But, but you go Ben, show that Jezebel who is in charge!

Wander Franco debut tonite. At AAA he has seen 639 pitches. 39 were at 93 or more, the avg MLB fastball (it’s about 91 at AAA)

In those 39 heaters he has put only 2 into play.

That's an interesting slice of data, but it's tiny.

According to the Fangraphs prospect blog from earlier today, his whiffs are primarily coming on changeups, splitters, and breaking balls at the bottom of the zone.

He's taking or fouling off the higher velocity he's seeing, according to the same write-up.

The guy has exceptional bat-to-ball skills and practically never swings and misses. I'm not sure his power shows up right away, but I think he's going to take good ABs, make good and hard contact, and be a solid contributor.

He makes hard/loud contact like a power hitter and controls the zone like a stud AND makes contact like a David Fletcher.

How many strikeouts for Gerrit Cole tonight? Ryan O'Hearn is in the lineup.

Franco’s comp is Jose Ramirez, per scouts. 5-10 190, vs 5-9 190. Both have exquisite contact skills. Both can run. We will see if Franco sticks at SS or if he shifts over to 3B like Ramirez.


I looked at their MiLB data prior to being promoted. Awfully similar.

Franco, 20. : 39g 177ab 30r 11(2B) 6(3B) 7hr 35rbi 5sb 12bb/21k .315 .954ops
Ramirez, 21: 60g 245ab 37r 15(2B) 2(3B) 5hr 29rbi 19sb 25bb/30k .302 801ops



Net: Ramirez was a below avg hitter his first two years. He hit only 19hr his first 1,200 PA. He became a star in his 4th season.

Franco hit for a lot more power in that sample size you’re quoting. .954 OPS vs .801 is a BIG gap.

I don’t think Franco will struggle as much. But we’ll see. Mike Trout sucked in his debut and promptly came back and wrecked faces the next year.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mike Matheny says Danny Duffy will start for the Royals tomorrow.</p>&mdash; Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) <a href="https://twitter.com/alec_lewis/status/1407426012149866501?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Did I miss any updates on Mondesi?

He's back on IL.

Nice to see Bubic with a bounceback performance yesterday against a stellar lineup.

Good win last night. I was afraid Holland was gonna screw the pooch again. Royals have certainly played to the level of their competition this year, which is why they are so frustrating to watch. How can they line up and go toe to toe with Boston and the Yankees, and get swept by Detroit? That's baseball.

Rays have lost 7 straight after starting 43-24

:cuss:

If Duffy can pick up where he left off and Mondesi can last a few games without getting injured again, I think they can string together some wins. Hopefully they won't be out of the race by then.

We probably aren't seeing Mondesi again until August, probably late August.