Could Seth Lugo & the Royals Win the World Series?

At one point this baseball season, Louisiana native Seth Lugo looked like a sure fire Cy Young winner. He led the league in wins, ERA and innings. He made an All-Star team for the first time in his career. He was rolling. But, since the All-Star break, the Shreveport-Bossier native has been a little inconsistent and has been hit pretty hard - which has diminished his chances of winning a Cy Young Award.

And as a fan of him, that sucks. I may have never met him, but according to everyone I know that knows him, he's a good dude that is finally getting some respect after 9 years in the big leagues. And, aside from falling out of the Cy Young race, he's still having a darn good season - a 3.19 ERA, leading the league in innings pitched, etc.. So, barring an injury or complete meltdown, he's in the midst of a career year.

On top of Seth's personal success (always got to root for the Louisiana natives), the Kansas City Royals are one of the biggest surprises in baseball - arguably the biggest surprise. Some folks will point to the Cleveland Guardians, but I'd say the Royals are the bigger surprise. And here's why: The Guardians have been one of the Top 3 teams in the AL Central since 2012, the Royals on the other hand have been pretty bad since they won the World Series in 2015. They lost over 100 games in 3 seasons since 2018. They finished in dead last, 31 games out of first place last year. So, this turn around has been nothing short of miraculous. And, oh yeah, right now when it matters most, they're playing their best baseball.

Can The Royals Make a Deep Post Season Run?

The short answer: yes they can. In fact, if they win today against the Cleveland Guardians, they can take possession of 1st Place in the AL Central. Which is pretty big for a club that lost 106 games last season.

Their hitters are hitting. Their defense is outstanding. But, the key to them making a big playoff run, is going to depend on their starting pitching - and namely Seth Lugo. Michael Wacha, Cole Ragens, etc., have all been pitching well since the All-Star break. Seth has not. With the new playoff format, what we've seen over the last few years, is you need at least 3 strong starting pitchers and a really good bullpen.

The Royals have the bullpen. They have Ragans going. Brady Singer & Michael Wacha are starting to warm up. But, they need Seth Lugo to return to what he was doing the first half of the season. Here's why: when Seth was at his best, he was going deep into games and shortening games. When you can get into the 6th, 7th, 8th inning, you take the stress off the bullpen.

A well rested, dominating bullpen can doom a lot of teams if you can take a lead to the 7th inning. And that's what the Royals can do and have done. Seth and a few others just need to tighten things to make sure they make the post season and make a run.

If they can, they could be the dark horse favorites to win. The Dodgers, Yankees and Orioles may be the 3 betting favorites...but KC is a hard place to win at when the temps drop. Bobby Witt is one of the Top 3 players in the game. They got all the pieces and parts to play spoiler...they just have to put it together and keep it that way over the next couple of months.