What worked, and didn't work, in the first half for KC 

CLEVELAND -- About two hours before the first pitch of the Royals’ first-half finale against the Guardians, first-year manager Matt Quatraro described the team’s record as frustrating and said the club still had "a long way to go" in the second half.

The Royals’ 4-1 win over Cleveland on Sunday at Progressive Field sent them into the All-Star break at 26-65, and here’s a look at what worked -- and what didn’t -- for Kansas City after 91 games.

What’s worked: Bobby Witt Jr.
Witt may not be the team’s All-Star, but he’s made it clear he’s the future of the franchise. After slashing .254/.294/.442 with 20 home runs and 80 RBIs last year, Witt enters this year’s break slashing .257/.300/.742 with 14 home runs and 47 RBIs, which puts him roughly on the same pace as last season.

That doesn’t mean the year hasn’t been a struggle for him. After bottoming out with a .221 batting average on May 22, Witt has hit .293 (including a 1-for-3 showing on Sunday) in the 42 games since to raise his average by 36 points.

“It’s not an easy thing to do to see your numbers climb when you have 300-plus plate appearances, and he’s doing that at the big level,” Quatraro said after Witt finished a double away from the cycle on Saturday.

One area where Witt is ahead of the curve compared to last year is his speed. He’s already swiped 27 bases (the fourth-best mark in baseball), and is on pace for his second consecutive 20/20 season.

“I’m more comfortable on the bases this year,” Witt said earlier this season. “Learning when to go, when’s the right time. More people are stealing bases and it makes you want to do it.”

What hasn’t worked: Pitching
To say that Kansas City’s pitching staff has disappointed would be an understatement. Entering the break, the Royals’ pitching staff has the third worst ERA in baseball (5.27) and the second-worst bullpen ERA (5.09). And the bullpen will have to go through the second half without Aroldis Chapman (trade) and Amir Garrett (DFA), while fellow reliever Scott Barlow has generated trade interest.

“[DFA’ing Garrett] was the move to make [because of] our desire to see some other people pitch in the second half,” Quatraro said on Sunday.

Things aren’t much better in the rotation. Only one starter in the current rotation (Daniel Lynch) has an ERA below 5, and although Zack Greinke, Jordan Lyles and Brady Singer have all thrown more than 90 innings, the trio all have ERAs above 5.40. That said, Ryan Yarbrough allowed one run in six strong innings on Sunday in his first start since May 6 after suffering a head injury by a comebacker, and is expected to stay in the rotation in the second half.

“From pitch one he threw a lot of strikes and was able to get a lot of soft contact,” Quatraro said. “What a great feeling for him.”

Yarbrough’s strong outing gave Kansas City a solid springboard into the second half after he helped snap a six-game losing streak.

“Once the game started I was able to go through my pitches and execute my game plan,” Yarbrough said. “The defense was huge behind me making great plays. I just tried to attack guys and keep us in the ballgame.”

Incomplete: Evaluation of young talent
This is where things get interesting. While this year was always going to be a developmental year for the Royals, the second half will mean even more in terms of answering questions about the roster.

Does MJ Melendez have what it takes to be a full-time MLB outfielder? Will Nicky Lopez see more time in the outfield? Is Nick Pratto’s future at first base or in the outfield? Can Maikel Garcia keep up his strong start? For the Royals to have a successful second half, all of these questions will need some kind of answer -- one way or another.

“I think we’ve seen small gains in individuals and we’ve had some nice wins as a team, but clearly not enough of them to perform in this industry,” Quatraro said. “We need to perform better and we know that. Individuals need to play better and we need to coach better.”