Overlooking the Royals would be a poor choice

CHICAGO — No, don’t do it. Don’t overlook the Royals.

They may have been 20-20 when they arrived at U.S. Cellular Field for a weekend series against the White Sox, but judging them by that record is like drawing conclusions about a movie in the first 30 minutes.

The Royals didn’t win their two American League pennants through sorcery, and it wasn’t just the daring of Eric Hosmer’s sprint down the third-base line that let them beat the Mets in the World Series.

They’ve lost some big parts since then, but not the core of the team that won 95 games last year after grabbing a Wild Card spot in 2014 with a 41-23 sprint to the finish.

They’ve watched from afar as the White Sox jumped to a lead in the AL Central, but haven’t seen anything that makes them sweat. Not yet.

They believe they have another October in them and you’d better believe the White Sox know it’s going to be a season-long battle to stay ahead of them in the standings.

“They do a lot of things well,” White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. “If you make mistakes against them, you’re going to lose.”

There’s no question that the Royals had a deeper roster last October, before losing Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist to free agency. They’ve also been hurt by injuries, with third baseman Mike Moustakas and starting pitchers Chris Young and Kris Medlen currently on the disabled list (although Moustakas could be back as soon as Saturday).

But don’t forget that they beat the Mets on Opening Night, with Edinson Volquez out-pitching …

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