One out, ninety feet. That’s how close the 2014 Royals were to (tying) a World Series. After just five winning seasons in the last 25 years and no postseason appearances since the World Series in 1985, fans finally received their reward.  Fans now set their sights to 2015 with optimism and hope, characteristics no Royals fan lacks.

Last year was one of the first seasons since 2003 where fans felt the Royals had a legitimate shot at a postseason berth. Now, with their first postseason in 29 years, this squad looks to duplicate their success from a year ago. I’d like to believe the Royals will reach the World Series again, this time with a different result, however there are some significant road blocks facing the 2015 squad. Here are the 5 biggest challenges facing the Royals in 2015.

1. The Loss of “Big Game” James –

Earlier this month James Shields decided to leave the Paris of the Plains for the sunny skies of San Diego. The Royals hope to replace his production through the addition of former one-time All-Star Edinson Volquez who posted a 13 – 7 record and a 3.04 ERA with the Pirates last season. Both pitchers performed similarly in terms of production last season however, it will be difficult to duplicate the clubhouse presence of James Shields. Royal’s manager Ned Yost has praised Shields’ presence in the clubhouse in the past.

During the Royals postseason run last October, Yost told MLB.com’s Jane Lee:

“When we look to make an addition to our team, one of the first things we look at is chemistry,” said Yost. “How are they going to fit in? Are they winning-type players? Have they been winning-type players? Are they blue-collar-type guys that work hard and their main focus is winning, so it can match up with the young group that we have here?”

With such a young ball club, Yost will have to turn to other veteran talent to set the tone. While this is a close-knit bunch of players (see Salvador Perez’s Instagram for reference), they will need a veteran voice give direction and leadership. Fans are excited to see which new clubhouse leader emerges.

2. Bullpen Duplicating the Success of 2014 –

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice; you might just have the most dominant bullpen in baseball. One year removed from arguably one of the most dominating bullpen performances, the Royals will be looking to rely heavily on their bullpen once again. Specifically, they will look to rely on the three headed monster of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and closer Greg Holland. Until last year, no team had ever had 2 relievers with 60+ innings post below a 1.50 ERA. Last year the Royals had three with Herrera (1.41), Davis (1.00) and Holland (1.44) all posting sub – 1.50 ERA’s. With Luke Hochevar entering the season healthy, there is the possibility that the bullpen may be even stronger in 2015. Hochevar now gives the Royals a reliable option to pitch the 5^th and 6^th innings if necessary and he possesses the stamina to shoulder more of the relief load.  If he can return to his 2013 form (1.92 ERA in 70 1/3 innings pitched), starters will only need to give 5 solid innings before handing the ball over to the bullpen. Look for the Royals bullpen to look as good, dare I say better, than they did in 2014.

3. Jump the Wild Card Hump and Win the Division –

The 2014 Wild Card game face-off against the A’s was likely the greatest win in Royals history and one of the greatest comebacks in playoff history. That being said, the team would certainly like to take the less toiling road to the Divisional Series by winning the division outright. The Central division has improved significantly with the Indians, Twins and White Sox all expected to show marked improvement. The Tigers enter into this season as the 2014 division winners but don’t expect them to repeat in 2015. Detroit suffered significant losses with the departures of Matt Scherzer and Victor Martinez and has little done to improve their bullpen, which struggled mightily in the 2014 postseason.  Look Brad Ausmus’ Tigers to finish right in the middle of the division leaving the division title up for grabs. The Royals largest competition for the division will be the Indians, who finished just 3 games behind Kansas City in 2014. With a potentially improved bullpen and a now battle-tested lineup, expect the Royals win their first division title since 1985 when they won the AL West.

4. Finding Salvador Perez Rest –

Salvador Perez looked fantastic in the first half of last season. Going into the All-Star break Perez was posting a .283 average and a .327 On-Base Percentage (OBP) and had posted a .347 average for the month of June. Following the break, Perez had a significant decrease in production with drops in his OBP each month. He the season with a .260 average and his OBP dropped to .289. The slump continued in the playoffs, batting just .207 for the entire postseason and posting an abysmal .233 OBP.

The reason behind the slump? After looking at Perez’s number of innings behind the plate in 2014, it’s hard to not immediately point the finger at his overuse throughout the season. Perez spent more time behind the plate than any other catcher last season, logging 1248.2 total innings. Even for a catcher as young as Perez, those numbers seem a little obscene considering he outplayed the next highest (posted by Jonathan Lucroy) by nearly 100 innings.

Yost will need to do a better job this season in giving the young catcher rest and allow for Eric Kratz (assuming he enters the season as the back-up) to shoulder some of the load for the overworked Perez. Most believe that Perez is the cornerstone of the franchise’s present and future so it would be in Yost’s best interest to keep him as healthy and productive as possible. (We also need him rested enough to continue his Instagram video series on Lorenzo Cain.)

5. Managing the Innings of Young Pitchers –

Sticking with the theme of managing innings and rest, it will be just as important to keep the young arms of Yordano Ventura and Danny Duffy health and fresh this season. Duffy is coming off a very solid 2014 after missing almost all of the 2012 and 2013 due to Tommy John surgery. He posted a 2.53 ERA in 149.2 innings after being inserted into the rotation following an injury to Bruce Chen. With injuries plaguing Duffy for most of his career he has altered his diet and training to ensure that 2015 is a healthy season, but inning management will also need to play a factor.

Ventura’s innings will also need to be closely monitored by the coaching staff this season. Ventura was exceptional during most of 2014, including the postseason where he matched his season ERA of 3.20. He logged 183 total innings last season, averaging about 6.1 innings per start. Those are great numbers for such a young player but he will be counted on more heavily this season as he potentially moves into the role of being the club’s number one starter. It will be important for Yost to protect Ventura both physically and mentally this season by monitoring his innings pitched and doing a better job of determining how long of stretches to leave the young star in for.

It is my belief and the belief of many Royals fans that 2014 wasn’t a fluke. We put baseball and the entire country on notice in 2014.The baseball team showed a lot of promise last year. Look for them to deliver on that promise in 2015.