He really needs to be more like he was in the second half. If you feel good about BWJ, Salvy and Vinnie, one more guy needs to step up and be more than average-ish. As I wrote in the mailbag, I think MJ is the best bet there given his career success.
Here’s a question though. Do we feel good about Salvy anymore? He’s a legend, so nobody wants to bring it up. But the trend is the wrong way way the last few years. I’m not sure we can really count on Salvy being more than averag-ish anymore. Only time will tell.
I feel good if he’s handled well. He’s been above average since his return from TJ. Yes, with decline but I think about how he was hitting last year before he got hit on the hand and it was like with 2022. I will never not believe that HBP didn’t derail him. And even with that, he was still a 23 home run bat.
Thanks for the on the ground report! The Royals need another beat writer. And glad to hear about your daughter’s experience, but with that undefeated record, you should save her attendance for the really big games.
I’m still angry/bummed that The Athletic decided not to backfill for Alec when he left. A team needs the newspaper beat writer and someone who can work in more of the feature role while also reporting along with the team arm of reporting.
Most interesting observation to me is that you felt like Lynch looked pretty much the same and the Vinny took a good rip and was fine. I don’t make anything of the hitter finding timing, hitting or not hitting yet. But Lynch being in the same velocity and looking pretty much the same is a bit of a bummer for me. He could go out and shove, so who knows….but was looking for some changes. We’ll see.
Thanks for not bringing up Singer is trying a new third pitch!!! I’m done with that narrative. Lol.
I wouldn’t worry about Lynch’s velocity yet, but the fact that he didn’t look any different is sort of the issue for me. And I actually do want to talk about Singer, but it’ll be a little different than just that he’s trying a new pitch or two.
I heard Singer was throwing a sweeper. It was a joke more than anything. You’ve got to bring up what you see. It’s just a little bit of the eye roll. Yeah…singer is throwing his third pitch again…..ok.
The fact that he hasn’t changed now is enough for me to move on. But for his sake I hope the sweeper is his secret weapon and he finds success.
Well, not to get too much into what I’m going to write about, but he’s also throwing a four-seamer apparently. And I think there’s something to hitting bottom that’s fitting with the way this offseason went for the team as a whole.
Good points all, David. I have seen 7 games in 8 days thus far with 5 more planned for this week. Have loved what I've seen from Ragans and Wacha, and even Singer and Lyles weren't bad. Lugo looked great warming up in the pen on Saturday, but obviously had "trouble with the curve." (A nod to a great Clint Eastwood movie there.) We should also note that the winds were uncharacteristically gusting out at 20-25mph. I agree that it seems to be much of the same from Lynch thus far. On the hitting side, Salvy has recovered from a slow start and looked great the last two games. Same with BWJ. His HR yesterday was at the top of the hill in CF (near where I was sitting) and rivaled the tank he hit two years ago under the scoreboard in LF. Garcia and Melendez have both looked good and Pratto is making us think he really doesn't want to go to Omaha. Is it reasonable that he could stick over Velaquez? Of course, he's had decent springs before and fooled us. Not impressed with Massey thus far, nor with Frazier or Hampson. Who will play 2nd? Loftin has looked good at the bat and at 3rd. Could he start at 2nd? I really hope a good spring for the Royals can carry over to the regular season this year!
Agree with all those points. And you’re right that the wind was playing a part on Saturday for sure. I just don’t really worry too much about a guy working on a pitch that already doesn’t have much success in the Phoenix air in March that also requires a lot of timing to get right. Not this early.
On the second base front, it’s easy to be unimpressed but I’d argue it’s too early to be down on anyone. Loftin has looked good and he can definitely play second. I think if Massey doesn’t pick it up, the fact that he has options will play a big role for him and he might start the year in AAA. That said, he started slow last spring and had a great second half of spring so he might just need some more consistency. I think we forget how timing-based baseball is and how playing every other day is the right move early in spring but doesn’t lend itself to players getting going.
And Pratto over Velazquez sure seems possible. Again, way too early to declare one guy is pulling away but Pratto is doing what he needs to do so far.
David - I'd like to know what you think the future holds for Nate Eaton. He seems like a guy who works hard but can't crack the MLB roster with what he has now. Is he going to end up as organizational depth?
Eaton is so interesting. He was solid as a big leaguer in 2022, was part of the long-term plan to start 2023 and then was just horrible. He wasn’t great in AAA either, but he does look good this spring. I think at this moment, he’s org depth but he’s exactly the sort of profile that winning teams have. Great outfield defense, can handle infield, super fast. If he’s 15% below average with the bat, he’s valuable as a bench player. If he’s 5% below average, he’s just valuable.
I’m really rooting for him. I agree with you; if he can improve his batting consistency to .85 or .9 wRC+, he’s a very useful guy to keep around. If he can’t, I’d honestly like the Royals to sit down and talk with him about giving him a look as a relief pitcher. Considering his arm strength and his competitiveness, he might just pull it off. He’s older than a guy like Matt Bush was when he reinvented himself, but when a guy like Eric Longenhagen rates your arm as an 80, it’s worth investigating everything, ya know?
Oh I’m rooting for him too. I just question if he can actually make the transition. I feel like a lot of stock is put into him looking so good in a position player pitching inning, but it’s a really tough transition. May be better for him to hope another team likes his versatility and he shows out with another chance.
Glad to see Melendez off to a good start because him hitting like his rookie season could really lengthen the batting order!!!
He really needs to be more like he was in the second half. If you feel good about BWJ, Salvy and Vinnie, one more guy needs to step up and be more than average-ish. As I wrote in the mailbag, I think MJ is the best bet there given his career success.
Here’s a question though. Do we feel good about Salvy anymore? He’s a legend, so nobody wants to bring it up. But the trend is the wrong way way the last few years. I’m not sure we can really count on Salvy being more than averag-ish anymore. Only time will tell.
I feel good if he’s handled well. He’s been above average since his return from TJ. Yes, with decline but I think about how he was hitting last year before he got hit on the hand and it was like with 2022. I will never not believe that HBP didn’t derail him. And even with that, he was still a 23 home run bat.
Thanks for the on the ground report! The Royals need another beat writer. And glad to hear about your daughter’s experience, but with that undefeated record, you should save her attendance for the really big games.
Or they should pay me to take her to every game.
I’m still angry/bummed that The Athletic decided not to backfill for Alec when he left. A team needs the newspaper beat writer and someone who can work in more of the feature role while also reporting along with the team arm of reporting.
Most interesting observation to me is that you felt like Lynch looked pretty much the same and the Vinny took a good rip and was fine. I don’t make anything of the hitter finding timing, hitting or not hitting yet. But Lynch being in the same velocity and looking pretty much the same is a bit of a bummer for me. He could go out and shove, so who knows….but was looking for some changes. We’ll see.
Thanks for not bringing up Singer is trying a new third pitch!!! I’m done with that narrative. Lol.
I wouldn’t worry about Lynch’s velocity yet, but the fact that he didn’t look any different is sort of the issue for me. And I actually do want to talk about Singer, but it’ll be a little different than just that he’s trying a new pitch or two.
I heard Singer was throwing a sweeper. It was a joke more than anything. You’ve got to bring up what you see. It’s just a little bit of the eye roll. Yeah…singer is throwing his third pitch again…..ok.
The fact that he hasn’t changed now is enough for me to move on. But for his sake I hope the sweeper is his secret weapon and he finds success.
Well, not to get too much into what I’m going to write about, but he’s also throwing a four-seamer apparently. And I think there’s something to hitting bottom that’s fitting with the way this offseason went for the team as a whole.
Good points all, David. I have seen 7 games in 8 days thus far with 5 more planned for this week. Have loved what I've seen from Ragans and Wacha, and even Singer and Lyles weren't bad. Lugo looked great warming up in the pen on Saturday, but obviously had "trouble with the curve." (A nod to a great Clint Eastwood movie there.) We should also note that the winds were uncharacteristically gusting out at 20-25mph. I agree that it seems to be much of the same from Lynch thus far. On the hitting side, Salvy has recovered from a slow start and looked great the last two games. Same with BWJ. His HR yesterday was at the top of the hill in CF (near where I was sitting) and rivaled the tank he hit two years ago under the scoreboard in LF. Garcia and Melendez have both looked good and Pratto is making us think he really doesn't want to go to Omaha. Is it reasonable that he could stick over Velaquez? Of course, he's had decent springs before and fooled us. Not impressed with Massey thus far, nor with Frazier or Hampson. Who will play 2nd? Loftin has looked good at the bat and at 3rd. Could he start at 2nd? I really hope a good spring for the Royals can carry over to the regular season this year!
Agree with all those points. And you’re right that the wind was playing a part on Saturday for sure. I just don’t really worry too much about a guy working on a pitch that already doesn’t have much success in the Phoenix air in March that also requires a lot of timing to get right. Not this early.
On the second base front, it’s easy to be unimpressed but I’d argue it’s too early to be down on anyone. Loftin has looked good and he can definitely play second. I think if Massey doesn’t pick it up, the fact that he has options will play a big role for him and he might start the year in AAA. That said, he started slow last spring and had a great second half of spring so he might just need some more consistency. I think we forget how timing-based baseball is and how playing every other day is the right move early in spring but doesn’t lend itself to players getting going.
And Pratto over Velazquez sure seems possible. Again, way too early to declare one guy is pulling away but Pratto is doing what he needs to do so far.
David - I'd like to know what you think the future holds for Nate Eaton. He seems like a guy who works hard but can't crack the MLB roster with what he has now. Is he going to end up as organizational depth?
Eaton is so interesting. He was solid as a big leaguer in 2022, was part of the long-term plan to start 2023 and then was just horrible. He wasn’t great in AAA either, but he does look good this spring. I think at this moment, he’s org depth but he’s exactly the sort of profile that winning teams have. Great outfield defense, can handle infield, super fast. If he’s 15% below average with the bat, he’s valuable as a bench player. If he’s 5% below average, he’s just valuable.
I’m really rooting for him. I agree with you; if he can improve his batting consistency to .85 or .9 wRC+, he’s a very useful guy to keep around. If he can’t, I’d honestly like the Royals to sit down and talk with him about giving him a look as a relief pitcher. Considering his arm strength and his competitiveness, he might just pull it off. He’s older than a guy like Matt Bush was when he reinvented himself, but when a guy like Eric Longenhagen rates your arm as an 80, it’s worth investigating everything, ya know?
Oh I’m rooting for him too. I just question if he can actually make the transition. I feel like a lot of stock is put into him looking so good in a position player pitching inning, but it’s a really tough transition. May be better for him to hope another team likes his versatility and he shows out with another chance.