Don’t look now, but the Kansas City Royals are among the best teams in baseball.

Following their blowout victory over the Astros, the Royals are 9-4 and have the third-best record in the American League behind the Yankees and Guardians. Kansas City has now won seven straight, sweeping the White Sox and Astros. Royals starters have a 1.96 ERA and have averaged the most innings per start in MLB.

Bobby Witt Jr. hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning. Overall on the day, he went 4 for 5 with two homers, four runs scored, and five runs driven in.

Witt entered the game with a stout .313/.377/.625 batting line and exited with an exemplary .358/.414/.755 line. We get that it’s only 13 games into the season, but Witt had a breakout season a year ago, and is already building on it early in 2024.

As of now, the Royals have won nine of their first 13 games for the first time since 2016. If they beat the New York Mets on Friday, it would give Kansas City 10 wins in the first 14 games since the 2015 World Series team that started 11-3. 

“What’s up, fans? You like that?” first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said following the game. “…Because we like that. We’re not going to win every single game every single time, but we’re going to give it a shot. This was a really special series.”

For a team that finished 56-106 just a few months ago, the Royals have made a complete 180 degree turn. And the energy is more electric than it has been in year.

“It’s been a blast,” Witt said. “It’s awesome. But we’ve got to keep doing it. Keep stacking the wins, keep stacking the days and keep enjoying it.”

The rotation’s 1.96 ERA this year — lowered Thursday with Brady Singer allowing one run in five innings — is the second lowest in baseball. The bullpen has finally begun settling in, as well. One of the worst pitching teams in baseball for the past decade has begun to rise again.

“This group’s just clicking,” Singer said. “It’s a really fun environment. A lot of really good players and good people, too. They all expect to win when they walk in the door. That’s part of this team: Expect to win.”

Kansas City Royals, AL offensive ranks (through 13 games):

*AVG: .264 (T-3rd)
*SLG: .445 (1st)
*OPS: .771 (1st)
*Runs Scored: 72 (1st)
*HR: 17 (T-1st)
*SB: 17 (1st)