Here are the 20 games that will define the season for the Royals

It's crunch time in the race for the postseason.

Remember that “gauntlet” portion of the schedule for the Royals back in early June? That two-week stretch of baseball that was chock full of games against at-the-time division leaders Cleveland, Seattle, the Yankees and the Dodgers? It certainly seemed daunting at the time. The Royals survived that run of games, going 5-7.

Turns out that was just the opening act of a tough portion of the schedule.

Tonight the Royals open a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies. Here is the schedule for the next three weeks.

vs. Phillies - 3 games
at Guardians - 4 games
at Astros - 4 games
vs Guardians - 3 games
vs Twins - 3 games
at Yankees - 3 games

That’s 20 games in 20 days against teams that are currently in first place and the Twins, the team they’re tied with for second place in both the AL Central and the Wild Card.

Included in this set is a makeup game against Cleveland on Monday from a rainout in a game that was in the original part of the gauntlet. At the time, it felt like the weather gave the Royals a break. Now…on one hand, there is definitely something to catching teams at the right time. In June, Cleveland was flying high. Now? Not so much. They’re fading and fading fast. However, that makeup game is part of a doubleheader on Monday, so while there is a scheduled day off on Thursday, September 5, this is a packed schedule with these 20 games coming in a stretch of 20 days.

With August being the traditional “dog days,” and with the All-Star Break and the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, it’s easy to lose sight of what happened over the last month or so. Here are the standings since the Break:

The two hottest teams in the AL are the Royals and the Astros. With the Twins and the Yankees right there. Cleveland, as noted, is fading. Over in the NL, it should be noted that the once-invincible Phillies have really stumbled since the break. Their 12-19 record over that time is tied with the Pirates for the worst in the National League. They remain in first place, though.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind when this stretch begins tonight.

The Royals have the best all-around player in the game on their roster

Yes, Bobby Witt Jr. is the best all-around player in the game. Aaron Judge is doing amazing things at the plate with another pursuit for 60 home runs and his overall line of .334/.465/.726 is just insane, but Witt does everything well. We all know this. Sometimes, it’s useful to just take a moment to appreciate this.

The Royals probably won the trade deadline

I kind of touched on this yesterday, writing about Michael Lorenzen, but the acquisitions JJ Picollo and his staff made ahead of the trade deadline—Lorenzen, Paul DeJong, Lucas Erceg and Hunter Harvey—while not exactly sexy, have improved this team and helped vault them into a position where they are a legitimate threat to do more than just qualify for a Wild Card spot.

Erceg has been insane since his arrival in Kansas City. He’s appeared in nine games, thrown 10.1 innings and saved three wins. He’s struck out 14, walked none and been virtually unhittable. And he’s yet to allow a run. Erceg has faced 35 batters and allowed just four to reach base.

Meanwhile, DeJong has appeared in almost every game since his arrival, either as a starting third baseman or a pinch hitter. He’s hit .286/.340/.548 with three home runs and driven in eight. Think he felt liberated when the Royals rescued him from the stink that was the Chicago White Sox? He’s certainly playing like he has a new leash on his baseball life.

Lorenzen, as I mentioned, is here to take some of the innings from the starting rotation, to alleviate some of the workload on a staff that is throwing a ton of innings.

And Harvey, now on the IL with a bad back, has struggled since joining the team but if he can get healthy and back on the mound, will be an important bullpen option for manager Matt Quatraro.

No, Picollo’s deadline acquisitions weren’t like Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist in 2015, but they are players who have value to a manager like Quatraro, who looks to get the best out of his team as he’s rotating guys in and out of the lineup and roles in the bullpen. Although I think we can safely say Erceg is the official ninth inning guy…for the most part.

While the upcoming three weeks of baseball will no doubt be difficult, the team is better equipped for this moment than they were back in June.

This probably isn’t unique to baseball, but fans and analysts love to talk about “experience.” That was a cornerstone of the Royals ethos as they built their championship team of 2015. Each moment was a learning moment, building experience. Winning in the minors. Slowly improving in the majors. Winning a few more games each season until they reached the apex.

I’m going to apply the same theory, but in a more sped-up sense. That schedule gauntlet back in June was the learning moment for this team. They experienced first-hand playing good teams when there were expectations. It was a test. They did ok in that they survived. It didn’t derail their season.

Now, going into this slate of games, they know what’s at stake. They may not have the experience of playing in a full-blown pennant race, but they are a little more knowledgeable about a brutal stretch like this one. June’s learning experience can be August and September’s payoff.

I think you can probably feel a sense of optimism coming from this newsletter. It’s there, but for me, it’s mostly about excitement. Excitement that this team is relevant and that Witt and Cole Ragans and Vinnie Pasquantino and others are on a national stage. And that The Captain, Salvador Perez, returns to that stage. I’ve written a number of times since it was obvious this team was good enough to stick around in the race that I have no idea how this ends—the entire range of outcomes remains in play. I do know I’m going to enjoy this moment, watching these guys play.

Obviously, a best-case scenario would be to go something like 15-5 in this run. One of those old-fashioned “this team can win 15 out of 20” runs. Realistically, I believe that if they can do what they did back in June—hover around .500—they will be fine. That will keep them in the race. It will push them to 81 wins. Don’t lose sight of the fact that every team in the Central has its flaws. But the most important games in this run will be the 10 that come against the Twins and the Guardians. One way or another, those will decide the division.

There are a little over five weeks left in the season. The Royals are relevant and playing important baseball games. Let’s go.