Special to Sports News Highlights

(SNH) — Next season, the Kansas City Royals will surely have some sort of celebration to commemorate the World Series championship team from 2015.

What better way to do it than producing another championship-caliber team?

“It feels good to be a part of the winning,” first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said.

The Royals are looking to make a jump from 100 losses to playoff contender this season and are off to a great start.

While far too early to be standing watching, Kansas City is a half-game out of first in the AL Central at 10-6 and had won seven-straight. The Royals recently pummeled Houston in a three-game sweep and took four games against the White Sox.

With the wide open AL Central, it’s not wild to think the Royals can keep rolling and make the playoffs for the first time since the World Series title in 2015.

“It’s a great feeling,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “I’m really happy for those guys. They’ve put in a ton of work. And to get off to that kind of start and sustain it for a full week is really challenging and really rewarding.”

So how has Kansas City gone from 100-plus losses to playoff contenders? Well, for starters, it went out and got some veteran starters.

The Royals spent more than $100 million in free agency, two of those acquisitions were Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha.

Lugo is 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA while Wacha is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA while 27-year-old Brady Singer, who is now in his fifth-season is 2-0 with a 0.98 ERA, third-year pitcher, 26-year-old Cole Ragans, has a 2.60 ERA and second-year, 25-year-old pitcher Alec Marsh is 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA.

The bullpen was re-tooled as well with Jordan Lyles joining the bullpen with newcomers John Schreiber, Chris Stratton and Will Smith.

“We’re trying to put a team together. It’s not really one individual talent,” general manager J.J. Picollo said. “Given the inexperience in our clubhouse other than Salvy (Perez) and Jordan (Lyles), we felt like we were short with guys like will that have not only won at a high level but experienced the game.”

It’s not only pitching; the Royals are mashing the ball as well.

Kansas City is third in the league in home runs with 17 led by up-and-coming superstar shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. with four.

Outside of 34-year-old veteran catcher Salvador Perez, who was on the World Series team in 2015, 32-year-old veteran outfielder Hunter Renfroe and 32-year-old Adam Frazier, none of the Royals everyday starters are older than 27.

It’s a perfect mix of youthful exuberance and veteran stability.

“As a team we’re just coming into the clubhouse each and every day having that feeling of, ‘We’re gonna win,’” Witt said.

Nobody is calling for Kansas City to shock MLB and make a World Series run this season, but nobody expected Arizona to be there last season.

If not this season, the stage could be set for a Royal run in 2025.

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