There was no shortage of discussion around the Kansas City Royals’ 2026 season, and for good reason: the year brought disappointment, but it also left behind a few real building blocks.
On the latest episode of “One Royal Way,” host Joel Penfield laid out the season’s biggest takeaways, separating the encouraging developments from the problems that kept Kansas City from taking a step forward.
A few names stood out immediately on the positive side. Penfield gave A grades to rookie catcher Carter Jensen, sophomore Jac Caglianone and veteran pitcher Michael Wacha after productive 2026 campaigns. Those three represented some of the clearest bright spots in a season that otherwise had too many rough stretches.
Bobby Witt Jr. was part of that conversation as well. Penfield made it clear that Witt is still one of the game’s top players, but his offensive production dropped off. That decline sat alongside a broader issue for the lineup, with Penfield pointing to uneven performances from several veteran hitters and injuries that chipped away at the team’s depth.
The pitching staff brought its own share of concerns. Wacha gave the rotation a lift, but Seth Lugo had a difficult year.
The bullpen was even more troubling, with multiple relievers struggling when the pressure ramped up in high-leverage spots. Penfield said Kansas City needs to improve both its bullpen and center field this offseason.
As the conversation turned toward 2027, Penfield stressed how important it will be for Witt to get back to his MVP-caliber level while the younger players keep progressing. His view was straightforward: the Royals have promising pieces, but they still have to fix the holes on the roster if they want to climb back to a competitive level.
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Royals Prospect Is Giving Fans More Reason To Believe In The Future
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There is still plenty for Gomez to refine, which is part of why the evaluation matters now rather than later. The upside is real enough to matter, and it arrives at a time when the Royals are also seeing positives on the big-league side and watching progress continue around the franchise with city approval advancing for a new downtown ballpark. In other words, there is a lot more here than one prospects report, even if the most intriguing part of the Gomez story is still sitting just out of view. [Read more 🡒]
Miguel Vargas Just Added A Stunning Twist To His White Sox Rise
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What makes the rise even more compelling is how close it came to never happening. Vargas said he considered walking away from baseball after the 2024 season, a revelation that adds real texture to a year that has looked so clean on the field. Instead, he kept going, and now the White Sox are reaping the benefits of a player whose path to this point was far less certain than his production suggests. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Future Is Taking Shape But Two Pitching Spots Feel Unsettled
The Royals long-term picture is starting to come into focus around a core built on Bobby Witt Jr., Jac Caglianone, Carter Jensen, Maikel Garcia, Vinnie Pasquantino and Noah Cameron. That group gives Kansas City a much clearer sense of where the lineup and young talent are headed, and it also shows how much the organization is trying to balance the present with the next wave of contributors.
The unsettled part is still on the mound, where the staff has not reached the same level of certainty. Kansas City is still sorting out which arms can be counted on in the right roles, and the broader discussion around the pitching staff now centers on whether the Royals need to make tougher decisions about who fits the rotation picture and who belongs elsewhere on the staff. [Read more 🡒]