The Kansas City Royals farm system has been lauded by nearly every baseball writer and media outlet who covers the sport. Names like Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas are fairly well-known for baseball fans even outside of KC, and the overall system is absolutely stocked with guys who should eventually make a strong impact in changing the Royals from their longtime losing ways into a formidable squad in the AL Central.
Thus, the recent news that Major League Baseball is likely to vote in playoff expansion to 10 teams comes just in time for the Royals to make the postseason even sooner than before. It's possible the young Royals help make a Tampa Bay like breakthrough (from 66 wins to 97 wins three years ago in the ultra-competitive AL East), but most likely it will be a slow grind to the top with Detroit continuing to spend freely, the Twins in good shape year after year and the White Sox continued commitment to stay relevant with big trades or signings.
The proposed changes would not take place until after the current labor agreement runs out in 2011, so the 2012 season will be the first where an additional playoff team would be added. The addition of a first-round bye brings in a second wild-card team, a perfect shift for a young upstart club that will be depending on so many rookies or young players.
For those who believe the Royals just have to sit and wait this offseason and perhaps next with hopes for making noise a few years from now, perhaps the expanded playoffs will allow KC to stay in the hunt (or even win) sooner than later.
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