YOUR KANSAS CITY ROYALS ARE HOPING TO PUNCH THEIR TICKET TO THE POSTSEASON FOR A SECOND YEAR IN A ROW. THE PITCH HE STRUCK HIM OUT AND THE KANSAS CITY ROYALS MOVE ON. THE BOYS IN BLUE DEFIED EXPECTATIONS LAST SEASON, SURGING INTO OCTOBER AFTER LOSING MORE THAN 100 GAMES IN 2023. THEY EVEN BEAT THE YANKEES IN A GAME IN THE ALDS, EVENTUALLY LOSING TO THE BRONX BOMBERS, WHO TOOK THE SERIES THREE TWO. IT IS A CHIP ON THE ROYALS PROVERBIAL SHOULDER AS THEY WORK TO GET BACK TO THE WORLD SERIES. SPRING TRAINING GAVE US A GREAT LOOK AT THE MOMENTUM THE ROYALS ARE BUILDING, WITH PROSPECTS LIKE 2024 FIRST ROUNDER JACK GAGLIONE. OF COURSE, BOBBY WITT JR. HAD A GOOD SPRING WITH A HANDFUL OF HOME RUNS. NOT TO MENTION THE ROYALS PITCHING, WHICH WE’LL GET TO IN A MOMENT. THESE GUYS ARE HAVING FUN AND IT SHOWS. I THINK A LOT OF THE GUYS ON THE TEAM HAVE, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPED THAT IN SEEING WINNING BASEBALL. THAT CHANGES A LOT OF PEOPLE’S MINDSETS. YOU KNOW, THEY WANT TO BE PART OF A TEAM THAT WINS. THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THOSE CONTRIBUTIONS COME IN DIFFERENT WAYS AT DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE YEAR. SO WHAT WILL THOSE CONTRIBUTIONS BE AND WHAT CAN WE EXPECT THIS SEASON? LET’S DISCUSS WITH CODY TAPPE AND ALEX GOLD. YOU KNOW THEM AS CODY AND GOLD WEEKDAYS FROM 10 TO 2 ON 96.5 THE FAN. GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN, GENTLEMEN. AT THE START OF THE SEASON, WHERE EXPECTATIONS ARE ALWAYS HIGH. THIS TIME AROUND, THOUGH, THOSE FEELINGS SEEM TO BE JUSTIFIED. CODY. YEAH THEY ARE. HONESTLY, IF YOU MAKE THE PLAYOFFS THE YEAR BEFORE, RETURN A HUGE CHUNK OF YOUR LINEUP. RETURN A HUGE CHUNK OF YOUR ROTATION AND GET BETTER IN THE BULLPEN. I DON’T THINK IT’S CRAZY TO ASSUME AND EXPECT PLAYOFFS OUT OF THE ROYALS AGAIN. YEAH, THERE’S NO QUESTION THE BAR HAS BEEN RAISED. THEY RAISED IT THEMSELVES. WHEN YOU GO AND FINALLY GET BACK TO A POSTSEASON, YOU TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT THEY’VE PUT TOGETHER IN THE OFF SEASON AS WELL. THE EXPECTATION SHOULD BE THAT THIS TEAM COMPETES FOR A DIVISION TITLE. I DON’T THINK THAT’S UNFAIR AT ALL. MUCH OF THE TALK IN SPRING TRAINING, RIGHTFULLY SO, IS OF JACK GAGLIONE, WHO HAD A GREAT SPRING TRAINING. THIS DOUBLE THREAT THAT THE ROYALS PICKED UP LAST YEAR SHOWED OUT IN ARIZONA. HOW LONG, GUYS, BEFORE YOU THINK WE SEE HIM AT THE K. I KNOW FANS WANT HIM UP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, BUT I DO THINK WE GOT TO HAVE SOME PATIENCE, RIGHT? I MEAN, THIS IS A KID THAT WHILE HE’S OUT OF COLLEGE, HE’S NOT A HIGH SCHOOL PROSPECT. IT STILL TAKES SOME TIME. HE’S GOT, WHAT, 20 PLUS GAMES OR SO IN THE MINOR LEAGUES RIGHT NOW. AND SO THERE’S SOME THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO GET ABLE TO BE ABLE TO FIGURE IT OUT AT THE PLATE. AND HE DOESN’T HAVE A POSITION RIGHT NOW. IF YOU WANT TO PLAY RIGHT FIELD, THAT’S THE QUICKEST WAY FOR HIM, PROBABLY TO GET UP TO THE BIG LEAGUES. SO YOU NEED HIM TO LEARN RIGHT FIELD. I THINK WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL CLOSER TO AUGUST. YEAH. IF YOU WANT TO SEE HIM THIS SUMMER, PLAN A ROAD TRIP. DON’T PLAN ON STAYING AT THE K, PROBABLY. MOST LIKELY. LOOK, EVERYONE LIKES WATCHING HIM HIT 550 FOOT HOME RUNS. IT IS FUN, THERE’S NO QUESTION. BUT THE PROBLEM IS, HE’S PLAYED 6060 MINOR LEAGUE GAMES, AND THAT’S GIVING HIM 21 GAMES IN THE ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE. 29 AT HIGH, A 21 IN THE FALL LEAGUE. THAT’S JUST NOT ENOUGH GAMES. MOST TEAMS, INCLUDING THE ROYALS, WILL NOT CALL A PROSPECT UP THAT QUICK. AND YOU CAN LOOK GOOD IN SPRING. YOU CAN LOOK GOOD IN A PRACTICE. HE LOOKS LIKE A BASEBALL PLAYER, BUT LIKE HE JUST NEEDS MORE SEASONING BEFORE THEY GET HIM TO THE BIGS. YEAH, FOR SURE. GET BIGGER SAMPLE SIZE HERE. YOU KNOW THE ROYALS MADE SOME BIG OFFSEASON MOVES. CODY WHAT CAUGHT YOUR EYE. YOU KNOW INDIA IS OBVIOUSLY THE BIGGEST ONE THEY SO DESPERATELY OFFENSIVELY NEEDED SOMEONE TO GET ON BASE. YOU CAN SEE IT IN EVERY MOVE THEY’VE MADE. EVEN THE SMALL ONES RIGHT. FOR CANHA THIS WEEK WHERE INDIA WALKED AT THE FIFTH HIGHEST RATE IN ALL OF BASEBALL THAT THEY NEEDED, THAT THEY NEEDED SOMEBODY ON BASE BEFORE BOBBY, SALVI AND VINNY ALL HIT GUYS WHO ALL WOULD HAVE BEEN 100 RBI GUYS IF VINNY HADN’T HAD THE UNFORTUNATE INJURY LATE IN THE YEAR. THEY JUST NEEDED SOMEBODY ON BASE IN FRONT OF THOSE GUYS TO IMMEDIATELY IMPROVE THEIR OFFENSE. SO THAT’S THE BIGGEST MOVE THIS OFFSEASON. I LOVE SOME OF THE BULLPEN STUFF TOO, BUT LIKE, I JUST CAN’T IGNORE THE FACT THAT THEY WERE A MEDIOCRE OFFENSE AND ADDRESS THEIR BIGGEST WEAKNESS. THAT’S A HUGE THING. THAT’S A GOOD POINT. ALEX, LET’S TALK ABOUT THE BULLPEN. PITCHING WAS A PROBLEM FOR YEARS. LAST YEAR, A MARKED IMPROVEMENT ON WHAT WE’VE SEEN. CAN THE ROTATION KEEP THAT GOING? THAT’S THE NUMBER ONE QUESTION. YOU KNOW CAN THEY STAY AS HEALTHY FOR STARTERS IN THAT ROTATION. IT’S NOT OFTEN IN BASEBALL YOU MAKE IT THROUGH AN ENTIRE SEASON WITH THE LACK OF INJURIES THAT THEY DID. I BELIEVE MICHAEL LORENZEN AND AND MICHAEL WALKER WERE REALLY THE ONLY TWO PITCHERS AT ANY POINT LAST YEAR OUT OF THE ROTATION THAT MISSED ANY SIGNIFICANT TIME. A SHORT IL STINT FOR MICHAEL WACHA. SO THEY’RE DEEPER, I BELIEVE, IN THE BULLPEN AND THE ROTATION SO THEY CAN WITHSTAND AN INJURY, BUT THAT WOULD BE MY NUMBER ONE QUESTION. NOT ONLY IS THERE A LITTLE BIT OF REGRESSION FROM SOMEONE LIKE SETH LUGO, NOT THAT HE’S GOING TO HAVE A BAD YEAR, BUT MAYBE SLIGHT REGRESSION, BUT CAN THEY STAY HEALTHY? THAT’S THE NUMBER ONE THING THAT COULD SET THIS ROTATION BACK. YEAH, THAT IS THE BIG QUESTION. AND YOU KNOW ROYALS FANS ARE REARING TO GO. WE WANT TO SEE THEM BACK IN THE WORLD SERIES. WE’LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS CODY GOES FROM 96 FIVE. THE FANS THANKS GUYS. ENJOY THE SEASON. COUNT ON KMBC NINE NEWS AND SPORTS TO FOLLOW THE ROYALS EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. FROM INJURY UPDATES TO INTERVIEWS WITH THE PLAYERS AND