Farm to Fountains: Weekly Royals News Roundup

Jared Perkins February 25, 2024 in News Tagged Austin Nola, Carter Jensen, Cole Ragans, Daniel Lynch IV, Eric Hosmer, Kansas City Royals, Matt Quatraro - 8 Minutes

Here are the latest happenings in Royals news from last week!

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ROYALS NEWS

The Royals sign catcher Austin Nola to a one-year deal: “According to Anne Rogers of MLB.com, the Kansas City Royals have signed catcher Austin Nola to a one-year deal. Nola was just released by the Milwaukee Brewers today. Nola has options and is under team control until 2025. The complete financial details of the contract are still unknown.”

Eric Hosmer announces his retirement and new media venture: “In a somewhat surprising turn of events on Thursday, former Kansas City Royals star Eric Hosmer announced his retirement from professional baseball at the age of 34. Once a promising prospect in the Royals’ system, Hosmer’s career took a downturn after leaving Kansas City, leading to a decision to step away from the field. However, this retirement doesn’t mark the end of Hosmer’s involvement in the world of baseball, as he ventures into the media sphere with the launch of MoonBall Media, a media and production company.”

The Royals and Quick Trip Announce Jersey Logo Partnership: “This partnership focuses on building in the community and improving the literacy needs in Kansas City and surrounding areas. Early childhood education and literacy have been a longstanding mission of both the Kansas City Royals and QuickTrip. According to Anne Rogers of MLB.com, the partnership will also include the launch of “Hit the Books,” a program aiming to improve literacy rates for students in the Kansas City community.”

Christian Chamberlain leaves game with apparent injury: “According to Anne Rogers of MLB.com, Chamberlain felt elbow tightness in the ninth inning. The trainer had visited the mound, and he is unfortunately scheduled for testing. The severity of the injury is unknown, but hopefully, it is nothing too serious. Chamberlain has come on the radar of many as a potential high-powered arm in the back end of a Royals bullpen. Hopefully, we will have updates soon.”

ROYALS ANALYSIS

Jackson Ogden dives into the greatest Eric Hosmer moments: “Was there another option for the number one spot? To this day, I cannot believe Hosmer ran home. I went back and watched this play while creating this list and realized it encapsulated who Eric Hosmer was perfectly. Before we dive into the play itself, though, I always feel like his at-bat that resulted in an RBI double and knocked Matt Harvey out of the game isn’t talked about enough. In a game where the Royals couldn’t hit anything Harvey threw, Hosmer knocked him out of the game and got himself on base as the tying run in the top of the 9th inning.”

Greg Walker reflects on Eric Hosmer’s career: “I’m not here to litigate whether or not Hosmer was overrated or lived up to his prospect status or what have you. You can decide that for yourself by looking at the data — FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference are both free to access. No, I think the case of Eric Hosmer is a bit more nuanced than that.”

Jackson Wilks dives into the expectations for Matt Quatraro in year two: “Major League ball clubs typically have one expectation from the fans… Win. The Royals haven’t done much of that recently, yet very little of that has fallen on the managers. Before the new age front office moved in and Quatraro became the new face, there was minimal talent to field a winning team. Going into 2024, we have the chance to see what Manager Matt Quatraro can do with options at almost every position. “

Jacob Milham talks about how the Royals need to focus on Cole Ragans, the person: “But 2024 offers a new gauntlet with new expectations. Kansas City has a choice when it comes to Ragans. Will they mirror the pressure from outside the organization, or will they slow-roll Ragans in 2024? All that comes down to one thing: Ragans the person, not the production.”

Max Rieper gives his 2024 Spring Training roster predictions: “The Royals will likely have to determine which hard-throwing right-hander makes the team among Steven Cruz, Carlos Hernández, John McMillon, and Will Klein. And they will have to determine which lefty makes the team among Jake Brentz, Jake Taylor, and Sam Long”

Anne Rogers looks at Daniel Lynch IV’s journey to make the Royals rotation: “It’s probably the best I’ve felt in two years,” Lynch said. “Last year going into camp, there were some underlying things that turned into bigger things. … Things that I thought were normal and going, ‘Well, I’m just building up, it’ll go away.’ This year, I don’t feel any of those things. I feel like I’m strong.”

Kevin O’Brien looks at three pitches of pitchers to watch this spring: “The only category where Lynch’s curve was below average was in PLV and even then it was only slightly below that league median. Lynch primarily utilized the pitch against right-handers in 2023 (only threw the curve five times to left-handed batters out of a total of 68 pitches). Considering the movement of the pitch, which is sharp and more downward-dropping than a typical curve, it makes sense why Lynch didn’t utilize it much against lefties.”

David Lesky takes a look at which Royals have the most to gain this spring: “The feeling right now is that Isbel is a stopgap center fielder for the Royals. He’s a very good defender and his bat is occasionally fine. But the Royals have some others on the way. Gavin Cross had a horrible 2023, but I was shocked to read in Keith Law’s Royals prospects writeup that Cross had a tick borne illness for basically all of 2023 that sapped power from him. I’m willing to give him a mulligan on that.”

Jacob Milham discusses the QuickTrip partnership and what it means for the KC community: “The partnership’s revenue centers around investing back into the Kansas City community with literacy education initiatives. Whether it be mobile libraries, donating to Kansas City Public Schools, or “in-game and in-broadcast literary-related activations“, this partnership can do a ton of good.”

Royals Weekly discusses if Maikel Garcia found power: “The Kansas City Royals need plenty of their offensive pieces to step up in 2024. M.J. Melendez, Kyle Isbel, and Michael Massey stand out as players with inconsistent performances in 2023 who the team is counting on to turn it around in 2024. But Maikel Garcia needs to progress offensively, as well, and there’s some evidence that he may be poised for an offensive breakout.”

FARM SYSTEM

Preston Farr looks at the wave of future Royals pitching: “Instead, the front office has cashed in their chips early and the payout was a proven MLB reliever with three years of control and an inconsistent track record. The move brings up a great question: how healthy is the team’s pitching outlook for the next handful of seasons? Even without Sandlin, there are still plenty of arms to follow. They can best be separated by the “waves” that are listed below.”

Sean Hackett breaks down how the trade of David Sandlin will impact the River Bandits: “The loss of Sandlin leaves a hole regardless. He was the presumptive Opening Day starter for Quad Cities, although Frank Mozzicato and Ben Kudrna make a strong case as well. Last season, he struck out 11.7 hitters per nine innings while walking just 2.4 per nine. That combination of strikeout stuff and command doesn’t exist for the River Bandits. The loss will sting, but there’s hope that some of the arms above can help to lessen the loss in 2024 for the High-A pitching staff.”

Zac Miller dives into five players from Omaha who could bounce back in 2024: “Pratto is not far removed from the 36 HR season he enjoyed in 2021 between NW Arkansas and Omaha. There is a small chance he takes a bench spot on the Royals’ 26-man roster to begin the season. More likely he will begin the season as the Storm Chasers’ starting first baseman. Pratto is the Royals’ best defensive first basemen, but until his bat comes around, it won’t matter.”

Jaylon Thompson sits down with Royals prospect Carter Jensen: “It’s real experience,” Jensen said. “It’s one of those things I have been looking forward to. It’s something I have been working for in the offseason and during the season in my time in pro ball. Just to make it here: to begin the season with my hometown team where I grew up watching, coming out here to Surprise, Arizona, and watching games in the stands.