vcaa:https:\/\/content-enrichment-service.mmsport.minutesvc.com\/oembed?url=https:\/\/content-enrichment-service.mmsport.minutesvc.com\/properties\/7\/embeds\/01jva8tdv318pw0--><!--qv q:id=6g q:key=jBas:mL_1--><\/p>\n<figure on-document:load=\"q-ObY4WGrS.js#s_LZBLIxdhCWU[0 1]\" q:key=\"S2_1\" q:id=\"6h\"\/><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source kingsofkauffman.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the Kansas City Royals play out the string in the regular season with just eight games to go, the postseason looks increasingly unlikely. That means that it&#8217;s officially time to start looking towards 2026 and figuring out what worked and what didn&#8217;t in 2025. ESPN has a pretty good idea about KC should consider [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2036935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2036934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royalty"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ESPNs-take-on-Royals-biggest-success-and-failure-in-2025.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2036934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2036934"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2036934\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2036935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2036934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2036934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2036934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}