The Kansas City Royals were a compelling team to follow during their surprise run to the World Series last year. In part, that interest stemmed from their 28-year playoff drought between 1985 and 2014. However, more of it came from their unconventional and exciting roster.
As a team, the Royals had a .690 on-base plus slugging average (OPS) in 2014. That was just 17th in baseball, directly behind the Houston Astros and Miami Marlins. They featured a dominant back of the bullpen with hard throwers in Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland, but their total team ERA of 3.51 was only the 12th best in baseball.
The Royals' two biggest strengths last season were speed and defense. Those are aspects of the game that often take a backseat to hitting and pitching in some minds, but those two strengths were enough to turn a Royals team that featured an average lineup and pitching staff into a playoff team that made a World Series run. And the Royals weren't the only team to follow that formula.
Baseball Info Solutions measures player defense on a scale of runs saved or lost in a statistic called defensive runs saved (DRS). Last year, the Baltimore Orioles led the AL in DRS and, like the Royals, surprised many when they reached the postseason. Eight of the 10 playoff teams had positive DRS totals, and all four LCS representatives had positive totals.