David, I heard Piccolo say that they were going to wait till the end of June to see where they were before looking to upgrade. If they're behind more than eight or nine games by the end of June I agree with Piccolo. Better to wait and be a sellar like last year when they picked up Velasquez and Ragans.
June would have to be pretty disastrous for them to be sellers 27 days from now.
The Royals are currently the 2nd wild card team, 5.5 games ahead of the Red Sox, which would be the last team eliminated from the playoffs. (Boston is 30-30; everyone below them is below .500).
That doesn't mean KC is guaranteed to make the playoffs, or even that they're guaranteed to be one of the WC teams at the end of June, but it would require them to lose a lot of games and have a couple of other average to good teams win a lot of games.
I still don’t see what the organization sees in Melendez or Isbel, Melendez still is not an outfielder, 1 good play once in a while doesn’t make up for a .170 BA and they continue to play him, Isbel gets late jumps and has to make routine plays look hard batting less than .220. Waters, Eaton, Rave, Gentry could all be brought up and do better. Pratto proved he can play left field, Blanco and Hampson deserve more playing time. Bullpen is starting to look like Deja Vu from last year.
I was about to beat myself up for saying I was a believer in the playoff run on Friday. Cause for about 8 innings yesterday it looked like they were going to get swept….with Wacha on the 15 day IR. I was 100% convinced I jinked it. So we are going to quiet with that talk for a bit. Wacha on the IR is a big deal that didn’t really get touched on in your article. But there are more days for that talk. Depth is starting to get tested now both in the rotation and the bullpen. Lynch is a major downgrade to Wacha.
So I’m fine with keeping Waters down if they have made the call that he’s not going to work. Or, he’s a major pain in the ass and they are trying to trade him as you said. Something is up though with that. I just have a hard time believing that with the worst hitting outfield in baseball you wouldn’t have tried that option yet unless there were some other circumstances involved. I guess the issue is that if I’m other teams…I’d be like “what am I missing that he isn’t up when they have an outfield that can’t hit?” Maybe the Rockies can put together a package. They are dumb over there.
It sort of doesn't sound like Wacha is going to be out that long. He'll definitely miss at least three starts, which isn't nothing, but it might only be three if things go well. There's always a chance they don't, but they don't seem too concerned about the actual injury as much as him not messing with his mechanics from it. So once the pain is gone, I would imagine he's back fast and these fractures are weirdly not that big of a deal. I had one years ago and I'm a schlub and it didn't really impact me that much. They're keeping him throwing to keep his arm worked out. It's brutal timing with the schedule, yes, but I wouldn't be surprised if he still makes at least one start in June.
The Waters thing is weird on the surface, but I do think there's something going on there that they just don't think he's a big leaguer. And while there will be questions about that, he's still a switch hitting outfielder who can play center field well enough that you don't have to hide him and teams will ALWAYS want that. There's a reason he's not going to bring back a star, but I could totally see a deal with him in Anaheim.
If they have made that call he isn’t a big leaguer. I’m ok with it. They have made it clear they can evaluate other peoples talent with Ragans, McCarthur, Lugo, Wacha. I keep waiting for that AHHA moment that they can evaluate their own. Massey has looked good….but I feel like they signed Frazier to hedge against him. Melendez hasn’t worked out and they keep running him out there so that hasn’t given me confidence on that front. Its entirely possible I never get the AHHA moment but it is more like these Waters moves where they are telling me what they think and evaluating there own better in the minors. Shoot, even the Schreiber for (name that escapes me but was a prospect) is a sign they are doing it better I guess.
While I still dislike the Frazier deal because I'm not a fan of Frazier, I'd say the fact that they went and got someone who has been a starting second baseman is looking pretty smart. They evaluated Massey's availability issues quite well with that move. JJ spoke a few weeks ago on 610 and it was pretty clear they don't see him as a 150-game a year player. And, to be honest, I'm not seeing it with Nick Loftin. There just isn't any oomph in the bat. So while I don't like Frazier, I'd say that's a pretty strong evaluation of Massey.
The thing I keep hearing on Melendez is everything he's doing outside the games is right, but then it's just not happening in the games. I know that doesn't mean anything when you're winning, but I kind of get the idea that they know what he's capable of and see it close outside of games. Personally, I think they're way past the point of it mattering with him, but that's what I think is happening there. Sticking with Velazquez when he looked as lost or more and having him come around probably hasn't helped things for the MJ to AAA bandwagon.
On the MJ and Velasquez front. I don’t have any issue with either of them really. It’s just more that I view Velasquez as a part time player in a platoon. With MJ, yeah, I totally get why they keep trying. He’s had sustained success before. But personally, I’m to the point of you don’t get to “develop” in year three on the big league stage when you are in a race. Platoon him with Velasquez, I’m totally fine with that. It’s just hard when you are starting both of them with Isbel in center. I have no issue keeping both of them on the big league club. It’s just hard to do with Blanco and his services when in reality MJ should be getting a lot less AB’s right now. If/when a move is made…I think he’s the one to move down right now. It would behoove him to get a hot streak going here.
What I don’t like about Renfro is I do not see any type of adjustment at the plate to hit to the opposite field or cut down the swing to make contact? Surely, we have an OF in Omaha that can do better???
That’s why I think it’s long past time to send him down. His development matters less now than the team. It’s great that it does but they can’t operate with the best interest of him as a player anymore. It has to be about the team now.
David: A great analysis of the past weekend. I have a major complaint with MLB.tv as the games were blacked out to me in Tucson as I suppose we are considered in the Padre viewing area. I have lived in Tucson since 1983 and have NEVER seen a Padres game televised here! Anyway, what I really appreciated about Nelson V.’s triple was he hustled his butt to get to third on the hit! So, we have at least one OF who is now hitting on a regular basis!
Blackouts are a huge issue. I will say that you can subscribe to Bally from anywhere and have no issues. I don’t know what it costs and I’m sure there are tons of issues because it’s a bad company but you can avoid the blackout issue that way.
I've been using the Bally app this season for the 1st time, watching the games on my Roku TV. I know Bally has a really bad rep, but I have to say I've been shocked at how well it's worked for me ( again, only watching it using my Roku TV. Maybe if you try to watch games on a tablet or whatever it sucks. I dunno. ). I went this route because we have Hulu + Live TV as our "cable" package, & they don't carry Bally. But paying for Hulu + Bally has still been cheaper than paying for DirecTV Stream ( my choice last season ).
I hesitate to say anymore on this issue of our outfield situation. But a AAA stop helped Alex Gordon and Moose and probably others I am not recalling now. I sure couldn't hurt MJM. I f they don't want to give Waters a shot, then give John Rave a shot. He's hitting 287 with 7 HR, and an 852 OPS. That sure beats what we're getting now. I wouldn't be opposed to jumping Gavin Cross from AA. He has about the same stat line as Rave Always enjoy your writing, David.
Rave has been better than Waters, mostly because of Waters struggling for the last couple of weeks, but yeah, I don't know why they haven't made a move to the minors yet other than the idea that they actually think what they have can be worse.
David- I know all you get is MJ comments but I am curious if you think his friendship with Bobby and the rest of the clubhouse has earned him a longer leash due to team camaraderie?
I have been on the “dump Hampson” bus for a while now and it irritates me that his batting average suggests that he’s actually been of use, despite running the bases like a confused tee baller and missing some makeable defensive plays. BUT what are the chances that they might be able to package him in a trade while he’s hitting over .300 (though I can’t recall ever actually seeing many hits)? I’ll be honest. I dont recall his contract and I’m too lazy to look it up at the moment.
His underlying numbers suggest he’s overperforming significantly offensively. Every team knows that. I’d be shocked if he’s moved. I guess he could he part of a deal but a non-contending team generally isn’t acquiring pending free agents. Maybe he’s a throw-in and the Royals cover the rest of the salary as a 40-man move, I guess.
Well done, David.
Thanks, Mark!
David, I heard Piccolo say that they were going to wait till the end of June to see where they were before looking to upgrade. If they're behind more than eight or nine games by the end of June I agree with Piccolo. Better to wait and be a sellar like last year when they picked up Velasquez and Ragans.
June would have to be pretty disastrous for them to be sellers 27 days from now.
The Royals are currently the 2nd wild card team, 5.5 games ahead of the Red Sox, which would be the last team eliminated from the playoffs. (Boston is 30-30; everyone below them is below .500).
That doesn't mean KC is guaranteed to make the playoffs, or even that they're guaranteed to be one of the WC teams at the end of June, but it would require them to lose a lot of games and have a couple of other average to good teams win a lot of games.
I didn't hear that, but I can also tell you that a lot of things are said publicly.
I still don’t see what the organization sees in Melendez or Isbel, Melendez still is not an outfielder, 1 good play once in a while doesn’t make up for a .170 BA and they continue to play him, Isbel gets late jumps and has to make routine plays look hard batting less than .220. Waters, Eaton, Rave, Gentry could all be brought up and do better. Pratto proved he can play left field, Blanco and Hampson deserve more playing time. Bullpen is starting to look like Deja Vu from last year.
I was about to beat myself up for saying I was a believer in the playoff run on Friday. Cause for about 8 innings yesterday it looked like they were going to get swept….with Wacha on the 15 day IR. I was 100% convinced I jinked it. So we are going to quiet with that talk for a bit. Wacha on the IR is a big deal that didn’t really get touched on in your article. But there are more days for that talk. Depth is starting to get tested now both in the rotation and the bullpen. Lynch is a major downgrade to Wacha.
So I’m fine with keeping Waters down if they have made the call that he’s not going to work. Or, he’s a major pain in the ass and they are trying to trade him as you said. Something is up though with that. I just have a hard time believing that with the worst hitting outfield in baseball you wouldn’t have tried that option yet unless there were some other circumstances involved. I guess the issue is that if I’m other teams…I’d be like “what am I missing that he isn’t up when they have an outfield that can’t hit?” Maybe the Rockies can put together a package. They are dumb over there.
It sort of doesn't sound like Wacha is going to be out that long. He'll definitely miss at least three starts, which isn't nothing, but it might only be three if things go well. There's always a chance they don't, but they don't seem too concerned about the actual injury as much as him not messing with his mechanics from it. So once the pain is gone, I would imagine he's back fast and these fractures are weirdly not that big of a deal. I had one years ago and I'm a schlub and it didn't really impact me that much. They're keeping him throwing to keep his arm worked out. It's brutal timing with the schedule, yes, but I wouldn't be surprised if he still makes at least one start in June.
The Waters thing is weird on the surface, but I do think there's something going on there that they just don't think he's a big leaguer. And while there will be questions about that, he's still a switch hitting outfielder who can play center field well enough that you don't have to hide him and teams will ALWAYS want that. There's a reason he's not going to bring back a star, but I could totally see a deal with him in Anaheim.
If they have made that call he isn’t a big leaguer. I’m ok with it. They have made it clear they can evaluate other peoples talent with Ragans, McCarthur, Lugo, Wacha. I keep waiting for that AHHA moment that they can evaluate their own. Massey has looked good….but I feel like they signed Frazier to hedge against him. Melendez hasn’t worked out and they keep running him out there so that hasn’t given me confidence on that front. Its entirely possible I never get the AHHA moment but it is more like these Waters moves where they are telling me what they think and evaluating there own better in the minors. Shoot, even the Schreiber for (name that escapes me but was a prospect) is a sign they are doing it better I guess.
While I still dislike the Frazier deal because I'm not a fan of Frazier, I'd say the fact that they went and got someone who has been a starting second baseman is looking pretty smart. They evaluated Massey's availability issues quite well with that move. JJ spoke a few weeks ago on 610 and it was pretty clear they don't see him as a 150-game a year player. And, to be honest, I'm not seeing it with Nick Loftin. There just isn't any oomph in the bat. So while I don't like Frazier, I'd say that's a pretty strong evaluation of Massey.
The thing I keep hearing on Melendez is everything he's doing outside the games is right, but then it's just not happening in the games. I know that doesn't mean anything when you're winning, but I kind of get the idea that they know what he's capable of and see it close outside of games. Personally, I think they're way past the point of it mattering with him, but that's what I think is happening there. Sticking with Velazquez when he looked as lost or more and having him come around probably hasn't helped things for the MJ to AAA bandwagon.
That’s true.
On the MJ and Velasquez front. I don’t have any issue with either of them really. It’s just more that I view Velasquez as a part time player in a platoon. With MJ, yeah, I totally get why they keep trying. He’s had sustained success before. But personally, I’m to the point of you don’t get to “develop” in year three on the big league stage when you are in a race. Platoon him with Velasquez, I’m totally fine with that. It’s just hard when you are starting both of them with Isbel in center. I have no issue keeping both of them on the big league club. It’s just hard to do with Blanco and his services when in reality MJ should be getting a lot less AB’s right now. If/when a move is made…I think he’s the one to move down right now. It would behoove him to get a hot streak going here.
I guess I need to throw in the disaster that Renfoe has become in this statement too. Lol.
What I don’t like about Renfro is I do not see any type of adjustment at the plate to hit to the opposite field or cut down the swing to make contact? Surely, we have an OF in Omaha that can do better???
That’s why I think it’s long past time to send him down. His development matters less now than the team. It’s great that it does but they can’t operate with the best interest of him as a player anymore. It has to be about the team now.
David: A great analysis of the past weekend. I have a major complaint with MLB.tv as the games were blacked out to me in Tucson as I suppose we are considered in the Padre viewing area. I have lived in Tucson since 1983 and have NEVER seen a Padres game televised here! Anyway, what I really appreciated about Nelson V.’s triple was he hustled his butt to get to third on the hit! So, we have at least one OF who is now hitting on a regular basis!
Blackouts are a huge issue. I will say that you can subscribe to Bally from anywhere and have no issues. I don’t know what it costs and I’m sure there are tons of issues because it’s a bad company but you can avoid the blackout issue that way.
Will check into it. Thanks!
I checked this weekend and the Bally's app is $68, prepaid through Sept. 15, or $20/month.
Thanks Tracey!
I've been using the Bally app this season for the 1st time, watching the games on my Roku TV. I know Bally has a really bad rep, but I have to say I've been shocked at how well it's worked for me ( again, only watching it using my Roku TV. Maybe if you try to watch games on a tablet or whatever it sucks. I dunno. ). I went this route because we have Hulu + Live TV as our "cable" package, & they don't carry Bally. But paying for Hulu + Bally has still been cheaper than paying for DirecTV Stream ( my choice last season ).
I hesitate to say anymore on this issue of our outfield situation. But a AAA stop helped Alex Gordon and Moose and probably others I am not recalling now. I sure couldn't hurt MJM. I f they don't want to give Waters a shot, then give John Rave a shot. He's hitting 287 with 7 HR, and an 852 OPS. That sure beats what we're getting now. I wouldn't be opposed to jumping Gavin Cross from AA. He has about the same stat line as Rave Always enjoy your writing, David.
Rave has been better than Waters, mostly because of Waters struggling for the last couple of weeks, but yeah, I don't know why they haven't made a move to the minors yet other than the idea that they actually think what they have can be worse.
I meant to say, wait for final trading deadline at the end of August, be a seller, and hopefully get a couple of prospects for next year.
There is only one deadline now and it’s July 30.
David- I know all you get is MJ comments but I am curious if you think his friendship with Bobby and the rest of the clubhouse has earned him a longer leash due to team camaraderie?
I would be very surprised if that’s the case. I guess I don’t know for certain that it isn’t, but that’s not the way they really operate these days.
I have been on the “dump Hampson” bus for a while now and it irritates me that his batting average suggests that he’s actually been of use, despite running the bases like a confused tee baller and missing some makeable defensive plays. BUT what are the chances that they might be able to package him in a trade while he’s hitting over .300 (though I can’t recall ever actually seeing many hits)? I’ll be honest. I dont recall his contract and I’m too lazy to look it up at the moment.
His underlying numbers suggest he’s overperforming significantly offensively. Every team knows that. I’d be shocked if he’s moved. I guess he could he part of a deal but a non-contending team generally isn’t acquiring pending free agents. Maybe he’s a throw-in and the Royals cover the rest of the salary as a 40-man move, I guess.
What is the status of Jordan Lyles
He’s still on the restricted list for an undisclosed reason.
Time to update the 54-54-54 thing. I'm curious about some of the games during the (recent) losing streak.
Oh crap, good call.