Weekend in Review: Different Pitching Approaches, Three Dismal Games, Upcoming Moves and More

It’s hard to imagine it getting worse, but Buddy Bell would beg to differ.

The Royals first stretch of brutal play this year was followed up with a 13-6 run that made people believe, even if just a little, again. So when the Royals lost 11 of 12 after a sweep at the hands of the Tigers and then followed that up with a series win against the Red Sox and taking the first game against the Yankees, it would be understandable if you thought they were about to continue their rollercoaster. I was actually *this* close to calling it the Royalcoaster, a term I first used in 2013.

Then they lost to the Yankees in dramatic fashion on Wednesday and haven’t played a competitive game since. This weekend, which I’ll get into with my usual game-by-game analysis in a bit, might be the lowest point they’ve fallen to all year after getting swept by the Rangers, a team that had won just nine of 39 prior to the series. It’s not even that they’re losing, but how they’re doing it. It’s consistently bad pitching punctuated by short and ineffective outings from starters and/or bulk inning guys. I don’t know what the answer is. I can pretty definitively say that the current big league coach, Cal Eldred, is not the answer, but that’s all I know for certain.

A Different Approach to Pitching

Mike Matheny was on his usual Sunday spot on MLB Network Radio yesterday, and had some interesting comments about the staff. The question started with Danny Duffy and how it seems like they’re going to use him as both a starter and a reliever moving forward, limiting his pitches during his starts and using him out of the bullpen on his throw days. It’s definitely different, and one that I will say I appreciate. This is the thought process he said on the show:

“How can we let them go and learn and figure out how to help us win and in the meanwhile, how can we protect them? Part of it is just watching what we see along the way…A couple of these starters have had a hard time getting through that first inning. There is a psychology as a starter. Sometimes it’s over-preparation, uh, sometimes it’s overthrowing. It’s just taking too much with the distractions that naturally happen at the major league level and adding to those to a level that doesn’t help you succeed.

The idea is that a lot of the pitching staff is going to be sort of a hybrid of reliever and starter, at least how I understood it. It’s something that I think would be seen as forward-thinking and intriguing if an organization like the Rays did it, but with the Royals, it maybe seems desperate. I have my doubts that they can handle this the right way with their current coaching leadership, but I do like the concept behind it. Whether it’ll work is another story, but given the desire to limit innings of their arms after last season, this makes some sense to me.

For it to work, they need Mike Minor to consistently go deep into games when he pitches because he’s one of the two guys the team seems to believe can give them innings (and he mostly has). The other is Brad Keller, who mostly hasn’t. Those two are the key to what makes this work for the time being. With guys like Kyle Zimmer and Kris Bubic and the potential of getting Daniel Lynch and Jackson Kowar back at some point, maybe improved, this has a shot to at least be interesting.

The Games

You can steal some wins when one part of the team isn’t clicking but the rest is. Or even when only one part of the team is. But when everything isn’t working, it gets real hard to win games, even against the league’s worst and that’s where the Royals are right now.

Friday - Rangers 9, Royals 4

It started off in such a promising way. The Royals scored first in the top of the third inning and were up 1-0 after three, but as we would see all weekend, the Rangers scored their runs in bunches. It was a walk and then a single and then an infield single with an error and then a triple and then another single and before you could even take a breath, it was 4-1 Rangers, a lead they wouldn’t only maintain but would build on.

I didn’t say anything, so I can’t prove this, but I thought Minor looked okay but not great in the first three, but he had the results. He just wasn’t getting whiffs on his fastball like we’d seen so much with him during his recent resurgence before Friday night’s game. And if you’re wondering if that had anything to do with spin rates, I don’t think so.

But he just wasn’t good. His control was fine, but his command wasn’t there. He wasn’t getting hit terribly hard or anything, but these are the pitches he gave up hits on:

Just too much of the zone too much of the time. We haven’t seen much of that from Minor, but we definitely did in this one and he ended up giving up nine runs in just five innings of work. It was the first time he’d walked more than one batter since May 26. I think it was just one of those games, but it’s definitely worth watching.

On the bright side, the Royals bullpen had three scoreless to finish the game, but the notable reliever was Duffy. Like I mentioned above with Matheny’s comments, the Royals are going to use him on his throw day out of the bullpen and he was nasty. He had three whiffs on his fastball and another on the only changeup that got a swing. I will never forget him telling me in 2014 that he’d told the organization he preferred to work out of the bullpen. I’m not sure if that’s still the case, but he can be a dominant reliever.

Offensively, there weren’t many highlights, but Whit Merffield’s third inning triple was pretty fun.

And hey, they went 2 for 5 with runners in scoring position, so that’s an improvement at least. Scoring a couple in the ninth in garbage time helps a bit.

Saturday - Rangers 8, Royals 0

Let’s see. What’s there to say about this game. Kyle Zimmer had a scoreless first in his second shot as an opener. He did throw 22 pitches and only 10 strikes, walking two and striking out two, but it was scoreless. He then turned it over to Kris Bubic, who was coming off such a fantastic relief appearance against the Yankees and just gave every bit of progress back in this one.

The final line was ugly, but maybe could have been worse even. He got two outs, gave up three runs on three hits with two walks and didn’t strike anyone out. His curve that the team was so happy with after his last game was useless. He threw five and got one called strike on it. His changeup got hit again. He threw 14, got seven swings and not a single miss. He didn’t get a called strike on it either. They were either non-competitive or caught too much of the plate, which is an issue he’s faced a lot lately.

He had to be bailed out by Ervin Santana, who has been surprisingly useful for this Royals team. He was victimized by a three-run home run by Joey Gallo on a pitch that was a huge mistake. There’s just not much you can say about that. Santana didn’t do a good job of keeping guys off ahead of him and then made a mistake to a guy who will punish mistakes.

And as Kyle Gibson dominated the Royals as he’s done so often throughout his big league career, the Rangers offense got a chance against the underbellly of the Royals bullpen, Wade Davis. It was after a scoreless seventh that Matheny sent Davis out for a second frame. He walked Adolis Garcia, which was the second straight game he’d walked twice, and the third time that’s happened all year. Then he threw this pitch to Gallo:

Yeah, that won’t work.

Somehow the next three batters reached, but there wasn’t another run to come across the plate.

When it was all said and done, it wouldn’t have mattered much. The Royals had three singles and three walks offensively and went 0 for 4 with the bases loaded, including loading them with no outs in the fifth and then not scoring anything. So I cannot provide you with an offensive highlight, unfortunately.

Sunday - Rangers 4, Royals 1

The first inning, she was predictable. Brady Singer made a pretty good pitch, got a weak grounder that he fielded and then threw to first. But it was in the dirt and Ryan O’Hearn couldn’t pick it (he probably should have been able to, but it was also a bad throw) and away we went. After the error, Singer made a great pitch to strike out Nate Lowe looking, but then made a series of mistakes ahead in the count.

Against Garcia, he had him down in the count 0-2 on two pitches that were perfectly placed.

That third pitch was lined down the right field line and played poorly by DH turned right fielder for literally no reason, Jorge Soler. But it wouldn’t have mattered anyway because the next batter was Gallo. Singer had him down in the count 0-2 as well, though you could argue the first pitch was a mistake.

That third pitch went over the left field wall for a two-run homer. So to start the game, Singer had made a great pitch on Isiah Kiner-Falefa that resulted in an error. He made a great pitch on Lowe to strike him out. Then he made two great pitches on Garcia. And then he struggled. He did get out of the first and ended up going five with just those three runs allowed, but he has to find a way to get away from innings like that.

This is one of those situations where it’s important to talk about the difference between control and command. Control is throwing strikes but command is throwing good pitches, at the most basic level. The Royals struggle quite a bit with control, but they really struggle with command and that’s what got Singer in this one.

The outing ended up pretty good with lots of weak contact and five strikeouts in five innings, but he once again ended up walking too many and obviously paid for his mistakes inside the zone.

Jake Brentz gave up a run in the sixth without allowing a hit, which is some nifty work, but Scott Barlow and Greg Holland had a perfect seventh and eighth respectively. Barlow was particularly good as he struck out the side on 16 pitches. That was definitely nice to see.

The big issue in the finale wasn’t so much the pitching as it was the inability again to get the big hit. The Royals were 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position. Carlos Santana and Salvador Perez were absolutely brutal in this one. In the third, Nicky Lopez and Merrifield started things with back to back singles. Santana took a 2-0 curve right down the middle. And on a fastball up at 2-2, he hit a lazy fly ball. Perez fouled off a curve right down the middle before grounding out softly. O’Hearn made the last out to end the threat.

In the fifth, Gutierrez and Lopez singled to start the inning. Merrifield singled to score Gutierrez from third and with runners on first and second again, it happened again. On a first pitch fastball, Santana hit another lazy fly ball. On a crushable first pitch slider, Perez took a defensive swing and hit a lazy fly ball. then with two outs, O’Hearn again couldn’t pick up his teammates. That’s two golden scoring opportunities with just one run to show for it.

And finally in the eighth, Santana did work a walk, but Perez hit another lazy fly ball that didn’t send the runner anywhere. O’Hearn picked up his second hit of the game, but Jorge Soler hit into a double play and that was that. The ended up leaving seven on base as a team, but here’s the breakdown for Santana through O’Hearn:

Santana - 5 LOB
Perez - 6 LOB
O’Hearn - 4 LOB
Soler - 4 LOB

With Andrew Benintendi and Adalberto Mondesi out, the Royals simply can’t waste scoring opportunities with the guys who are supposed to be their best hitters at the plate and they did it and it cost them the game.

What Can They Do?

This is the spot where I tell you what I would do if I was running this team. I’m going to get into personnel, I promise, but first I have to say that Eldred would be the former pitching coach. I don’t know what you accomplish with firing a guy mid-season, but I also don’t know what you accomplish with keeping the guy who is overseeing regression from just about every level on this staff. I don’t know if you just move Larry Carter to the bench from the bullpen or if you bring Dane Johnson in from Omaha or maybe it’s even Paul Gibson on the staff for the rest of the year, but I’d just get that out of the way.

Then from there, in no particular order, I would DFA Gutierrez. I had high hopes for him. The swing looks good when you watch it and he can make every play defensively. Unfortunately, it doesn’t translate. The power is there in batting practice but not games. The defense gets too lackadaisical. And as someone who will be out of options next season, he has no place on this roster. Let’s see what Emmanuel Rivera can do at the big league level. There’s no harm in finding that out at this point.

I would bring Edward Olivares back to the big league roster as well and just plop him in the lineup in left field and see what he is. Where would his spot come from? It’s unfortunate given how much I hyped him up before the season, but I’d send Hunter Dozier down. It’s time. He has simply dug himself so big of a hole this year that he can’t get out of it and he needs to get back to basics in Omaha. The biggest mistake the Royals made with him this year was sending him on a rehab assignment and not using that time to get his mind and swing right. He needs to be down there for at least 25-30 games, if not the rest of the season. Whether you agree with their choice to sign him long-term, they did, so they need him right.

The time is up on Soler too. I’ve written many times that the only way the Royals get to where they want to be offensively is with Soler, but we are now nearly three months into a six-month season. I don’t see what they have to gain with him going out there in either right field or as designated hitter. I would have zero problem with him on a very cheap or even minor league deal in 2022, though I know many of you probably hate the idea. But for now, it’s just a waste of time. Let’s see what Ryan McBroom can do with one more opportunity.

On the pitching side, their options aren’t great, but I see no point in wasting more time with Wade Davis and Anthony Swarzak. Move on. Let’s see what Richard Lovelady can do. With Eldred out in my plan, one of his bigger road blocks is out of the picture anyway. And I don’t really care who the other pitcher is. A lot of people want to see Grant Gavin. I don’t think he has the velocity to succeed, but why not try? I’d consider bringing him Dylan Coleman from AA after what a scout told me after seeing him a couple weeks ago, but that’s a pretty big jump, so give a young arm having success a shot.

Will this team be better? I don’t know, but I think we know who isn’t making the team better, so I would like to see them try something different.

What’s Next

The long road trip continues with four in Boston. Three of the four games are pitchers the Royals saw in Kansas City last weekend, and that doesn’t typically bode well for the pitchers, though the Royals offense is so downtrodden right now that it’s hard to think anything is negative for an opposing pitcher. The monster can be great for hitters and also horrible moving forward. A guy like Soler, who can get a little too pull happy, could have a big series but not be able to carry it forward. Perez could have a heck of a series though with a lot of his towering fly balls to left.

Then they come home for a weekend with the Twins, a team maybe starting to figure some things out, winning seven of nine games. The two teams have played 10 times and split the games, so it’s kind of hard to guess how that’ll go, but if the Royals want any chance of having fan interest deep into the summer outside of the diehards and the occasional folks who will look in, they’ll need to put together a winning week, which seems like a nearly impossible task right now.