As you probably know by now, I think Isbel can be a solid player for the Royals. What do you make of them sitting him all weekend. Do you think they have made a decision on him? I was in Springdale over the weekend, Cayden Wallace can flat out hit the baseball. I was excited to see Champlain pitch, but he had a really bad game.He gave up 5 runs and didn't get out of the 2nd inning. I enjoyed the Ballpark experience down there. Thanks for what you do.
I was wondering what happened with him and assumed something was wrong when he sat on Saturday and Monday. Turns out it's a hamstring issue, so that's why he came out on Friday and then hasn't played since, so nothing to worry about there.
I wonder a little if Champlain is wearing down. He's way over his innings from last year, which was 30 more than his last year in college in 2021. I wouldn't be too upset if they just shut him down. But I've consistently gotten good reports on Wallace, so nice that another set of eyes agrees.
Between Wallace and Loftin, there's definitely some pressure on Massey to hit next year. Wallace has been pretty good defensively too and Garcia could easily shift to 2B. As good as he is at 3B.... he'd be fine anywhere on the IF. If I'm the Royals, I'm going into the season thinking I'm splitting 2B between Loftin and Massey and monitoring Wallace in the minors. If he continues to hit, it's a good problem to have. I'm penciling in Velasquez as a starter in LF or RF.
I think Garcia would be good at second, but I also don't think it's a foregone conclusion. He's played there some, but moving to the other side of the infield has been a problem in the past for some guys. Again, I don't think he's that guy with how smooth he is, but it's not a guarantee.
Any surprise they sent down Taylor? I know he hasn’t been playing a lot but I see more of a future for him here than Olivares. Possible they don’t see it that way yet?
There's an argument to be made that sending him down shows they see a future. I don't know if that's true, but I'd bet they want him playing regularly. He has 28 plate appearances since July 28. He hasn't been impressive, but also he needs to get more at bats than he's gotten or is going to get at the big league level with Loftin up.
Your second bullet near the end is a key for me... JJ and the gang have made some nice moves mining the minor leagues of other teams in trading spare parts for promise. Now, if they can continue to do that *and* sign some free agents with the same mindset, the future will definitely look brighter.
The evaluation of other organizations has me somewhat optimistic because, yeah, there are guys out there who are on the outside looking in from other organizations for various reasons. The Rays are a great example. They're so deep that guys who simply can't get protected for the Rule 5 are available every year. If they can do the proper evaluation there like they have with Ragans and Velazquez, maybe they can pick off a nice player or two in a deal to start the offseason.
Most definitely. Rule V player success stories used to be the outlier (in their case, Soria) but the last few years, it's been a legit way to supplement the roster. Unfortunately, KC is already in a precarious position in who to protect, but careful selection could benefit and leave space for a pitcher or two from other orgs.
I'm not even talking about taking them in the draft but trading for them before and adding them to the 40-man so they don't have to be on the roster all year. But yes, they should be looking for talent anywhere they can.
Ragans looks like a #1 starter to me for 2024! Singer’s whole season, in my opinion, was screwed up by sitting on the bench for team USA in the World Baseball Classic. The Royals need to find 3 more starters and rebuild their bullpen. The young core is there for the everyday players headed by Bobby Witt, Jr. who is rapidly turning into a 5-tool player. Garcia has been a great find and finally has stabilized the 3rd base defense! They have speed to burn in the outfield which is an absolute necessity for the big field at the K. Getting a healthy Vinny back for 1B or DH will be great for 2024. Fermin has been great to further Salvy’s career by taking over 50% of the catching load! Looking forward to a much better 2024 but the Royals have to get some more starting pitchers behind the top two!!!
I'll be curious to see how Singer fares with a normal spring next year, but I also think that any WBC issues should be worked out by now. I definitely do think they've got a nice core in the lineup but do need plenty of help with their pitching.
Cole Ragans Day should be a citywide holiday. With his velocity and his ability to throw 5(!) pitches effectively, the key question about Ragans is whether he can stay healthy. I would love to read a deep dive into the success rate of guys with 2 TJ surgeries. Do we have any reason to hope he will be able to do this for 2, 3, or more years?
How many ABs do we need to declare that Velazquez is the real deal? Is he doing something differently now that explains why he's a better hitter in the majors than he ever was in the minors?
I want to reiterate that his two TJs are different than most. He had them back to back rather than once and then pitched for a few years and had another one. I don't know how much of a difference that makes, but it is different.
On the Velazquez front, I'm not sure how different what he's doing really is than what he did in the minors. He hit .241/.332/.527 in 2022 in the minors and .253/.333/.469 this year. He's at .240/.298/.604 in the majors this year. So the slug is up a good chunk, but it's also a small sample. I'm not convinced he's a guy you want getting 650 plate appearances because there's a lot of swing and miss, but I'm also not sure he won't turn into that.
Saw him take a fastball on the edge for a called strike 3 like junior was doing early in the season. My biggest pet peeve is watching a called third strike. Junior cuts down his swing and tries to put the ball in play and is now hitting 50 points higher. V needs to do the same thing!!!
You have to keep in mind the pitcher is paid to get the hitter out too. The pitch he took on Sunday had 17 inches of horizontal break to come back to paint the corner. It was also the only sinker he saw in that at bat, so after four sliders, the sinker moved in a way a pitch hadn't from Llovera. It was a great sequence by him.
Right, one article I found said it was the first time the Rangers had ever had a graft fail during rehab. JJ has said they're encouraged by the fact that he's "pretty far removed" from the surgery, but I'm not sure that's a truly accurate or just hopeful thinking.
I just found 1 article (linked below) that addresses the question of second TJ success rate, in the context of Ohtani's situation. 1 doc quoted there says the success rate is approaching 70%, which is definitely encouraging. Let's hope they got it right for Ragans.
What I just don't know is how a failed graft followed by an immediate second surgery is viewed. Is it viewed as if he's had two in terms of success or is it viewed as another tear would be a third?
I didn't know about the 2 TJ's being back to back. So the failure of the 1st was basically because of a bum spare part, kinda? Because in my non-doctor mind that makes it more like he's just had 1 surgery even if it's technically 2.
Singer has looked dominant at times but relies too much on a slider that does not consistently break. Of course, I was spoiled by watching Randy Johnson pitch with the Diamondbacks who had one of the best sliders I have ever seen! Singer needs a consistent third pitch!!!
He does need a third pitch that he's comfortable using more, but I would argue the slider is pretty consistent in its break from game to game. No pitcher is going to have a perfect breaking ball every single pitch, which is why he needs something else to rely on.
Watched in person Johnson pitch a 1-hitter and the only hit was a weak grounder between 1st and 2nd on a batter bailing out on a slider and just threw the bat and got lucky. My friend asks why Johnson is stomping around on the mound and I told him Johnson knew he had no-hitter stuff today and it was spoiled by a dink hit!!!
So much fun watching Cole Ragans pitch. I wish it would be mandatory that Royals pitchers watch films of him pitching. Then have them watch videos of whomever as to what it's like to challenge batters and not nibble nibble nibble.
As you probably know by now, I think Isbel can be a solid player for the Royals. What do you make of them sitting him all weekend. Do you think they have made a decision on him? I was in Springdale over the weekend, Cayden Wallace can flat out hit the baseball. I was excited to see Champlain pitch, but he had a really bad game.He gave up 5 runs and didn't get out of the 2nd inning. I enjoyed the Ballpark experience down there. Thanks for what you do.
I was wondering what happened with him and assumed something was wrong when he sat on Saturday and Monday. Turns out it's a hamstring issue, so that's why he came out on Friday and then hasn't played since, so nothing to worry about there.
I wonder a little if Champlain is wearing down. He's way over his innings from last year, which was 30 more than his last year in college in 2021. I wouldn't be too upset if they just shut him down. But I've consistently gotten good reports on Wallace, so nice that another set of eyes agrees.
Between Wallace and Loftin, there's definitely some pressure on Massey to hit next year. Wallace has been pretty good defensively too and Garcia could easily shift to 2B. As good as he is at 3B.... he'd be fine anywhere on the IF. If I'm the Royals, I'm going into the season thinking I'm splitting 2B between Loftin and Massey and monitoring Wallace in the minors. If he continues to hit, it's a good problem to have. I'm penciling in Velasquez as a starter in LF or RF.
I think Garcia would be good at second, but I also don't think it's a foregone conclusion. He's played there some, but moving to the other side of the infield has been a problem in the past for some guys. Again, I don't think he's that guy with how smooth he is, but it's not a guarantee.
Any surprise they sent down Taylor? I know he hasn’t been playing a lot but I see more of a future for him here than Olivares. Possible they don’t see it that way yet?
There's an argument to be made that sending him down shows they see a future. I don't know if that's true, but I'd bet they want him playing regularly. He has 28 plate appearances since July 28. He hasn't been impressive, but also he needs to get more at bats than he's gotten or is going to get at the big league level with Loftin up.
Your second bullet near the end is a key for me... JJ and the gang have made some nice moves mining the minor leagues of other teams in trading spare parts for promise. Now, if they can continue to do that *and* sign some free agents with the same mindset, the future will definitely look brighter.
The evaluation of other organizations has me somewhat optimistic because, yeah, there are guys out there who are on the outside looking in from other organizations for various reasons. The Rays are a great example. They're so deep that guys who simply can't get protected for the Rule 5 are available every year. If they can do the proper evaluation there like they have with Ragans and Velazquez, maybe they can pick off a nice player or two in a deal to start the offseason.
Most definitely. Rule V player success stories used to be the outlier (in their case, Soria) but the last few years, it's been a legit way to supplement the roster. Unfortunately, KC is already in a precarious position in who to protect, but careful selection could benefit and leave space for a pitcher or two from other orgs.
I'm not even talking about taking them in the draft but trading for them before and adding them to the 40-man so they don't have to be on the roster all year. But yes, they should be looking for talent anywhere they can.
Ragans looks like a #1 starter to me for 2024! Singer’s whole season, in my opinion, was screwed up by sitting on the bench for team USA in the World Baseball Classic. The Royals need to find 3 more starters and rebuild their bullpen. The young core is there for the everyday players headed by Bobby Witt, Jr. who is rapidly turning into a 5-tool player. Garcia has been a great find and finally has stabilized the 3rd base defense! They have speed to burn in the outfield which is an absolute necessity for the big field at the K. Getting a healthy Vinny back for 1B or DH will be great for 2024. Fermin has been great to further Salvy’s career by taking over 50% of the catching load! Looking forward to a much better 2024 but the Royals have to get some more starting pitchers behind the top two!!!
I'll be curious to see how Singer fares with a normal spring next year, but I also think that any WBC issues should be worked out by now. I definitely do think they've got a nice core in the lineup but do need plenty of help with their pitching.
Cole Ragans Day should be a citywide holiday. With his velocity and his ability to throw 5(!) pitches effectively, the key question about Ragans is whether he can stay healthy. I would love to read a deep dive into the success rate of guys with 2 TJ surgeries. Do we have any reason to hope he will be able to do this for 2, 3, or more years?
How many ABs do we need to declare that Velazquez is the real deal? Is he doing something differently now that explains why he's a better hitter in the majors than he ever was in the minors?
I want to reiterate that his two TJs are different than most. He had them back to back rather than once and then pitched for a few years and had another one. I don't know how much of a difference that makes, but it is different.
On the Velazquez front, I'm not sure how different what he's doing really is than what he did in the minors. He hit .241/.332/.527 in 2022 in the minors and .253/.333/.469 this year. He's at .240/.298/.604 in the majors this year. So the slug is up a good chunk, but it's also a small sample. I'm not convinced he's a guy you want getting 650 plate appearances because there's a lot of swing and miss, but I'm also not sure he won't turn into that.
Saw him take a fastball on the edge for a called strike 3 like junior was doing early in the season. My biggest pet peeve is watching a called third strike. Junior cuts down his swing and tries to put the ball in play and is now hitting 50 points higher. V needs to do the same thing!!!
You have to keep in mind the pitcher is paid to get the hitter out too. The pitch he took on Sunday had 17 inches of horizontal break to come back to paint the corner. It was also the only sinker he saw in that at bat, so after four sliders, the sinker moved in a way a pitch hadn't from Llovera. It was a great sequence by him.
Right, one article I found said it was the first time the Rangers had ever had a graft fail during rehab. JJ has said they're encouraged by the fact that he's "pretty far removed" from the surgery, but I'm not sure that's a truly accurate or just hopeful thinking.
I just found 1 article (linked below) that addresses the question of second TJ success rate, in the context of Ohtani's situation. 1 doc quoted there says the success rate is approaching 70%, which is definitely encouraging. Let's hope they got it right for Ragans.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/2nd-tommy-john-surgery-tougher-shohei-ohtani-return-102880677
What I just don't know is how a failed graft followed by an immediate second surgery is viewed. Is it viewed as if he's had two in terms of success or is it viewed as another tear would be a third?
I didn't know about the 2 TJ's being back to back. So the failure of the 1st was basically because of a bum spare part, kinda? Because in my non-doctor mind that makes it more like he's just had 1 surgery even if it's technically 2.
Yeah, I don’t know if that’s accurate or not, but it’s sort of how I see it. Maybe one and a half surgeries?
Singer has looked dominant at times but relies too much on a slider that does not consistently break. Of course, I was spoiled by watching Randy Johnson pitch with the Diamondbacks who had one of the best sliders I have ever seen! Singer needs a consistent third pitch!!!
He does need a third pitch that he's comfortable using more, but I would argue the slider is pretty consistent in its break from game to game. No pitcher is going to have a perfect breaking ball every single pitch, which is why he needs something else to rely on.
Watched in person Johnson pitch a 1-hitter and the only hit was a weak grounder between 1st and 2nd on a batter bailing out on a slider and just threw the bat and got lucky. My friend asks why Johnson is stomping around on the mound and I told him Johnson knew he had no-hitter stuff today and it was spoiled by a dink hit!!!
I think they will solve there hitting deficiencies from within....now the pitching is another matter....
They certainly have some work to do.
So much fun watching Cole Ragans pitch. I wish it would be mandatory that Royals pitchers watch films of him pitching. Then have them watch videos of whomever as to what it's like to challenge batters and not nibble nibble nibble.