\"A dim view of humanity\" -Lee Judge
The Royals did not cash in on early opportunities and the Rays did. Sometimes it is that simple. In the end the score was 5-3, but two of those three for Kansas City came because of an inning where the Rays made two back-to-back errors. The Royals had runners in scoring position in the 1st, […]
The offense is killing it right now despite losing the best three hitters from last season for varying lengths of time. In June it is the young guys carrying the load. Jac Caglianone’s wRC+ this month is 232! Carter Jensen is at 122. It has been fun to watch. If only this had started in […]
I have never been a big league hitter. I received some hitting instruction as a youth, but it was mostly “keep your eye on the ball”, “be a hitter”, and “stop adjusting yourself down there so much.” Big leaguers get all sorts of more sophisticated hitting advice from not only their hitting coach, but the […]
Jac Caglianone had a huge two-homer night playing near his hometown, writes Jaylon Thompson. “It was pretty cool,” Caglianone said. “I had one of my best friends pretty close to home plate. So no, I hit it and I knew he was pretty fired up about it. It’s cool. You can see like on the […]
Tonight, the Kansas City Royals dismantled the Tampa Bay Rays in a cathartic 12-5 victory. It was a full-team showing, with Carter Jensen extending his hit streak to 14 games, Nick Loftin swatting a home run on a four-hit night, and Luinder Avila navigating his way through five tough innings of one-run ball in front […]
The Kansas City Royals play Spring Training in Arizona, but here in St. Pete, Florida, the lineup they’re running out might as well be a Spring Training lineup. No Bobby Witt Jr., no Maikel Garcia, no Kyle Isbel, no Vinnie Pasquantino, no Jonathan India, no Cole Ragans. That’s because all of those players are injured. […]
Don’t expect Cole Ragans back anytime soon for the Royals. The All-Star left-hander has been out since May 6 with an elbow impingement, and the update provided by manager Matt Quatraro today was not exactly encouraging. The skipper indicated that they expect Ragans will need elbow surgery. The Royals will seek a second opinion, but […]
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Royals fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. Jac Caglianone is fully in the running for AL player of the month for June, with […]
Maikel Garcia has been banged up for the last month, and today the Royals finally placed him on the 10-day Injured List with a left hand muscle strain. Before that, Garcia had been dealing with a hamstring strain earlier this month. Infielder Josh Rojas was recalled from Triple-A Omaha. Garcia told reporters he had been […]
In these divided times, there aren’t that many things that we can all agree on. But in Kansas City Royals land, there are at least a few: that Bobby Witt Jr. is the franchise’s best position player since George Brett, that keeping him healthy is important for the short and long term, and that it […]
This Week in the Minors is our weekly look at notable performances from all over the system, from big-name prospects and less-heralded guys alike. The mission is to answer this simple question: “Who had a good week?” Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers (33-41, 13.5 games back) The Storm Chasers split their series on the road in […]
Brian Murphy at MLB mothership has an update on Bobby Witt Jr’s recovery. Bobby Witt Jr.’s sprained right knee kept him out of the Royals’ lineup for the third straight game Monday. But prior to the team’s series opener against the Rays, the star shortstop went through what manager Matt Quatraro called a “very encouraging” […]
Michael Wacha went seven complete innings and gave up only one run in a 2-1 win over the Rays to open the four-game series. He was quite efficient – of those 21 outs in 7 innings, 16 of them were by strikeout (5) or groundout (11, including a double play). The only truly punished mistake […]
Jac Caglianone had 5 hits, 4 of them homers, against the Cardinals this past weekend in a high-scoring series in which the Royals took 2 of 3 while scoring 30 runs. I hope the 32-46 Royals bring that offense to Tampa Bay to face off against the 43-31 Rays. It will be a four-game series […]
The Rays have been an analytical team for decades, maximizing the talent on their payroll-deprived roster for years. After five consecutive playoff appearances from 2019-23 that included a pennant, the team missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons. But they have rebounded this year with a terrific start using an old formula […]
The Kansas City Royals took the series from the St. Louis Cardinals, but the celebration comes with a significant asterisk with Bobby Witt Jr.’s injury as the conversation around player health in Kansas City is only getting louder. Jacob Milham and Jeremy Greco open with the series win and what it represents for a team […]
A week ago, my wife and I checked out our local independent league team, the Waterloo Bucks. They play in the Northwoods League, a summer wood-bat college league. Friday night was perfect for baseball, 80 degrees and sunny with a slight breeze from the south. One of Waterloo’s players is MJ Sweeney, son of Royal […]
Stephen Kolek struggled from the start in his outing Sunday against the Cardinals. “Those days are going to happen,” Kolek said. “Ideally, they’re definitely not as bad as they were today.” The Cardinals sent eight batters to the plate in the first inning. In total, Kolek faced 15 batters, allowing nine hits and a walk. […]
The Cardinals jumped the Royals for 5 runs in the top of the first inning and held on to defeat the Royals 12-10 in a Father’s Day matinee, salvaging the series and avoiding the sweep. Stephen Kolek has been dynamite for the Royals in his tenure, but he simply didn’t have it today. Three pitches […]
After an extremely rare Saturday off day, (thanks World Cup), the Royals, winners of three straight contests will try and sweep their in state rival, the St. Louis Cardinals. After the Cardinals won the first two matchups, the Royals have won the last three, already clinching a season series tie. Stephen Kolek will get the […]
The Royals have been searching under every rock to build up their pitching depth after recent injuries have decimated their staff. After acquiring Connor Seabold and Randy Dobnak earlier this week, today they signed veteran pitcher Matt Moore to a minor league deal. Not to be confused with the former Chiefs quarterback of the same […]
Blair Kerkhoff writes that Tyler Tolbert came up big in the Friday win over the Cardinals. “You never know when your name is going to be called,” Tolbert said. “You just have to be ready.” That was the case throughout the game for Tolbert. In the sixth inning, after failing to get down a pair […]
The Royals hit eight doubles in last night’s game to dominate the Cardinals; they added five more tonight en route to another victory. This time, they won 6-5 over their cross-state rivals. Seth Lugo made his return from the 7-day concussion IL tonight, and it didn’t start great. He walked Iván Herrera with one out, […]
Before the season started, the Royals moved the fences in. The idea was that it would balance the offensive profile of Kauffman Stadium to be a bit closer to the league average. One thing that many people discussed was that it might lead to more home runs but fewer doubles. You would not have known […]
Royals fans held their breath Thursday night after shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. went down with an injury. Today, the team announced the injury may not be as bad as suspected. Witt has a Grade 1 MCL sprain, according to MLB.com reporter Anne Rogers. According to the Cleveland Clinic, a Grade 1 MCL injury can heal […]