KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) The Kansas City Royals can look back on the season in two very different ways.

They could look at it as a bitter disappointment, given the hopes they had to contend. They could get down on the struggles some of their young pitchers had or feel snakebit by injuries to Adalberto Mondesi and other key players that were a big part of their fifth consecutive losing season.

Or they could look at it as another sign of progress. They could point to an improved winning percentage every year since 2018, when they bottomed out with 104 losses, the vast improvement made by a handful of youngsters and the fact that their farm system has become the envy of most of baseball.