What's Gotten Into the Royals?

With roughly 50 games left in the season, the Kansas City Royals have a better record than the New York Yankees. What is this, 1978?

As recently as June 4, KC was in their usual position, fourth place in the weak AL Central and 10 games under .500. They had fewer hits than Jadeveon Clowney.

A funny thing happened on the way to another high draft pick. Kauffman Stadium celebrated Memorial Day with a George Brett-infusion. The Royals reassigned their hitting coaches and asked Brett to fix the sticks, most notably under-performers Eric Hosmer (.654 OPS) and Mike Moustakas (.570 OPS). 

Brett knows a little something about hitting. His .305/.369/.487 with 665 doubles, 137 triples, 317 homers, 1,596 RBI and 1,583 runs, 13 All-Star Games, seven division titles, two pennants and a World Championship all outrank the entire 2013 Royals starting lineup.

The offense is still softer than Dolly Parton, ranking last in home runs and 12th in OPS in the AL. But that's up a notch since Brett's arrival. Moreover, Hosmer and Moustakas have caught fire, raising their OPS 120 points and 100 points respectively. Since June 4, five days after Brett's arrival, KC is 34-20. 

Fueling the surge is pitching, defense and baserunning. Royal arms have allowed the fewest runs in the AL and lead the league in ERA, paced by two aces and a rock-solid bullpen. Despite mediocre W-L records, "Big Game" James Shields and Ervin Santana have ERAs near 3.00. Santana has delivered 11 quality starts in his last 12 turns. Meanwhile, a septet of relievers has clamped down on the late innings, led by closer Greg Holland, whose 1.67 ERA and 68 strikeouts in 48 frames illustrate his dominance.

The defensive metrics validate what your eyeballs tell you -- KC fielders have their pitchers' backs. Led by no-hit outfielders Lorenzo Cain and David Lough, the team's everyday players have earned more value compared to replacement players with their gloves than with their bats. That's hard to do.

They're also leading baseball with 84 steals in 103 attempts, a laudable 82% success rate. Middle infielders Alcides Escobar, Elliott Johnson and Chris Gets are 33 of 34 on the basepaths.

Can they keep it up? The previews are mixed. On the one hand, they've fairly well beaten up on the league's doormats; for example, they've compiled an 11-3 record against the Twinkles. On the other hand, they've played above .500 ball in every month but May, when they stumbled to a miserable 8-20 record, suggesting that they might really be a reasonably good team. Youth like they have -- (players under 30 have delivered all but eight of their HRs and 35 of their runs scored) -- tends to improve over time, particularly when a Hall of Famer shows them how.