Good stuff and definitely accurate. What I've learned is that this team is enigmatic. Sometimes I can't believe they've won as much as they have, then (often times just a few innings later) I can't believe they haven't won more than they have.
Going into the season I thought we could be really good. I loved the makeup and energy of the team. However, what I didn't foresee is how sloppy this team is. They're just sloppy. I can't think of a more accurate adjective to describe them. The walks, the head-scratching, unforced errors (See Brady Singer, Whit, et al); you just can't beat good teams doing those things.
The best indicator of future behavior is past behavior so if we continue as we've been playing then I think we're good enough to beat bad teams, but bad enough to not win much vs. the good teams. If we bow our neck and tighten things up we can be really good. Which way we go from here will tell me a lot about MM.
It has definitely been encouraging to see them bounce back. When you consider the production they've gotten from Dozier and Soler.... and Mondi being out 90% of the games, its really quite remarkable they are over .500. The lineup has mostly underperformed, their best starter has been mostly bad, bullpen and rotation shaky and lacking depth....
We really need:
1) Soler and Dozier to heat up with the weather. The impact of two more .850 OPS bats in the lineup would be immense.
2) Mondesi playing in 90% of the remaining games. The most gifted player on the team, tho not always the best.
And long term
3) The Farm system to produce.
Other than Bowlen going down the other day with with TJ, the farm system has gotten off to a great first month with an overall winning pct of .620 You've got Lynch and Kowar at Omaha. Presumably Kowar gets the next crack at the rotation. He's been lights out with an ERA of 0.85. The Royals will be as good as their young pitching is. There are a ton of other young arms all over the system putting up good numbers. They are loaded. We've got to develop these pitchers to rise in the division. Lynch is working from the stretch now. Should help with repeatability and not tipping his pitches.
There aren't a lot of bats capable of impacting the Royals short term after Pratto and Witt. So far so good for the Pratto 1B , Witt 3B, Santana to DH and trade Soler if he ever starts hitting plan.
We've got a lot of high floor low ceiling fairly early round college bats like Loftin, Gentry, Isbell, Bradley, Massey, McConnell, etc. Lots of 23-25 year olds that will need to hit immediately or they won't be prospects for long. Two names most Royals fans haven't heard of are Herard Gonzales and Maikal Garcia, the 20 and 21 year old middle infielders for Columbia. Both, but especially SS Garcia, have been very very good at Low A. He has a .356 average and a .933 OPS.
Overall the farm report is overwhelmingly positive if for no other reasons than the progress of Pratto, Melendez, and Bobby Witt jr., and the continued success of top level pitching prospects.
Many promising ifs. If Gutierrez can elevate his batted balls, If Olivares is a better option than Soler by maintaining contact and playing defense, If the mediocre pitching staff can maintain its competitiveness, If Dozier can start consistently hitting, If Taylor can stop striking out so much and keep the ball in play. A couple more reliable arms in the pen would help. Give Gabe Speirer a shot. When Zuber and Junis and Davis come in we are probably giving up a run or two.
Now that everyone is all guns on Kowar its damn good to see lynch rebound in his last two starts.
We must have some relief arms down there. Hernandez is iffy, we will see with Bolanos.
To contend with the late June and July-August schedule we have to be hitting on all cylinders.
I will say with the televised broadcasts available in Los Angeles, I have immensely enjoyed quite a few games. We seem to eke out a good amount of wins and it makes for exciting baseball.
Overall last 3 weeks have been a pleasure to be a Royals fan
Good stuff and definitely accurate. What I've learned is that this team is enigmatic. Sometimes I can't believe they've won as much as they have, then (often times just a few innings later) I can't believe they haven't won more than they have.
Going into the season I thought we could be really good. I loved the makeup and energy of the team. However, what I didn't foresee is how sloppy this team is. They're just sloppy. I can't think of a more accurate adjective to describe them. The walks, the head-scratching, unforced errors (See Brady Singer, Whit, et al); you just can't beat good teams doing those things.
The best indicator of future behavior is past behavior so if we continue as we've been playing then I think we're good enough to beat bad teams, but bad enough to not win much vs. the good teams. If we bow our neck and tighten things up we can be really good. Which way we go from here will tell me a lot about MM.
It has definitely been encouraging to see them bounce back. When you consider the production they've gotten from Dozier and Soler.... and Mondi being out 90% of the games, its really quite remarkable they are over .500. The lineup has mostly underperformed, their best starter has been mostly bad, bullpen and rotation shaky and lacking depth....
We really need:
1) Soler and Dozier to heat up with the weather. The impact of two more .850 OPS bats in the lineup would be immense.
2) Mondesi playing in 90% of the remaining games. The most gifted player on the team, tho not always the best.
And long term
3) The Farm system to produce.
Other than Bowlen going down the other day with with TJ, the farm system has gotten off to a great first month with an overall winning pct of .620 You've got Lynch and Kowar at Omaha. Presumably Kowar gets the next crack at the rotation. He's been lights out with an ERA of 0.85. The Royals will be as good as their young pitching is. There are a ton of other young arms all over the system putting up good numbers. They are loaded. We've got to develop these pitchers to rise in the division. Lynch is working from the stretch now. Should help with repeatability and not tipping his pitches.
There aren't a lot of bats capable of impacting the Royals short term after Pratto and Witt. So far so good for the Pratto 1B , Witt 3B, Santana to DH and trade Soler if he ever starts hitting plan.
We've got a lot of high floor low ceiling fairly early round college bats like Loftin, Gentry, Isbell, Bradley, Massey, McConnell, etc. Lots of 23-25 year olds that will need to hit immediately or they won't be prospects for long. Two names most Royals fans haven't heard of are Herard Gonzales and Maikal Garcia, the 20 and 21 year old middle infielders for Columbia. Both, but especially SS Garcia, have been very very good at Low A. He has a .356 average and a .933 OPS.
Overall the farm report is overwhelmingly positive if for no other reasons than the progress of Pratto, Melendez, and Bobby Witt jr., and the continued success of top level pitching prospects.
Many promising ifs. If Gutierrez can elevate his batted balls, If Olivares is a better option than Soler by maintaining contact and playing defense, If the mediocre pitching staff can maintain its competitiveness, If Dozier can start consistently hitting, If Taylor can stop striking out so much and keep the ball in play. A couple more reliable arms in the pen would help. Give Gabe Speirer a shot. When Zuber and Junis and Davis come in we are probably giving up a run or two.
Now that everyone is all guns on Kowar its damn good to see lynch rebound in his last two starts.
We must have some relief arms down there. Hernandez is iffy, we will see with Bolanos.
To contend with the late June and July-August schedule we have to be hitting on all cylinders.
I will say with the televised broadcasts available in Los Angeles, I have immensely enjoyed quite a few games. We seem to eke out a good amount of wins and it makes for exciting baseball.
Overall last 3 weeks have been a pleasure to be a Royals fan