For the fifth time in their history, the Royals have reached 100 losses. That's not good, but we tried to add some perspective to the mark, in light of the Royals decent and much-more-watchable second half of the year.

Along with that is the emergence of Whit Merrifield as a consistent and dynamic star, Adalberto Mondesi as a hopeful phenom, and Ryan O'Hearn as a power-hitting giant. We focused mostly on Merrifield's efforts this year and his consistency all season long, but Mondesi and O'Hearn have been so good that they sneak their way into any Royals discussion these days.

We also took a glance at the MLB playoff picture, including a potential chaotic finish, an easy team to root for, and some proposed changes to the playoff system. 

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