Jac hit a single 121 mph off the bat tonight

Also, really great to take 3 of 4 from the Twinks. I truly dislike them, and they’ve always kinda owned us in the annoying white guy dude who just plows our nether regions. **** em.

And here’s this Jomboy!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uaQRSQG1OhU

:eek: My dear lord! This guy is gonna be a monster.

I don't read through this thread much,

BUT,

someone explain to me why Erceg is no longer the closer.

Modern baseball logic. He's used where his value is maximized: on their best hitters and/or in the highest leverage spots, which is exactly where he should be.

Having your best reliever available for "fireman" situations and your second-best guy as the closer is a pretty similar approach to hitting your best hitter 2nd instead of 3rd or 4th.

Mathematically, it's advantageous.

Estevez's velocity is still down. Hopefully that bounces back. With the timing of his spring, it wouldn't be unusual for his velocity to be down.

Re: Jac Caglianone, I don't think this season could be off to a better start for him.

I would probably give him at least another week in AA before going to AAA. But he is forcing their hand quickly.

With the way the minor leagues have adjusted over the past few years, AA and AAA are not the tests they have been in the past. Caglianone might be advanced enough at this point that AAA won't be the next "real" test, either.

He might be as finished as he can get until he sees MLB-quality pitching on a regular basis.

If Caglianone could learn to play OF at an acceptable level, he would be a boon to the Royals IMO. Adding that bat AND getting rid of either Melendez or Renfroe would be the way.

I think that is wishful thinking at this point. It's a square peg and round hole situation regarding Cags and the OF problem.

Well, that's kind of exactly what it is. For Jac to be promoted and play, he's going to need a position, at least until Salvy hangs them up (I don't want to see this but it will happen eventually). 1B and DH between 3 players, not to mention the occasional "someone else" DHing.

It would be one thing if you had a park with a corner where a guy who doesn’t run super well could be hidden.

But the K is cavernous. It has more OF real estate to cover than any OF except Coors (I forget which is bigger, but they’re 1-2 and by a decent margin).

It would be an incredibly challenging ask to put someone who has pitched and played 1B his whole life in a corner like the K and cover ground.

But maybe he can handle it. IDK. He’s a present 40 run grade guy, and that’s doesn’t scream “I can handle corner OF.”

Can Vinny play outfield?

That's pretty slow alright, for teh K outfield, maybe ANY outfield.

Eric Logenhagen addressed the Jac Caglianone position situation in his Fangraphs prospects chat.

Thanks for the responses sith and Duncan.

You've watched Vinnie run from home to first at least once right?

There we go, Vinnie, Salvy, and Jac in the OF!! ROFL

I'd pay to watch that.

It would be quite the spectacle I'm sure. :D

Jac vs. Vinnie charity race to help fund a downtown park

Salvy patrolling centerfield, for sure!

Would pay to watch that!

Heavens to Murgatroyd! :eek:

This is a bummer. Harvey's injured. Going to need someone to step up in the 6th-7th innings now.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We have made the following roster moves: <a href="https://t.co/Nb43fDPdJ5">pic.twitter.com/Nb43fDPdJ5</a></p>&mdash; Kansas City Royals (@Royals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Royals/status/1910766394284908980?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Dude cannot stay healthy.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I’m no doctor, I just googled out of curiosity. We’ll obviously get more news on Harvey later. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Royals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Royals</a><br><br>Grade 1 Teres Major strain recovery time: 2-3 weeks<br><br>Grade 2 Teres Major strain recovery time: 4-6 weeks<br><br>Grade 3 Teres Major strain recovery time: 4-6 months</p>&mdash; Jack Johnson (@JohnyJ_15) <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnyJ_15/status/1910771618403803333?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Al Bundy will return now

****.

We really did trade for a brokedick.


This completely changes the complexion of our bullpen for a while.

Super great right before the Cleveland series where we likely will be playing in low scoring late bullpen games.

****!

Found the outfield for our Jac/Vinny/Salvy outfield experience lineup
https://tnet.b-cdn.net/stories/25/ba...as-stadium.jpg

Not sure Jac could man the Lil K outfield

Lets please not **** with him

If you hit a home run through the goal posts in right, is it worth three runs? Or do you just get a free suit or something?

Since its a banana ball field probably so!

I'm afraid this might be what it takes. :) They could incorporate this into the new ballpark.

Right between the railroad tracks and Western Auto building
https://media.gettyimages.com/id/217...xQ31l4rIx0O2w=

Damn a big ass crown vision scoreboard, with some fountains under it and the Western Auto sign above would be one hell of view in center field

Estevez was hitting 96-98 in the 9th today closing out the game against Cleveland.

Sam Long goes on the IL and the Royals win.

WEIRD!!!!

#beattheyankees.

#screwjASSchism.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="it" dir="ltr">Oppo bomb for Caglianone. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Royals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Royals</a> <a href="https://t.co/E5vyLXcxLT">pic.twitter.com/E5vyLXcxLT</a></p>&mdash; Jack Johnson (@JohnyJ_15) <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnyJ_15/status/1911524970590576920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 13, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Ragans looking like a Cy Young award winner out there. He's so damn good. Best trade ever

Caglianone is putting on a show.

I’m not sure what more he needs to show at AA at this point.

I’d give him one more week. If it stays like this, move him up to Omaha and see how that goes.

for all the crap we put up and talk about related to Melendez and Renfroe, something that isn't getting much attention is the fact that Kyle Isbel has gone 7/19 over the past seven days :thumb:

Baseball America has the Royals taking a high school pitcher in its latest mock draft.

28. Royals — Briggs McKenzie, LHP, Corinth Holders HS, Wendell, N.C.

McKenzie has impressed throughout the spring with a fastball in the low 90s, a plus curveball with huge spin rates and big depth and an improved changeup with solid command. Some North Carolina scouts liken him to 2019 first-rounder Blake Walston, who the D-backs took with the 26th overall pick.

A HS pitcher won't excite many around these parts.

It's a little different when you're that late in the 1st. I still wouldn't go HS pitcher in that range, but it's less egregious than taking one in the top 10.

Salvy's numbers are atrocious, but could you just be unlucky so far? Kings of Kauffman did a write up of the 3 unluckiest Royals hitters. Number 1 was Salvy, 2 was India, 3 was Bobby.

https://kingsofkauffman.com/the-3-un...s-01jrpk7ntyce

The 3 unluckiest KC Royals batters through the season's first 15 games
These KC Royals bats are better than their numbers show - luck just isn't on their side.
By
Jacob Milham

The Kansas City Royals can’t catch a break on their first true road trip of the season. Between missed plays in the field and an overall underperforming lineup, the Royals are now below .500 once again and languishing in the AL Central race. Royals fans are right to search for answers, and a good place to start is in the batting department.

Thanks to the advent of Statcast, fans have access to more advanced metrics, processes, and probabilities than they once did. Instead of relying on the back of the baseball card numbers, fans can look at exit velocity, chase rate, or bat speed for hope or doubt regarding a batter. One stat that rolls several batted ball metrics together is Weighted On-base Average, otherwise known as wOBA. That metric still relies on outcomes rather than looking at what a player's performance should be based upon their performance. That is where the Expected Weighted On-base Average (xwOBA) comes into play.


Expected Weighted On-base Average, or xwOBA, is a Statcast stat that estimates a player's on-base performance based on the quality of their contact—things like exit velocity, launch angle, and sprint speed on weakly hit balls. Instead of being influenced by defense, luck, or ballpark quirks, xwOBA focuses purely on what the hitter can control. It assigns each batted ball a probability of being a single, double, triple, or home run based on how similar batted balls have performed since 2015.

xwOBA works just like wOBA in how it values walks, hits, and extra-base hits—but instead of using the actual outcomes, it uses expected outcomes. That makes it a better reflection of a player's true talent level—whether you're evaluating a hitter's bat or a pitcher's ability to limit quality contact. So if a player has a much higher xwOBA than their real-world wOBA, like Nick Loftin or Maikel Garcia in 2024, it’s a sign they may be hitting better than their box score suggests.

The KC Royals, as a whole, are unlucky to start the season according to xwOBA.
The Royals' scoring efforts the past week have felt absolutely anemic. While the average runs scored per game per team this year hovers around four runs per game, Kansas City has struggled to match or surpass that. A lack of run support has left many strong pitching starts out to dry, and are a big reason Kansas City is under .500 right now rather than leading the division.

Fans can find some minor solace in knowing baseball is one of those sports that finds a way to balance itself out across the 162-game season. The league right now, as a whole, have been underperforming the expected metrics. MLB's xwOBA, as of Apr. 13, stands at .326, while the wOBA is at .310, a -0.016 difference. Both Kansas City's .269 wOBA and .301 xwOBA rank near the bottom of the league, but the -0.032 difference between the two is the fourth-biggest negative disparity in MLB and second-largest in the AL.

Even if Kansas City were hitting their expected mark, the lineup would be better but still below league average. It doesn't help that the most unlucky hitters in Kansas City's lineup reside in the top third.
Salvador Perez: -0.117 xwOBA difference
It looked like Kansas City's captain defied Father Time in 2024, but the initial slash line resembles his dreadful 2023 performance more than last season. His .211/.262/.298 line and .254 wOBA would all be career-worst marks if the season ended today, marred with a significant decline in power at the plate.

If there is any silver lining in all this, the veteran catcher should be performing much better. His .371 xwOBA is his best mark since his historic 2021 season and tied for the second-highest in his career. That massive negative difference not only leads the Royals by a wide margin but is the third-largest in all of baseball. Only Chicago White Sox's Andrew Vaughn's -0.167 difference leads Salvy in the AL field.

Jonathan India: -0.050 xwOBA difference
The new Royals leadoff man had a hot start in Kansas City but has cooled off much like his peers in the dugout. India has reached safely in 21 of his 63 plate appearances so far, still giving Kansas City an on-base boost at the top of the lineup. However, he could have done much better at setting the table if he had met his expected stats. His .336 xwOBA still leaves much room for improvement, but is leaps and bounds better than his current .286 wOBA.

Bobby Witt Jr.: -0.048 xwOBA difference
While Kansas City has notably struggled at the plate, shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. has turned things around in recent games. Whether it be drawing multiple walks against the Guardians or his AL-leading six doubles on the young season, Witt is still living up to his lofty preseason expectations. The scary thing is his .423 xwOBA shows he could be doing even better than his 2024 performance. The shortstop's speed certainly helps his expected numbers, but a 4.3% jump in walk rate from 2024 to 2025 is really helping his ceiling this season."

Winners make their own luck.

That’s a bold statement around here. The Royals would’ve been 140-22 last year if it wasn’t for “bad luck” if you believed GDTs.

Seems like Jac Caglianone has went into a nosedive as well. He's 0-4, he's up to bat right now, but he's under a .700 OPS and has a .208 batting average. Strikeout number 2 for the night and is now at a .681 OPS and .204 BA.

****ing basically everyone there at Northwest Arkansas has fallen off the cliff. Jenson has a .520 OPS, Cross has a .653 OPS, and Nivens has a .681 OPS.

That team looked like a hotspot for bats and now they look like the rest of our shitty farm system.

Nick Loftin seems to be knocking the ball around in AAA. No real reason to keep him down there. Bring him up for a shot.

The future looks pretty god damn bleak at the moment, especially when the big league club looks completely ****ing lost. I'm sure things won't continue to look this bad.

Maybe it's our scouts who suck? Maybe it's ownership who won't spend the cash for a Yankees level lineup?

Oh well, at least we'll still have bark at the park... Dogs don't care about wins or losses.

I'm sorry but a B? What de hell.

They are 2nd to last in the MLB in OPS. Last is the White Sox and do they really even count?

D+, so far.

It would be one thing if Bobby wasn't hitting. He's the sure thing. Everyone else outside of maybe Garcia is SIGNIFICANTLY underperforming.

They very well may turn it around but after this snap shot of games it is on no way shape or form been a B.

I gave em a “B” when they were 7-6 dipshit, you know, when I wrote this over a week ago.

In other news…

They finally did it. Royals have optioned MJ to Omaha to make room on the roster for Canha.

Well, it's about time. Actually, way past time. Hopefully he can get that awful batting results figured out.

Canha back Melendez down. Hope he figures it out. This has to be his last chance.


https://x.com/goldbergkc/status/1913...3pbeMC25w&s=19

I'm not sure it's a "figure it out" thing as much as he's just isn't a baseball player with the skills needed to play in the MLB.

I think they lead the league in infield pop outs

MJ had the whole offseason to figure it out.

He had all that work, the new swing, etc.


He’s just not a major league ball player.

It’s time for the Royals to acknowledge that and move on. Let someone else get his opportunities instead.

Agreed. If he ever does somewhat figure it out, he’s never going to be a consistent hitter. He is what he is. Doesnt make contact enough.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Going back to last season and including the playoffs, the Royals have scored 4 runs or fewer in 35 of their last 39 games. <a href="https://t.co/GsdlC0rErk">https://t.co/GsdlC0rErk</a></p>&mdash; Kurtis Seaboldt 🎤🇺🇦 (@KSeaboldt) <a href="https://twitter.com/KSeaboldt/status/1913675833761476892?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">For the 19th time in the last 22 years, the Royals have lost 6 in a row in the first 60 games of the season. (And in 16 of the 19 years it happened by Game 35.)<br><br>The only three seasons it did *not* happen (2014, 2015, 2024) are the only three seasons they made the playoffs.</p>&mdash; Rany Jazayerli (@jazayerli) <a href="https://twitter.com/jazayerli/status/1913687555880661326?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I guess Vinnie Pasquantino is the next Clint Robinson.

Bob’ “The Hammer” Hamelin

Build us a new stadium!
*wet fart*

Right now "1 Royals Way" is back in, "Offer the masses something that'll get 7k-8k butts in seats this season, the team competing isn't currently an option. Threaten to move the team!!! How about "Chicks with dicks day at the K?" Something, anything.. Give Hud better bong juice, we need sunshine during this hurricane of suck!!! I know, tell them it's a rebuilding year. Yeah, that's it, we're rebuilding. And last, if all else fails, use the "small market team" excuse..."

We are 9th in ERA and tied for 28th in runs scored. I can’t find our starting pitching ERA, but it has to be even better as our bullpen is 15th in team ERA.

Some good news: Cags broke out of his slump tonight

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">GRAND IN THE 1⃣2⃣th!<a href="https://twitter.com/jac_caglianone?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jac_caglianone</a> blasts a grand slam in the 12th inning to make it a 6-0 game! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoNats?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoNats</a> <a href="https://t.co/eHaQW02WA1">pic.twitter.com/eHaQW02WA1</a></p>&mdash; Northwest Arkansas Naturals (@nwanaturals) <a href="https://twitter.com/nwanaturals/status/1913798252706529386?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

These players are piece of garbage!!!

Gavin Cross went 0-6 with 3Ks today.

https://media1.tenor.com/m/EqB89LYb_...e-you-know.gif

23 strikeouts in in 56 ABs is like really ****ing bad. Dude has a .286 SLG. Man Dayton had some all time stinkers for draft picks.

Asa Lacy, Pratto, mozzicato,

Whatever happened to those guys??

We all knew deep in our plums that this slide meant the death of that dream

Shermy's wife say so!!

*****Official 2025 Royals Season Repository Thread*****
 

But he’s a man of faith!

I think we can bury our hopes his struggles were just the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever thing.

Dude just sucks.

Going Asa Lacy/Mozzicato/Gavin across back-to-back-to-back is rough. Even land one of those and it helps this team a lot.

This, while having a more than adequate Pitching Staff and Bobby Witt in his prime. Being a fan of this Franchise is akin to waking up every morning and voluntarily slamming your dick in the car door. Good times.

To think, the Chiefs tied themselves to this shitshow on a vote for new stadiums...

Hey Johnson County, let's hope y'all have the magic to make them winners.

Clay County and NKC are starting to think the old bowling alley area would make a fantastic high rise parking garage for Chicken n Pickle.

That is such an apt analogy....it appears that the Royals are falling back into mediocrity this year.

People will be pretty much focused on the Chiefs earlier than last year.

There is a LOT of season left, and Pasquantino and Perez haven't produced even at a low-end level for the two of them.

You can hope those two pick it up a little bit.

This is also probably the toughest road trip of the season, 10 straight games against what are probably the 3 best teams in the American League.

It's not OVER-OVER. But they need to turn it quickly around. I might try adjusting the lineup a little bit. Maybe put Pasquantino in the 2 slot and Witt at 3, and see if you can make Witt's plate appearances a little meatier.

I'd also kick the tires on someone like Luis Rengifo again, and see if you can buy a little low on him.

I get there is a lot of the season left...but this team just doesn't show a sign of life.

I could see Witt and Pasquatino picking up at some point but the rest of the lineup seems lost.

I will still watch until they play themselves out of contention...but after that i will watch from afar and focus on the Chiefs.

You know those guys who skate around at Sonic and bring you your food?

I prefer the dick in a door jam analogy, but car door works too.