The halfway point of the 2019 was (mercifully) reached Wednesday when the Royals lost at Cleveland. The Royals’ 28-53 record has them on pace for the second pick in the 2020 amateur draft, which is about the only good thing that may result from this season.

But with 81 of 162 games in the books, Wednesday provided the perfect opportunity to look at some individual statistics, and the Royals actually have some personal performances worthy of note.

Jorge Soler is on pace to do something no Royal has ever done – hit 40 home runs. With 21 as of Wednesday, Soler is well ahead of pace to eclipse Mike Moustakas’ team record of 38. The Royals remain the only team in baseball that has never had a 40-homer season.

Soler is becoming the power source the Royals envisioned when they traded for him prior to 2017. The 27-year-old Cuban is on pace to drive in 106 runs. As of Wednesday his home run total ranked fifth in the American League, and his RBI total ranked sixth. To lead the league in either category would be historic. Not since Hal McRae in 1982 has a Royal led the American League in RBIs. No Royal has ever led the league in homers.

2019 Projected Team Leaders at Midseason:

Hits: Whit Merrifield, 204; Home Runs: Jorge Soler, 42; RBI: Jorge Soler, 106; Stolen Bases: Adalberto Mondesi, 54; Wins: Homer Bailey, 14; Saves: Ian Kennedy, 20; Strikeouts: Jakob Junis 168

Amazingly, despite their putrid record, the Royals stand to finish atop several of baseball’s statistical lists. Whit Merrifield is currently leading all of baseball in hits, while Adalberto Mondesi, despite missing 10 games, leads in triples and stolen bases.

Merrifield knows a little about statistical accomplishments. Last year, he led all of baseball in hits and stolen bases. He said that individual accomplishments can feel like something to build on.

“Individually, the numbers can tell you that you got off to a good start, and can give you an idea if you’re doing things that could help your team win,” said the 30-year-old.

“You look around and see other guys who are individually having good years, so that’s encouraging to think that in the near future, all that could come together to turn into winning more games.”

After leading the MLB with 192 hits last year, Merrifield led at the halfway point of this year with 102. Only seven Royals have ever achieved 200 hits, the last being Melky Cabrera in 2011.

Merrifield emphasized, however, that no one in the Royals clubhouse puts individual accomplishments ahead of the team.

“It’s good to have guys having individual success because it makes you think that some of the pieces are there. But at the end of the day, that’s not what it’s about. You kind of have the attitude of ‘Great. But we didn’t win. So how do we fix it?’”

That the Royals aren’t winning is certainly true. They are on pace to win 56 games, which would tie 2005 for the worst season in franchise history.

One area in which the Royals are feasting, but which has not resulted in wins, is the category of stolen bases. The Royals stocked up on speedy players in the offseason in hopes they could steal some wins by swiping a lot of bases. Skeptics argued early on that the stolen base is a somewhat empty statistic that wouldn’t lead to much success.

At the middle of the season, the naysayers appear to be right. The Royals stole 78 through Wednesday, 13 more than the next closest challenger, and more than double the league average. Going into the season, it was speculated that Kansas City might steal 200 bases, a mark reached by only one team since 2000. They are not up to that pace, and a couple of their primary thieves – Billy Hamilton and Terrance Gore – might well be traded before this season is up.

Individually, Mondesi’s 27 stolen bases through Wednesday have him on pace to place sixth on the Royals single season list, and to become the sixth member of the organization to lead the American League in steals, joining Amos Otis (52 in 1971), Freddie Patek (53 in 1977), Willie Wilson (83 in 1979), Johnny Damon (46 in 2000), and Merrifield (34 in 2017 and 45 in 2018).

The Royals are setting the pace in another speed statistic, triples. Mondesi and Merrifield sat atop all of baseball on Wednesday with eight and seven triples, respectively. As a team, the Royals led with 26 three-baggers.

If a team is the sum of its parts, then the Royals would appear to have some parts that could eventually amount to an impressive sum. Though not a league leader, Hunter Dozier is having a remarkable season, on pace to hit .302 with 26 homers and 84 RBIs despite missing nearly a third of the first 81 games. Mondesi has superstar written all over him. Merrifield, if he’s not traded, is as efficient and versatile as any player in the game. And Soler is realizing his potential as a power hitter.

But the parts aren’t constituting a winner yet. Can it happen soon? The Royals have been open about their belief they can be competitive by as soon as 2021. There is significant help coming up through the minor leagues, but for now the significant individual performances are being wasted on an underperforming unit.

The 2018 Kansas City Royals were a disaster. But you wouldn’t know it by talking to the guys taking the field the past two months.

That’s because a large number of the guys in the clubhouse now weren’t there when the Royals bumbled to a 27-68 record at the All-Star break. Since then, Ryan O’Hearn and Adalberto Mondesi have brought superstar production to Kansas City. Brett Phillips, Rosell Herrera and Brian Goodwin have brought speed and athleticism (and the swagger that comes with it). And Brad Keller, Heath Fillmyer and Jorge Lopez have infused the starting rotation with youth and potential.

Talk to any of the youngsters, and they see this season as an opportunity.

“The new guys, the young guys, have to prove that we belong here, and demonstrate what we can do for the team moving forward,” said Phillips, who, along with Lopez, was acquired in late July in a trade for Mike Moustakas. “So we have a lot of motivation, a lot of energy, to go out there each day regardless of how many games the team has won or lost.”

Pitcher Ian Kennedy said that while the first half of the season was disappointing to the veterans assembled to start the year, the transformation of the roster points to brighter days ahead. After struggling mightily at the start of the season, Kennedy sat out much of the year with injuries. He observed the change from the dugout.

“The group we started with just struggled all around. We couldn’t click,” Kennedy said. “Now as the team starts to transform, the young guys are all hungry because they want a spot next year. They want to prove that they can do something up here. I’m really excited for our future. I watched the transition while I was on the disabled list, and it’s been fun to see.”

Keller, who has been a leader of the youth movement, said that winning at a respectable clip this fall is going to catapult the team into greater success moving forward.

“The vibe around here these days is just awesome,” said the 23-year-old. “How we’re conducting business from then to now is a night and day difference. You can see it on the field, how much fun we’re having. It’s going to give us confidence moving forward. We feel like, give us a full year together and see what can happen.”

As Keller and company wrap up the Royals’ 50^th season, a healthy dose of perspective is in order. While the overall record won’t be much to celebrate, there is a silver lining to the dark cloud of 2018.

The Class of ‘69

There have certainly been some bleak periods for the expansion team awarded to Kansas City at major league baseball’s 1967 winter meetings. But of the four teams created at that meeting – the San Diego Padres, Seattle Pilots and Montreal Expos being the other three – the Royals are unquestionably at the head of the class.

First of all, two of the clubs bolted their original homes for greener pastures. The Pilots barely paused long enough to unpack their bags in Seattle before moving to Milwaukee to become the Brewers in 1970. The Expos were competitive for a time, but couldn’t win over their Canadian hosts and morphed into the Washington Nationals in 2005.

The Royals have played in four World Series, winning two. Of the other three 1969 expansion clubs, the Padres lost in the 1984 and 1998 series, and the Brewers lost in the 1982 series. So the Royals have played in more World Series than the other three combined, and been the only one to win even one championship.

Of the 30 teams in major league baseball, 12 have reached fewer World Series than the Royals, some of which have been around for much longer.

We’ve been here before and felt far worse

The Royals have lost 100 or more games four times previously. With two games left, this Royals team will escape the embarrassment of being worst in team history. They lost 106 in 2005.

It hurt when, after failing to capitalize on building blocks like Mike Sweeney, Johnny Damon, Carlos Beltran and Jermaine Dye, the 2002 Royals dropped 100 for the first time in team history.

2004 was dreadful because, after the fool’s gold of 2003 led fans to believe the team was actually competitive, the 104 losses exposed that a quick rebuild was not possible.

Things couldn’t have looked more bleak than they did in 2005, when they lost 106 games and hardly had anyone of real major league caliber. 2006 was only slightly better, when the Royals again lost an even 100.

So with a bunch of young studs playing, and winning, in the second half, 2018 doesn’t seem that bad. With Keller, Mondesi and friends emerging as building blocks, there is hope for next year.

As is often said, a losing season doesn’t have to be a lost season. It doesn’t feel like a lost season in the clubhouse these days.

One of the few things that can salvage a losing season is a player battling to the end in pursuit of some individual statistical accomplishment. The race for a batting title or home run championship keeps fans looking at the box scores, even when all hope for team success has been abandoned.

Royals fans enjoyed such pursuits most significantly when George Brett raced for batting titles. Brett famously chased immortality in 1980, not in pursuit of a batting title – there was no other player near him in the race – but rather to finish with a .400 batting average. He fell just short, but owns the honor of being the only player to win batting titles in three separate decades (1976, 1980 and 1990).

The 1976 batting race was particularly interesting, because two Royals duked it out until the final day. Brett edged teammate Hal McRae by a single point, winning .333 to .332.

Dan Quisenberry won the most titles for Kansas City. He led the league in saves 5 times during the Royals heyday of the early 1980s. Royals players have led the league in wins and ERA multiple times.

In spite of all their failures this year, one Royal is in hot pursuit of a significant mark that is keeping things interesting. Whit Merrifield is giving fans a reason to stay tuned – with just a week’s worth of games left, he is leading the American League in stolen bases.

With 38 steals through Friday’s win at Detroit, Merrifield leads Mallex Smith of the Tampa Bay Rays by three.

Making Merrifield’s accomplishment even more significant is the fact that he led the American League in stolen bases last season as well. Four other Royals have led the league in larceny, but none ever did it twice.

Who better than announcer Denny Matthews, who has been with the Royals for every one of their 50 seasons, to analyze Merrifield’s thievery.

“He’s very good at picking up tendencies of pitchers, and looking at video, and talking to other guys about the pitchers,” Matthews said of Merrifield. “He studies and he works at it.”

Amos Otis was the first Royal to lead the league in stolen bases, with 52 in 1971. Freddie Patek was next to do it, with 53 in 1977. Willie Wilson set the team record for steals in a season when he led the league with 83 in 1979. And Johnny Damon led the American League in 2000 with 46.

Merrifield led the league with 34 last year. His stolen base totals pale in comparison to some of the Royals of the past. But Matthews said that is a product of the times.

“It depends on the era,” said Matthews. “Right now, home runs are a big deal. Stolen bases don’t mean all that much. They used to. The game was played differently. We’ve had some great base stealers. Freddie Patek was very good. Amos Otis was terrific. Whit’s that kind of a player.

“And while maybe in this era stolen bases don’t mean as much, they do to this team. Because of the park they play in, home runs don’t come that easily. The Royals have to manufacture runs any way they can, and Whit’s very attuned to that.”

One key to stealing bases is weighing the value of moving up 90 feet versus the potential for being thrown out. Merrifield is successful 79.6 percent of the time, which manager Ned Yost deems an acceptable rate to keep it up.

Merrifield isn’t successful as frequently as some of the Kansas City’s greatest base stealers. Carlos Beltran swiped 164 bases as a Royal and was only caught 12.3 percent of the time. Jerrod Dyson ripped off 176 bases with a 14.6 percent success rate. Wilson, the greatest base stealer in team history, stole 612 as a Royal and was caught just 16.3 percent of the time. Wilson stole 668 bases in his career to rank 12th all time.

Merrifield won’t approach any of those totals, but his success rate compares favorably to Otis (20.4), Damon (21.2) and Patek (24.3). And his ability to advance around the bases helps stoke the Royals’ offense.

“It sets a tone for each game. It’s taking the attitude of ‘What have I got to do to help the team win in this situation? I’ve got to get from first base to second base to give my team a better chance of getting a run in.’ That’s Whit’s thinking. That’s the type of player he is.”