In the first Monday staple of the season, I'll look at the starting pitching from the first series, break down the games, give a player of the short week and a look ahead.
It’s funny that you mention they needed that win. After Saturday I was ready to blast them if they lost on Sunday and started 0-3. Lol. I just don’t have the patience for hearing about how dominate the opponents starting pitching is all the time. You don’t get the benefit of the doubt at this point if you start 0-3 right out of the gate. Lol. But, they came out and calmed a lot of nerves.
I’m not going to sit here and say I buy into Singer yet. They can say he threw “other” pitches that didn’t register. But I didn’t see any different movements on pitches on the eye test. But I didn’t see every pitch either. We already know when his fastball and slider are on he is hard to hit. They were on yesterday. It was a good performance. It’s been 3 games, they’ve been in all three late. It’s exactly what I expected to see this year. If the pitching stays healthy they have no business going on a 10 game losing streak that just kills them. No business. In fact, I’d say we actually see multiple 5 game winning streaks this year with a healthy rotation. They gotta stay healthy, but they are legit big leaguers.
I watched all 3 games and it was great to see the Royals starting pitchers challenge the Twins hitters. No nibbling at the corners anymore. I loved seeing the offensive explosion with the five homers because hitting homers at the K is difficult. V’s homer looked really good because I am not sure on the replay he got all of the ball? He is so strong that he hit it out anyway! Looking forward to the Orioles series! Go Royals!
391 WRC+?? Love small sample sizes, but let’s hear it for the MVP! I hope they keep it up and the weather cooperates, because I’ll be at the game tonight in Baltimore.
A few of national baseball outlets had writers with preseason Cy Young predictions for Lopez and Ryan. So, struggling against them isn't usually. The deep exhale yesterday is evidence of the Royals fan anxiety over early season woes sinking the season. KC has shown you can lose the division in April and May. You can't win it then but you can lose it. This team is different - we'll see that emerge. Memorial Day is the early marker of season. Since teams play everyday, unlike NFL, one Chiefs game is like 10 Royals games. I think most baseball fans are so starved for content after winter, we care a lot more in the first couple of weeks.
Brady Singer is the best starting pitcher the Royals have developed since Ventura and Duffy which is damning praise but true nonetheless. I follow all the Royals content creators and they all seem to reserve varying levels of contempt for Brady while at the same time being really positive about guys like Bubic who haven’t come close to matching Brady’s production. Alex Duvall and the Royals Weekly guys come to mind. The narrative seems to be that he’s stubborn and has a bad attitude. You mention something from 2021. What happened then? I’m honestly trying to understand all the Brady hate.
It seems to be mostly about him not throwing his changeup more. Alec from the Athletic had a good piece a few years ago on how his changeup essentially sucked because it didn’t have good velo and shape differentiation from his sinker. It has mostly been a slightly slower sinker that he can’t control well. Sweeney has said basically that his style of pronation/supination doesn’t lend itself to throwing a good changeup. Also, I’ve heard them mention in interviews that he’s tried all sorts of grips and has never found one that works well (the latest is the split finger but I don’t think he can command that either). There seems to be this consensus among the Royals bloggers that an MLB pitcher can easily add any an effective pitch, when I think the reality is that having even a 40 grade pitch at the MLB level is extremely difficult. If anyone could add an effective third pitch, there’d be hundreds of relievers who were starters cashing much bigger checks. It almost seems that folks care more about his perceived refusal to throw a changeup more than his actual production.
When I hear him interviews, he seems like a perfectly nice and humble guy. I know there was one case when he said something after a bad start about how if he can’t locate his sinker and slider, it’s not gonna matter if he throws the changeup. I remember Royals bloggers being apoplectic after that one comment. Seemed like an overreaction to a guy saying something in response to a question after a really bad start that fit a preconceived narrative that he was stubborn.
I've repeatedly expressed my skepticism this offseason that MJ will consistently be an above-average hitter; he seems pretty intent on proving me wrong through the first 3 games.
Was very pessimistic going into Sundays game, but Singer impressed. Forget Sweeney or Driveline, Baby Singer deserves the accolades (babies encourage 4-seamers). Hopefully that bat explosion provides them with enough confidence to go from thinking they can hit, to knowing they can hit. In the back of my mind i worry a bit about Vinnie, not because of this years performance, but a lot of people are banking on him being the guy, and it just seems a little early for that conviction
The starting pitching looked great and they took the lock off the bat rack! To see them implode in the ninth the first two games was certainly disheartening. As yogi said, Dejavu all over again. I tuned in late yesterday but just in time to see Salvy go yard. Great timing. But being a long time royals fan I sure wasn’t warm and cozy. When they were up 10-0 I definitely relaxed a little. I remember Jeremy Guthrie joking about just giving him 10 runs and shut down defense and he’ll handle the rest. Whata guy! Maybe tonight is Vinny’s break out night? It can’t hurt to hope. How about Lyles? Maybe that’s the right role for him. Either way, yesterday felt great!
Solid opening series that I really enjoyed. Couldn't agree more that we desperately needed that win. Loved the starting pitching and gives a lot of hope that we'll be in a lot of games. Still think the offense will be a work in progress, but was pumped to see MJ, Isbel and Garcia show what they can be. Not too concerned about the results from this series, but I am a little concerned about the bullpen. I think the floor of the bullpen is better, but not good. Smith, Stratton, Schreiber, Zerpa, Lyles, Sauer. There is very little..juice? Power? Strikeouts. I really think we're going to need McArthur, McMillon to step up and one of Klein/Cruz to emerge.
Also. Definitely thought I saw some 4-Seamers from Brady watching live. Would not have guessed 14, but I remember picking out at least a handful that I was pretty confident were not sinkers. Like you've said, his sinker/slider was dominant, so to me, if he really threw 14 4-seamers in a game where is slider was dominant, that's something. Small step, but something. I'll definitely be watching closely to see if it continues.
I think I'm going to re-watch it as well. He's saying he used his sweeper too, which I did not see. But it did seem like the vertical break on his slider varied a bit, so maybe that was it? If so, it will be hard to track and to me is really just another, different shaped, slider?
It’s funny that you mention they needed that win. After Saturday I was ready to blast them if they lost on Sunday and started 0-3. Lol. I just don’t have the patience for hearing about how dominate the opponents starting pitching is all the time. You don’t get the benefit of the doubt at this point if you start 0-3 right out of the gate. Lol. But, they came out and calmed a lot of nerves.
I’m not going to sit here and say I buy into Singer yet. They can say he threw “other” pitches that didn’t register. But I didn’t see any different movements on pitches on the eye test. But I didn’t see every pitch either. We already know when his fastball and slider are on he is hard to hit. They were on yesterday. It was a good performance. It’s been 3 games, they’ve been in all three late. It’s exactly what I expected to see this year. If the pitching stays healthy they have no business going on a 10 game losing streak that just kills them. No business. In fact, I’d say we actually see multiple 5 game winning streaks this year with a healthy rotation. They gotta stay healthy, but they are legit big leaguers.
I watched all 3 games and it was great to see the Royals starting pitchers challenge the Twins hitters. No nibbling at the corners anymore. I loved seeing the offensive explosion with the five homers because hitting homers at the K is difficult. V’s homer looked really good because I am not sure on the replay he got all of the ball? He is so strong that he hit it out anyway! Looking forward to the Orioles series! Go Royals!
391 WRC+?? Love small sample sizes, but let’s hear it for the MVP! I hope they keep it up and the weather cooperates, because I’ll be at the game tonight in Baltimore.
A few of national baseball outlets had writers with preseason Cy Young predictions for Lopez and Ryan. So, struggling against them isn't usually. The deep exhale yesterday is evidence of the Royals fan anxiety over early season woes sinking the season. KC has shown you can lose the division in April and May. You can't win it then but you can lose it. This team is different - we'll see that emerge. Memorial Day is the early marker of season. Since teams play everyday, unlike NFL, one Chiefs game is like 10 Royals games. I think most baseball fans are so starved for content after winter, we care a lot more in the first couple of weeks.
Brady Singer is the best starting pitcher the Royals have developed since Ventura and Duffy which is damning praise but true nonetheless. I follow all the Royals content creators and they all seem to reserve varying levels of contempt for Brady while at the same time being really positive about guys like Bubic who haven’t come close to matching Brady’s production. Alex Duvall and the Royals Weekly guys come to mind. The narrative seems to be that he’s stubborn and has a bad attitude. You mention something from 2021. What happened then? I’m honestly trying to understand all the Brady hate.
It seems to be mostly about him not throwing his changeup more. Alec from the Athletic had a good piece a few years ago on how his changeup essentially sucked because it didn’t have good velo and shape differentiation from his sinker. It has mostly been a slightly slower sinker that he can’t control well. Sweeney has said basically that his style of pronation/supination doesn’t lend itself to throwing a good changeup. Also, I’ve heard them mention in interviews that he’s tried all sorts of grips and has never found one that works well (the latest is the split finger but I don’t think he can command that either). There seems to be this consensus among the Royals bloggers that an MLB pitcher can easily add any an effective pitch, when I think the reality is that having even a 40 grade pitch at the MLB level is extremely difficult. If anyone could add an effective third pitch, there’d be hundreds of relievers who were starters cashing much bigger checks. It almost seems that folks care more about his perceived refusal to throw a changeup more than his actual production.
When I hear him interviews, he seems like a perfectly nice and humble guy. I know there was one case when he said something after a bad start about how if he can’t locate his sinker and slider, it’s not gonna matter if he throws the changeup. I remember Royals bloggers being apoplectic after that one comment. Seemed like an overreaction to a guy saying something in response to a question after a really bad start that fit a preconceived narrative that he was stubborn.
How great is it to look at the scheduled starters for the next 3 games and not see Jordan Lyles?
Any idea where the powder blue uniforms were this weekend?
I've repeatedly expressed my skepticism this offseason that MJ will consistently be an above-average hitter; he seems pretty intent on proving me wrong through the first 3 games.
Was very pessimistic going into Sundays game, but Singer impressed. Forget Sweeney or Driveline, Baby Singer deserves the accolades (babies encourage 4-seamers). Hopefully that bat explosion provides them with enough confidence to go from thinking they can hit, to knowing they can hit. In the back of my mind i worry a bit about Vinnie, not because of this years performance, but a lot of people are banking on him being the guy, and it just seems a little early for that conviction
Interesting opening series for sure. We can see how important it is to get a lead early for the pitchers. Should be a fun year.
The starting pitching looked great and they took the lock off the bat rack! To see them implode in the ninth the first two games was certainly disheartening. As yogi said, Dejavu all over again. I tuned in late yesterday but just in time to see Salvy go yard. Great timing. But being a long time royals fan I sure wasn’t warm and cozy. When they were up 10-0 I definitely relaxed a little. I remember Jeremy Guthrie joking about just giving him 10 runs and shut down defense and he’ll handle the rest. Whata guy! Maybe tonight is Vinny’s break out night? It can’t hurt to hope. How about Lyles? Maybe that’s the right role for him. Either way, yesterday felt great!
Solid opening series that I really enjoyed. Couldn't agree more that we desperately needed that win. Loved the starting pitching and gives a lot of hope that we'll be in a lot of games. Still think the offense will be a work in progress, but was pumped to see MJ, Isbel and Garcia show what they can be. Not too concerned about the results from this series, but I am a little concerned about the bullpen. I think the floor of the bullpen is better, but not good. Smith, Stratton, Schreiber, Zerpa, Lyles, Sauer. There is very little..juice? Power? Strikeouts. I really think we're going to need McArthur, McMillon to step up and one of Klein/Cruz to emerge.
Also. Definitely thought I saw some 4-Seamers from Brady watching live. Would not have guessed 14, but I remember picking out at least a handful that I was pretty confident were not sinkers. Like you've said, his sinker/slider was dominant, so to me, if he really threw 14 4-seamers in a game where is slider was dominant, that's something. Small step, but something. I'll definitely be watching closely to see if it continues.
I think I'm going to re-watch it as well. He's saying he used his sweeper too, which I did not see. But it did seem like the vertical break on his slider varied a bit, so maybe that was it? If so, it will be hard to track and to me is really just another, different shaped, slider?