In the last game of the 2025 season, the Kansas City Royals beat the Sacramento Athletics 9-2 in a comfortable victory. The win brought their season record to 82-80, the Royals’ second consecutive winning season, following their 86-game win total in 2024.
There’s no question that this season was a bit of a disappointment, especially after an appearance in the ALDS a season ago. However, this season was only the Royals’ second winning season since 2015. Thus, the Royals are on the right track to building a consistent winning ballclub, something that was promised when owner John Sherman took over the ballclub following the 2019 season.
There will be more in-depth posts about this season in the coming days, as I examine different aspects of the past campaign, both positive and negative. However, I wanted to focus on today’s victory, who stood out, and why this last series in Sacramento should provide hope to Royals fans about the 2026 season.
Ragans Finishes Season Strong
After going on the IL on June 11th due to a rotator cuff strain and missing most of June, July, and August, Ragans came back and ended up having an impressive September.
In three starts and 13 IP, Ragans posted a 2.77 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, and struck out 22 batters while only walking four. He did give up two home runs in three starts, but he only gave up six hits and looked more like his 2024 self in this past month of play than he did earlier in the year. In the first half, he posted a 5.18 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 10 starts and 48.2 IP.
Against the Athletics on Saturday, Ragans looked flat-out dominant in 4.2 innings of work and 72 pitches. He allowed no runs, only two hits, one walk, and struck out eight. Below is a look at his overall profile from Sunday’s start, courtesy of TJ Stats.
The Athletics hitters couldn’t touch Ragans in the 2025 finale.
His overall TJ Stuff+ was 104, with no pitches rating below 103 or grading below 53, which is phenomenal. He was a little erratic with finding the strike zone (50% zone rate), but he generated an impressive amount of chase (38.9%), whiff (41.5%), and limited hard contact (.209 xwOBACON). Overall, Ragans induced 17 whiffs, a 33% CSW, and a 66.7% strike rate in the Royals’ seven-run victory.
When looking at his pitch description and type charts via Savant, his approach was a blueprint for success. He located the four-seamer up and generated plenty of whiffs on pitches thrown up in the zone.
Another encouraging sign from Ragans’ last outing was the maintained velocity. Ragans averaged 95.2 MPH on his four-seamer today, which was only a 0.1 MPH difference from his season average (95.3 MPH). His pitch velocity chart also illustrated some consistent four-seam velocity trends in his last outing of 2025.
The Royals didn’t really push Ragans in any of his three outings. He didn’t go beyond five innings in any of the three September starts due to strict pitch count limits. Nonetheless, he seemed to have his strikeout stuff back. On Sunday, he was able to limit the long ball and barrels against the Athletics (who are a good power-hitting team), something that had plagued him a bit not just in his previous two starts but in the first half of the 2025 season as well.
A key for Ragans in 2026 will be lowering the 10% barrel and 40.8% hard-hit rates he allowed this season, both career-highs. His start on Sunday showed that he may be on his way to accomplishing that, especially with a fully healthy offseason.
The Royals’ Bats Come Out in Finale
The Royals’ hitting has been a source of frustration for fans this season. Going into Sunday’s finale, the Royals ranked 20th in OPS, 22nd in OBP, and 26th in runs scored. While the Royals’ offense improved in the second half (they ranked 7th in runs scored after the All-Star Break), inconsistency was a significant reason why Kansas City missed the postseason.
On Sunday, the Royals demonstrated what they could do when they were locked in and clicking.
Against the Athletics bullpen, Kansas City collected nine runs on 15 hits. They also produced a barrel rate of 11.4%, a hard-hit rate of 57.1%, an average of .357, and an xBA of .304. Based on those factors, it’s not surprising that the Royals had a deserved-to-win percentage of 95% in this contest, according to the MLB Deserve-To-Win-O-Meter.
The Royals had five hitters with multiple hits. What was most encouraging, though, about that group is that the 5-through-8 hitters in the order combined for 11 hits in their victory.
After a disappointing 2025, Michael Massey had four hits, scored two runs, and had an RBI. Mike Yastrzemski capped off his 2025 campaign with the Royals with a two-homer day, bringing his HR total to 17 for the season (with nine of those homers coming in Kansas City). Adam Frazier had another two-hit day and improved his slash with the Royals to .283/.320/.402 in 197 plate appearances.
The most impressive performance of the day belonged to Carter Jensen, who not only had three hits but also launched a 482-foot home run, the longest home run in Royals history in the Statcast era.
It’s been a sensational debut for the Royals’ 22-year-old catcher, and that is putting it lightly.
In 69 plate appearances, Jensen slashed .300/.391/.550 with a .941 OPS. Not only did Jensen hit three home runs, but he also posted a 20% barrel rate and showed incredible plate discipline with a 14.1% walk rate and 15.6% strikeout rate. When looking at his Statcast profile, Jensen sports a ton of red bars, which means he ranks in the upper percentiles of the league in most Statcast categories.
Granted, 64 plate appearances are a small sample. However, what Jensen showed at the plate this year, regardless of sample size, demonstrates the star potential that he possesses. The process he has shown at the plate is incredibly mature, and his power and batted-ball ability have transitioned seamlessly from Triple-A to the Majors, which is not an easy feat to accomplish.
Not only is he an heir apparent to Salvador Perez when Salvy finally calls it a career, but he should be a key piece to this lineup in 2026. Jensen can not just play catcher when Salvy needs a rest (he looked fine behind the plate in limited duty in the Majors), but could fill in at designated hitter on days when Salvy is behind the plate or playing first base.
What Royals Fans Can Take Away From This Season
The Athletics had the Royals’ number in 2026.
They swept the Royals in June at Kauffman Stadium, and they won the first game in Sacramento on Friday. However, the Royals bounced back and not only won on Sunday, but Saturday as well, with Carlos Estevez collecting his 42nd save, which made him the MLB save leader this season, the second Royals to do that in franchise history (Dan Quisenberry being the first).
It’s easy to look at this Royals season as a complete disappointment, and I get it. The Royals were expected to not only return to the postseason but also make a run for the AL Central division title. That didn’t happen, and thus, this season needs to be seen as a disappointment in the grand scheme of things.
However, just because a season is a disappointment doesn’t mean that there weren’t positive signs or occurrences in 2025. In fact, there was a lot to be encouraged about with this Royals group from this past season.
Salvy set a record by being the second catcher in MLB history with 300+ home runs and 1,000+ RBI in his career (with the other being Hall of Famer Johnny Bench).
Bobby Witt Jr. led the league in base hits for a second-straight season.
Maikel Garcia finished with a .286/.351/.449 slash, .800 OPS, 16 home runs, and 23 stolen bases in 666 plate appearances (good thing Dayton Moore isn’t still GM). He also should earn his first Gold Glove this season, as he posted a +17 OAA at third base, which ranks in the 99th percentile of the league, according to Savant.
The Royals have also developed depth in the rotation, with Noah Cameron, Ryan Bergert, and Stephen Kolek having productive campaigns in Royals blue and white. With Ragans fully healthy, Michael Wacha coming off a solid season, and Seth Lugo and Kris Bubic returning from injury, the Royals should have a rotation that should be the envy of the league.
Let’s read that again: the Royals’ starting pitching could be the envy of the league. That’s a 180-degree pivot from the Cal Eldred days.
It’s not just the Royals’ rotation that looks encouraging for the future.
The Kansas City bullpen this year ranked 6th in reliever ERA and 11th in reliever WHIP. In addition to Estevez, the Royals will return Lucas Erceg (who hopefully will be healthier in 2026) and have three young and promising arms in Jonathan Bowlan, Steven Cruz, and Luinder Avila. Avila may have the most upside of the trio, with setup man/closer potential.
In 14 IP, Avila posted 1.29 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 2.14 FIP, and 17.9% K-BB%. His TJ Stuff+ was 102, and he also generated a 28.3% chase rate, 27.2% whiff rate, and .253 xwOBACON. He struggled a bit with finding the strike zone consistently, but his stuff is so electric that he was able to succeed with a subpar zone rate (44.7%). Any bump in a zone rate could make Avila even more effective in 2026 and make him ready for higher-leverage work.
Yes, there’s reason to be disappointed with the 2025 Royals.
The offense wasn’t consistent, and the outfield’s offensive struggles were addressed a little too late. Furthermore, Jonathan India ended up being a total bust, and his future with the Royals will be in doubt this offseason. That said, despite the injuries and inconsistent offense, the Royals finished with an 82-80 record and remained in the playoff hunt until the very end of the season.
That isn’t common for the Royals in the post-Ewing Kauffman era. And yet, that’s something Royals fans have been clamouring and hoping for.
We have seen how small-market clubs, such as the Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Guardians, and Tampa Bay Rays, have consistently remained successful despite their financial constraints. There’s no reason why we couldn’t get that in Kansas City with good scouting and a smart front office.
Even though the Royals came up short, an 82-80 record in 2025 shows that Kansas City is inching closer to being an organization like the Brewers, Guardians, and Rays; furthermore, it also shows that winning is a priority for this club. If they are willing to push to the end to achieve a winning record, then I imagine that same effort and commitment will be put in by JJ Picollo and the front office this offseason to help the Royals build a roster that can return to the postseason.
Yes, the Brewers and Guardians are still ahead of the Royals (the Rays had a worse record than the Royals this year). However, that gap is expected to begin closing in 2026.
Photo Credit: Eric Thayer/AP
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