If you expected the bottom to fall out with the Royals during this last road trip, you'll have to put your pity party on pause.
The Royals won their fifth straight series this month and have won 13 out their last 16 games. This past week they took care of business taking 2 of 3 against the Toronto Blue Jays and the Cleveland Guardians, giving them a 4-2 record.
It's hard to truly express how I feel about this hot streak they're on.
I'd rather watch winning baseball than losing baseball, but I'm pretty annoyed that it took until August for them to play like we thought they could.
But don't get me started down that path, it can get scary and there's no need to pinch that nerve.
I'd rather wax poetic about Jac Caglianone.
Jac had the best performance of the week by a long shot (see what I did there?). He unloaded on the Blue Jays on August 27 for 5 hits and 6 RBI; both were career highs. The Royals routed the Jays 13-2, and Cags lifted a ball out of the park against Myles Straw that resembled a beer league softball game.
I knew Caglianone was going to be a good player, even after last year’s disaster of a start. He had too many tools to be a bust. But even I’m in awe of what he’s done this season.
The power was always evident, but I did not foresee him hitting over .280 at any point this season. Maybe a couple of years down the road, but not this soon. It’s a testament to his approach at the dish and how he never tries to do too much. He just tries to hit the piss out of the ball.
Michael Wacha also deserves a shout out for performance last week. He pitched against the Guardians and was dominant in 8 scoreless innings and had a season-high 10 strikeouts.
Wacha has been almost as hot in August as Cags with a 2.51 ERA in 32.1 innings and has 25 Ks. He’s 3-0, and his 10 outings of 7 innings pitched and 2 or fewer earned runs rank 1st in the AL.
His stuff played up against the Guardians with his 4-seamer touching 96 and inducing a 36.8% chase. The cutter was another go-to pitch, hitting the zone 63.2% of the time and inducing a 27.3% whiff. Even the curveball which he only threw eight times was effective getting a staggering 100% whiff rate.
Wacha has got stronger as the season wraps up and at 35 years old, the Royals hope he can repeat his success in 2027. He's been J.J. PIicollo’s best signing since becoming the GM and one of the best free agent signings in Royals history.
Last week's players to watch:
🏥 Michael Massey: It was a disappointing week for Mass who take a nasty fall while tracking down a grounder in the hole and hit his head. He ended up leaving the first game in Toronto and didn't return.
Now he's on the 7-day IL, but should be back once his concussion symptoms subside. At least he made the out, though. He's a gamer.
📉 Seth Lugo: That extension the Royals gave Seth Lugo at the end of 2025 is aging like milk. He pitched good enough for the Royals to win in Toronto, but was absolutely wrecked on Sunday against the Guardians. Be aware this stat line is Vin Mazzaro-esque:
3.2 IP
9 Hits
9 ER
2 HR
2 BB
2 Ks
It was painful to watch and it’s even worse imaging what he’ll look like in 2027 a year older and coming off his worst year as a starter. The man has like 12 pitches and none of them have been working.
The decline hasn't been fun to watch but mostly because everyone saw it except the Royals. His strikeout rate has been on a steady downward spiral since 2019. His xBA and xSLG are in the bottom 10% of the league.
It's frustrating that the Royals couldn't trade him last year while teams were still interested in his services but now it feels like they're stuck with him. He's guaranteed $20 million next season and has a vesting option that pays out an extra $20 million if he reaches the 190-inning mark threshold. He simply has to turn it around. The Royals don't have a choice.
This Week’s POTW
🥇Jac Caglianone | .474/.474/.684| 1 HR | 6 RBI | 4 Runs |
🥈Michael Wacha | 8 IP | 10 Ks | 4 Hits | 0 BB | 0 Runs|
🥉Carter Jensen | .278/.440/.611| 2 HR | 4 RBI | 4 Runs |
Next Up:
The Royals get to come home for a 9-game set starting on Tuesday against the Marlins, Jays, and Diamondbacks.
As I mentioned last week, they needed to go at least 4-2 on their road trip to keep what slim postseason hopes they have alive and they did that.
Now they’ll have to repeat what they did during their last homestand when they went undefeated against the Athletics and the Tigers. At worst, they can only afford 1 loss during this homestand.
The Marlins, 69-68, are 5-5 in their last 10 games and are in danger of losing their second straight series if they can't find a W against the Nationals this evening. Heriberto Hernández has had the hot bat recently with 3 homers and 5 RBI in his last five games.
The Jays, 68-70, went on to sweep the Mariners after losing the series to the Royals and are 6-4 in their last 10.
The Diamondbacks, 73-65, are 6-4 in their last 10 games winning a series against the Cubs and splitting a series against the Giants.
Players to Watch 👀
🎯Isaac Collins:
He hasn't been the quality of player Royals fans probably hoped for, but he's been a solid bat to have near the bottom of the lineup. He's been a much better hitter from the left side of the plate slashing .242/.355/.367 against right-handers.
He's been on a nice streak as of late hitting .333/.400/.500 with 3 doubles and 2 RBI on the Royals' road trip and the Marlins will throw two righties to start the series. Collins has a chance to showcase more of that extra-base power and versatility as he even played a little 2B in the final game against the Guardians.
🎯Anthony Gose:
Gose was a surprise addition from Omaha during the road trip, but looked great in his 2.2 innings of work this past weekend.
Gose broke into the MLB as an outfielder with Toronto in 2012 hitting .240 with 12 homers with the Jays and the Tigers.
He switched to pitching full-time in 2016 and in 2021, the Guardians called him up as a reliever for the first time.
He spent the summer with the Omaha Stormchasers and was selected to join the Royals after Mason Black was optioned back to Omaha.
Gose entered in the fourth inning against the Guards with a runner on and got the last two outs, then worked a clean fifth before handing the ball to Craig Kimbrel.
He didn't give up a run and left 100% of his inherited runners on base. He was also rewarded with the W for his services against the Guardians on August 29.
It was also encouraging to see his fastball live in the 95-97 mph range. I'll be interested to see if the Royals continue to use him in a higher-leverage spot.