Here are the latest news happenings for the Royals from last week!
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Overall Team Record: 25-17 (3rd, 0.5 GB)
Upcoming Series (3 Games): Kansas Ciy Royals (25-17) vs. Seattle Mariners (22-19)
- Monday: RHP Brady Singer (2-1, 2.36 ERA) vs. George Kirby (3-3, 4.15 ERA)
- Tuesday: RHP Michael Wacha (2-4, 5.15 ERA) vs. Logan Gilbert (3-1, 2.94 ERA)
- Wednesday: RHP Alec Marsh (3-0, 2.53 ERA) vs. Bryan Woo (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
WEEKLY SERIES RECAP
Milwaukee Brewers vs. Kansas City Royals (5/6 – 5/8): The Royals hosted a decent Milwaukee Brewers team to start the week. Cole Ragans kicked off Monday with a deal fest, going 6IP, 2 ER, 8 K. The Royals were down 2-0 until the 7th when Michael Massey hit a solo home run and Maikel Garcia drove in two. Game two against the Brewers was a bit more frustrating as the Royals went into the 9th with a 5-2 lead and James McArthur blew the game, giving up a three-run home run to Willy Adames. The Royals bounced back on Wednesday thanks to Singer, BWJ, and Vinnie P, who took that game 6-4 and won the series. It should’ve been a sweep of a good Brewers team, but they’ll win the series!
Kansas City Royals vs. Los Angeles Angels (5/9 – 5/13): The Royals started their west coast trip on Thursday as they traveled to Anaheim to take on a bad Angels team in a four-game series. The Angels looked very outmatched in this one. The Royals won decisively on Thursday with a 10-4 victory. Friday was a bit closer as it was a pitcher’s duel between Alec Marsh, who was activated off the IR, and Griffin Canning. Adam Frazier provided some late inning heroics with a massive two-run home run in the 9th to give the Royals the victory. Game three of the series wasn’t pretty as Cole Ragans didn’t quite have his stuff. The Royals lost 9-3 as Ragans struggled to command his fastball, cutter, and slider. The changeup was looking great, but he was fooling anyone with his other stuff. The Royals took the series on Sunday with a 4-2 win behind another incredible Seth Lugo start. He went 8 IP, 5 H, ER, 0 BB, 12 K. He’s been an electric factory this year.
ROYALS NEWS
The Royals had initial trade talks with the Marlins about Luis Arraez: “Velazquez has really struggled at the plate sporting a 30.4% strikeout rate while slashing .215/.284/.344 with two home runs and a 78 wRC+. When you dive into the deeper data for Velazquez on Baseball Savant, it doesn’t get prettier. He’s in the 1st percentile in Whiff%, 31st percentile in Hard-Hit%, and 13th percentile in average exit velocity. Guys like Adam Frazier are filling in at the DH spot with him struggling. Having a guy like Arraez, who may not have the power but consistently gets on base, is what the Royals were missing. “
Kris Bubic began his rehab assignment: “Bubic is working his way back from last April’s Tommy John surgery and is finally ready to pitch in games again. It’s possible he could be ready to rejoin the Kansas City rotation in early June after his 30-day rehab window expires, but Bubic has minor-league options left and could be sent to Triple-A Omaha if the Royals don’t feel he’s ready for big-league action once he’s activated from the 60-day injured list.”
Alec Marsh activated, Daniel Lynch IV was optioned back to AAA: “Marsh’s 15-day minimum on the IL was up on Friday, and as expected, the Royals brought him back to the rotation to make Friday’s start against the Angels. Marsh was placed on the IL on April 25 with a right elbow contusion, a day after being hit by a comebacker in his start against the Blue Jays. He got the swelling to go down and didn’t miss many days of throwing, making a rehab start this past Sunday with four scoreless innings in Triple-A.”
ROYALS ANALYSIS
Jared Perkins looks at three moves the Royals should make before the end of May: “At this point, it feels like we are at a point where the Hampson experiment is coming to a close. Like in the big leagues, Loftin has continued to hit and be productive in AAA. He has the same defensive versatility as Hampson. Loftin in Omaha is slashing .320/.404/.404 with a .804 OPS, four doubles, seven RBI, and two stolen bases. He’s obviously got nothing left to prove in the minors. If the Royals want to continue their current success, it makes too much sense to DFA Hampson and bring Loftin back up to show. I never like calling for a guy to be DFAd, but unfortunately, it is the most sensible move with where this roster is now.”
Kevin O’Brien dives deep into the early struggles for Nelson Velazquez: “That said, unlike last year, the Royals are hunting for a playoff spot. Thus, it may make sense to bring up someone like Drew Waters or Loftin, who can help improve this team in a reserve role while Velazquez takes time to figure out those mechanical issues if they are the problem. It will be interesting to see how long the Royals take to decide. Velazquez likely has until Memorial Day to prove that he still belongs in Kansas City. If he continues to struggle, he will likely be in Omaha in June.“
Kevin O’Brien wonders when the Royals might make changes in the outfield: “How big a buyer the Royals will be this season could depend significantly on how the next two months fare record-wise. Thus, it may be better to focus on who the Royals have available in Omaha and see that they get a fair chance if the Royals’ outfield offense doesn’t improve. That said, if the Royals still in the Central division race in late June? Expect Picollo to make a move to acquire someone who can instantly improve their outfield and be an option for at least 2025.”
Jacob Milham looks at the high-risk, high-reward trade for the Royals: “We are months away from the 2024 MLB trade deadline, but the San Diego Padres and Miami Marlins making moves early makes anything seem possible. The Padres traded for two-time batting champion Luis Arraez on May 4, freeing the second baseman from a Marlins team mired in the NL cellar. Several Miami Marlins players will be on the move this season, and the KC Royals could look to acquire one or two of them. Taking it a step further, Bleacher Report linked the AL Central team with star Jazz Chisholm Jr.”
Max Rieper looks at how the Royals are turning into an elite defensive team: “But the Royals are getting back to what made them successful all those years ago (seriously, has it been ten years????) They’re converting more balls into outs than almost any other team and finding that if they just hold serve, eventually their opponents will mess up and give them an opportunity. We shall see if these Royals have the same kind of success as Ned Yost’s bunch, but it certainly is refreshing to see a Royals team that can field the ball again.”
Patrick Glancy gives his KC Royals Mother’s Day tribute: “She passed her appreciation for Gubicza down to me. Obviously, my feelings toward him were different. I was obsessed with the blue glove he often sported on the mound. This was before colorful gloves became a regular thing, and it blew my young mind. Back then, a black glove was something special. Most gloves, both in MLB and the sporting goods store were a plain brown. Then Gubicza came along with blue. I wanted a blue glove so bad, but I never did find one. I suppose they’re readily available now, but it just wouldn’t be the same.”
FARM SYSTEM
Preston Farr looks at the early success of Royals pitching prospects: “If the Royals finally clawed their way closer to average last season, they’ve followed that up with signs that they’re finally joining some of the best big league organizations with successful pitching development. It’s still a process and a month doesn’t make a season, but imagining these sorts of results in 2021 would’ve seemed laughable to most. Hats off to Paul Gibson and the rest of the Kansas City pitching development team. The talk of improving pitching development in the future has transitioned to results on the field now.”
Preston Farr has the May top Royals prospects update: “There are still questions to be answered, such as Frank Mozzicato’s velocity and whether Carson Roccaforte’s batted ball data can finally shine through in the box score. Regardless, it’s clear that the talent in the Royals’ farm system is on an upward trend. They’ll get a chance to add to that talent this summer in the draft. Kansas City owns the sixth overall pick and could get a chance to add yet another premium prospect alongside Blake Mitchell to truly lead the farm system even further up the farm system rankings.”
Anne Rogers takes a look at some top prospects cruising through the system: “We got a feel for [Wolters] last year, and just seeing how he went about it, getting a chance to monitor this offseason and spring, seeing his routine and throwing schedules — it was all really impressive. We felt comfortable from a maturity standpoint and a health standpoint that he was ready to go out and compete at that level. That was the best spot for him to start this year.”
Bill Mitchell of Baseball America dives into Ben Kudrna’s adjustments: “The 21-year-old Kudrna returned to Quad Cities this season and recorded a 2.45 ERA with 32 strikeouts and nine walks through 25.2 innings.After his 2023 struggle, Kudrna reported to spring training both physically and mentally stronger, meeting the goals set out for him at the end of last season. The added strength gave his fastball more life, while increased maturity had him better prepared to face Midwest League hitters.“
FORMER ROYALS IN THE NEWS
The Chicago White Sox released outfielder Brett Phillips
The Texas Rangers released left-handed pitcher Danny Duffy
The Minnesota Twins called up right-handed pitcher Josh Staumont
The San Francisco Giants placed outfielder Jorge Soler on the IR
Bradford Lee looks at the curious case of Adalberto Mondesi
MLB NEWS
The Texas Rangers acquired Robbie Grossman from the Detroit Tigers
Baseball’s top pitching prospect Paul Skenes was called up and made his major league debut
Former outfield prospect Monte Harrison is going to play football at Arkansas