On Tuesday night Yarbrough completely lost the strike zone, was getting bombed, and Quatraro let him throw 80 pitches. The very next night Greinke was hanging up zeros and was only permitted 44 pitches. What, exactly, is the overriding philosophy here?
It certainly worked out on Wednesday night but if you keep changing pitchers like that it won't take too long to find someone who will give up some runs, and quite possibly a lot of them.
I think the point in the game makes a big difference. If Greinke was at 44 pitches through four and the lineup was about to turn over, I would assume he wouldn't have been pulled. The extra inning helped. I think they had five relievers available last night and felt the play was to not let Greinke face the top of their lineup a third time. Had they had three truly available, maybe it's different. There are just so many factors that go into it. I also think Tuesday night, Q is looking at it as the first of 16 straight days with a game. On Wednesday night, he's probably thinking he made a mistake the night before and is correcting it.
The circumstance, though, matters more than anything and last night was the rare convergence if it just working out perfectly to use that tactic. You're right. Guys need to go deeper than five innings consistently, but even with all the issues with the rotation, Amir Garrett and Jose Cuas have the most appearances out of the bullpen for the team and they are tied for 31st in baseball. From an innings perspective, Carlos Hernandez and Taylor Clarke lead the team in relief innings with 15 (Clarke technically had two as a starter, but we know what that was) and that ranks tied for 39th. For now, and this can change very quickly, the bullpen usage has been optimized to at least keep the arms fresh.
It feels better. Glad you have something positive to write about. It’s a little hard for me to get worked up one way or the other on managerial moves with a team this bad. I don’t have any issue with pulling Greinke that early…and more than anything it’s an acknowledgement that they view him as a five and dive guy. Which is probably one of the only good assessments they’ve made so far this year at the big league level. Actually, bringing up Fermin is the second one and finally putting a stake in the ground with Melendez that he is your right fielder. It shouldn’t take 40 games to do these things. But at least it is done now and hopefully he can focus on hitting cause that needs improvement. Third is….Pratto and Garcia need to stay on the infield. That was the best looking defense they have played all year (i don’t catch every game). One of my frustrations is all the talk about being more like the Rays…but not actually doing some of the things the Rays do. I’m curious if this is Q telling Picollo…this needs to happen or not. I’m not a believer in using the same lineup everyday. Its not really a thing with MLB caliber hitters. I am however, a big believer, in your best players not being UTILITY players. If Pratto is your best first baseman, play him at first. If Salvy is your best catcher just let him catch. If Melendez is your best right fielder just let him play outfield. They have done it with every single guy….and I don’t think it is a coincidence that they have there best game with the best defensive lineup on the field and guys playing their best positions. IDK that they will hit enough, I sure as heck don’t think they are going to pitch enough…but if we have gotten to the point of not jerking these guys out of position…I’ll finally way too late….take it.
It’s actually a little frustrating to me that they waited till the 40 game mark to do some of these things. It’s frustrating because its all the same thing that was done with the previous regime.
LOL, I think I got the 40 game mark from you. I must have misread something then. My bad. Well, I guess they made moves at the 30 game mark…so i have to begrudgingly accept that.
I'm surprised you aren't happier about excellent managing. That is honestly one of the things that isn't as dependent on actual talent on the field as everything else. But I do find it interesting that you call it one of the only good assessments they've made so far and then go on to list multiple others haha. And to be fair, it hasn't taken them 30 games. They had Pratto up at 26 games and Fermin came back after 29. There isn't a team in the world that is going to make judgments with a new staff quicker than that, not even the Rays.
You mention the Rays and one thing I'll say is that the Rays didn't become THE RAYS overnight. This coaching staff has been in place since mid-November. They had spring training and then a month of games to evaluate. And they've made adjustments. I'm guessing we'll see more adjustments now a little more regularly as they've had the chance to see a reasonable sample of games. I can tell you with almost complete certainty that the roster on the field to start the year isn't what Q wants long term but there are other factors at play here that every team faces and we just don't see them on a day to day basis. Going back to the Rays, they went 68-94 in Kevin Cash's second year there. They were playing Brad Miller at shortstop most days. I guarantee you that wasn't the team Cash would have loved on the field, but they worked the roster and tweaked it and then got there. They won 90 games in 2018, two years later. I'm not saying the Royals will get there, but it isn't an overnight process.
All that said, I agree with not moving guys around constantly, though I also think it depends on the individual. Melendez is someone they spent a month watching move back and forth and decided it's not good for him. Maybe Pratto is that way, maybe he isn't. Maybe Garcia can bounce, maybe he can't, but I do think it helps to play one position and focus on that for a young player. That's obviously their plan with Bobby Witt Jr.
I’m not disappointed in good managing. It just doesn’t matter right now in the grand scheme of things. I’m glad to see he can do it but I fully expected him too otherwise JJ hired the wrong guy. They’ve done some good things. But what I’m saying is they just did them this last week. This last time Fermin came up yesterday or the day before was the first time I heard Q say Melendez will be in right everyday. He didn’t say that last time Fermin was up. Yesterday may have been the first time they put their best infield on the diamond. I’m not sure Taylor wouldn’t be better than Massey so it could even be better. But it just happened.
I’m not saying this will be an overnight process….heck, they aren’t going to be .500 till 25 at the earliest at this point and that’s no guarantee. But I’m still trying to figure out what this group values. Roster flexibility? Utility players are great and useful. But you are utility player if you aren’t good enough at your best position. And at some point this is an MLB franchise. Earn your keep. Which they don’t have the depth for and it’s a never ending cycle right. I’m still frustrated with JJ. But it’s mainly this. For all the advanced stats and useful data. Sometimes it’s as easy as playing your guys at their best positions….which shouldn’t be that hard of a thing to figure out. If their best position is blocked…what oh what should you do? So I’m not sure if I’m actually more irritated it worked last night. Q being able to manage a game is a good thing. I’m just a Debbie downer today apparently. It was a great win and at least entertaining!
Oh I didn't think you were disappointed. I just thought you'd be more excited about it since it points to the overall process. And again, this last week is probably about the earliest that any team would tweak things. Also, don't get too excited about Taylor defensively. He's not bad, but he's not going to wow anyone.
I don't think we know what this group values yet, but I think it will become very clear as the season goes on. If they stick with this grouping for awhile, I think it'll be pretty clear that they value guys who can either put runs on the board or guys who can take runs off, which is super simple, but I think the Royals try to serve too many masters with their running guys around the field, like you say. It feels like this season is much deeper than it is because it's been so awful just about every day, but there's still 131 games left.
For the record I couldn't agree with you more about the need to sign Vinnie long-term. I also agree that Q used Chapman at exactly the right time. But back to Zack...
I understand that on average he struggles more the third time through the lineup. But last night was hardly an average night for Zack. He was on a roll like we haven't seen from him in quite a while. Q should have ridden that wave for all it was worth. He's lucky it worked out that well because many times it won't.
If it were any other starter on the staff I would have been 100% on board: "Get him out of there before something bad happens." But Zack isn't just any other starter.
I think the current version of Zack IS any other starter right now. That’s not a knock…he can still get you outs. But he isn’t the same Zack as 10 years ago.
He's on a roll until he isn't. Just like I wrote, Gibson was on a roll too. And while I agree that Greinke is different, he has middling stuff and that's a lineup that if you can avoid a third time, you probably should.
That's a very fair point and if the Royals had even an average starting five it would be irrefutable. But with this bunch he sticks out like a sore thumb even at his advanced age.
Not to be too pedantic, but he came into last night with a 6.10 ERA, 39 hits allowed in 31 innings and a 16.3% strikeout rate. I wouldn't say there's been anything special about him this year to differentiate from anyone in a positive way.
I LOVED last night's game! I'm wondering when Nicky comes back, if perhaps Dozier's days may be numbered. How can you send Garcia back with the way he's playing? He seems like a huge upgrade from Dozier. Yes, I know it's only been a couple games, but still. I'm skeptical that the team will continue playing this way (that seems quite impossible actually), but it's nice to see that they have the capability to play the game well. Nice analysis on the Greinke move. I was surprised that they pulled him with so few pitches thrown, but after reading your analysis, it does make sense, and it was obviously the right move.
We'll see if Garcia continues to play this well, but I think that Lopez's return, combined with the first base duo of Pasquantino and Pratto with Melendez in the outfield full time probably leaves Dozier without a spot. I'd guess he gets until then, which I don't know how long that'll be and then that'll be it for him. But you never know until you know, I guess.
Lineup for today is out already, and for the third day in a row, Dozier isn't in it. I really believe that he's come to the proverbial "end of the road," with apologies to Boyz II Men.
Last night's game showed what can happen when everything goes right. While these guys are still young--only ONE player in the lineup last night had over 765 career PA coming into the game--these games are going to be somewhat sporadic, but it shows that it IS in there. In a strange way, I'm actually a little glad that Salvador Perez wasn't really involved in the offense last night. There's going to be a sad day a few years down the road where he's not there at all (and that will be sad, make no mistake).
I know that 31-game paces aren't exactly trustworthy, but it is still notable that Vinnie P. is up to 17 XBH this year, which would put him on a pace of 89. The Royals' team record is 86, and that's stood since 1982 (McRae). Could it happen?
Hal doesn't get nearly enough love for how good he was. I'm glad you looked that up because I knew it was in the 80s but wasn't sure the exact number. That's going to be something to watch if he can keep that up for a little bit longer. I'd say if he's at something like 30 at Memorial Day that the race is on because the ball starts carrying better in summer too.
Yeah, people forget that one of Brett's batting titles (1976) was won by a single point over Hal (with a bit of a controversial finish). He was the poor man's Edgar Martinez long before Edgar came around (less power, but a lot more speed, in an era and ballpark where that tradeoff was OK). As a biased fan, admittedly, I always thought McRae should have received at least a little Hall of Fame attention (Ron Cey and Doug DeCinces each got HoF votes in 1993, while Hal got zero).
In his post game comments on the broadcast Q said the reason they pulled ZK was exactly the reason you brought up, David. I have been flipping this crazy idea around in my head all year, but am going to throw it out there now. As well as ZK pitchers at home, and so terrible on the road, would it be crazy fanagle the pitching around and pitch him only at home. I know its probably crazy, but so far he done nothing on the road. Please don't bury me too bad.
Oh I've had that thought too! I don't know how it would work right now, but teams do weird things with their rotations all the time to accommodate splits, so maybe if they can get some guys up. I don't think you can do it with a true five-man rotation is the only issue. Though they do only have two more road trips of more than six games, so maybe?
I think you can do it…but only if you have the depth to pull it off. If this was a contending team, I think you’d see them find ways to only pitch Zack at home. But with how it is now….he is getting paid to eat up innings as much as he is for good performance. If they had one or two guys they could call up for a spot start….I think they would do it. But they just don’t have those guys. Or maybe you see it later in the year after someone in AAA gets hot and puts together a string of good starts.
Baseball Savant has Pratto at a sprint speed at 18th percentile, so yeah, he's slower than I thought. Pratto has a great glove, no doubt. If Nick keeps hitting at an above 100 OPS+, then the glove plays, but your 1B has to hit... Hopefully he can keep it up. One of many problems with the Royals is that their best bats seem to all play the same positions. Sal when not catching has to DH. 1B is his only other potential position. Vinnie 1B and DH. Pratto 1B, tho he does seem to play a decent corner OF. At SS, Witt, Garcia, and Nicky who can provide gold glove defense. Olivares... should be a DH.
I wouldn't put too much stock in sprint speed with as few times as he's been clocked. He was 48th percentile last season and I would be surprised if he lost that much speed at this age in a year. Still, he's not fast. But yeah, they have a lot of redundancies, which can be used to their benefit in making smart trades, though I do think it works if Pratto can handle a corner outfield spot once a week or so.
I know the "third time through the order" problem, but I've wondered if there's any research showing if it's because the batters have likely seen the entire repertoire for that game OR if it's because the pitcher is tired. Probably both, right?
It's definitely both, so the fatigue likely hadn't set in, but even on a limited number of pitches, just seeing arm slot, movement, etc. twice is enough to cause a pitcher issues the third time through.
This season (admittedly small sample size) batters have a 1.000 OPS against Zack. Now, considering that he'd only thrown 44 pitches--or only about 2.6 for each of the 17 batters faced--you might be tempted to say that nobody saw him enough to get a good feel for what his stuff was. But, you never know...I was confused about why he was taken out so early, but I didn't really get upset about it.
And besides, since they rarely score while ZG is on the mound, maybe it worked out just right. :)
I think just seeing a guy twice, even with a limited number of pitches, is enough to incur that penalty. I wouldn't have been upset if they had left him out for the sixth, but I said before we knew the results that I liked it and I definitely did after we saw the results.
I would like to apply for citizenship in the Pasquanation.
That play by Pratto is the reason I was confused when people were talking about bringing him up and having him DH or play in the outfield. Huh? Pratto is an elite defender at 1B. Vinnie is fine there but I want Pratto at 1B and Vinnie at DH for the next 5 years.
The nice thing that Pratto brings is that he can play outfield well enough that when Salvy needs to DH, Vinnie can go to first and he can go to the outfield. But yeah, if Salvy is catching, Pratto should be at first 90% of the time. I'm open to the idea that Vinnie should be in the field sometimes just to keep that sharp, but Pratto is so good there.
Nice game for sure...Vinnie is the real deal...wonder what the scouts think now...I recall reading about him when he was drafted....he could hit then, but just didn't tic all the "beauty boxes"....
Once hunter and JBJ are gone this team will have the makeup and identity I am looking for...Go Royals!
Some of it is that Pasquantino has progressed, both due to his work and the Royals development. Some of it is obviously natural talent. He's a success story regardless.
I will die on the hill that Q is a good manager who has been dealt a poor hand with the roster of muck he’s been given. He’s made a lot of moves that have really stuck out to me. This is the second time (that I remember) that Chapman showed up to our down the toughest part of the lineup (the Angels win vs Trout/Ohtani/Rendon was the other). Making the decision to sit Greinke. The lineup shuffling.
Q can’t help that this roster has Dozier and Lyles and Massey on it.
On Tuesday night Yarbrough completely lost the strike zone, was getting bombed, and Quatraro let him throw 80 pitches. The very next night Greinke was hanging up zeros and was only permitted 44 pitches. What, exactly, is the overriding philosophy here?
It certainly worked out on Wednesday night but if you keep changing pitchers like that it won't take too long to find someone who will give up some runs, and quite possibly a lot of them.
I think the point in the game makes a big difference. If Greinke was at 44 pitches through four and the lineup was about to turn over, I would assume he wouldn't have been pulled. The extra inning helped. I think they had five relievers available last night and felt the play was to not let Greinke face the top of their lineup a third time. Had they had three truly available, maybe it's different. There are just so many factors that go into it. I also think Tuesday night, Q is looking at it as the first of 16 straight days with a game. On Wednesday night, he's probably thinking he made a mistake the night before and is correcting it.
The circumstance, though, matters more than anything and last night was the rare convergence if it just working out perfectly to use that tactic. You're right. Guys need to go deeper than five innings consistently, but even with all the issues with the rotation, Amir Garrett and Jose Cuas have the most appearances out of the bullpen for the team and they are tied for 31st in baseball. From an innings perspective, Carlos Hernandez and Taylor Clarke lead the team in relief innings with 15 (Clarke technically had two as a starter, but we know what that was) and that ranks tied for 39th. For now, and this can change very quickly, the bullpen usage has been optimized to at least keep the arms fresh.
It feels better. Glad you have something positive to write about. It’s a little hard for me to get worked up one way or the other on managerial moves with a team this bad. I don’t have any issue with pulling Greinke that early…and more than anything it’s an acknowledgement that they view him as a five and dive guy. Which is probably one of the only good assessments they’ve made so far this year at the big league level. Actually, bringing up Fermin is the second one and finally putting a stake in the ground with Melendez that he is your right fielder. It shouldn’t take 40 games to do these things. But at least it is done now and hopefully he can focus on hitting cause that needs improvement. Third is….Pratto and Garcia need to stay on the infield. That was the best looking defense they have played all year (i don’t catch every game). One of my frustrations is all the talk about being more like the Rays…but not actually doing some of the things the Rays do. I’m curious if this is Q telling Picollo…this needs to happen or not. I’m not a believer in using the same lineup everyday. Its not really a thing with MLB caliber hitters. I am however, a big believer, in your best players not being UTILITY players. If Pratto is your best first baseman, play him at first. If Salvy is your best catcher just let him catch. If Melendez is your best right fielder just let him play outfield. They have done it with every single guy….and I don’t think it is a coincidence that they have there best game with the best defensive lineup on the field and guys playing their best positions. IDK that they will hit enough, I sure as heck don’t think they are going to pitch enough…but if we have gotten to the point of not jerking these guys out of position…I’ll finally way too late….take it.
It’s actually a little frustrating to me that they waited till the 40 game mark to do some of these things. It’s frustrating because its all the same thing that was done with the previous regime.
I feel like you're writing this comment from the future because they don't play their 40th game for more than a week.
LOL, I think I got the 40 game mark from you. I must have misread something then. My bad. Well, I guess they made moves at the 30 game mark…so i have to begrudgingly accept that.
I said a few days ago that Dayton always waited that long but they couldn't this year.
It’s kind of funny….it feels like the Royals have played 104 games with how this has started. They aren’t even to the 40 game mark….woof.
There's good and bad with that, but it's only good if they somehow put together a decent stretch. At least they have the schedule for it in May.
I'm surprised you aren't happier about excellent managing. That is honestly one of the things that isn't as dependent on actual talent on the field as everything else. But I do find it interesting that you call it one of the only good assessments they've made so far and then go on to list multiple others haha. And to be fair, it hasn't taken them 30 games. They had Pratto up at 26 games and Fermin came back after 29. There isn't a team in the world that is going to make judgments with a new staff quicker than that, not even the Rays.
You mention the Rays and one thing I'll say is that the Rays didn't become THE RAYS overnight. This coaching staff has been in place since mid-November. They had spring training and then a month of games to evaluate. And they've made adjustments. I'm guessing we'll see more adjustments now a little more regularly as they've had the chance to see a reasonable sample of games. I can tell you with almost complete certainty that the roster on the field to start the year isn't what Q wants long term but there are other factors at play here that every team faces and we just don't see them on a day to day basis. Going back to the Rays, they went 68-94 in Kevin Cash's second year there. They were playing Brad Miller at shortstop most days. I guarantee you that wasn't the team Cash would have loved on the field, but they worked the roster and tweaked it and then got there. They won 90 games in 2018, two years later. I'm not saying the Royals will get there, but it isn't an overnight process.
All that said, I agree with not moving guys around constantly, though I also think it depends on the individual. Melendez is someone they spent a month watching move back and forth and decided it's not good for him. Maybe Pratto is that way, maybe he isn't. Maybe Garcia can bounce, maybe he can't, but I do think it helps to play one position and focus on that for a young player. That's obviously their plan with Bobby Witt Jr.
I’m not disappointed in good managing. It just doesn’t matter right now in the grand scheme of things. I’m glad to see he can do it but I fully expected him too otherwise JJ hired the wrong guy. They’ve done some good things. But what I’m saying is they just did them this last week. This last time Fermin came up yesterday or the day before was the first time I heard Q say Melendez will be in right everyday. He didn’t say that last time Fermin was up. Yesterday may have been the first time they put their best infield on the diamond. I’m not sure Taylor wouldn’t be better than Massey so it could even be better. But it just happened.
I’m not saying this will be an overnight process….heck, they aren’t going to be .500 till 25 at the earliest at this point and that’s no guarantee. But I’m still trying to figure out what this group values. Roster flexibility? Utility players are great and useful. But you are utility player if you aren’t good enough at your best position. And at some point this is an MLB franchise. Earn your keep. Which they don’t have the depth for and it’s a never ending cycle right. I’m still frustrated with JJ. But it’s mainly this. For all the advanced stats and useful data. Sometimes it’s as easy as playing your guys at their best positions….which shouldn’t be that hard of a thing to figure out. If their best position is blocked…what oh what should you do? So I’m not sure if I’m actually more irritated it worked last night. Q being able to manage a game is a good thing. I’m just a Debbie downer today apparently. It was a great win and at least entertaining!
Oh I didn't think you were disappointed. I just thought you'd be more excited about it since it points to the overall process. And again, this last week is probably about the earliest that any team would tweak things. Also, don't get too excited about Taylor defensively. He's not bad, but he's not going to wow anyone.
I don't think we know what this group values yet, but I think it will become very clear as the season goes on. If they stick with this grouping for awhile, I think it'll be pretty clear that they value guys who can either put runs on the board or guys who can take runs off, which is super simple, but I think the Royals try to serve too many masters with their running guys around the field, like you say. It feels like this season is much deeper than it is because it's been so awful just about every day, but there's still 131 games left.
For the record I couldn't agree with you more about the need to sign Vinnie long-term. I also agree that Q used Chapman at exactly the right time. But back to Zack...
I understand that on average he struggles more the third time through the lineup. But last night was hardly an average night for Zack. He was on a roll like we haven't seen from him in quite a while. Q should have ridden that wave for all it was worth. He's lucky it worked out that well because many times it won't.
If it were any other starter on the staff I would have been 100% on board: "Get him out of there before something bad happens." But Zack isn't just any other starter.
I think the current version of Zack IS any other starter right now. That’s not a knock…he can still get you outs. But he isn’t the same Zack as 10 years ago.
He's on a roll until he isn't. Just like I wrote, Gibson was on a roll too. And while I agree that Greinke is different, he has middling stuff and that's a lineup that if you can avoid a third time, you probably should.
That's a very fair point and if the Royals had even an average starting five it would be irrefutable. But with this bunch he sticks out like a sore thumb even at his advanced age.
Not to be too pedantic, but he came into last night with a 6.10 ERA, 39 hits allowed in 31 innings and a 16.3% strikeout rate. I wouldn't say there's been anything special about him this year to differentiate from anyone in a positive way.
I LOVED last night's game! I'm wondering when Nicky comes back, if perhaps Dozier's days may be numbered. How can you send Garcia back with the way he's playing? He seems like a huge upgrade from Dozier. Yes, I know it's only been a couple games, but still. I'm skeptical that the team will continue playing this way (that seems quite impossible actually), but it's nice to see that they have the capability to play the game well. Nice analysis on the Greinke move. I was surprised that they pulled him with so few pitches thrown, but after reading your analysis, it does make sense, and it was obviously the right move.
We'll see if Garcia continues to play this well, but I think that Lopez's return, combined with the first base duo of Pasquantino and Pratto with Melendez in the outfield full time probably leaves Dozier without a spot. I'd guess he gets until then, which I don't know how long that'll be and then that'll be it for him. But you never know until you know, I guess.
Lineup for today is out already, and for the third day in a row, Dozier isn't in it. I really believe that he's come to the proverbial "end of the road," with apologies to Boyz II Men.
Yep, I think the writing is on the wall.
Last night's game showed what can happen when everything goes right. While these guys are still young--only ONE player in the lineup last night had over 765 career PA coming into the game--these games are going to be somewhat sporadic, but it shows that it IS in there. In a strange way, I'm actually a little glad that Salvador Perez wasn't really involved in the offense last night. There's going to be a sad day a few years down the road where he's not there at all (and that will be sad, make no mistake).
I know that 31-game paces aren't exactly trustworthy, but it is still notable that Vinnie P. is up to 17 XBH this year, which would put him on a pace of 89. The Royals' team record is 86, and that's stood since 1982 (McRae). Could it happen?
Sorry...right guy, but wrong year. It was 1977. He "only" had 81 in 1982, the year he turned 37 lol.
Hal doesn't get nearly enough love for how good he was. I'm glad you looked that up because I knew it was in the 80s but wasn't sure the exact number. That's going to be something to watch if he can keep that up for a little bit longer. I'd say if he's at something like 30 at Memorial Day that the race is on because the ball starts carrying better in summer too.
Yeah, people forget that one of Brett's batting titles (1976) was won by a single point over Hal (with a bit of a controversial finish). He was the poor man's Edgar Martinez long before Edgar came around (less power, but a lot more speed, in an era and ballpark where that tradeoff was OK). As a biased fan, admittedly, I always thought McRae should have received at least a little Hall of Fame attention (Ron Cey and Doug DeCinces each got HoF votes in 1993, while Hal got zero).
In his post game comments on the broadcast Q said the reason they pulled ZK was exactly the reason you brought up, David. I have been flipping this crazy idea around in my head all year, but am going to throw it out there now. As well as ZK pitchers at home, and so terrible on the road, would it be crazy fanagle the pitching around and pitch him only at home. I know its probably crazy, but so far he done nothing on the road. Please don't bury me too bad.
Oh I've had that thought too! I don't know how it would work right now, but teams do weird things with their rotations all the time to accommodate splits, so maybe if they can get some guys up. I don't think you can do it with a true five-man rotation is the only issue. Though they do only have two more road trips of more than six games, so maybe?
I think you can do it…but only if you have the depth to pull it off. If this was a contending team, I think you’d see them find ways to only pitch Zack at home. But with how it is now….he is getting paid to eat up innings as much as he is for good performance. If they had one or two guys they could call up for a spot start….I think they would do it. But they just don’t have those guys. Or maybe you see it later in the year after someone in AAA gets hot and puts together a string of good starts.
Baseball Savant has Pratto at a sprint speed at 18th percentile, so yeah, he's slower than I thought. Pratto has a great glove, no doubt. If Nick keeps hitting at an above 100 OPS+, then the glove plays, but your 1B has to hit... Hopefully he can keep it up. One of many problems with the Royals is that their best bats seem to all play the same positions. Sal when not catching has to DH. 1B is his only other potential position. Vinnie 1B and DH. Pratto 1B, tho he does seem to play a decent corner OF. At SS, Witt, Garcia, and Nicky who can provide gold glove defense. Olivares... should be a DH.
I wouldn't put too much stock in sprint speed with as few times as he's been clocked. He was 48th percentile last season and I would be surprised if he lost that much speed at this age in a year. Still, he's not fast. But yeah, they have a lot of redundancies, which can be used to their benefit in making smart trades, though I do think it works if Pratto can handle a corner outfield spot once a week or so.
I know the "third time through the order" problem, but I've wondered if there's any research showing if it's because the batters have likely seen the entire repertoire for that game OR if it's because the pitcher is tired. Probably both, right?
It's definitely both, so the fatigue likely hadn't set in, but even on a limited number of pitches, just seeing arm slot, movement, etc. twice is enough to cause a pitcher issues the third time through.
This season (admittedly small sample size) batters have a 1.000 OPS against Zack. Now, considering that he'd only thrown 44 pitches--or only about 2.6 for each of the 17 batters faced--you might be tempted to say that nobody saw him enough to get a good feel for what his stuff was. But, you never know...I was confused about why he was taken out so early, but I didn't really get upset about it.
And besides, since they rarely score while ZG is on the mound, maybe it worked out just right. :)
I think just seeing a guy twice, even with a limited number of pitches, is enough to incur that penalty. I wouldn't have been upset if they had left him out for the sixth, but I said before we knew the results that I liked it and I definitely did after we saw the results.
I would like to apply for citizenship in the Pasquanation.
That play by Pratto is the reason I was confused when people were talking about bringing him up and having him DH or play in the outfield. Huh? Pratto is an elite defender at 1B. Vinnie is fine there but I want Pratto at 1B and Vinnie at DH for the next 5 years.
The nice thing that Pratto brings is that he can play outfield well enough that when Salvy needs to DH, Vinnie can go to first and he can go to the outfield. But yeah, if Salvy is catching, Pratto should be at first 90% of the time. I'm open to the idea that Vinnie should be in the field sometimes just to keep that sharp, but Pratto is so good there.
Nice game for sure...Vinnie is the real deal...wonder what the scouts think now...I recall reading about him when he was drafted....he could hit then, but just didn't tic all the "beauty boxes"....
Once hunter and JBJ are gone this team will have the makeup and identity I am looking for...Go Royals!
Some of it is that Pasquantino has progressed, both due to his work and the Royals development. Some of it is obviously natural talent. He's a success story regardless.
I will die on the hill that Q is a good manager who has been dealt a poor hand with the roster of muck he’s been given. He’s made a lot of moves that have really stuck out to me. This is the second time (that I remember) that Chapman showed up to our down the toughest part of the lineup (the Angels win vs Trout/Ohtani/Rendon was the other). Making the decision to sit Greinke. The lineup shuffling.
Q can’t help that this roster has Dozier and Lyles and Massey on it.
While I agree with most of this, I wouldn’t put Massey in with two veterans who appear to be toast. He’s had a bad start but he’s talented.
I agree that he is but he’s underperformed both of them so he gets lumped in with them for my thought exercise.
I just think it's different for guys who could actually figure out vs. guys who likely aren't, but that's fair.
I agree with that assessment, too. And as I write this he just laced a double.
With a really nice swing. That was encouraging.