The Royals have lacked a #1 starter for a very long time! Ragans was an absolute steal from the Rangers! It is the other starters for 2024 that worries me! Brady Singer should be shut down for the rest of the year because something is not right with him now!!! Surely, there is a pitcher at Omaha that could be looked at over the remaining few games!!!
I’m excited by James McArthur, too. Wasn’t really sure why they brought in Snider first in relief of Ragans, other than the fact that it doesn’t really matter, he needs innings, and maybe matchups, but it was good to see McArthur halt the bleeding again.
Here’s hoping we don’t get swept by the Guardians. I’ll take that.
I didn't listen to postgame, so I don't know if Quatraro mentioned this, but I'd guess Snider came in because with first and second and nobody out, he was looking for a grounder and Snider gets grounders, but I would just be done with him.
How can you say Melendez is hitting, .136 in lat 7 games and .239 in last 16, yea he was on a mediocre streak, but has gone back to his old swing, guessing and pulling/ pulling his lower back/ but away from the plate exposing the entire middle to outside of the plate. He will never be an outfielder, he has his chance and has failed, looks questionable on almost every ball hit to him. Porter looks better defensively than Fermin, frames pitches better. How long does it take this staff to learn, Grienke and others can’t face a line up a 2nd time, can’t wait to see Grienke retired or in a different team, he hasn’t added any value in 2 years. They can move Olivares, Isbel, Melendez, Duffy, Keller, Clarke and Hernandez and it would not hurt this team
Melendez is hitting .273/.339/.470 since the break in 218 plate appearances. He had a bad six-game stretch last week, but is now 3 for 8 since then. I'd say the larger sample is more informative than the sample you provided.
I have commented several times about Melendez pulling away with his upper body in his very poor swing mechanics to start the year! Then, he had a good stretch where he corrected this horrible swing flaw and then back to it again! He is not an outfielder and IF he gets his swing flaws corrected could be the DH next year. On the other hand, Fermin is a better defensive catcher and hit 0.280 with some power and clutch hitting!
I don't think anyone disputes that Fermin is an exciting prospect and the first genuine talent we've had at catcher since Salvy. Re: Melendez, everyone is disappointed at the pace of his development, but I don't imagine for a moment that the batting coach and the rest of the coaching staff aren't aware of any problems with his swing. They are working with him every day to get him right; if it were easy, everyone would bat .400. The question with MJ is whether the raw talent he demonstrates is worth the time it takes to develop him, and the answer is clearly "So far." His leash is definitely getting shorter. He could be the next Eric Hosmer. Or he could be the next Hunter Dozier. Time will tell.
Even being the next "Eric Hosmer" offensively would play if he were a catcher, but if he's in left field, not so much. The "7" is an offense-first position, unless you're just so superior defensively (think Alex Gordon) that it offsets a little of your offensive shortcomings.
Hosmer was a win for us for two crucial years, but I agree; he lacked elite offense every other season. Fortunately, that became someone else's problem. He's a good example of someone whom we extracted all the good baseball out of and then sold the corpse for a fortune. We RARELY end up that much to the good!
But I would definitely take Hosmer's 2015 numbers from Melendez.
Every time I think of HunDo, I think of "Moneyball." I envision a badly lit room full of crusty old scouts and coaches saying, "He doesn't hit for average yet, but he's got all the tools. He's got a good body, and his girlfriend is at least an 8. That tells you he's confident."
I know that this wasn't the theme of this (again wonderful) post, but I want to play a little "Did you know?"
Did you know that in 29 starts this season, the number of starts in which Jordan Lyles has allowed fewer than FOUR earned runs can be counted on your hands, even if you've lost a thumb in a freak Fourth of July accident? Yes...NINE times all year he's started a game and allowed three or fewer ER.
It's actually impressive and speaks to his durability. But it also underlines just how pitching-starved this major-league team is. I'm almost giddy about Zerpa, and I have high hopes that he is going to find his way into the rotation next season...
On a somber note: we are probably witnessing the end of Brad Keller, and not just as a Royal, but possibly as a major-league pitcher. I don't know what happened--I know that the "official" answer is a shoulder impingement, but I've a feeling that the impingement is slightly higher on his body--but it's really sad. I hope that he can get is straight and go on to have a decent career elsewhere.
I just can't even be bothered to care about anything Lyles does, even in a good start. He's been an abject disaster basically all season. It's ridiculous. And yeah, Keller is pretty much toast.
Touche...but JL's starts make for good trivia fodder. When you have a starter who's allowing more than 3 ER in over 70% of his starts, and it isn't 1998 through 2006, it's morbidly fascinating in a way.
Brad Keller was a Rule 5 pickup and initially with the Royals looked to have a promising future! Injuries and perhaps the four inches between his ears have left his MLB future very much in doubt!!!
There are only a few guys on the entire staff whose stuff imo is above average. All have question marks. Ragans- atm top of rotation stuff, no doubt. Minor worries about command, mostly worry about arm health. McMillon- when I hear forearm tightness, I think TJ. Elite closer stuff. Is he healthy? Is the control good enough?Steven Cruz- above average power arm, I question is repeatability and he needs to be more consistent with his slider. Big dude with a big complicated motion and a snappy slingshot delivery. Seems prone to control problems, as with McMillon. The only other guy with better than MLB avg stuff is Alex Marsh. As always it seems with the Royals, there isn't enough depth or quality, and you're just hoping everything comes together. It rarely does.
What bothers me about McArthur is that he basically has had zero long term success at any level of professional baseball. Until someone explains what they've done to fix him, I'm going to consider this to be similar to Austin Cox starting off his career with what was the equivalent of a no hitter.
I enjoy reading David's "columns" and enjoy reading and interacting with the comments here. It's not the typical: you, know, "Royals suck! Fire Quatraro! Execute Sluggerrr!" overreactive blathering BS that's on the social media sites. We actually dive into WHY the Royals suck, why Q won't be fired for at least a couple years, and why Sluggerrr is probably not the problem.
Amen. This is my happy place when I have nothing to celebrate and get tired of all the pointless negativity. Well worth the price of subscription for me.
I grew up in Chicago and was a diehard Cubs fan for most of my life. This is nothing.
The Royals have been my team since I started really following baseball in 1984 at the age of 10. They're all I know, and I'm eight weeks from 50.
It's tough to read the drivel sometimes. Yes, they definitely deserve to be dragged, but good Lord, some of the comments are just potshots from the cheap seats. There's no analysis, there's no attempt to see what's going on or what attempts--success or failure--are being made, there's no anything.
People are free to post whatever they want, but it gets tiresome. Dude, we all know they suck, but could you flip the record over and play something else?
Oh, exactly. I'm 53 and I also started following baseball in the early 1980s (my Chicago days). But when I moved to KC, I switched my main loyalty to the Royals, who just captured my heart. I'm a lot more knowledgeable and passionate about them now than I am about the Cubs. But one of the highlights of my life was still the time I met Rick Sutcliffe, 1984 NL Cy Young Award winner, at O'Dowd's on the Plaza and we had a nice chat.
Another was when I attended a Royals home game in May this year and found myself seated 15 feet away from Alex Gordon and his entourage. I was so starstruck I didn't even get a sneak selfie. I couldn't believe he was out in the cheap seats with the peasants, but then I thought, "Well, it's a great view of left field, so it makes sense."
Agree. Slugger took a nice pic w/ my 3 year old at the K yesterday so willing to give him another season, at least. Q is a genuinely good person, his coaching definitely hasn't been the cause of the record this year, and the fire him chants are, like you said, ignorant blather. This blog is a welcome island of common sense.
Referring to your previous article, has Loftin played any OF? I still think they need some one who can play D and hit. I’d like to see if he fits that need. I know he’s valuable as a utility INF, but having him locked in one position would be nice too
Sorry I'm way late getting to comments, but yeah, he was actually moved to the outfield to start the 2022 season and I didn't see much of it, but reports were that he was fine. But then he was also moved back to playing mostly infield fairly quickly. And he's only played outfield three times this year, so that doesn't seem to be something they want for him. But he could go out there in an emergency.
The Royals have lacked a #1 starter for a very long time! Ragans was an absolute steal from the Rangers! It is the other starters for 2024 that worries me! Brady Singer should be shut down for the rest of the year because something is not right with him now!!! Surely, there is a pitcher at Omaha that could be looked at over the remaining few games!!!
I agree that Singer should be shut down. They should get a look at Veneziano, but at this point that's only like two starts. Oh well.
I’m excited by James McArthur, too. Wasn’t really sure why they brought in Snider first in relief of Ragans, other than the fact that it doesn’t really matter, he needs innings, and maybe matchups, but it was good to see McArthur halt the bleeding again.
Here’s hoping we don’t get swept by the Guardians. I’ll take that.
I didn't listen to postgame, so I don't know if Quatraro mentioned this, but I'd guess Snider came in because with first and second and nobody out, he was looking for a grounder and Snider gets grounders, but I would just be done with him.
I have to think they are finished with him, but need some arms until the end of the season
Guess we'll see how he does as a closer today, especially given such an unexpected opportunity!
Just saw James McArthur clean up Carlos’ stinky mess again.
Carlos:
- leadoff homer
- walk
- single
James:
- strikes out the side, preserving a one-run lead.
He’s for real.
How can you say Melendez is hitting, .136 in lat 7 games and .239 in last 16, yea he was on a mediocre streak, but has gone back to his old swing, guessing and pulling/ pulling his lower back/ but away from the plate exposing the entire middle to outside of the plate. He will never be an outfielder, he has his chance and has failed, looks questionable on almost every ball hit to him. Porter looks better defensively than Fermin, frames pitches better. How long does it take this staff to learn, Grienke and others can’t face a line up a 2nd time, can’t wait to see Grienke retired or in a different team, he hasn’t added any value in 2 years. They can move Olivares, Isbel, Melendez, Duffy, Keller, Clarke and Hernandez and it would not hurt this team
Don’t spread all your sunshine in one place! Save some for work. 😆
Ironically, he works down at the Bummer Factory.
Melendez is hitting .273/.339/.470 since the break in 218 plate appearances. He had a bad six-game stretch last week, but is now 3 for 8 since then. I'd say the larger sample is more informative than the sample you provided.
He can’t be project forever, still a career .225 hitter and will never be much better
When hitting doesn’t belong in the lead off, 3rd, 4th or 5th position.
I have commented several times about Melendez pulling away with his upper body in his very poor swing mechanics to start the year! Then, he had a good stretch where he corrected this horrible swing flaw and then back to it again! He is not an outfielder and IF he gets his swing flaws corrected could be the DH next year. On the other hand, Fermin is a better defensive catcher and hit 0.280 with some power and clutch hitting!
I don't think anyone disputes that Fermin is an exciting prospect and the first genuine talent we've had at catcher since Salvy. Re: Melendez, everyone is disappointed at the pace of his development, but I don't imagine for a moment that the batting coach and the rest of the coaching staff aren't aware of any problems with his swing. They are working with him every day to get him right; if it were easy, everyone would bat .400. The question with MJ is whether the raw talent he demonstrates is worth the time it takes to develop him, and the answer is clearly "So far." His leash is definitely getting shorter. He could be the next Eric Hosmer. Or he could be the next Hunter Dozier. Time will tell.
Even being the next "Eric Hosmer" offensively would play if he were a catcher, but if he's in left field, not so much. The "7" is an offense-first position, unless you're just so superior defensively (think Alex Gordon) that it offsets a little of your offensive shortcomings.
Hosmer was a win for us for two crucial years, but I agree; he lacked elite offense every other season. Fortunately, that became someone else's problem. He's a good example of someone whom we extracted all the good baseball out of and then sold the corpse for a fortune. We RARELY end up that much to the good!
But I would definitely take Hosmer's 2015 numbers from Melendez.
They either got Jackson Kowar or Daniel Lynch for Hosmer and the other one for Cain. Maybe there's still a chance...
Sometimes I wonder "what if" Hosmer took the 100 million we supposedly offered him. It's a scary thought.
You had to bring up Hunter Dozier!!! One of the biggest mistakes in the entire history of the Kansas City Royals!!!
Every time I think of HunDo, I think of "Moneyball." I envision a badly lit room full of crusty old scouts and coaches saying, "He doesn't hit for average yet, but he's got all the tools. He's got a good body, and his girlfriend is at least an 8. That tells you he's confident."
I know that this wasn't the theme of this (again wonderful) post, but I want to play a little "Did you know?"
Did you know that in 29 starts this season, the number of starts in which Jordan Lyles has allowed fewer than FOUR earned runs can be counted on your hands, even if you've lost a thumb in a freak Fourth of July accident? Yes...NINE times all year he's started a game and allowed three or fewer ER.
It's actually impressive and speaks to his durability. But it also underlines just how pitching-starved this major-league team is. I'm almost giddy about Zerpa, and I have high hopes that he is going to find his way into the rotation next season...
On a somber note: we are probably witnessing the end of Brad Keller, and not just as a Royal, but possibly as a major-league pitcher. I don't know what happened--I know that the "official" answer is a shoulder impingement, but I've a feeling that the impingement is slightly higher on his body--but it's really sad. I hope that he can get is straight and go on to have a decent career elsewhere.
I just can't even be bothered to care about anything Lyles does, even in a good start. He's been an abject disaster basically all season. It's ridiculous. And yeah, Keller is pretty much toast.
Touche...but JL's starts make for good trivia fodder. When you have a starter who's allowing more than 3 ER in over 70% of his starts, and it isn't 1998 through 2006, it's morbidly fascinating in a way.
That's fair, yeah. He's interesting at least!
Brad Keller was a Rule 5 pickup and initially with the Royals looked to have a promising future! Injuries and perhaps the four inches between his ears have left his MLB future very much in doubt!!!
Rex Hudler tried so hard to make Bad Brad Keller happen. Unfortunately, that nickname fits better now than it did when he was sharp.
There are only a few guys on the entire staff whose stuff imo is above average. All have question marks. Ragans- atm top of rotation stuff, no doubt. Minor worries about command, mostly worry about arm health. McMillon- when I hear forearm tightness, I think TJ. Elite closer stuff. Is he healthy? Is the control good enough?Steven Cruz- above average power arm, I question is repeatability and he needs to be more consistent with his slider. Big dude with a big complicated motion and a snappy slingshot delivery. Seems prone to control problems, as with McMillon. The only other guy with better than MLB avg stuff is Alex Marsh. As always it seems with the Royals, there isn't enough depth or quality, and you're just hoping everything comes together. It rarely does.
What bothers me about McArthur is that he basically has had zero long term success at any level of professional baseball. Until someone explains what they've done to fix him, I'm going to consider this to be similar to Austin Cox starting off his career with what was the equivalent of a no hitter.
All good points on the pitchers.
As for McArthur, the biggest difference I can see is they've taken away his four-seamer and added a slider, which has made a big difference for him.
Just as an aside:
I enjoy reading David's "columns" and enjoy reading and interacting with the comments here. It's not the typical: you, know, "Royals suck! Fire Quatraro! Execute Sluggerrr!" overreactive blathering BS that's on the social media sites. We actually dive into WHY the Royals suck, why Q won't be fired for at least a couple years, and why Sluggerrr is probably not the problem.
Amen. This is my happy place when I have nothing to celebrate and get tired of all the pointless negativity. Well worth the price of subscription for me.
I grew up in Chicago and was a diehard Cubs fan for most of my life. This is nothing.
The Royals have been my team since I started really following baseball in 1984 at the age of 10. They're all I know, and I'm eight weeks from 50.
It's tough to read the drivel sometimes. Yes, they definitely deserve to be dragged, but good Lord, some of the comments are just potshots from the cheap seats. There's no analysis, there's no attempt to see what's going on or what attempts--success or failure--are being made, there's no anything.
People are free to post whatever they want, but it gets tiresome. Dude, we all know they suck, but could you flip the record over and play something else?
Oh, exactly. I'm 53 and I also started following baseball in the early 1980s (my Chicago days). But when I moved to KC, I switched my main loyalty to the Royals, who just captured my heart. I'm a lot more knowledgeable and passionate about them now than I am about the Cubs. But one of the highlights of my life was still the time I met Rick Sutcliffe, 1984 NL Cy Young Award winner, at O'Dowd's on the Plaza and we had a nice chat.
Another was when I attended a Royals home game in May this year and found myself seated 15 feet away from Alex Gordon and his entourage. I was so starstruck I didn't even get a sneak selfie. I couldn't believe he was out in the cheap seats with the peasants, but then I thought, "Well, it's a great view of left field, so it makes sense."
Agree. Slugger took a nice pic w/ my 3 year old at the K yesterday so willing to give him another season, at least. Q is a genuinely good person, his coaching definitely hasn't been the cause of the record this year, and the fire him chants are, like you said, ignorant blather. This blog is a welcome island of common sense.
Referring to your previous article, has Loftin played any OF? I still think they need some one who can play D and hit. I’d like to see if he fits that need. I know he’s valuable as a utility INF, but having him locked in one position would be nice too
Sorry I'm way late getting to comments, but yeah, he was actually moved to the outfield to start the 2022 season and I didn't see much of it, but reports were that he was fine. But then he was also moved back to playing mostly infield fairly quickly. And he's only played outfield three times this year, so that doesn't seem to be something they want for him. But he could go out there in an emergency.