You wrote that you like the path KC is on offensively, despite their lack of offense this season. Can you elaborate on that? Because at this point, I'm not seeing anyone that opponents fear at the plate. Outside of maybe Witt, Jr. or Perez (if he's healthy), I'm just not seeing a consistent .300/30 HR/100 RBI guy in the lineup.
Yes, every young player but Witt has an approach at the plate that breeds success. I'm not sure how you can watch the way MJ Melendez approaches and at bat or Vinnie Pasquantino and not think they can be successful big league hitters, especially without the shift moving forward. You keep saying .300/30/100 and I know they're just round numbers, but there have been 22 players in all of baseball who have done that since 2015. And there are two more tracking this year.
I'd be interested in an article with your assessment on where Lynch, Bubic and Heasley go from here and whether or not they should be a part of the Royals' plans going forward. Realize it's difficult to separate the coaching failures from the equation, but assuming we FINALLY make a change there in the offseason, what should happen with these guys? They all seem to have the necessary talent, but they just can't consistently perform at the major league level.
That's something I've got planned for after the season. Those are just easier to take some time on and during the season, the numbers change every fifth day and all that. You know how it goes.
The unsolvable riddle that is Sonny Gray continues. It doesn't matter what year, and it doesn't matter what uniform he's wearing, and it doesn't matter how good or bad of a season he's having otherwise. The Royals just can't touch him. His ERA against them this year is now 0.47, I think.
At least he's in the low-3s against everybody else, too, unlike Joe Ryan, whose ERA against KC is 1.13 and 4.44 against everybody else.
Yeah, Gray is a legitimately good starting pitcher. And Ryan has had his moments as well. It's not like it was one of the random no-name guys we're used to handling the Royals at least, but still frustrating as hell to watch.
Imagine this, Bobby having MJ's plate discipline and walking, MJ not taking so many called 3rd strikes. Vinnie, Pratto, Salsa, MJ will most definitely benefit from the shift rule. With the bags 3 inches larger, how many base hits would Bobby have beat out? How about caught stealing? I think Massey is going to be a quality second baseman. Waters has potential to be an everyday outfielder. Pitching is another story.
Besides Lynch and Heasley, not sure about starters. Barlow and Hernandez in the bullpen could be formidable. I, for one, am high on Cuas. He has done a respectable job and could get better. You previously wrote about having a plethora of infield and outfield talent. Maybe it is time to package up a couple of the kids and trade for, at least, middle of the rotation starter. Maybe the staff can change with a change of coaching. But this is getting difficult to watch.
Honestly, some of the called third strikes come with patience. Since his debut, Melendez has taken 28 called third strikes. That's tied with Juan Soto and some others for 25th in baseball. Some players above him are Kyle Schwarber, Jose Altuve and Aaron Judge. The called third strikes can be frustrating, but generally are a sign that a batter is selective, which is a good thing. Keep in mind with the bigger bases that it won't do anything regarding the distance from home to first (I don't think), so the infield hits would stay the same, but he'll definitely steal more bases next year and it'll be fun to watch.
The pitching is a disaster. Bubic and Lynch are both savvy, so I'm not willing to write them off, especially if the coaching changes. To me, it's interesting. If you're out there saying these guys all stink, then how do you justify moving on from Cal? I know it's not necessarily an either/or proposition but if they're just bad, it's a lot harder to say the coaching is the problem. I don't think I worry too much about the bullpen because those can be fixed easily. Clarke will be back next year and he was mostly very good. Staumont has a history of being good before this season. Hernandez has looked good. I still think Keller could settle in as a solid reliever. They can sign a guy or two. Lots of possibilities there. I just worry about who starts games. They need to get at least two starters, in my opinion. Singer is there and I feel like two of the young arms can figure it out enough, but there's plenty of work to do.
Bobby does swing too much, but he's not atrocious at swinging at balls out of the zone... and he's 22 so I think he can definitely fix that. Even tho there is nothing to play for, it still a really important time for the Royals young players, who all have had some degree of success, but outside of Witt and Vinnie and MJ, not enough to show definitively that they belong in MLB. Sure hope they catch fire over whats left of the season. Confidence is big for young players going into next season.
It will be telling how committed Sherman is to winning this offseason because its going to take adding a couple of quality starters along with extending some of the young guys to put together a team that can compete for a number of seasons. Service time has started on all of these guys, results are encouraging but mixed with the hitters, and there is not a lot left in the farm system.
I'd probably include Massey in the list of young hitters who have shown me enough. And Pratto needs to make adjustments for sure, but we've seen him do that in the past, so I wouldn't say he can't do it. But if you have Witt, Vinnie, MJ and Massey to go with Salvador Perez, that's a good start. I also think Waters has shown a lot, but he's still very incomplete. I think there's a big-time start there on the offensive side.
But you're right. They need more pitching. And they have plenty of money to spend.
1. Why would the Royals want to resign Greinke, to me he is the pitching version of Dozier and it appears that his "influence with the young staff" is not working.
2. If we believe that the failure of the Royals pitching falls on Cal Eldred( I do) , it would be foolish to give up/make decisions on any of the young pitchers before we can get a real pitching coach and possibly a new pitching coordinator and who knows maybe a new manager and front office staff
You’re saying that Zack Greinke, with 118.2 innings and a 4.10 ERA/4.23 FIP (99 ERA+ so 1% below average) on a staff full of guys well over 5.00 in both is the pitching version of the guy who is 13% below average with a wRC+ of 87 and rates as a brutal defender everywhere he goes? Okay then.
And I agree on the pitching. Nothing, in my opinion, should be decided until we know who is coaching these guys beyond this season. Eldred isn’t solely to blame, but he’s also not good at his job. They need a full overhaul majors and minors. The minors started with Simontacchi and I believe there’ll be more. The majors needs to happen on October 6.
Yes- I am - is either one of them helping the Royals win? Greinke has good numbers but in the end he is not making a difference on this team nor is Dozier or O"Hern and they all should go. On a different team all three might be valuable in some way or the other. Maybe if Greinke was the #5 starter for the Royals you would keep him but other than Singer the rest of the staff can only be counted on to go 4 or 5 innings. The Royals need more length from their starters. It is not Greinke's fault he is the second best pitcher on a team that cannot take advantage of what he brings to the mound
If that’s your way of measuring, which is certainly your prerogative, then nobody is doing anything to help the team win but Singer and none of them make a difference. You said it yourself, it’s not Greinke’s fault he’s not a four or five starter like he should be.
You wrote that you like the path KC is on offensively, despite their lack of offense this season. Can you elaborate on that? Because at this point, I'm not seeing anyone that opponents fear at the plate. Outside of maybe Witt, Jr. or Perez (if he's healthy), I'm just not seeing a consistent .300/30 HR/100 RBI guy in the lineup.
Yes, every young player but Witt has an approach at the plate that breeds success. I'm not sure how you can watch the way MJ Melendez approaches and at bat or Vinnie Pasquantino and not think they can be successful big league hitters, especially without the shift moving forward. You keep saying .300/30/100 and I know they're just round numbers, but there have been 22 players in all of baseball who have done that since 2015. And there are two more tracking this year.
I'd be interested in an article with your assessment on where Lynch, Bubic and Heasley go from here and whether or not they should be a part of the Royals' plans going forward. Realize it's difficult to separate the coaching failures from the equation, but assuming we FINALLY make a change there in the offseason, what should happen with these guys? They all seem to have the necessary talent, but they just can't consistently perform at the major league level.
That's something I've got planned for after the season. Those are just easier to take some time on and during the season, the numbers change every fifth day and all that. You know how it goes.
The unsolvable riddle that is Sonny Gray continues. It doesn't matter what year, and it doesn't matter what uniform he's wearing, and it doesn't matter how good or bad of a season he's having otherwise. The Royals just can't touch him. His ERA against them this year is now 0.47, I think.
At least he's in the low-3s against everybody else, too, unlike Joe Ryan, whose ERA against KC is 1.13 and 4.44 against everybody else.
Yeah, Gray is a legitimately good starting pitcher. And Ryan has had his moments as well. It's not like it was one of the random no-name guys we're used to handling the Royals at least, but still frustrating as hell to watch.
Imagine this, Bobby having MJ's plate discipline and walking, MJ not taking so many called 3rd strikes. Vinnie, Pratto, Salsa, MJ will most definitely benefit from the shift rule. With the bags 3 inches larger, how many base hits would Bobby have beat out? How about caught stealing? I think Massey is going to be a quality second baseman. Waters has potential to be an everyday outfielder. Pitching is another story.
Besides Lynch and Heasley, not sure about starters. Barlow and Hernandez in the bullpen could be formidable. I, for one, am high on Cuas. He has done a respectable job and could get better. You previously wrote about having a plethora of infield and outfield talent. Maybe it is time to package up a couple of the kids and trade for, at least, middle of the rotation starter. Maybe the staff can change with a change of coaching. But this is getting difficult to watch.
Where is Steve Busby!
Honestly, some of the called third strikes come with patience. Since his debut, Melendez has taken 28 called third strikes. That's tied with Juan Soto and some others for 25th in baseball. Some players above him are Kyle Schwarber, Jose Altuve and Aaron Judge. The called third strikes can be frustrating, but generally are a sign that a batter is selective, which is a good thing. Keep in mind with the bigger bases that it won't do anything regarding the distance from home to first (I don't think), so the infield hits would stay the same, but he'll definitely steal more bases next year and it'll be fun to watch.
The pitching is a disaster. Bubic and Lynch are both savvy, so I'm not willing to write them off, especially if the coaching changes. To me, it's interesting. If you're out there saying these guys all stink, then how do you justify moving on from Cal? I know it's not necessarily an either/or proposition but if they're just bad, it's a lot harder to say the coaching is the problem. I don't think I worry too much about the bullpen because those can be fixed easily. Clarke will be back next year and he was mostly very good. Staumont has a history of being good before this season. Hernandez has looked good. I still think Keller could settle in as a solid reliever. They can sign a guy or two. Lots of possibilities there. I just worry about who starts games. They need to get at least two starters, in my opinion. Singer is there and I feel like two of the young arms can figure it out enough, but there's plenty of work to do.
Bobby does swing too much, but he's not atrocious at swinging at balls out of the zone... and he's 22 so I think he can definitely fix that. Even tho there is nothing to play for, it still a really important time for the Royals young players, who all have had some degree of success, but outside of Witt and Vinnie and MJ, not enough to show definitively that they belong in MLB. Sure hope they catch fire over whats left of the season. Confidence is big for young players going into next season.
It will be telling how committed Sherman is to winning this offseason because its going to take adding a couple of quality starters along with extending some of the young guys to put together a team that can compete for a number of seasons. Service time has started on all of these guys, results are encouraging but mixed with the hitters, and there is not a lot left in the farm system.
I'd probably include Massey in the list of young hitters who have shown me enough. And Pratto needs to make adjustments for sure, but we've seen him do that in the past, so I wouldn't say he can't do it. But if you have Witt, Vinnie, MJ and Massey to go with Salvador Perez, that's a good start. I also think Waters has shown a lot, but he's still very incomplete. I think there's a big-time start there on the offensive side.
But you're right. They need more pitching. And they have plenty of money to spend.
Regarding the pitching.....
1. Why would the Royals want to resign Greinke, to me he is the pitching version of Dozier and it appears that his "influence with the young staff" is not working.
2. If we believe that the failure of the Royals pitching falls on Cal Eldred( I do) , it would be foolish to give up/make decisions on any of the young pitchers before we can get a real pitching coach and possibly a new pitching coordinator and who knows maybe a new manager and front office staff
You’re saying that Zack Greinke, with 118.2 innings and a 4.10 ERA/4.23 FIP (99 ERA+ so 1% below average) on a staff full of guys well over 5.00 in both is the pitching version of the guy who is 13% below average with a wRC+ of 87 and rates as a brutal defender everywhere he goes? Okay then.
And I agree on the pitching. Nothing, in my opinion, should be decided until we know who is coaching these guys beyond this season. Eldred isn’t solely to blame, but he’s also not good at his job. They need a full overhaul majors and minors. The minors started with Simontacchi and I believe there’ll be more. The majors needs to happen on October 6.
Yes- I am - is either one of them helping the Royals win? Greinke has good numbers but in the end he is not making a difference on this team nor is Dozier or O"Hern and they all should go. On a different team all three might be valuable in some way or the other. Maybe if Greinke was the #5 starter for the Royals you would keep him but other than Singer the rest of the staff can only be counted on to go 4 or 5 innings. The Royals need more length from their starters. It is not Greinke's fault he is the second best pitcher on a team that cannot take advantage of what he brings to the mound
If that’s your way of measuring, which is certainly your prerogative, then nobody is doing anything to help the team win but Singer and none of them make a difference. You said it yourself, it’s not Greinke’s fault he’s not a four or five starter like he should be.
Thanks