Here are the latest news happenings for the Royals from last week!
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Overall Team Record: 6-4
Upcoming Series: Houston Astros (2-7) vs. Kansas City Royals (6-4)
- Tuesday, April 9th: RHP Cristian Javier vs. LHP Cole Ragans
- Wednesday, April 10th: RHP Hunter Brown vs. RHP Seth Lugo
- Thursday, April 11th: LHP J.P. France vs. RHP Brady Singer
WEEKLY SERIES RECAP
Kansas City Royals vs. Baltimore Orioles (3/28 – 3/31): Game one was a heartbreaker. There were so many opportunities to win this game, but the Royals couldn’t capitalize. On Monday, the bullpen blew a 4-3 lead in the ninth with Nick Anderson giving up a two-run home run to Jordan Westburg. Alec Marsh pitched a seven inning gem on Tuesday to bring the Royals back to even in the series. Maikel Garcia led the offense by driving in three in the 4-1 victory. On Wednesday, Cole Ragans had threw another gem that was unfortunately again blown by the bullpen. Will Smith has given 3-2 lead in the ninth and couldn’t find the strikzone. James McCann walked it off with a single.
Chicago Whites Sox vs. Kansas City Royals (4/3 – 4/6): The Royals could have let that Orioles series get the best of them, but they came out motivated against the White Sox. Outside of Alec Marsh, the entire rotation threw a quality start. Seth Lugo went 6.2 innings on Thursday in a 10-1 blow out led by power surges from MJ Melendez and Nelson Velazquez. Singer went 6.1 innings on Friday night, and MJ Melendez played late-inning heroics, driving in one run in the eight for the 2-1 victory. Wacha continued the quality start streak on Saturday going seven innings. MJ Melendez yet again played late-inning heroics, hitting a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh. Back-to-back, Salvy splashes. Marsh didn’t pitch a quality start on Sunday, but the Royals still pulled off a 5-3 victory thanks to 4.1 scoreless innings from the bullpen and who none other than MJ Melendez who hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh. He earned his third Salvy splash of the weekend!
ROYALS NEWS
The Royals acquired RHP Colin Selby from the Pittsburgh Pirates: “Selby has always had intriguing stuff. He’s got a fastball that sits in the upper 90s and two secondaries in his slider and curveball. His slider is a very good pitch and grades out as plus. The curveball is close, as it is a near-plus pitch already. Command has always been the issue for Selby, but the stuff will play.”
Royals will have the fourth-highest MLB draft bonus pool: “Major League Baseball sent teams their slot values and bonus poll information. According to Baseball America, the Royals will have the fourth-highest bonus pool allotment at $15,418,300. The Cleveland Guardians, with the first overall pick, will lead the pack at $18,334,000. That’s thanks to their first-overall pick slot value, which comes in at $10,570,600. The bonus pool amounts are assigned by major league baseball for each slot. The teams can pool the money together, and they are allowed to distribute it however they’d like in the first ten rounds.“
ROYALS ANALYSIS
Trey Donovan does a deep dive into Vinnie Pasquantino’s struggles: “Starting with the simple statistics, Vinnie’s slash line is .138/.242/.138 for a paltry OPS of .380. It has been a rough start for the “Pasquatch.” He currently doesn’t have an extra-base hit yet and has been a net negative at the plate early on in the year. The basic numbers don’t show a lot of hope, but we dive a little deeper.”
Kevin O’Brien goes deep into Alec Marsh’s strong start: “Conversely, he did a good job generating called strikes low in the zone with the four-seamer. That success could be credited to his higher usage of his changeup, which was located in a similar strike zone area tonight. That’s a sign of the Royals’ pitching coaches impacting Marsh. Not only are they helping him command his pitches better, but they are also helping him sequence better, which keeps hitters off balance.“
Jacob Milham interviewed Mervyl Melendez (MJ’s dad) about expectations for 2024: “But many people behind the scenes believed in Melendez’s progression and future in the outfield. One of MJ’s biggest supporters since day one has been his father, Mervyl Melendez. He has coached some of baseball’s biggest talents, including shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and MJ before the Royals drafted them. The Puerto Rico native left the coaching ranks after 26 years at the Division I level and now owns and operates Melendez Collegiate Advising.”
FARM SYSTEM
Jackson Wilks takes a look at the Northwest Arkansas Naturals roster: “It looks like Javier Vaz is going to get a healthy dose of shortstop this season. Peyton Wilson is locked into second and Cayden Wallace will get the lion’s share of innings at third. Some other names are filling up the roster but none that will kick Vaz out of the everyday lineup. We’ll see some flexibility with him as we expect him to play an ultra-utility role at the next level, but he will be your shortstop to start the year. “
Lynn Faulk takes a look at the Columbia Fireflies roster: “Also making his debut will be Blake Wolters, the second-round pick in this past year’s draft. He was selected 44th overall. A strong spring has landed him as the Royals’ number seven prospect on the latest MLB pipelines top 30 list. The 6-4, 200 pound right-hander is 19 years old, out of Mahomet-Seymour High in Illinois”
Zac Miller looks at potential statistical leaders for the Storm Chasers: “Alexander is known for his power profile. Though he has not put up Pratto or Melendez home run numbers at the Triple-A level, he has consistently hit for power. Between the Braves’ Double-A affiliate and NW Arkansas in 2022, he hit 25 total home runs. That is the most in a single season for any Omaha player that I expect to be on the roster for most of the year.”
Preston Farr dives into some under-the-radar prospects you should know: “Of all minor league pitchers with at least 70 IP in 2023 (there were 692), no one allowed fewer home runs than lefty Oscar Rayo. He’s 22 years old, which is slightly old for Low-A. Much of that was due to slow progression through the DSL. He transitioned to a starting role in the middle of last season and maintained the success he found in relief.”
MLB NEWS
House Astros pitcher Ronel Blanco throws a no-hitter
The Chicago White Sox sign starting pitcher Mike Clevinger to a one-year deal
Spencer Strider got an MRI on his elbow and was diagnosed with a UCL strain
Cleveland Guardians ace Shane Bieber is set for Tommy John surgery
