Was the second surprise that you mentioned about the defense Vinnie? Cause, man, that is the biggest defensive surprise for me. If he can keep his bat steady instead of roller coastering like he has been and can give not just passable but good defense? They need to get him signed long term ASAP. Well, they need to sign him regardless. He's a great presence for the team and the city and they should put a ring on it.
In most previous writings,(in general, not by you) Pratto was always supposed to be the good fielder and Vinnie was considered slightly below average. It is good to see he is holding his own.
How many days did Stratton go without pitching before the loss on Saturday? He really does seem like he needs to go every day or other day whenever possible to stay sharp.
I agree about the KC fanbase looking for an excuse to turn negative on a dime, though. I’ve definitely been there myself (most recently after we started the season 0 - 2) and I think it’s something of a defense mechanism after having so many losing seasons in a row. We don’t want to get our hopes up only to be hurt again. I’m trying to be better myself about not focusing so much on the every day wins and losses, and instead looking at the big picture which is that the Royals have a winning April and are in the race for the division! Which is something almost no one expected one month ago.
I agree that Stratton needs to pitch more often, it seems. He had pitched on Wednesday night in that 3-2 win. Then Thursday was the five-inning game, so no opportunity, and Friday was the great start by Lugo and then the barrage in the ninth. It's such a weird place to be in that starters are so good that it's tough to find work for the relievers!
Stratton definately was not ready to come into the game he could have thrown in the 3rd base direction and got a ball closer to the strike zone, should have been pulled after 3 batters. Inwould love to see this team with a good manager and coaching staff. Yesterday’s game, how do you expect win a game, 6 batters hitting under .230, 4 of those 6, under .200. Surprised that Salvy is getting balls to hit, nobody behind him in the order. Find a 2 hitter, drop Witt down to3, flip flop Salvy and Pasq.
I don’t really think there is anything to get worked up about with the series. It’s just baseball. The bullpen is going to blow some games. They’ve actually been better than I expected and that’s with Smith not really providing anything. As we’ve seen, pitching and defense will win you some games. I don’t think they are a good team….but I’m confident in what I’ve seen a month in now that they are not a bad team. They should be interesting all year. I don’t know how realistic the conversation will be…but we will have conversations throughout the summer of being x games back from a spot that won’t be double digits. I’ll take it.
I’m a little concerned about the offense right now though. Melendez and Massey mainly. Not so much because they aren’t hitting right now….but because they are developing a bit of a history of being slow starters now. Melendez has shown the ability to have a good extended run that pulls his numbers up to respectable over a long season. Massey needs to hit now. I’ve been fine with Frazier…but if they have to start him and he plays everyday…he will get overexposed.
I'm very concerned about the offense, but not really about Massey, if I'm being honest. I just can't get concerned about anyone after so few plate appearances. My issue is that I was worried Velazquez would regress, but I figured he'd still hit for power. He hasn't at all. I thought Renfroe would be below average but not horrible. They need to have three guys hot, two guys fine and at least one more not a complete zero and way too often, it's two guys hot, one or two fine and the rest useless on any given day.
I’m overly positive with how this has gone. This comment is going to sound negative I think but I’m still bullish here. But they are a year away yet…and that’s ok. They need one more good offseason and year to get the farm system to where we have a couple guys who can help the lineup. Right now it’s very thin. And yes, someone is going to say Pratto, or Waters….but I’ve moved on. We are looking for the next wave now. Maybe they can help…but I just don’t see replacement level production from them (Waters maybe). Stay in it as long as you can…this is all great don’t get me wrong. But the next huge step is development progress so we have options. I know some say we have some mid level depth. But its still a situation of you need two just to get one to work kind of thing.
I don't know how you could be anything but positive about a 17-12 start with the pitching and defense they've put out there. They may be a year away. Or they may be there now and they take a step back next year and then launch forward in 2026. Development isn't linear.
True, I’m just seeing it as the Guardians team from last year. Just as an example but they have a lot of similarities. As the year went on the offense really pulled them down. But then these year they seem to be taking a step forward. Who knows, just an example
That is surprising. Defensive numbers are just so hard for me to grasp. He looks fine over there. But it could also just be a your team kind of thing. Is he any better than (pick a third basemen) defensively? IDK, cause I don’t watch them all sort of thing. But if the defense isn’t carrying the day….I’m very curious what they do this deadline. A lot of possibilities.
Since the start of the Mets series on April 12, MJ has hit .071/.114/.143 which works out to an unfathomably poor -35 wRC+ to go with a 29.5 K%. Man, I want to believe, he has the tools, but he has yet to show any sort of consistency beyond some occasional hot streaks to buoy his overall seasonal numbers.
Yep, he's been pretty horrible. But he also was consistently good in the second half. I'm hopeful that after having made the adjustment once, he can do it again. It just can't take until mid-July because Tyler Gentry could get going any day now. Maybe he did the other day when he went 3 for 4. Drew Waters exists even if I don't fully believe in him. Nick Loftin can handle some corner outfield. Maybe it's Devin Mann or Cam Devanney. There are options to replace him even if they're not sexy.
I suppose it's a moot point when the entire outfield has been bad, but we knew it would be an area of weakness coming into the season. I guess the question is how much rope you give each of them. Velazquez I'm still intrigued by and would be more inclined to give him some additional rope, Isbel I'm fine with because of his defense if he can keep hitting for at least a 70 wRC+ or something, Renfroe I'm fine with jettisoning in a few weeks honestly if he's still looking bad, and MJ I'd maybe give till the end of May to do something if he hasn't made an adjustment.
Exactly. The Royals are much improved, but I won’t consider them a contender until they significantly improve their outfield. I think they need at least two new pieces that are probably not in the organization. But let’s just enjoy them being relevant!
Personally, I'm willing to see how MJ comes out of this, but yeah, it's totally fair to see what they've done and been and wonder just how serious they can be about contending. They need SOME offense out of the outfield. They got it when they were winning early. They've been treading water for the last 2-3 weeks without offense, but I'm not sure how long that can keep up, so something has to change whether it's internal or external and history indicates there's a good chance it needs to be external.
I am concerned that everything is going well and then no offense to back up everything else. Just hope this is not a sign and I agree with you , I hope this series doesn't come back to bite them. Love your writing!! Keep up the great work!!!
The thing is that the offense has struggled lately, but they continue to do the things well that good offenses do. They don't strike out and their contact is quality. Plus, even with struggles, they're still fifth in the AL in runs per game. I know that it's somewhat skewed by outbursts, but they've scored 7+ eight times. Even if that is skewing things, they're doing it enough that you can at least expect it every few games.
I think the frustration is a world thing, or at least a country thing. Everyone seems to need a villain right now - mine is Renfroe (ok maybe not a villain, more the cause for frequent eyerolls, but he is increasingly drawing my ire). He has made some good plays defensively, but has looked a little lax some as well. I know you answered this before, but when did you think the royals would consider moving on from him? Late May maybe?
The schedule looks rougher every time i look at it now, seems like all the teams except sox (rays sweepers) and A's are better than average- not sure how that math works
I would argue about Renfroe looking lax on any plays. He is slow as hell, so it may seem that way, but he's busting it out there. They're already moving away from him some, but I don't see a world they completely cut bait on him before late in the year. He has a player option for next year, which I hated at the time and still hate. I wouldn't be surprised if he's playing twice a week by June 1, though.
Too many sub 0.200 hitters right now to have a consistent offense! How long do the Royals wait before going to Omaha for anyone that can play the OF and hit above 0.200
I grew up in Brooklyn, a very nominal Mets fan and I think you get used to a team losing and don't expect much-- except for things to get worse. I think I was primed to be a Royals fan. And I'm pleasantly surprised all the time lately. Frazier's catch! Isbel's jump, slide, and roll in the rain! And defensive Vinnie! So much fun. Although I worry about injuries, but that's just me being a mom.
I just don't understand how pictchers on a five-man rotation can't average more than five or six innings to start when in the old days of four man rotations they pitching sevenand eight innings a game and up to 200 to 300 innings per year. It just doesn't make sense to me.
It's just the evolution of the game. Pitchers can't make it to the big leagues anymore without going max effort and topping out in the mid to upper 90's. Going max effort as long as you can one will inevitably tire more quickly with very few exceptions. I'm old enough to remember people talking about how hard of a thrower Mark Gubicza was. Dude topped out at about 91-92. Add to that the hitters having so much more data at their disposal on every pitcher and simply being bigger, stronger and flat out better than they used to be, plus reams of data proving that pitchers are more and more vulnerable the more times they go thru the order and we arrive where we are.
Was the second surprise that you mentioned about the defense Vinnie? Cause, man, that is the biggest defensive surprise for me. If he can keep his bat steady instead of roller coastering like he has been and can give not just passable but good defense? They need to get him signed long term ASAP. Well, they need to sign him regardless. He's a great presence for the team and the city and they should put a ring on it.
That's a big surprise for sure. I knew he was going to be fine defensively, but this is above and beyond what I expected.
In most previous writings,(in general, not by you) Pratto was always supposed to be the good fielder and Vinnie was considered slightly below average. It is good to see he is holding his own.
Pratto is very good (though, like Hosmer the metrics don't love him), but Pasquantino figuring it out defensively is huge.
How many days did Stratton go without pitching before the loss on Saturday? He really does seem like he needs to go every day or other day whenever possible to stay sharp.
I agree about the KC fanbase looking for an excuse to turn negative on a dime, though. I’ve definitely been there myself (most recently after we started the season 0 - 2) and I think it’s something of a defense mechanism after having so many losing seasons in a row. We don’t want to get our hopes up only to be hurt again. I’m trying to be better myself about not focusing so much on the every day wins and losses, and instead looking at the big picture which is that the Royals have a winning April and are in the race for the division! Which is something almost no one expected one month ago.
I agree that Stratton needs to pitch more often, it seems. He had pitched on Wednesday night in that 3-2 win. Then Thursday was the five-inning game, so no opportunity, and Friday was the great start by Lugo and then the barrage in the ninth. It's such a weird place to be in that starters are so good that it's tough to find work for the relievers!
“Firstnamebunchofnumbers” lol
Stratton definately was not ready to come into the game he could have thrown in the 3rd base direction and got a ball closer to the strike zone, should have been pulled after 3 batters. Inwould love to see this team with a good manager and coaching staff. Yesterday’s game, how do you expect win a game, 6 batters hitting under .230, 4 of those 6, under .200. Surprised that Salvy is getting balls to hit, nobody behind him in the order. Find a 2 hitter, drop Witt down to3, flip flop Salvy and Pasq.
I don’t really think there is anything to get worked up about with the series. It’s just baseball. The bullpen is going to blow some games. They’ve actually been better than I expected and that’s with Smith not really providing anything. As we’ve seen, pitching and defense will win you some games. I don’t think they are a good team….but I’m confident in what I’ve seen a month in now that they are not a bad team. They should be interesting all year. I don’t know how realistic the conversation will be…but we will have conversations throughout the summer of being x games back from a spot that won’t be double digits. I’ll take it.
I’m a little concerned about the offense right now though. Melendez and Massey mainly. Not so much because they aren’t hitting right now….but because they are developing a bit of a history of being slow starters now. Melendez has shown the ability to have a good extended run that pulls his numbers up to respectable over a long season. Massey needs to hit now. I’ve been fine with Frazier…but if they have to start him and he plays everyday…he will get overexposed.
I'm very concerned about the offense, but not really about Massey, if I'm being honest. I just can't get concerned about anyone after so few plate appearances. My issue is that I was worried Velazquez would regress, but I figured he'd still hit for power. He hasn't at all. I thought Renfroe would be below average but not horrible. They need to have three guys hot, two guys fine and at least one more not a complete zero and way too often, it's two guys hot, one or two fine and the rest useless on any given day.
I’m overly positive with how this has gone. This comment is going to sound negative I think but I’m still bullish here. But they are a year away yet…and that’s ok. They need one more good offseason and year to get the farm system to where we have a couple guys who can help the lineup. Right now it’s very thin. And yes, someone is going to say Pratto, or Waters….but I’ve moved on. We are looking for the next wave now. Maybe they can help…but I just don’t see replacement level production from them (Waters maybe). Stay in it as long as you can…this is all great don’t get me wrong. But the next huge step is development progress so we have options. I know some say we have some mid level depth. But its still a situation of you need two just to get one to work kind of thing.
I don't know how you could be anything but positive about a 17-12 start with the pitching and defense they've put out there. They may be a year away. Or they may be there now and they take a step back next year and then launch forward in 2026. Development isn't linear.
True, I’m just seeing it as the Guardians team from last year. Just as an example but they have a lot of similarities. As the year went on the offense really pulled them down. But then these year they seem to be taking a step forward. Who knows, just an example
How about Mikael Garcia, 3B? I don't see any stats for his defensive play.
He's at 0 DRS actually, which surprised me.
That is surprising. Defensive numbers are just so hard for me to grasp. He looks fine over there. But it could also just be a your team kind of thing. Is he any better than (pick a third basemen) defensively? IDK, cause I don’t watch them all sort of thing. But if the defense isn’t carrying the day….I’m very curious what they do this deadline. A lot of possibilities.
Defensive numbers are also finnicky with this small of a sample. Individuals can fluctuate quite a bit. His OAA is above average.
Since the start of the Mets series on April 12, MJ has hit .071/.114/.143 which works out to an unfathomably poor -35 wRC+ to go with a 29.5 K%. Man, I want to believe, he has the tools, but he has yet to show any sort of consistency beyond some occasional hot streaks to buoy his overall seasonal numbers.
Yep, he's been pretty horrible. But he also was consistently good in the second half. I'm hopeful that after having made the adjustment once, he can do it again. It just can't take until mid-July because Tyler Gentry could get going any day now. Maybe he did the other day when he went 3 for 4. Drew Waters exists even if I don't fully believe in him. Nick Loftin can handle some corner outfield. Maybe it's Devin Mann or Cam Devanney. There are options to replace him even if they're not sexy.
I suppose it's a moot point when the entire outfield has been bad, but we knew it would be an area of weakness coming into the season. I guess the question is how much rope you give each of them. Velazquez I'm still intrigued by and would be more inclined to give him some additional rope, Isbel I'm fine with because of his defense if he can keep hitting for at least a 70 wRC+ or something, Renfroe I'm fine with jettisoning in a few weeks honestly if he's still looking bad, and MJ I'd maybe give till the end of May to do something if he hasn't made an adjustment.
Exactly. The Royals are much improved, but I won’t consider them a contender until they significantly improve their outfield. I think they need at least two new pieces that are probably not in the organization. But let’s just enjoy them being relevant!
Personally, I'm willing to see how MJ comes out of this, but yeah, it's totally fair to see what they've done and been and wonder just how serious they can be about contending. They need SOME offense out of the outfield. They got it when they were winning early. They've been treading water for the last 2-3 weeks without offense, but I'm not sure how long that can keep up, so something has to change whether it's internal or external and history indicates there's a good chance it needs to be external.
I am concerned that everything is going well and then no offense to back up everything else. Just hope this is not a sign and I agree with you , I hope this series doesn't come back to bite them. Love your writing!! Keep up the great work!!!
The thing is that the offense has struggled lately, but they continue to do the things well that good offenses do. They don't strike out and their contact is quality. Plus, even with struggles, they're still fifth in the AL in runs per game. I know that it's somewhat skewed by outbursts, but they've scored 7+ eight times. Even if that is skewing things, they're doing it enough that you can at least expect it every few games.
Agree, I am liking what I see, just hope that they keep it up!!
I think the frustration is a world thing, or at least a country thing. Everyone seems to need a villain right now - mine is Renfroe (ok maybe not a villain, more the cause for frequent eyerolls, but he is increasingly drawing my ire). He has made some good plays defensively, but has looked a little lax some as well. I know you answered this before, but when did you think the royals would consider moving on from him? Late May maybe?
The schedule looks rougher every time i look at it now, seems like all the teams except sox (rays sweepers) and A's are better than average- not sure how that math works
I would argue about Renfroe looking lax on any plays. He is slow as hell, so it may seem that way, but he's busting it out there. They're already moving away from him some, but I don't see a world they completely cut bait on him before late in the year. He has a player option for next year, which I hated at the time and still hate. I wouldn't be surprised if he's playing twice a week by June 1, though.
Too many sub 0.200 hitters right now to have a consistent offense! How long do the Royals wait before going to Omaha for anyone that can play the OF and hit above 0.200
I'd guess a bit longer. But probably not too much longer.
I grew up in Brooklyn, a very nominal Mets fan and I think you get used to a team losing and don't expect much-- except for things to get worse. I think I was primed to be a Royals fan. And I'm pleasantly surprised all the time lately. Frazier's catch! Isbel's jump, slide, and roll in the rain! And defensive Vinnie! So much fun. Although I worry about injuries, but that's just me being a mom.
I just don't understand how pictchers on a five-man rotation can't average more than five or six innings to start when in the old days of four man rotations they pitching sevenand eight innings a game and up to 200 to 300 innings per year. It just doesn't make sense to me.
It's just the evolution of the game. Pitchers can't make it to the big leagues anymore without going max effort and topping out in the mid to upper 90's. Going max effort as long as you can one will inevitably tire more quickly with very few exceptions. I'm old enough to remember people talking about how hard of a thrower Mark Gubicza was. Dude topped out at about 91-92. Add to that the hitters having so much more data at their disposal on every pitcher and simply being bigger, stronger and flat out better than they used to be, plus reams of data proving that pitchers are more and more vulnerable the more times they go thru the order and we arrive where we are.
The days of complete games are over.
I was going to respond, but yeah, this is pretty much perfect.
There could probably be a 50-page response, but damn, sums it up really well.
Yeah, that's a real good Cliff Notes version of the bigger picture. Sorry, Jason - you're gonna have to legally change your name to Cliff.
Jason,
Thanks for clear explanation. I get it now. Sounds like the red queen queen dilemma where you have to keep walking faster just to stay where you are.