First off, congratulations are in order. The Kansas City Royals, longtime doormats of the American League, are AL Central champions, which is something they've never been. That has to feel good.
After ending their 29-year postseason drought last year, squeaking in as a wild-card team and streaking to Game 7 of the World Series, the Royals are now the undisputed top dogs of their division for the first time since 1985, when they made the AL West their home.
That was also the last time the Royals hoisted a Commissioner's Trophy.
"It's very special," manager Ned Yost said after the clinching game, a 10-4 win over the Seattle Mariners at Kauffman Stadium on Thursday, per Fox Sports KC. "There's like 25 guys on this team that weren't even born the last time the Royals won a championship."
Really, Kansas City's seat at the October table has been reserved for months. They've been alone in first place since June 9 and haven't let their lead slip under nine games since Aug. 3.
Now, it's official. And the Royals can look ahead to the playoffs, which they'll enter as ostensible favorites—with a few caveats.
Entering play Friday, Kansas City owns the best record in the AL at 89-63, two games ahead of the AL East-leading Toronto Blue Jays (87-65).
Even if they hang on to the AL's top spot, however, guaranteeing home-field advantage throughout (thanks to the American League's win in the 2015 All-Star Game), the Royals will lug some serious flaws into the autumn tournament.
To begin, there's uncertainty in the bullpen, which last year was one of Kansas City's unassailable strengths.
On the same day they clinched the Central, the Royals learned that closer Greg Holland, a two-time All-Star, is lost for the season with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
Holland has struggled this season with mixed results and diminished velocity, which were no doubt tied to the elbow. His successor will be Wade Davis, who owns a sterling 0.99 ERA in 63.2 innings. And Kelvin Herrera, in turn, will slide from seventh-inning duties to a setup role.
Herrera has had some hiccups, including a recent two-game stretch on Sept. 11 and 14 when he coughed up six earned runs in 1.2 frames. But he's turned in three scoreless outings since, and overall sports a 2.74 ERA in 65.2 innings.
The loss of Holland, though, takes a potent weapon out of Yost's arsenal. During the 2014 postseason, the Holland-Davis-Herrera three-headed monster pitched 28.5 percent of the Royals' innings, as ESPN's David Schoenfield noted.
Now, with Holland removed from the equation, Yost will need other members of his pen, such as righties Ryan Madson and Luke Hochevar and lefty Franklin Morales, to fill the void.
The bottom line: The late innings won't be as automatic for KC as they were in 2014. There simply will not be as many so-called six-inning games, which were formerly the Royals' calling card.
Speaking of which, Kansas City's starting pitching is also a source of consternation.
It begins with Johnny Cueto, the big trade-deadline cavalry. Since donning a Royals jersey, Cueto has gone 3-6 and surrendered 39 earned runs in 70.1 innings.
He's shown positive signs lately, going seven innings in his last two starts and picking up the win in Thursday's clinching contest.
But the Royals are still waiting for the All-Star right-hander to flip into full-blown ace mode.
That's because the rest of the rotation is littered with question marks. Edinson Volquez is a passable No. 2. And Yordano Ventura has won seven of eight decisions since Aug. 1, but he carries a 4.40 ERA and concerns about his hotheaded tendencies. After that, things get especially dicey.
A dominant Cueto would ease a lot of worry. The Royals learned firsthand what a single stud can do when they ran into the Madison Bumgarner buzz saw last year.
For now, though, KC's pitching staff can't be counted as an unmitigated strength.
OK, enough hand-wringing. Let's talk about what's working.
The Royals trot out an incredibly balanced lineup, which boasts the best team batting average in baseball and ranks fifth in the AL in runs scored. CBSSports.com's Mike Axisa broke down Kansas City's offensive attack:
Kansas City succeeds with an extreme contact-oriented offense. Their team 15.7-percent strikeout rate is not just the lowest in baseball this season...it's the lowest since the 2011 Rangers struck out in only 14.9 percent of their plate appearances. The league-average strikeout rate this year is 20.3 percent.
The Royals are not just about slapping singles, however; Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Kendrys Morales provide power, Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar add speed, and [Ben] Zobrist and Alex Gordon add on-base ability.
Speaking of speed, the Royals—who rank second in the AL with 99 thefts—continue to run wild on the bases.
And they can pick it with the best of them, with athletic, plus defenders littered across the diamond.
The blueprint Kansas City rode to the brink of a confetti-strewn parade in 2014 remains in place. The Blue Jays and their big bats are in the conversation, but the Royals look like the team to beat in the American League.
If you're in a worrying mood, however, they also look beatable. Let the games begin.
All statistics current as of Sept. 24 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.
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