Thanks for the work David. Lynch looked great last night. Maybe you can’t make this decision based on 15 games but the picture….might becoming a little more clearer???/ Lynch is the one that has the best chance of turning into the top of the rotation arm….Singer has the stuff for the back end of the bullpen. Bubic and Hernandez are the lottery tickets. If that’s what you get….than the 18 class is a win. Just roll with it in my opinion now. I know Singer is more valuable as a starter….but this is his third year and he’s kinda made his own bed without developing that third pitch. Just roll with it and lets see if Hernandez (the stuff is so tantalizing) or Bubic can give you some back end of the rotation innings.
Mondesi……I’m pretty sure the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over with the same results. Lol. It is what it is guys (Royals). You said the right thing about being a part time player. Why was it not done? It wouldn’t have mattered anyway…..It’s ok if he moves on and figures it out and is suddenly healthy. That doesn’t necessarily mean the Royals did anything wrong. It happens. Honestly, he’d be a really good part time player/pinch runner. I know the royals want him to be so much more. But they blew that with his development a long time ago.
Good point on the picture starting to become clearer. It's only three starts, of course, but they're encouraging for Lynch. Of the five guys they picked first in 2018, you want five starters obviously, but if you can get one very good one, one solid one and one reliever, that's probably pretty darn good. If Lynch can be the very good one and Singer is the reliever, like you say, they just need that solid one. Is it Bubic at some point? Or Hernandez? Or Jonathan Bowlan when he comes back? I don't want to entirely count out Jackson Kowar, though it's hard not to at this point. I want to see more from Lynch, obviously, but I love what he's done so far this year.
And Mondesi, I mean yeah, I don't know if it would change anything if he sat, but I don't know that it wouldn't have. I think the organization deserves a lot of blame for his entire career given how he progressed through the system, but you can't change the past. It's a bit like the Santana situation now. You're this invested. See if you can coax a couple good months out of him and get something back in a trade. I don't see it happening, either on the couple good months front or on them actually trading him if it happens, but that's my thought.
I am sure you know my thoughts on MAT by now, but has he became a power hitting slugger now. It really irritated me last night when he was swinging on 3 - 0 counts not once but twice last night.. There is a reason he bats eighth or ninth almost always. Merrifield is starting to become concerning, he is striking out a lot lately. Thanks as always David.
I don't understand Taylor swinging 3-0 at all. He's actually walking a lot this year, which is odd. It's just silly baseball. Matheny has mentioned a couple times that hitters are bunting on their own. I'm not a Matheny basher, but if you're giving your hitters freedom to do whatever and what they're doing is detrimental, you have to pull back that freedom.
As for Merrifield, he's been concerning to me for awhile. The stuff about fastballs from yesterday is a very big problem. If he doesn't turn it around on that front, he's not even a semi-regular player. He's a legit backup if he can't hit the fastball.
That's a good question. Rivera is hitting well in AAA, but would require Bobby Witt Jr. to move to shortstop, which they seem hesitant to do for some reason. I think it's more likely that we see Whit move back to second, Lopez to shortstop and we see an Isbel/Olivares platoon in right. But I'm very curious of that as well.
The contestant for the Sonic Slam inning is probably in an insane asylum after that 6th inning. My goodness what was it like 3 grand slam opportunities? And after each one you didn't expect another one would present itself. Other than that, thanks for the awesome article!
I wonder if the Royals are quietly trying to install the Zumwalt/Saylor hitting philosophy with the big-league club, and that's led to some growing pains with the offense. Isn't that why Keoni DeRenne is on the bench right now?
I think given the short spring that makes some sense. But also if that's the plan, why not just move on from Bradshaw from the start if you're not pushing whatever it is he's pushed since he's been in the big leagues?
Thanks for the work David. Lynch looked great last night. Maybe you can’t make this decision based on 15 games but the picture….might becoming a little more clearer???/ Lynch is the one that has the best chance of turning into the top of the rotation arm….Singer has the stuff for the back end of the bullpen. Bubic and Hernandez are the lottery tickets. If that’s what you get….than the 18 class is a win. Just roll with it in my opinion now. I know Singer is more valuable as a starter….but this is his third year and he’s kinda made his own bed without developing that third pitch. Just roll with it and lets see if Hernandez (the stuff is so tantalizing) or Bubic can give you some back end of the rotation innings.
Mondesi……I’m pretty sure the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over with the same results. Lol. It is what it is guys (Royals). You said the right thing about being a part time player. Why was it not done? It wouldn’t have mattered anyway…..It’s ok if he moves on and figures it out and is suddenly healthy. That doesn’t necessarily mean the Royals did anything wrong. It happens. Honestly, he’d be a really good part time player/pinch runner. I know the royals want him to be so much more. But they blew that with his development a long time ago.
Good point on the picture starting to become clearer. It's only three starts, of course, but they're encouraging for Lynch. Of the five guys they picked first in 2018, you want five starters obviously, but if you can get one very good one, one solid one and one reliever, that's probably pretty darn good. If Lynch can be the very good one and Singer is the reliever, like you say, they just need that solid one. Is it Bubic at some point? Or Hernandez? Or Jonathan Bowlan when he comes back? I don't want to entirely count out Jackson Kowar, though it's hard not to at this point. I want to see more from Lynch, obviously, but I love what he's done so far this year.
And Mondesi, I mean yeah, I don't know if it would change anything if he sat, but I don't know that it wouldn't have. I think the organization deserves a lot of blame for his entire career given how he progressed through the system, but you can't change the past. It's a bit like the Santana situation now. You're this invested. See if you can coax a couple good months out of him and get something back in a trade. I don't see it happening, either on the couple good months front or on them actually trading him if it happens, but that's my thought.
I am sure you know my thoughts on MAT by now, but has he became a power hitting slugger now. It really irritated me last night when he was swinging on 3 - 0 counts not once but twice last night.. There is a reason he bats eighth or ninth almost always. Merrifield is starting to become concerning, he is striking out a lot lately. Thanks as always David.
I don't understand Taylor swinging 3-0 at all. He's actually walking a lot this year, which is odd. It's just silly baseball. Matheny has mentioned a couple times that hitters are bunting on their own. I'm not a Matheny basher, but if you're giving your hitters freedom to do whatever and what they're doing is detrimental, you have to pull back that freedom.
As for Merrifield, he's been concerning to me for awhile. The stuff about fastballs from yesterday is a very big problem. If he doesn't turn it around on that front, he's not even a semi-regular player. He's a legit backup if he can't hit the fastball.
If Mondesi ends up going to the IR, who gets more playing time in his absence? Rivera? Isbel? Olivares?
That's a good question. Rivera is hitting well in AAA, but would require Bobby Witt Jr. to move to shortstop, which they seem hesitant to do for some reason. I think it's more likely that we see Whit move back to second, Lopez to shortstop and we see an Isbel/Olivares platoon in right. But I'm very curious of that as well.
The contestant for the Sonic Slam inning is probably in an insane asylum after that 6th inning. My goodness what was it like 3 grand slam opportunities? And after each one you didn't expect another one would present itself. Other than that, thanks for the awesome article!
Man, that has to be a record for most different bases loaded chances in the sixth inning.
I wonder if the Royals are quietly trying to install the Zumwalt/Saylor hitting philosophy with the big-league club, and that's led to some growing pains with the offense. Isn't that why Keoni DeRenne is on the bench right now?
I think given the short spring that makes some sense. But also if that's the plan, why not just move on from Bradshaw from the start if you're not pushing whatever it is he's pushed since he's been in the big leagues?