Kansas City Royals' Midseason Review

We're just past the halfway point of this season, and I thought I would write a little something on my views of how the Royals have done so far.

ESPN gave the Royals a D, but I’m grading the Royals on a curve and giving them a C+. Here’s why:

Starting Pitching

Their strength from the start of the season has been their starting pitching. There have been some tough spots in there, but overall the staff has pitched above average.

ZG has been dominant when he wants to pitch and not throw through a brick wall.

Banny has had some ups and downs, but overall has been above what his stuff shows.

Gil has been kind of a disappointment for me this year. His stuff is good and he has his moments, but he gives up too many homers and big innings.

Of course Tomko was a disaster, and Bale needs to learn how to punch.

LH has been alright, but he seems to be consistently giving up four to six runs over six to seven innings. Obviously that’s not good enough for a No. 1 overall pick. But it does look like there’s hope, even though, looking back on that draft, there were significantly better arms and bats there.

Bullpen

The Royals' bullpen has been like a Halloween costume party: scary and disfigured, pretty in pink, and terminator. Soria needs no grade, because his work speaks for itself.

Ron M has been very solid so far, but don’t get used to it because he’ll be gone by the trade deadline. Besides that, it has looked pretty bad.

Gobble makes some left-handers look foolish, but right-handers look like Man Ram. Who else is in the 'pen? That’s right: nobody worth talking about.

Offense

The offense is less than impressive. Jose G has been a monster this year, even with his horrific start. How is the No. 3 RBI guy in the AL not in the All-Star Game?

He has been a beast in the middle, and besides DeJesus, the only one to count on. Speaking of DeJesus, what more can you say about a guy who is constantly benched by the fans for a more exciting Joey G, whom I think a toddler could out-hit.

Gordon is progressing slowly, and even though I think he’ll end up being something special, don’t expect that breakout streak, but rather more of a building to a .285/30/100 season.

TP couldn’t hit high school pitching, and Mike A couldn’t field at shortstop on a high school team. If only you could put the two together.

Teahen has been disappointing and not the “Real Deal” that was expected. He’s going to be a solid player, but nothing special, so get used to that.

Coaching

Trey has impressed me, because I think the Royals are a little ahead of where they should be. Still, they are not as far as they could be. I think he needs to be a little tougher with guys and not leave guys in as long to figure things out.

But overall I’m satisfied. He’s done well mixing it up and trying things so I'm glad about that.

With a little less than half a season left, I think that less than .500 would be a disappointment. Take out that 12-game losing streak and they're there.

So, Royals, keep it up. You're heading in the right direction, just keep it going that way.