Friend of the pod Kevin O’Brien is back to talk to Chrystal about a division rival — the Kansas City Royals. After winning a series against the Houston Astros (thanks to the rain!), the White Sox embark on a four-game series against Bobby Witt Jr. & Co. Tune in to hear what Kevin said about the Royals and how this series might play out.

Here is what we talked about:

• What’s new with the Royals
• Rating the offseason
• The slow start from Kansas City
• How he feels about the season going forward
• Pitching matchups
• Cole Ragan’s unsuccessful first Tommy John surgery that led to a second surgery
• Keys to winning the series
• Who is hitting the ball right now — potential threats to the White Sox
• Fears heading into the series
• Is the American League Central wide open?
• The Colorado Rockies
  • Will they push 121 losses?
  • Bud Black and the awful pitching staff
  • Bad luck with players
  • Tough division
• Aaron Judge, of course
• Pete Alonso and the Mets are good
• The battle of staying healthy
• The Giants and Oracle Park

You can follow Kevin on Bluesky and Twitter. I would also recommend checking out his work on Pitcher List, The Royals Reporter, and his new podcast Crown Talk.