He's been extremely disappointing this year. Probably the most frustrating player on the team, because the guys in front of him are getting on base.

I wouldn't have signed Dyson or Taylor. Both horrible signings. (Although, admittedly, Dyson has been fine so far this year.)

The Royals talk out of both sides of their mouth. They'll harp on defense as you why guys like Lopez and Taylor keep playing but then follow that by putting Soler in the field.

They weirdly didn’t have a CF with the range to play CF at the K ready for MLB. They had a lot of corner guys you’d hold your breath on in CF, so I get signing one of those guys.

They also bet big on Taylor’s physical tools. Which has obviously not paid off.

Mondesi to CF - if he can hack it tracking fly balls - would make things look better there.

The problem with Soler is that he's pulling everything. But at the same time, he's also just "unlucky" right now, since his BABIP is .264. Usually the average is .300.

Case in point, last night he smoked a grounder at the 3rd baseman, but somehow the guy managed to "bare" hand the ball and threw him out. Soler's exit velo is at an average of 94.0, which is slightly above of his average of 92.3, but not outrageous.

At some point, there has to be a correction to the mean, meaning he should get better luck (hopefully).

The means are all screwed up now. The shift has lowered BABIP. Everyone throwing gas has also, matter of fact just balls in play is on a sharp decline.

He would also play RF instead of putting Soler there. Soler should never set foot in the OF, ever. You could also use him as DH some days as needed. And have Taylor be utilized less.

As a Lacy got back on track today with a good start.

5 IP, 6 K, just 2 BB (which have been his issue so far this year).

Corey Kluber just threw a no-hitter for the Yankees. At this rate we may break the MLB record for total no-hitters in a season this week. There's 4 months to go.

The modern record is 7 in a season. We're at 6. And that doesn't count Bumgarner.

And, as a weird fact, since they couldn’t give them away last season, the Rangers gave out Kluber bobbleheads pre game. Hahahhaha.

I like winning

Did Northwest Arkansas move to Wilmington? Literally every single hitting prospect on that roster is struggling.

Seattle and Cleveland have each been no-hit twice this year. LOL

Don't forget the Rangers on that misery loves company list.

Forgot the Rangers tonight were a repeat...3 teams each no-hit twice...amazing.

Seattle hitting under .200 as a team. What a joke

Not surprising at all with the lack of offensive firepower we have in MiLB.

You should see what Matias is doing in A ball. Batting .150, .500 OPS, no HR. Might as well just cut him.

This will surprise no one.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Umpire: Adrian Johnson<br>Final: Royals 6, Brewers 4<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherRoyal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TogetherRoyal</a> // <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThisIsMyCrew?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ThisIsMyCrew</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KCvsMIL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KCvsMIL</a> // <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MILvsKC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MILvsKC</a> <a href="https://t.co/sjsBafPEYi">pic.twitter.com/sjsBafPEYi</a></p>&mdash; Umpire Scorecards (@UmpScorecards) <a href="https://twitter.com/UmpScorecards/status/1395392063328370689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I have tickets to see NWA in Springfield again tonight. Hoping to see Witt and Mondesi, but this incessant rain needs to hold off.

Is Mondesi still down there today? I know that they brought him down yesterday from Omaha, and Omaha is now at Iowa. I see that Mondesi is not in the lineup for Omaha today, so I assume he stayed in Springfield?

I'm not 100% sure. Just hopeful, as it would be cool to see him in my hometown.

I just got my tickets for full-capacity opening weekend June 4-5. Friday is buck night, fireworks, and Soler bobblehead. Saturday is Merrifield bobblehead. 🙌

Mondesi is in Omaha now

Lame! Where did you hear that?

Lynn Worthy reported it changing from NWA to Omaha on the 18th.

Though apparently he was transferred back because of storm projections in OMaha this week. So maybe he's back in NWA?

Yeah, he was back in Springfield with NWA last night. Hoping he's still here.

As to why our farm should be looked at with more of a mid 2010's optimism than a mid 2000's mirage.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">How absurd is this? Royals pitchers from 2018 MLB Draft:<br><br>Brady Singer (MLB): 3.96 ERA<br>Kris Bubic (MLB): 0.96 ERA<br>Jackson Kowar (Triple A): 1.15 ERA<br>Jonathan Bowlan (Double A): 1.65 ERA<br>Jon Heasley (Double A): 1.93 ERA<br>Josh Dye (Double A): 1.13 ERA<br>Zach Haake (High A): 1.69 ERA</p>&mdash; Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) <a href="https://twitter.com/alec_lewis/status/1395443259309281281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 20, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

To be fair, we need a higher percentage of our young talent to "hit", than the 2010's pipeline. The understated thing about our farm system of a century was how many busts we had (basically all of our stud pitching - Monty, Lamb, Dwyer & Arguelles). Duffy was literally the biggest pitching success story we had from that time. Our system was so deep then that it didn't matter how many busts we had or that none of our bats became MVP caliber players (Cain is an exception, but he emerged a bit later than the 2011 class I’m thinking of and also got there from his D).. That depth allowed us to trade even our flame-outs (Lamb and Monty) to give our young talent on offense the extra pieces they need for a World Series.

Admittedly, our current system isn't as deep and can't afford that high of a bust percentage. We'd also be hugely benefitted by finally developing a star player on offense (Looking at you, Witt and Mondesi) But, if we're more fortunate with our pitching prospects this time around (and our pitching prospects now have more potential than ours from the Mid-2010's), we can easily become a force and be in contention again.

Monty Lamb Odorizzi Finnegan Reed led us to

Shields
Davis
Cueto

IOW: smashing success

Absolutely.

Cody Reed, Brandon Finnegan and John Lamb led us to an ace who pitched two two hitters in the 2015 playoffs. The fact that Sean Manaea has been the most successful piece we parted with in that run should be an endorsement to always put the chips in to win a title when you can.

Hosmer In 4th year has been worth +0.7fWAR total for SD. Zips projects him to be worth 0.0 over the next 3.


That would be 7 years, $126 million, not even 1 win. Woof!

Just got mine for June 18. Gonna be vacationing in Missouri to visit family. Will be my first time in Kauffman since 2009.

However San Diego is a legit contender and fun as hell to watch. I doubt they'll give 2 shits about that contract if he's part of a winner.

By far GMDM's best move as a GM.

But did he ruin MLB? He’s the one who introduced extreme heat into the sport with his 2014 team, which relied heavily on the last 3 innings where heat was the focus. Everyone copied him since.


For those who forget: 97+ mph pitches this season: Royals 2,287, Twins 1


https://mlb.nbcsports.com/wp-content...ph-pitches.jpg



TLDR: more than #2 and #3 combined.



https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2014/10/29...-2287-twins-1/

My take? He exploited an inefficiency. It's now up to the game to adjust.

They'll adjust by moving the mound back, most likely.

They’ll lower the mound before they do that

Great move by accident, they wanted Hosmer and listed him as the top priority to re-sign long term.

Also made two stupid cost cutting trades to try to lock him up.

Yes - we have strong pitching but we need to flip these guys for some offense. Outside of the potential of Witt Jr, I can't recall the organization having more of a barren offensive MiLB system.

Any chance that Olivares has figured something out?

Anybody notice Khalil Lee is 0 for 8 with the Mets ... with 8 strikeouts?

I think that was a decent trade still,Beni i think will be ok.

With the ransom that even moderate prospects demand in today's game that should be more than doable if enough of these arms develop to allow us to make some trades.

Be okay? He's one if the 2 or 3 guys that are actually hitting consistently. Absolutely won the trade (so far).

I agree ,but i've noticed people being down on Beni.No,he's not Gordo,but i still think a good fit here long term.

What the O'Hearn

Getting pitchers who pitch fast ruined baseball? LOL. Okay.

There is NO doubt about that!

Very well argued rebuttal. Full of interesting info.


Would def read again.

Why are so many Royals fans bitching about the un-juiced baseball? Heard it on the radio today. I think it is a GREAT thing for the Royals and small market teams. I didn't think the MLB had it in 'em to admit it and do what they did. Kudos to them. That showed a ton of integrity. Credit when credit is due. But For baseball in general? Sure not so good. But we have a massive park. We are broke asses. Them bringing the ball back to what it was is GREAT for us. We were the reason they juiced the ball around circa 2016-2017 anyway. They got pissed when OF defense, contact hitting, and speed showed it can win.

If they go to a mound further away, juice the ball again - sure MLB will be more exciting. But I don't give a shit. It would be at the expense of the Royals.

Time to bring back Ian Kennedy?!

Yeah, kinda crazy.

Mondesi tonight?

Edward Olivares update:

14 G
.382 AVG
4 HR
12 RBI
14 R
.477 OBP
.691 SLG
1.168 OPS
5 SB
9 BB
10 K

Still in AAA for some reason.

He’ll be up this year. Need an OF spot. Who you benching?

I know nothing about this guy. Did the bulb come on at age 25?

I'd love to bench Taylor and put Whit in RF if Olivares can play CF adequately. If not, stick Olivares in RF, make Soler everyday DH, keep Whit at 2B, and bench Lopez when Mondesi gets back.

Taylors defense is too good. If this team is trying to make the playoffs, they should keep Taylor but if not. Play Olivares every single day.

Is his defense good enough to overcome his lack of offense, though? His career OPS is .685. If this team was hitting like they're supposed to, I think you could justify it. But with the offensive struggles they've had, I think they need as much offense in the lineup as they can get right now.

Duncan or anyone else that can answer this,

Where is Erick Pena? Since our minor league are basically a baron waste land when it comes to hitters, I was pretty excited to see what he could do in his first real games as an 18 year old.

Extended spring train until July when he’s sent to A ball.

It's only a sample size of success (65 PA's). He has a lot of tools, though - Speed, Defense... basically an athlete with potential to hit for power. And unlike a lot of unrefined prospects, he's not scared to take a walk.

In 2019 he spent the full season at AA (for the Padres), producing an .801 OPS with 18 HR's coupled with 35 Stolen bases. A lot to like about the kid.

[Edit: We got him for Trevor Rosenthal last year]

He's never actually played at the AAA level before this season. I imagine when the Royals slide out of contention, he will be here in KC with a leash to go through the growing pains later this year. He is most definitely being counted on as a piece of our future plans.

Northwest AR bats starting to warm up. Pratto w/ 3 homers last night. OPS-ing over 1000, now. It's way early in the season to say he's fixed whatever was broken in 2019, but I like what's happening. The early season sample also means those bitching about early season offense being the suck in the minors need to just let the season unfold. Plenty of time to bitch about a better sample size.

Well that and capping Latin America spending. So stupid, no limit in the bigs, but stop the royals from securing multiple talents.

Another solid outing for Kower. Six innings, 10 strikeouts, 1 walk and 1 earned run.

Obv he’s ready and has been really since ST.

They can cut Wade. Not sure who JK replaces ijnrhe rotation but outside of Minor you can pick anyone

I'm traveling through Springfield today and going to catch the naturals. Bowlan is starting.

Offense looking good in first inning. Bowlan has 2 ks and then is pulled. Looks like he pulled or stained something.

Witt just hit a bomb in the 2nd inning. He's upped his average .024 points in 2 ABs

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Olivia Taylor of Bear River HS (Garland, Utah) with the catch of the CENTURY in the state championship game!!!!!<a href="https://t.co/q34wLf7ly0">pic.twitter.com/q34wLf7ly0</a></p>&mdash; Kendall Baker (@TheKendallBaker) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheKendallBaker/status/1396253473390407684?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 22, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

WTF?

Huge weekend for the Naturals in Springfield. 40 runs in 3 days (4 games). Two dingers and a stolen base for Witt. SIX dingers for Pratto (including a 3-homer game and a 2-homer game). Three dingers for Melendez.

Rays are next. They have a 10 game winning streak. You have to think the law of averages say they won't keep that up.

Wtf happened to Bowlan?

I'll be at the Rays/Royals game. No idea who's pitching Tuesday. Keller?

Tuesday's starters

KC: Brad Keller (3-4, 6.52 ERA)
TB: Rich Hill (3-1, 3.89 ERA)

Kansas City Royals prospect Bobby Witt Jr. hit a home run completely out of a stadium

BY PETE GRATHOFF

It was a very good weekend for the Royals’ Double-A affiliate, Northwest Arkansas.

Playing in Springfield, Missouri, the Naturals thumped the Cardinals’ affiliate 15-5 on Friday night. First baseman Nick Pratto, the Royals’ first-round pick in 2017, hitting three of Northwest Arkansas’ six home runs.

Catcher MJ Melendez, outfielder Brewer Hicklen and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. each hit a home run in the win. On Saturday, Pratto hit another homer in a 6-5 win and he has a 1.119 on base plus slugging percentage this season.

The Naturals wrapped up the weekend with a 12-5 victory in which Witt hit a double and a massive home run. Witt, the Royals’ top prospect, hit the ball completely out of Hammons Field.

The home run was estimated at 450 feet with an exit velocity of 112 mph:

I'm starting Nicky Lopez HR watch!

He has to get one over the fence, inside the parker doesn't count.

I'm confident he can get one sometime before 2024, but I'm not sure.