We already know what we have in people like Dozier. Also they should have traded away Barlow already.

Bobby Witt Jr on pace for 324 walks.

Unfortunately also on pace for 0 HRs or SBs.

https://media2.giphy.com/media/Ke8be...200w.webp&ct=g

;)

18 innings. 5 hits.

I was wondering when they'd win a game. Now, sadly, I'm wondering when they'll score a run. Need to stop wondering...

Royals are now bottom of the barrel again?

My Pirates are the landlords of the cellar.

But I was told there would be many runs and many hits from friends frothing at the mouth over the spring training results.

Even with the Royals putrid start, I never really make too much of the first 7-10 games. Obviously, if you go 2-8 or 3-7, you are in a bit of hole, but I wasn’t expecting shit this season from this team. There just isn’t near enough pitching, and absolutely zero depth in the offensive lineup. Just try and entertain me, please…

Royals and Sporting KC seem to always come back from Arizona with no offense even though with Royals, almost always one of best hitting teams in Cactus League.

Team needs to do something different at end of Cactus League schedule and before opening day.

The sad (one of many) things is that the only place with any talent whatsoever is the offense side... I think the pitching is the real problem.

The thing is they ALWAYS seem to start in a hole.

I was just hoping they might be competitive until training camp started. Looks like they'll have folded before the draft gets here

Guys don't ever develop like they're supposed to either.

2 years ago Julio Rodriguez, Adley Rutschman and Bobby Witt Jr were considered to close to call as the top prospect in the game.

Today Witt is considerably behind the other 2 as MLB players

Wasn't Witt basically leading all rookies in all offensive categories other than homers last year?

It's all super depressing. I mean there was 11 thousand people out to see the team on the first sunday of the spring. Apathy.

Witt Jr. has that bad of a year last year? Shoot, must have missed that.

MLB ROOKIES who had at least 250 ABs in OPS per baseball reference who debuted 2011 and 2022 (including this years few ABs)

1. Joey Meneses..........................911
2. Julio Rodriguez........................851
3. Michael Harris II.......................848
4. Vinnie Pasquantino...................826
5. Adley Rutschman.....................824
6. Brenden Donovan.....................781
7. Oscar Gonzalez........................780
8. Seiva Suzuki............................770
9. Steven Kwan...........................769
10. Oneil Cruz.............................766
11. Nick Fortes............................752
12. Jose Miranda.........................746
13. Jake McCarthy.......................746
14. Juan Yepez...........................742
15. Christopher Morel..................741
16. TJ Freidl...............................737
17. Nolan Gorman.......................731
18. Jeremy Pena.........................719
19. Bobby Witt Jr.........................718

And then in WAR he's 31st.

We'll be at 29 games played at the end of April.

0-3 now, any optimistic folks want to look at that schedule and tell me where we're at 20% of the season in on May 1st?

And will we ever be .500 or better this year?

Jesus Christ, not a chance.

How many innings will we play before we take our first lead of the season?

So far we’re at 27.

LMAO Good one.

Now that is twisting what I said...I said he isn't as good as the other prospects he was ranked with, which is true.

But unfortunately even with the WS win, Hosmer and Moustakas never were as good as they were supposed to be either...

I wish I could actually see a game in order to render an opinion, but it sounds like they have enough Intel/video on all our hitters and the young guys especially aren't adjusting at all. Salvy hitting and that's about it I'm guessing. We wasted all those picks on pitching that's not gonna pan out except for Singer.

One thing to always remember is development is never linear.

I strongly believe if Witt can get his walk rate close to 9% like he had in Triple-A and Double-A, he's going to be in that echelon with Rodriguez and Rutchsman.

It's also important to remember the Rutschman played high-level college baseball and didn't debut until age 24. He had a lot of seasoning.

Rodriguez played in the full season minor leagues in 2019 before the pandemic.

Witt's full season pro debut was not only delayed because of the pandemic, but he did the unthinkable, getting assigned in Double-A without much pro experience. HS drafted prospects don't do that at all. There's no comp for that.

I dont think it's even fair to compare Witt to Rutschman. Witt was drafted out of high school. Adley Rutschman went to Oregon State and led that team to a straight up national championship. Rutschman is so gifted that absolutely no professional org could have possibly screwed him up. And Witt was a flashy high schooler. He was a high upside lottery ticket. You cant compare em.

it's strange...this team didn't add any talent and looks like last years shitty team. Why is that?

I'd give the offense some time. Seeing the various stats on Twitter and digging around on Fangraphs, the Royals lead the entire league in hard hit ball rate. They're 4th in exit velocity. 3rd in walk rate and their BABIP is .159 which is the worst in the league by a wide margin. So they're taking walks and hitting the ball hard but they aren't turning any of those balls into hits. Strikeout rate is about middle of the pack so it's not like they're not putting balls in play.

It's just one series though so we'll see if they can hold some of those numbers. It is hilarious after 20+ years of the Royals taking flack for being stuck in the past, they hire an analytics driven staff and their first series do really well in some of those numbers and the team goes 0-3 and the offense looked as bad as it ever has. Very Royals.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Team batted ball profiles so far. obviously not a large sample size <a href="https://t.co/b06I82UuH0">pic.twitter.com/b06I82UuH0</a></p>&mdash; Jay Cuda (@JayCuda) <a href="https://twitter.com/JayCuda/status/1642896312092729348?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I've lived through some pretty terrible Royals teams and seasons, but the apathy I feel this year for this squad is as big as any I've ever felt for any Royals squad.

I sincerely hope they end up making me look like a fool for doubting them, especially as they try to garner interest for a new stadium.

This... All of this. There's always promise in the month leading up to the season. pretty good marketing,, then the season starts and the other teams get into "regular season" mode.

Oh well, hopefully we get a new downtown stadium anyway. That will be fun.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Some of you pointed this out on opening day, but whenever Vinnie Pasquantino gets on base, a “pasquatch” jumps onto the Royals Hall of Fame building. So, there you go. <a href="https://t.co/kQVP2NYQex">pic.twitter.com/kQVP2NYQex</a></p>&mdash; Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) <a href="https://twitter.com/anne__rogers/status/1643051103788077056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Rumor has it… <a href="https://t.co/quvBMQoohF">pic.twitter.com/quvBMQoohF</a></p>&mdash; Kansas City Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1643266554761453570?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Royals: We’re gonna trade Michael Taylor to create more at bats for our young guys so we can see what have.

Also the Royals: We’re gonna sign Jackie Bradley Jr even though we know exactly the player he is and we’re gonna start him three of the first five games.

Before the season starts.

After the season has started and we're .250 and the bottom of the division.

I'm generally a very optimistic fan. And I realize it's just 4 games. We should never make haste judgement of short periods in any sports. I'm just confused, and pretty disappointed in the usage of JBJ. I felt he was a perfect 5th OF option to use late in games for his defense and occasional spot start.

This was the year we needed to see what we have in all the current players. But it seems we are definitely employing a matchup lineup daily. I can get behind that. Quatraro comes from an organization with lots of success doing just that. It just feels sooo 'Royals' to bring in two veterans that we know exactly what they are, and give them at bats over guys we have been excited to see play for a while.

It's possible that a couple of factors emerged that triggered such a decision.
One: the organization was married to playing MAT given his contract if they didn't trade him. Trading him let's the Royals have the flexibility to bring up talent when appropriate rather than when MAT is gone.
Two: injuries and spring training progress caused the Royals to adjust their timeline

I fail to see the bone to pick here.

Bradley was signed when Drew Waters got hurt in spring training. He isn't taking time away from anybody.

A better question is if you want an all glove no bat OF why not trade for Christian Pache instead?

Because Bradley is the same guy and you can get him for free off the street?

Bobby Witt with a contender for web gem of the week.

He was traded for a scrub...

Pratto called up;

https://www.royalsreview.com/2023/4/...atto-called-up

Isbel on paternity leave. Will be interesting to see if Pratto is just up for a cup of coffee or what the move will be when Isbel is back.

In general, I'm "For" the idea of trading for a post-hype prospect and seeing what they've got.

But I think we've seen more than enough re: Pache. Dude can't hit.

He sucks at hitting but he's good enough with the glove he's a 3 war player with just that.

Maikel Garcia OPSing 1.3 in his four games in the minors.

I believe in this kid. Related to a long line of winners.

If he can SLG .450 at the MLB level, his impact goes way, way, way up.

Excellent defensive SS with 11% walk rates vs 16% K rates who SLG .450 in the majors are pretty valuable pieces. Especially if they can swipe 25 bags, too.

Quad Cities is where the eyes of the minor league system will be at. Cross, Jensen, and Wallace are there.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Quad Cities, your �������� ���������� ��������������!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BanditTogether?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BanditTogether</a>�� <a href="https://t.co/ojwOqAs676">pic.twitter.com/ojwOqAs676</a></p>&mdash; Quad Cities River Bandits (@QCRiverBandits) <a href="https://twitter.com/QCRiverBandits/status/1643282279714660352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Nick Loftin is playing everyday at 3B at AAA does this mean they're prepping him?

And Noah Cameron from st joe

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Royals announce Lorenzo Cain will be back at Kauffman Stadium for a retirement ceremony on May 6. The Royals play the A&#39;s that night.</p>&mdash; Pete Grathoff (@pgrathoff) <a href="https://twitter.com/pgrathoff/status/1644022350587764750?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Sweet, one of my Saturday games this year.

On pace for 23 wins. But I know we’re gonna double that at least so I’m not too worried yet

They’ll also not play every game against World Series contenders.

I’d still put the Royals at 70-75 wins.

They also won't play every game at home. 7 games at home to start the year and 1 win.

I love that optimism. I'm not letting the start get me down, but my expectations were 100 losses.

It'd be nice to hit some decent little hot streak,

I mean, I'm not optimistic about this season. I don't think they have enough to really pretend at contending.

I do like the early returns on the change of pitching staff, though.

Nate Eaton 0-14 with 7Ks, no BB. Wowsers

:eek:

Is it just me, but do the Royals look like they lack a bit of hustle out there? Looked like 2-3 opponents took advantage of some rather lackluster play in getting the ball back to the infield by our outfielders. Just seems they aren't going all out in playing this fine game???

I know I'm not the biggest baseball guy on here, and it has nothing to do with the Royals, but I gotta plug this podcast.

Russillo interviews Theo Epstein. There is a lot of Boston and Chicago shit in there, but Epstein talks a lot about the direction of baseball and the changes through his career. It's available everywhere, but here is the Ringer link.

https://www.theringer.com/ryen-russi...baseball-draft

I think we found Ollie Marmol

Time for Quatraro to start chewing some ass

This team's bats are pathetic. I know its early and hitting usually catches up to pitching but cmon. Royals have a habit of not hitting anything until around Fathers Day.

That’s when the players start hitting their own dads outta frustration

I could be wrong but, if you really think this collection of ass can get tk 75 wins, with the balanced schedule this year, you aren’t dealing with a full deck

Ah, the challenges of a small market team in a league without a salary cap. It is what it is. I think they're trying, I really do, but they have challenges given their scenario.

Really there are teams that don't have huge payrolls that are consistently good...I mean shit the fact that the Padres, Braves and Astros are rocking big payrolls means teams that don't are cheap...

My sympathy for the Royals isn't high, if you choose to be cheap that's on you.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I don’t think coaches realize sometimes how much of the wrong message this sends. “Doesn’t matter if you’re actually playing well, we’re gonna play who we want.”<br><br>I totally understand wanting to reward good people, but this ain’t it. This is a really fine line to walk. <a href="https://t.co/7qqAYlOfY3">https://t.co/7qqAYlOfY3</a></p>&mdash; Royals Farm Report (@RoyalsFarm) <a href="https://twitter.com/RoyalsFarm/status/1644372849107378176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Wow, that sucks

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Pasquatch sighting at the K, and we don&#39;t mean <a href="https://twitter.com/VPasquantino?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VPasquantino</a>. <a href="https://t.co/Ehtxt9GmRF">pic.twitter.com/Ehtxt9GmRF</a></p>&mdash; Cut4 (@Cut4) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cut4/status/1643767059598176257?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Jesus ****. This lineup. Bobby Witt Jr. has a decent game, so time to get Lopez some time. Jackie Bradley Jr playing instead of Olivares is awesome too!

They don't have an off day until next Thursday, guys are going to get days off every now and then.

I bet $100 on the Royals winning over 74 wins.

Doesn't look like thats a possibility atm LMAO.

May need to get a cardboard life sized cut out of Brittany Mahomes in a bikini and peel off pieces/sections off as they win.

They will win a grand total of one game, were they to do that.

I’d be surprised if they got to 75. That’s the top end of what I could see them winning if they “surprise” and are better than expected.

Most likely cluster to me is something between 68-72/94-90.

The pitching coaching was so awful last year, I think they’re picking up 4 wins or so just from better coaching there (IE the improvements like Bubic and Greinke and Keller made over the off-season).

One thing we've learned is the the spring training league is, in no way, an indicator of their ability to compete with MLB teams in the regular season.

It's all good, many of these kids are young and have to learn about the MLB...

We'll all be fine.