3 Things That Went Right For The 2026 Royals

[Andres Chavez]

Image courtesy of William Purnell-Imagn Images

The 2026 season was a rough one for the Kansas City Royals. After making the playoffs in 2024 and finishing with an 82-80 record last year, they wrapped up the present campaign with a highly disappointing 69-93 record. The Royals finished 16 games behind the division winners, the Cleveland Guardians.

It wasn’t all bad, though. At least, these three things went right for the 2026 Royals:

Bobby Witt Jr. Kept Playing At An MVP Level

Yordan Alvarez, Junior Caminero, Cam Schlittler, and Pete Alonso are getting most of the headlines in the AL MVP talks. They are all excellent players, so they definitely deserve the praise. However, Bobby Witt Jr.’s contributions seem to be undervalued these days. People take him for granted, and that’s certainly not fair.

Witt’s 7.0 fWAR led all those players and the entire American League, finishing second in MLB behind Pete Crow-Armstrong. He offers game-changing impact in all three facets: hitting, fielding, and baserunning.

Some might think that his final offensive output, a .281/.359/.441 line with 33 doubles, a triple, 18 round-trippers, 94 runs scored, 45 stolen bases, and a 119 wRC+, was a bit underwhelming, at least compared to previous seasons. That’s when you realize the incredibly lofty standards Witt has set for himself.

One of these years, Witt will get the AL MVP Award he already deserves.

Carter Jensen Proved He Can Be A Foundational Piece

Recently named in MLB Pipeline’s All-Rookie first team, Jensen showed the world that he could be a dominant hitter over the course of a full season. He had posted some impressive numbers in a brief 20-game cameo in 2025, with a .300/.391/.550 line and a 152 wRC+ in 69 trips to the plate.

Well, he hit a solid .239/.323/.467 with 27 home runs, 80 runs, 81 RBI, a 116 wRC+, and 3.7 fWAR while splitting time behind the plate and at the DH spot. Oh, he also contributed 35 doubles and two triples, and ranked 15th in the majors with 64 extra-base hits. Not bad for a catcher, huh?

Remember, Jensen is still just 23 years old and has a bright future ahead of him. He is already a well-above-average slugger and can get even better, so the Royals have a solid player to build around.

Jac Caglianone Started To Scratch His Ceiling

After the first two months of the 2026 season, Jac Caglianone was holding his own. He was doing just enough to justify getting relevant playing time, but still nothing special or worthy of his stature and former top prospect status. Then June happened, and something clicked.

Caglianone posted a 184 wRC+ that month, with nine home runs and a .309 batting average. It was the start of a special run that also included a 207 wRC+ in August and a 153 mark in the second half overall, slashing a robust .337/.373/.549 with a .922 OPS.

Cags is now a league-average hitter against lefties (99 wRC+) and a beast against righties, as his 142 wRC+ indicates. He finished a year full of growing and learning with a .289/.340/.494 line, 23 home runs, and a 129 wRC+.

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