So, any time he slumps moving forward, we need to make sure to talk a bunch of shit on him in this thread to kick-start him...

BWillie has it covered for us.

Yeah it's been a tough ride, that is what made the back to back World Series' even more sweet. I remember back in the 2000s nobody even know who the players were. I'm worried the lack of TV coverage at bars is going to create the same apathy that we had back then around town. I was downtown at Street Car Grille, then Antons. Not on TV. They had TVs but OTHER baseball games were on and some info commercial. Then at Sierra Grille over the weekend same thing. Preseason football only, they had no Ballys.

Closest I've seen in my lifetime is Carlos Beltran as far as this tear he's on. He was a beast. I bet Salvy has had one of these windows where he looks like the best player in baseball too, though.

A 23-year-old Royal currently has an OPS over .800

Exciting stuff

No need to downplay it.

He has a WRC+ of 119/116 on bRef and Fangraphs. Which means he's well above-average for the year, even with the slow start still weighing down things.

Every peripheral number that matters (Hard hit rate, groundball rate, strikeout rate, walk rate, etc) has improved over last year, and his traditional numbers have improved, too.

His defense has improved drastically. He's on pace for 5 bWAR/6 fWAR and pacing for 30 HR and 45 SB with GG level defense while being 15-20 percent above average offensively.

And that's IF he stays at his whole year pace. If he stays hot like he has since June 1, the numbers will be even better.

It's 1.25 seasons later than expected/hoped, but this version of Witt is what people were dreaming on. Pretty close to max upside.

I've been saying it, if he stays red hot, then he's going to do something that's never been done in the history of the game.

30 2B, 10 3B, 30 HR, 50 SBs

It's just absurd.

Cool hearing from Brady Singer during the game.

Lyles is pitching BP tonight

I hate Lyles so much.... 3 -13 record, over 6 era
2 yr(s) / $17,000,000 contract

definition of an "innings eater" whatever that means anymore

Bobbydong Grand Slam

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">GRAND SLAM.<br><br>BOBBY WITT JR. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WelcomeToTheCity?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WelcomeToTheCity</a> <a href="https://t.co/YdAg63kFJF">pic.twitter.com/YdAg63kFJF</a></p>&mdash; Kansas City Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1691625296456245585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

A Star is Born

I don't really get it either...if u know hes gonna suck just pluck our a A ball guy who doesn't matter so u can pay him 500k

JJ should have been standing there as he rounded third base with a pen to get Bobby signed before this contract gets too much higher.

Hard to see the Royals paying what he'll be worth. Painful, but would get a huge haul trading him with years of control. It's what poverty franchises have to do.

dude might get close to 100 rbi's at this point

These Royals don't quit. Free baseball tonight.

This team has so much more fight than early in the season. Great comeback, too bad Blanco wasn't paying attention at third.

Send Blanco out of here.

That was one of the dumbest baserunning plays I've ever seen. What is he thinking there?

If Bobby Witt Jr becomes a star...
If Pasquantino becomes a perennial +.800 OPS slugger..
If Garcia develops a tad more power as he ages..
If Massey continues being a legit big leaguer...
If Ragans doesn't get hurt...
If Singer returns to form...
If Pratto or Devin Mann can become a MLB 1B...
If Isbel, Velasquez, and Waters keep progressing to form a good defensive OF...
If Melendez figures out how to defend at all...
If Fermin is for real...

I guess if you squint you can see it.

There’s a reason blanco is like a 40 year old just getting his first real chance. What a dumb mistake.

He is a star.

If I see this short boys commercial one more time I'm gonna shit in John Shermans yard.

Seems to be the case. He's a great teammate and seems to have a hard work ethic.

Ty ****ing France

At least you guys made them use their high leverage RPs, but Blanco should be DFA'd for that baserunning blunder in that spot. No idea why he isn't sliding there.

He's on track but of course now we have the other problem..

There's no way this dude signs any kind of extension now.

Trade him. Sherman is too cheap to extend him and we aren't anywhere near contention in his window.

Uh, to who and for what?

But yea I think if they came to him with an idea for an extension it starts at 300 million and I just can't imagine the Royals doing that.

Surely he thought the throw was going home, but that is definitely no excuse for not watching/sliding. Shame, it would have been amazing and great for the young guys to have 2 straight 9th inning comebacks against a playoffish team

He doesn't even need to be watching the ball (although it should be very much be a possibility in his mind that the throw will go to 3rd there rather than home). Just look at your 3rd base coach who is there telling you to slide.

Looks like they called up John McMillon. Guy throws 100 mph and has dominated the minors this year. Has struck out almost half the batters he's faced. Going to get a look if he can be a bullpen arm or even a closer I'd bet.

Quit coming in this thread and spouting off this asinine shit that's been explained a million times.

It would be pretty ridiculous to do that but it's an odd thing to think about.

Will the Royals pay him what he wants? Can they even get close seeing as he'll be a FA at 27 so you'd have to pay huge money to get him to not want to go to FA...on top of that I doubt there are any teams that have the ability to put together a good enough package...ok maybe Baltimore but it'd literally make no sense for them to do that.

Can probably buy out a year, maybe two, by giving him a much bigger payday in years 3-5 than he otherwise would get.


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1) Blow me.

2) It's not asinine, it's reality. This front office has so thoroughly ****ed up this franchise with terrible draft after terrible draft that there is no ****ing window for a talent like Witt... I mean, we could supplement with free agents but...hahahaha.. I can't even finish that thought.

I'm just saying give it another year, then see where we are, maybe something miraculous will happen... but let's be honest, is there a single solitary chance in hell that Witt is in the starting lineup when the new stadium opens?






3) Blow me.

I mean, the actual reality is this team probably won't have a realistic window for a very long time. Perhaps decades. It's the reality of small market baseball. So there's really no point to trading away what appears to be a blossoming superstar even if it is for a horde of assets that MIGHT be nearly as good.

If nothing happens this off-season and you get to next off-season and he's progressed even more...

You're nearing that 400 million price tag.

And frankly, I've seen enough of Piccolos dealings to feel pretty confident that even if trading Witt Jr is the right move down the line, I'd much rather he not be the one determining the best package back.

JJ really impressed me with his trade deadline acquisitions. The draft pissed me off at the time, but I'm willing to wait and see with what happens in there development. I'm actually kinda excited to see what they do in the offseason and sorta hopeful now. I really believe Dayton was such an overbearing micromanager that just ruined everything and tried shoving old school values and processes down everyone's throats. If next year we lose anywhere close to 100 games and we don't do anything drastic to help bolster the pitching during the off-season, then JJ and Squirmin Sherman can go.

I don’t think they trade Witt this offseason. I think you give it one more go, try to get an extension done that is something like 6/120 or 7/150 (incentive for him is to get the big paydays starting in 2024 instead of having to wait until his second and third trip through arbitration; incentive for KC is to get another year or 2 of Witt’s services).

There HAVE been encouraging signs in the second half. Singer and Ragans have been nice pieces over the second half.

The offense has had a lot of guys perform more in line with what was hoped and expected coming into the year. If Witt is performing at a true star level and Garcia and Waters and Massey are being above-average contributors, there’s a path to a good home-grown offense there. Especially if Pasquantino comes back and is what he has shown he can be.

With some shrewd moves and good signings in free agency, KC could shift into contention mode next year, at least in the weak AL Central.

I wouldn’t expect them to swing at the top of the market, but landing, say, Jordan Montgomery on a nice mid-sized deal, and adding some lefthanded pop via free agency would be smart adds.

I also think Perez and the Marlins will remain good options for each other. They have a surplus of young SP and could really match up well.

So your plan is to get rid of the guy that is probably an MVP candidate next year and let this front office (that isn't responsible for anything but this year) that you think is completely ****ed up decide what the proper value for BWJ?

How is that not asinine?

Angel Hernandez calling the game tonight. Buckle up.

I also think Melendez is going to be a piece. He has so much power. Maybe he only becomes a low average, high power guy but he's only 24 and has so much room to grow.

Then again if we trade for Ty France this team is winning the World Series next year when he hits .735 with 92 HR.

I know the farm system ranking but I really like the group at NW Arkansas right now.

Carry on.

JJ and Sherman have sort of said in interviews lately that we need some veterans. Would be nice to find a couple Benintendi type trades.

Do the Cubs have anymore Cuban outfielders we can trade relief pitchers for?

I would rather my daughter be picked up at middle school by Wander Franco than watch the this team

The Royals seem to always have encouraging signs in the second half which in the past led me to be overly optimistic for the following season. I'm now jaded over 2nd half performances.

Does anyone have opinions on this? Has it been poor execution of any sort of offseason programs? Do they need a sports psychologist to come in for the first two months of the season? Maybe they are tired to start the season from competing for all those cactus league championships? Could this offseason be different with the current coaching staff now having a full year and continuing their new approach? I want to believe...

I'm still shocked to this day that McMillon didn't get drafted in the first 10 rounds after leading Texas Tech to the 2019 College World Series.

He was a shutdown fireballer that gave the Red Raiders length. Obviously, it's the walks that hurt his draft stock, but thought he was too much of an arm talent to get taken in the 11th round by the Tigers. He didn't sign of course.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A person very close to the investigations into the case of Wander Franco: &quot;It will be very unlikely that Wander Franco will play in MLB again, judging by the results of the investigations that are currently being carried out, which directly commit him to the accusations against… <a href="https://t.co/Yn5CGckJgE">https://t.co/Yn5CGckJgE</a></p>&mdash; Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) <a href="https://twitter.com/hgomez27/status/1692043960942751982?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 17, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I know innocent until proven guilty and all that, but this is looking really bad for Wander. Must be digging up some pretty bad shit.

I want to believe to. Personally I think they have 3/5 SP, and need to add one corner Of bat and they could maybe compete for the division. But will ownership invest?

Zerpa is never making the leap.

It's one thing to have a strong September. It's another to show it over several-month sample sizes.

But yeah, it does have the feel of something that might evaporate at the start of next season.

ESPN article came out with a contract projection for Shohei Ohtani.

Their prediction...


12 yr $787.9 mil

That contract would have a 99% chance of being the worst contract in sports history. He will turn 30 in his first year and players can fall off fast after that. There is no way he'd keep up production to the point that the contract would be worth it. Damn near $70 mil a year is ludicrous, especially over 12 seasons and in a sport like baseball in which you can have that very player and pair him with one of the greatest players ever and not make the playoffs.

The only player in professional sports thatd I would give that contract to would be Patrick Mahomes.

He really does warrant a double contract. I'd request TWO contracts if I were him. One for his offense and another as a pitcher. I'd want to be paid based on both merits fairly.

With that said, baseball is a sport where you can really set your franchise back if you pay the wrong guy. It's hard to say any guy is worth 50M a year. No one baseball player can impact the team the same way a QB can in football or any player in basketball.

BWJ is white hot.

barely missed another dong too...78 rib's..

BWJ is unconscious

Didn't even look like he barreled that one up. Damn he is just crushing the ball.

One of those that just kept carrying and carrying. Bellinger looked like he was underneath it but tracked it until he ran out of room.

Mofo is hitting .341 with a 1.035 OPS over his last 30 games with 9 HRs and 30 RBIs. He's playing like a guy that could carry a team.

Ragans with another pretty good outting so far.

6 IP/8 Hits/3 ER/2 BBs/9 Ks

Really exciting stuff from him. Counting today's game he's pitched 28 2/3 innings/2.20 ERA/36 strikeouts/10 walks

A simple change of adding a slider has him looking like a borderline ace of he can get the hits down a tad.

Bobby is on pace for 100+ ribs, 100 runs scored, 32 hrs and 50 sb.....wow

What a throw by Waters!

Perfect throw by Waters and perfect tag by BWJ! Bam bam.

yessir..great win

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Royals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Royals</a> are boring into one of their two preferred stadium sites: Downtown&#39;s East Village and property in North Kansas City. <a href="https://t.co/aab6UhmXDz">https://t.co/aab6UhmXDz</a></p>&mdash; Kansas City Business Journal (@KCBizJournal) <a href="https://twitter.com/KCBizJournal/status/1692627752459849730?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 18, 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">Also in attendance was <a href="https://twitter.com/Bwitt36?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Bwitt36</a>, who pitched in Wrigley Field just once in his 16-year career. The date? Aug. 18, 1998: 25 years ago to the day. Scoreless inning, struck out Sammy Sosa to finish it.<br><br>Baseball. <a href="https://t.co/vnfgpO2Fq0">https://t.co/vnfgpO2Fq0</a></p>&mdash; Ian Kraft (@Krafty_3) <a href="https://twitter.com/Krafty_3/status/1692654894631584172?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 18, 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">Cole Ragans currently leads the entire Major Leagues with 33 strikeouts in the month of August.</p>&mdash; Dave Holtzman (@DHoltzy) <a href="https://twitter.com/DHoltzy/status/1692630177589948890?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 18, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

yeah, Wrigley is special to the Bob

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Over the last 20 games (since July 28), the <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Royals</a> offense ranks among the American League leaders with:<br><br>210 H (1st)<br>345 TB (1st)<br>32 SB (1st)<br>.300 AVG (1st)<br>.492 SLG (1st)<br>.831 OPS (1st)<br>5.75 R/G (T-1st)<br>29 HR (T-2nd)<br>70 XBH (T-2nd)</p>&mdash; Nick Kappel (@NickKappel) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickKappel/status/1692899213183479959?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 19, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

So will ownership invest?

If they trade Perez in the offseason what will our payroll be next year? Would have to be all-time low like 25M lol

Whatever special juice Freddy found, glad he did. What a season he is having.

For the record, I would never trade Salvy, and especially not if you view the window as open next year.

The entire forty man is going to be pre-arb or arb. Outside of Lyles, Perez, and Dozier dead money.

The young core is performing, which should indicate that it's time to invest. If ownership isn't willing to spend next year, then I have a hard time believing that they ever will push their chips in to win. That is going to make the team hard to support.

Not all of us are old.

Thank you.

The only way they trade Salvy is if he wants to be traded, so I'd have absolutely no issue if they did trade him. They'd have to get something back though that makes it worth it and would probably have to eat some of his contract to do that. They should be able to go in on a couple of decent free agent pitchers and make some trades to get some pitching back. If they can do this right they could set next year up to be pretty competitive.

mini comeback going on

Damn, Witt's all the way up to .282 now. Impressive after the pos start he got.