Is This A Make-Or-Break Week For The Royals?

The Royals have had a lackluster start to the 2026 season. They currently stand 7-9, which is a disappointing start to the season for a team that was looking to compete in the AL Central.

It’s still early, so this could just be a blip on the radar, but this week will be important in helping turn the season around and not dig a hole that the team cannot dig itself out of this year.

This could be a key week in facing the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees on the road. A few things to keep an eye on this week to see if we are not seeing more of the same include if the hitters can step up and hit like they are expected to, if the starting rotation can continue to give the team a chance to win, and if the team can take some games from playoff teams from a year ago.

Tough Offensive Start

It has been a tough start to most of the Royals' lineup, as they are hitting .221 with an OBP of .311, good for 24th and 19th, respectively. The .655 OPS ranks 24th in MLB and will need to improve if the team hopes to build some momentum as we get deeper into the season.

Only four players have a league average OPS of .693 or better, while other potential key contributors fall quite a bit below that.

Carter Jensen, Maikel Garcia, and Kyle Isbel have been bright spots in the lineup, but expecting those three to continue hitting the way they have over the first couple of weeks of the year could be a big ask, specifically in Isbel’s case, who has a career OPS+ of 84. Maybe he has improved and will be closer to league average, but the .316 batting average to go along with an .895 OPS is a big ask of a player who has been a below-average hitter prior to this season.

Garcia signed a big contract and is expected to be a key contributor in the lineup, so his getting off to a strong start is a bit less of a surprise. Jensen is a young hitter with plenty of upside and is someone who the team was hoping would take a step forward this season.

Bobby Witt Jr. has had a down year by his standards, as he has a league-average OPS to this point. With the talent he has, it would be quite the surprise not to see him be the MVP caliber player he is the rest of the way.

The rest of the lineup, specifically from bigger-name players, is where they have struggled mightily at the start of the year. Salvador Perez has hit for a slash line of .153/.219/.288 to start the year, and the Royals and their fans are hoping this isn’t the start of a decline for a mainstay in the Royals lineup for the past 15 years.

First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino has also had a rough start to the year, with an even worse slash line than Perez, hitting .153/.246/.169. Both players have had a rough start to the year, but will likely get closer to their career splits the rest of the way.

This week will be a tough test for the offense, as they face the AL Central favorites to start the year, the Detroit Tigers, and the vaunted New York Yankees. Both teams are looking to rebound from tough weeks, so the Royals pitchers could be in for an interesting week ahead.

To this point in the season, the starting rotation for the Royals has been solid. Kris Bubic and Michael Wacha have been very good, each with three starts and ERAs of 2.50 and 0.43, respectively. Seth Lugo has also delivered sterling results, pitching to a 1.53 ERA in his first three starts as well.

Cole Ragans has struggled in his first three starts this year, pitching to a 5.91 ERA, and will look to get back to form, facing off against Framber Valdez to start the road trip.

The bullpen has had its moments this year, being led by closer Lucas Erceg, who has recorded five saves in the seven wins this season. The rest of the bullpen has been spotty, so more consistency will be key, especially if the offense continues to struggle.

While they may not finish with those numbers, they are a promising start and something to continue building on, because the starters will need to face two lineups in the Tigers and Yankees that have some starters either looking to build on a good start or get their seasons headed in the right direction. The Tigers have the 10th-best team OPS, while the Yankees, similar to the Royals, have struggled to the 25th-best team OPS to this point.

Pitching, on the other hand, has been solid for both teams, as the Yankees rank 2nd in team ERA and the Tigers rank 11th.

While the opponents might be tough this week, this could prove to be the week where the Royals' season does one of two things. Either it turns around and goes as the team, and fans were hoping it would, or they continue digging themselves into a hole that will be tougher and tougher to dig out of.

The keys will be the offense starting to get back to form and not relying on the top three or four hitters, the pitching continuing to keep them in games, and the bullpen being more consistent beyond Erceg.

How important do you think this week is for the Royals?