Still searching for that first series victory.
The Royals regret their offense wasting a great pitching performance yesterday:
The Royals maintain it’s still too early to have any referendum on their offensive struggles, just six games into the season. They’re averaging 3.8 runs per game, aided by the 11-run rout over Milwaukee earlier this week. But they struck out 14 times Wednesday.
“Honestly, I feel like it’s too early to put a label on it,” Michael Massey said. “… You’re still at the point of the season where you got guys hitting .180 and they go 3-for-4 and they’re hitting .340. I feel like we’re giving good at-bats, but we’re running into tough arms, too.”
The team was not happy about a balk call against Carlos Estévez:
The umpire may have thought Estévez turned his shoulder before coming to a complete stop against Brewers catcher William Contreras. Tumpane called a balk that moved two Brewers into scoring position. “He said I turned my shoulders to second,” Estévez later revealed of his conversation with the ump. “I just came from in there watching it, and I didn’t see it.
ESPN ranked Bobby Witt Jr. #2 on their MLB Top 100 players:
At some point, a player can improve only so much. But Witt, great as he is already, is getting better. As he enters his age-25 season, it’s exciting to think about his ceiling. Over three big league seasons, Witt has upped his homer rate, slashed his strikeout rate, nearly doubled his walk rate and gone from a .254 rookie average to a .332 batting-title third season. In the field, his metrics have gone from concerning to OK to Gold Glove.
However good you might think Witt is, he wants to prove he’s better. No one can match Ohtani’s skill set — as in no one in the history of baseball. But in the non-Shohei class, there’s no one you’d rather start a franchise with than Witt.
Preston Farr at Farm to Fountains looks at the outfield mix and how the Royals could use their bench spots:
What the pinch runner role allows late in games doesn’t do enough to make up for what it prevents. The Royals are left with one less option to possibly provide a spark where others may not. MJ Melendez has struggled to a .277 OPS early on, while Hunter Renfroe owns a .143 average. Kyle Isbel has a .167 on-base percentage, and Cavan Biggio has struggled to get things going with a .522 OPS early on. That leaves too many struggling Royals with only one real option: play through the slump. That wouldn’t be such an issue if it wasn’t for most of the bottom of the lineup playing through the slump. That’s where our final bench spot becomes questionable.
Drew Waters hit for the cycle for Triple-A Omaha.
The Royals foundation unveiled the first dedicated baseball/softball field in the Kansas City Public Schools district.
Eno Sarris breaks down the “kick-change,” the latest fad in pitch design. ($)
I am entirely uninterested in the discourse surrounding torpedo bats, but I agree with Ben Lindbergh that batters should be allowed to use them given the state of offense in the game right now.
Willson Contreras said grip tape has “a bad taste, very bad.” He knows this from personal experience.
Rafael Devers finally got his first hit of the season.
Is it already time for the Braves to panic?
San Diego swept Cleveland yesterday to push their record to 7-0. With the Dodgers also at 7-0, they became the first division rivals to both begin the season with seven straight wins.
Pittsburgh demoted former All-Star closer David Bednar.
Arizona is signing second baseman Ketel Marte to a six-year contract extension.
Boston is signing infielder Kristian Campbell to an eight-year contract extension.
San Diego is signing outfielder Jackson Merrill to a nine-year contract extension.
The Dodgers are acquiring outfielder Esteury Ruiz from A’s.
Kansas State breaks into the rankings in this week’s college baseball top 25.
Breaking down NFL rule changes from this week’s owner’s meetings.
Scientists recovered a camera in Loch Ness that was placed there decades ago to try to capture images of the mythical monster.
NaNoWriMo is shuttering after 20 years.
Val Kilmer passed away at the age of 65.
Your song of the day is Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins.