The Kansas City Royals haven’t had much success over the past 20 years, with just three winning seasons since 2003. However, those three winning seasons came all in a row from 2013-2015 with two trips to the World Series, including a title in 2015.
Unfortunately, when they weren’t winning championships, they were languishing in the bottom of the AL Central division standings, not finishing higher than fourth in any of the past four seasons.
Heading into the 2022 season, oddsmakers clearly saw this being another losing season for the Royals, with Kansas City’s World Series odds at +8000 and their odds to win the division set at +1600.
Also unfortunate for fans in the state is that Missouri sports betting is not legal.
The AL Central was looking to be one of the least competitive divisions, with the Chicago White Sox heavily favored at the top with odds of -200 for bettors.
The Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers all also entered the season with shorter odds than Kansas City in one of the league’s worst divisions.
While the Chicago White Sox haven’t done their part and have yet to hit their stride, sportsbooks have been proven right so far with the division being quite weak and the Royals being in the basement.
As of June 24, Kansas City had a record of 25-43 in what has been another disappointing season for them.
Those wanting to bet on the Royals should soon be able to cross the state border into Kansas to place wagers. Kansas would like to have legal sports betting up and running during the NFL season.
The Royals were among the Missouri sports teams who supported legislation this year that would have made legal, regulated sports betting a reality in the Show-Me State. Those efforts will have to wait for another year.
Updated AL Central World Series Odds
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Royals Offense Struggling
A bottom-tier offense has not helped the Royals at all, but even worse has been their play in the field or on the mound.
The offense has a few decent pieces, but not near enough to make up for Kansas City's pitching woes. Catcher Salvador Perez was tied atop the league with 48 home runs last year, a number he won’t touch this season, but he still has a solid 11 homers in his 57 games played.
Andrew Benintendi has also shown promise and has been getting on base with regularity, but doesn’t have a ton of power.
The brightest spot has been Bobby Witt Jr.
Coming into the season as the top prospect in baseball, Witt made the opening day roster and has 10 home runs and a .240 batting average.
While the prospect cupboard isn’t as deep as it should be for a team that is constantly losing games, Witt is a massive prize and he has played really well. He also leads the team with 36 RBI.
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Pitching Near Bottom of MLB
The Royals are 28th overall in team ERA, have given up the fifth most runs and just are not doing enough to win games consistently.
Former ace Zack Greinke has predictably struggled with health, but with a record of 0-4 and a 5.05 ERA, he simply isn’t providing enough value.
Brad Keller, Daniel Lynch and Brady Singer have all shown signs of good play but no consistency, therefore none of the regular starters have an ERA below 4.00.
The season has been disappointing and it shows in the odds, as the Royals are now extreme long shots to win the division at +50000 with BetMGM Sportsbook Missouri. Kansas City is among several teams at the bottom of the World Series odds board at +100000.
The development of some top prospects and trying to build the minor-league system at the trade deadline are the only real goals for this team heading into the second half of the season.
