While the Kansas City Royals have one of baseball's most talented rosters, their record doesn't reflect that so far. They're 8-17 after Wednesday's 8-6 loss to the Baltiimore Orioles, a half-game behind the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets at the very bottom of the overall MLB standings despite having recent All-Stars like shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., third baseman Maikel Garcia, starting pitcher Seth Lugo, catcher Salvador Perez, starting pitcher Cole Ragans, starting pitcher Kris Bubic, and closer Carlos Estevez.

Luckily for the Royals, Lugo is earning his money so far. The 36-year-old is third in MLB with a 1.15 ERA and 15th with a 0.93 WHIP through five starts, most recently throwing a seven-inning shutout in a 7-5 loss to the Orioles on Monday.

Lugo's hot start is timely, as he had a down season for his standards in 2025. The 6-foot-4, 225-pounder went 8-7 with a 4.15 ERA over 26 starts, and he has a career record of 65-48 with a 3.42 ERA over 365 games (128 starts). If he continues his current form, he'll show that his 2024 campaign was no fluke. He earned his first and only All-Star nod that year and went 16-9 with a 3.00 ERA. It's no coincidence that Kansas City made the playoffs for the first time since 2015 that season, but missed out in 2025.

On the other hand, this season is also showing that the Royals need more pitchers to step up besides Lugo.

Lugo and fellow starting pitcher Michael Wacha (2-1, 2.51 ERA) have both excelled, but the rest of the rotation has been rough. Ragans (0-4, 6.00 ERA) and southpaw Noah Cameron (1-1, 5.40 ERA) have been two of MLB's worst hurlers, while Bubic (2-1, 4.08 ERA) has been average after earning his first All-Star nod last season.

The bullpen hasn't been much better, with southpaw Daniel Lynch IV (1.00 ERA) being one of the only standouts. Left-hander Matt Strahm (5.19 ERA), right-hander John Schreiber (5.63 ERA), right-hander Alex Lange (7.59 ERA), and right-hander Lucas Erceg (5.79 ERA) have all struggled, while right-hander Nick Mears (3.12 ERA) has pitched well after Kansas City acquired him from the Milwaukee Brewers this past offseason.

There's plenty of time for the Royals to turn it around, but they won't have much hope this season if their pitching doesn't improve. Up next is a home series against the Los Angeles Angels starting on Friday at 7:40 p.m. ET. Cameron will start against left-hander Yusei Kikuchi.