Even though the Kansas City Royals’ season is done, that doesn’t mean baseball is over. While I enjoy postseasons where the Royals are playing, I still closely follow the MLB playoffs, even if the Boys in Blue aren’t participating.
That said, as a Royals fan, who should we be cheering for this postseason without our local team in it? In this post, I am going to rank clubs by “rooting interest” as well as make my picks for each series, using Bet MGM’s series futures odds as a guide.
Ranking the Wild Card Teams By Royals “Rooting Interest”
Here are the teams I will be rooting for in order, and who I think Royals fans should root for in the Wild Card round, based on recent competitive “history.”
- San Diego Padres
- Cincinnati Reds
- Boston Red Sox
- Cleveland Guardians
- Detroit Tigers
- Chicago Cubs
- Los Angeles Dodgers
- New York Yankees
The Padres receive my top ranking for several reasons. They have a passionate fan base that’s completely behind their club and has helped revitalize their city, especially their downtown area. If the Royals are looking for a model to build their stadium around, Petco and the Gaslamp District should be it.
Furthermore, the Padres were established in 1969, the same year as the Royals. Thus, Kansas City and San Diego are “expansion brothers” of sorts, and I think that deserves some strong rooting interest, especially since the Padres haven’t won a World Series title in franchise history.
The Reds receive my second vote because Cincinnati is similar to Kansas City in terms of its metro area. Both are near state lines, and both have rabid fanbases for small-market cities. The Reds have that downtown stadium and more World Series titles and history, but it does seem like the Reds and Royals fan bases are almost like “cousins” in the world of MLB.
I went with the Red Sox third because I couldn’t drive myself to rank two Central division rivals in the top three. I gave the Guardians the edge over the Tigers, simply because the Guardians have been more scrappy and likable as a team than Detroit this year (screw Javier Baez), and they haven’t won a World Series since 1948.
As for the Cubs, Dodgers, and Yankees, these are all three big-market clubs with large-bandwagon fan bases who bring out obnoxious fans in droves to the K. I would be fine if neither of those teams advanced to the Division Series.
Wild Card Picks
Red Sox (+145) over Yankees
The Yankees have been a solid team this year and have home-field advantage in the Wild Card round. And yet, I like Garrett Crochet too much, and I think the vibes have been off with this Yankees team all season, despite their 94-68 record. If Crochet wins game one, which I think he will, then it will be tough for the Yankees to win two in a row, even with the Red Sox’s starting pitching dropping off in the wake of the Lucas Giolito injury. I think the Yankees’ recent struggles against the Red Sox continue for at least one more season, which may be Aaron Boone and his position in the Bronx in jeopardy.
Tigers (-115) over Guardians
All the momentum seems to favor the Guardians, and the Tigers’ epic collapse will forever be etched in baseball history. However, the Tigers have Tarik Skubal, and I think he sets the tone in Game 1 at Progressive Field. Skubal was cruising in his last start against the Guardians until he hit David Fry in the face. After that, his command waned and the Tigers’ (and his own) defense failed him (plus some typical Guardians batted-ball luck). The Guardians have been a nice story, but I think resetting in the postseason helps Detroit, and they take care of business against a Cleveland team they’re clearly better than (the Tigers have a +67 run differential while the Guardians have a -6 mark).
Padres (+105) over Cubs
The Padres don’t have the better record, but this team oozes more swag than the Cubs. Fernando Tatis Jr. is the man. The Padres’ bullpen is loaded with Mason Miller, Robert Suarez, Adrian Morejon, and Jeremiah Estrada. They seem like a team that’s focused on advancing rather than just being happy to be back, which is the vibe I get from the Cubs. Plus, can Kyle Tucker shake his playoff demons? I don’t think so, and I think San Diego beats the North Siders at Wrigley and makes their way to the NLDS.
Dodgers (-275) over Reds
I want to choose the Reds so bad. As someone who grew up in Northern California and in a family of San Francisco Giants fans, I hate the Dodgers more than anything. Additionally, the Reds are a great story, featuring some exciting stars (it’s great to love Elly De La Cruz), former Royals (Brady Singer and Scott Barlow), and a fan base that is the NL counterpart of the Kansas City Royals. However, I don’t think the Reds stack up adequately with a loaded Dodgers team that has more depth overall, especially in hitting. The Reds will give the Dodgers a fight, but I think the Bums from LA are just more battle-tested.
Photo Credit: MLB.com
[…] was 2-for-2 in my Wild Card picks. I hit on the Tigers and Dodgers, but was wrong in the Cubs-Padres and Red Sox-Yankees matchups. In […]