The Royals have entered the conversation in the American League Central.
After entering 2024 as an afterthought in the division, the Royals’ chances at winning their first AL Central title since their World Series-winning 2015 season have skyrocketed thanks to a red-hot start.
Kansas City moved to 10-5 on the season with their 11-7 drubbing of the Mets on Saturday, further catching the eye of Las Vegas oddsmakers.
It’s just the seventh time in Royals franchise history that they have had 10 or more wins in their first 15 games and the first time since 2016.
Kansas City is now down to +390 (Caesars Sportsbook) to win the division, which is one of the most competitive in baseball despite the lack of powerhouse teams.
The Royals remain in the fourth spot on the odds board, but their early run has closed the gap on their fellow AL Central contenders considerably.
Before Opening Day, the Royals were as low as +950 to win the division at FanDuel Sportsbook, a significant step behind the Twins (-130), Guardians (+320) and Tigers (+380).
The Twins have fallen back to +185 while the Guardians (+230) and Tigers (+320) aren’t far ahead of the Royals as of Saturday evening.
The Royals opened the season at +425 to make the playoffs with an over/under total of 74.5 wins at DraftKings Sportsbook.
Several bright spots have helped Kansas City to its surprising start, but none have shone brighter than star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.
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Witt has crashed the AL MVP race, slashing .339/.397/.710 with four home runs and three stolen bases.
He is tied with Aaron Judge for the second-best AL MVP odds (+700, BetMGM Sportsbook), trailing only Juan Soto (+333).
Royals ace Cole Ragans is also making some noise in the AL Cy Young race, sitting at third on the odds board at BetMGM (+900) after posting a 2.60 ERA with 21 strikeouts through three starts.
