Royals Rumblings – News for February 7, 2025

Pitchers and catchers report next week!

Guys (and gals), we’re to this point of the offseason:

That said, it’s almost over. By this time next week, pitchers and catchers will have reported. HOORAY!

Another Tweet?

How about a listicle? MLB Pipeline predicts each team’s #1 prospect in 2027:

Royals: Blake Mitchell, C (MLB No. 48)

The 2023 eighth overall pick hit 18 homers in 106 games for Single-A Columbia and finished with a 135 wRC+ (best among teenaged catchers in the Minors) in his first full season, and he might just be getting going. Mitchell’s power projects as plus, and he’s athletic behind the plate with a strong throwing arm. With two more years of development, he could be in line to replace Salvador Perez, who has a club option for 2026, behind the dish in Kansas City.

That’s it for “official” sources and that was really stretching the definition of “official”.

We do better in the blogs. Both David and Craig had something so we’ll let Craig go first today

He looks at the PECOTA projections for the Royals:

There is next to nothing to separate the top four teams and when the division consists of only five clubs, well…let’s just say this summer is going to be entertaining. I don’t buy the Twins as the favorites, but someone has to be I suppose. Every one of the four contenders has flaws. Those flaws will be fatal for a couple of those teams when it comes to getting to the postseason. It just won’t be surprising if either of the Twins, Royals, Tigers or Guardians win the division.

Then he noted this little oddity:

What I saw when looking at the 20 worst defenders though, shook me to my baseball core. Checking in as the 19th worst defender in baseball for 2025 is one Bobby Witt Jr. He’s projected to be worse in the field than every other shortstop in baseball, other than Xavier Edwards in Miami. Yes, by DRP PECOTA projects Witt to be one of the worst defensive players in the game.

David Lesky ($) talks about how their pursuit of a bat “came up short”:

All this leaves them with an outfield that is remarkably similar to last season’s unit that hit a combined .219/.282/.360. Their wRC+ of 78 was better than only the Rockies, though their combined fWAR was better than the Rockies, Pirates and White Sox, so at least there’s that. There is still some upside there. We know that MJ Melendez has completely revamped his swing, and there’s been a good hitter inside him at times throughout his big league career, as well as an elite hitter in the minors. Would anyone predict he will break out? Of course not, but I’m just saying it’s possible. Either Massey or India holding down left field also changes the outfield makeup. And Renfroe did hit .282/.357/.467 over 255 plate appearances in the middle of the year last year.

At Farm to Fountains, Zac Miller looks at potential Royals outcomes and tries to work backwards to see how they get there. For instance, this is his “disappointing season (77-81 wins)” scenario:

I think there is too much talent on this team to experience a disappointing season. Could injuries derail that belief? Sure, but we won’t play that game in the offseason. Bobby Witt Jr. alone will account for 8+ wins for this team, and the bullpen has only gotten better since the trade deadline last season with the additions of Lucas Erceg, Carlos Estévez, and Hunter Harvey. However, if there were to be a disappointing season, I believe one or more of these scenarios would have to occur:

One of Cole Ragans, Seth Lugo, or Michael Wacha misses significant time with an injury.

Bobby Witt Jr. misses 20+ games due to injury (I could barely even type that).

The outfield somehow gets even worse than last season (if that’s even possible).

Michael Massey regresses at the plate or struggles with his back injury for long stretches.

The bullpen underwhelms.

Gotta be honest. I can come up with a lot worse scenarios. Salvy’s age and/or injuries catch up with him, 2 of the project top 5 starting pitchers get hurt (happened to a lot of teams last year), Witt gets hurt and suddenly an already thin lineup can’t score, etc. There are ways this team only wins 65 games next year. I wouldn’t bet money on it, but it could totally happen.

Also at FTF, Matt Chabot explores trading an arm for a bat:

Ward has been the primary name mentioned as a trade target for the Royals, but I am still hopeful about the possibility of Luis Rengifo being available as the offseason continues. Rengifo is a quality switch hitter who can play just about every position defensively who I think could fill the middle of the order spot while also allowing Matt Quatraro to switch up the lineup day to day. Rengifo can play every position the Royals need as he has experience at both corner OF spots and can fill in at 3rd as needed.

Blog Roundup:

• Patrick Glancy at Powder Blue Nostalgia: Postseason Debut – My first playoff game
• Mike Gillespie at KOK: Jonathan India’s spring training plans raise more questions for KC Royals
• Jacob Milham at KOK: KC Royals World Series champion finds new coaching position in Kansas City (spoiler: it’s Christian Colón)

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From last year’s Friday Rumblings in Review:

I have “essentials” lists of key episodes of old animated series like I did with Transformers; These include Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, and GI Joe that have been written for a while and just need to be formatted and kicked out the door; I think GI Joe will go first; we’re watching our way through X-Men right now

We’re jumping straight into X-Men. The only reason this didn’t run last week was because I hadn’t finished the season finale of X-Men 97 in time and didn’t want to risk spoilers. If you want some Superb Owl facts ahead of the big game, I did those last week.

Very few 80s (American) cartoons had much continuity from one episode to the next. For instance, in Transformers, many episodes were shown out of order due to production delays and it wasn’t very noticeable. But TV starts to change in the 90s, I think mainly due to the popularity of The X-Files, and cartoons are brought along for the ride. From the X-Men page on Wikipedia:

The series’ first 13 episodes were notable for being possibly the first time that an American animated series had a full season of episodes flow one into the next, creating a single continuing narrative, something the series producers fought heavily for. However, starting with season three, most episodes (except for multi-part stories) were shown in random order.

Even with all the continuity in the series, I tried to weed out some of the less important episodes. For instance, the first episode I skipped was “Captive Hearts”. That means if you skip it, you miss the introduction of the Morlocks, a big chunk of the of the Cyclops/Jean/Wolverine love triangle character development, and the Wolverine staring at a picture meme. But some of these backstory episodes just have to go or else you’re watching the entire series (which is fine, but defeats the purpose of this list).

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Warning: There will be spoilers. (I’m not sure how you talk about the series without them. Also, the show is 30 years old at this point)

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Season 1

As noted above, season 1 is difficult to cut because there is so much introduction, exposition, and table setting. The only ones you can safely skip are 5 (“Captive Hearts”), 6 (“Cold Vengeance”), and 8 (“The Unstoppable Juggernaut”). The introduction 2-parter is a tremendous example of a showing-not-telling team introduction and the series rolls from there.

“Night of the Sentinels” (1/2) – Excellent starting episode. It introduces the X-Men effectively and sets the tone for the series. The show doesn’t assume kids are idiots and the characters are mostly adults, but the audience is let in with Jubilee, the most “immature” and meant to be the most relatable, being the 90s teenager mallrat. However, this is not the tone of a standard kid’s show: there’s a certain sophistication in the “mutants as civil rights” metaphor and the death of one of the X-Men that resonates throughout the rest of the show.

“Enter Magneto”/ “Deadly Reunions” – These are as close to generic episodes as this series gets (at least on this list). It introduces Magneto and this series’ interpretation of his and Charles’s history. Then it contrasts that battle to the one between Wolverine and the newly introduced Sabertooth.

“Cold Vengeance”/ “Slave Island” – Most of season 1 is essential but if you wanted to skip an episode, you could skip the Wolverine-heavy first episode. However, it also sets up the Genosha episode, which is a major plot itself, introduces Cable, colors Gambit further, and advances the Sentinel plot.

“The Cure”/“Come the Apocalypse” – More major first season introductions: this time Apocalypse and his Horsemen, led by Angel-turned-Archangel. Rogue questions whether she wants to be a mutant or take the “cure” – however, again, it’s not so simple as we get her past crossed with Mystique and the answer she lands on is still muddied.

“Days of Future Past” (1/2) – I have read some X-Men comics, but I’m far from an expert and will get some things wrong as this cartoon was my introduction to the franchise. But even I know this is one of the biggest comic stories of the 1970s, compressed into about 45 minutes. Kitty Pryde in the comic is replaced with Bishop on TV. The ending is brilliant and I believe we wrap back around to this story 3(!) more times in the series.

“The Final Decision” – Just a reminder: we’ve already done the Sentinels, Morph’s death, Magneto vs Professor X, Genosha, Apocalypse, and Days of Future Past in the first 12 episodes of season 1. The season finale, with a title that doesn’t traffic in subtlety, has a big, clunky plot that should have been split into 2 episodes. At the end of the last episode, Magneto kidnapped Senator Kelly but waits to kill him and the Sentinels capture him instead. Master Mold is back and wants to replace humans with robots. The X-Men have to work with Magneto to end the Sentinel plot once and for all.

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Season 2

There are more episodes you can skip in season 2 because, frankly, the Savage Lands plot is dull. That doesn’t mean the season is without its merits as we get lots of Magneto and Professor X, more time travel, and Mister Sinister.

“Till Death Do Us Part” (1/2) – Season two’s main antagonist is Mister Sinister. He and his Nasty Boys are not all that threatening on their own, but the season premiere’s use of a resurrected Morph is effective. Beast is finally off the sidelines, as he was practicing nonviolent resistance all through season one, and he gets to mix it up with the Friends of Humanity, the universe’s thinly veiled version of the Klan.

“Whatever It Takes” – Magneto and Professor X spend most of this season in the Savage Land and this plot is mostly frustrating. This episode sets up some of that, Storm’s background, and ties off the Morph/Wolverine plot for now. You could skip this one but I wanted to sprinkle in enough of the season 2 episodes to set up the finale.

“Repo Man” – Another fluff backstory that you could skip. But it’s Wolverine’s backstory with how he got his claws, his time with Alpha Flight, and then a little more Savage Lands. If you want another backstory episode, this season, go with “Beauty & The Beast” – you get more Beast and the B Plot wrap up the Friends of Humanity.

“Time Fugitives” (1/2) – We wrap back around to Days of Future Past with near future Bishop, reveal Cable is from the distant future, and Apocalypse wants to destroy all times. The first part ends with Cable’s realization: “To save my world, I have to help Apocalypse destroy a past one”. The conclusion is reasonably elegant and we discover that Bishop’s plot is still not over yet.

“Reunion” (1/2) – The season 2 finale finishes off the Savage Land plot (mercifully). Seeing Professor X and Magneto together is good. Keeping them powerless and away from the X-Men for the whole season is tiring. Mr. Sinister was behind it all along, though it feels contrived.

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Season 3

Buckle in! From here on out, the series gets a little bumpy. The big events are /big/ but many of the other episodes are aired out of order due to production difficulties. Also, seasons 3 and 4 both have a lot of “cameos” like Ms. Marvel (“A Rogue’s Tale”), Mojo and Longshot (“Mojovision”/“Longshot”), Iceman (“Cold Comfort”), and Nightcrawler (“Nightcrawler”/”Bloodlines”). I didn’t add many of these episodes here but if you have a favorite character, by all means.

“Out of the Past” (1/2) – You could skip this if you wanted to. There’s more Wolverine backstory, this time with Yuriko/Deathstrike. It serves as a mostly unnecessary prelude to the Phoenix Saga, as evidenced by there not even being a “Previously on…” at the start of the next episode.

“The Phoenix Saga” (1-5) – This is the longest multi-part episode in the entire show and plays more dramatically and cinematically than anything else in the series. There are some diversions, but most of those are in the source material and the story is a tighter version than X-Men issues 100-108. Back in the 1970s, Chris Claremont and John Byrne had resurrected the comic less than 10 issues ago and there’s a lot of world building in the background, even with the gargantuan stakes in the foreground. High drama in space, dark Charles Xavier, brother against brother, Superman-lite Gladiator, space pirates, secret pasts, galactic palace intrigue, and the fate of the universe? It’s all there! This is one of the definitive experiences of the show and not to be missed.

“No Mutant is an Island” – There is some epilogue to the Phoenix saga, but, as noted on wiki, there were animation problems which led to this ep getting edited and being shown 2 years later(!). “Jean Grey’s resurrection… [was] not properly explained” is quite the understatement.

“Obsession” – Catch up with Archangel and Apocalypse in a Rogue-heavy episode that’s not really necessary but can serve as a break from Phoenix and Dark Phoenix; There’s also the two part “Savage Land, Strange Heart”, but as I don’t like most of the Savage Land storyline I skipped it

“The Dark Phoenix Saga” (1-4) – Other sites have lauded this adaptation as the best version of one of the biggest storylines in comic history. Because of network notes, they softening Dark Phoenix’s worst sins, which forces them into a much cheaper ending than in the comic. However, most of the same major notes are there and I’m trying not to spoil these major episodes too much. Again, it’s a “can’t miss” story.

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Season 3/4/5

This is a list of the filler that we watched but you don’t really need any of them. Maybe hit up the two Nightcrawler episodes and give the rest a pass. They are part of that season 3/4/5 slush where some episodes got moved around due to the aforementioned animation production issues. Seriously! Look at the production dates in the wiki! Season 3, 4, and 5 were shown completely out of order. On this recent rewatch, I sprinkled these in around the three big plots for season 4.

“Orphan’s End” – This one explains Cyclops’s background with Corsair that was revealed in Phoenix

“Xavier Remembers” – It’s some backstory for Xavier, Jean, and the Shadow King but ends up being smaller and less significant than it feels it should be

“Courage” – I like the Morph recovery arc and this is his last appearance before the finale

“Nightcrawler” – I also like Nightcrawler; It’s interesting to see religion in a science fiction show but it’s delicately done; the episode takes place in rural Switzerland and could have been in history but was in modern times as the townspeople hunt the demon who acts like a saint; Wolverine gets to play the skeptic but even he is moved by Kurt’s faith

“Bloodlines” – This is the second Nightcrawler episode and it wraps up some family ties between Nightcrawler, Rogue, Mystique, Graydon Creed, Sabretooth, and the Friends of Humanity

“Weapon X, Lies, and Video Tape” – Speaking of Sabretooth, this one has more Wolverine backstory and is a fan favorite because it’s a well written character episode about the most popular character

“Proteus” – I skipped this two-parter, but I guess you could for it if you wanted

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Season 4

Sprinkle in some of the above episodes, as desired, but below are three big multi-part episodes for season 4.

“Sanctuary” – I mostly like the animated series’ take on Asteroid M. It starts high minded as Charles thinks this mutant-human segregation is his ultimate ideological failure to Magnus. Unfortunately, you start to see the plot’s strings when Magneto gets weak and flat, villain-of-the-week Fabian Cortez usurps him. Magneto’s false martyrdom was fine and it’s always nice to see when he fights alongside Charles.

“One Man’s Worth” – This is our third loop back to Days of Future Past/Time Fugitives and this time, we’re doing a simplified “Age of Apocalypse” except with Mastermold instead of Apocalypse. It contains one of my favorite lines in the series. Storm, back to the 50s, is hassled while she holds hands with her beloved Wolverine. “Skin color prejudice? That’s so pathetic, it’s almost quaint”. Much of this “It’s a Wonderful Life”-style episode is that on the nose as Bishop is shown just how much worse his dystopia can be if Charles Xavier is assassinated in the past. One of the better episodes of the series.

“Beyond Good and Evil” – This was supposed to be the series finale, so it has a sloppy, kitchen sink approach. If you told me that Russel T. Davies had cribbed some notes for Doctor Who’s “The Stolen Earth”/”Journey’s End”, I’d believe it as I love both grand, imperfect stories in the same way. It features every major character in the show, even if some are out of character (Magneto’s involvement makes very little sense). There’s even a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Immortus (i.e. Kang) cameo. Yes, it has the Apocalypse writing problem that he can only be beaten by a plot hole. But maybe if one of your main settings is an M. C. Escher inspired “Axis of Time”, maybe a plot hole isn’t so out of place. If this had been the finale, it would have been a worthy one.

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Season 5

In the rocky 5^th season, it’s difficult to find “critical” episodes from this season. You could probably just skip to the last two.

“The Phalanx Covenant” – It’s like someone took “The Return of Optimus Prime”, added a dash of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s “Best of Both Worlds”, added some more plot holes, and made it aggressively 90s with a “techno-organic” Borg-like virus life form. The characters are a bit off, though Magneto feels more in character, post Asteroid M, than he was in Beyond Good & Evil. It does have some interesting character combinations, though.

“The Fifth Horseman” –I picked this for its significant characters (Apocalypse, Fabian Cortez), but it’s a fairly weak episode and serves as an example of the 5^th season’s mediocre art style and lack of plotting.

“Old Soldiers” – This one is also cheaply animated, but it’s a noir Captain America crossover so it is more charming and less out of place.

“Descent” – Noted as important for X-Men 97, we watched it. This is another retro episode that doesn’t suffer as much from the new art style and gives the origin of Mr. Sinister.

“Graduation Day” – In theory, it’s the only one important episode in the season. In the high stakes series finale, Gyrich (of Sentinel fame) attempting to assassinate Professor X, leading us to the brink of human-mutant war. However, the writing doesn’t fully meet the moment and the episode is a letdown, even if it has nice bits like Charles’s (potential) dying words to each X-Man and woman.

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X-Men 97 Preview

(Ed note: I’m going to try and keep this mostly spoiler-free)

A lot of fans, myself included, were understandably hyped when Disney announced a revival of the original series. Having now watched the first season, it lived up to the hype and some massive expectations. It maintains a lot of the original feels of the original, both good and bad, while adding in some anime inspiration. Only the fanservice-y half episode Motendo is superfluous as the serialization is ratcheted up to modern standards. There are parts that don’t quite feel right like some of Nightcrawler’s scenes or the ever complicated saga of Scott and Jean or some of Rogue’s choices. However, I feel like (now-fired*) showrunner Beau DeMayo understood the original show and pushed it in bold new directions, not content to just nostalgia mine.

*Everything around Beau DeMayo’s firing and his response is a mess. You never really know what really happened because it’s turned into a giant PR battle so the facts are lost. If I had to guess – DeMayo appears to be a mercurial artist and likely hard to work with/for who did some really suspect actions, but I don’t know how much of his behavior was outside of industry standards (probably not much) or unethical (probably significantly more). Meanwhile, many of his claims about Disney are not only wholly believable but entirely likely, from the claims that they don’t let their artists have enough creative control to the idea that they’re ok with just enough diversity to make a little more green but definitely not too much. So when a rebellious artist tried to rock the boat, not only did they dismiss him, but they made sure there were a lot of ugly claims made in the media and let people’s prejudices do the rest so they could reach a settlement. Taking the ethical mess out of it, I suspect the show will never live up to the promise of season 1 because the talented person who was the lead writer and had sketched out the next two seasons is gone and it’s being re-written.

To give a taste and some more minor spoilers, the middle episode of the season, “Remember It”, was justifiably nominated for the “Outstanding Animated Program” Emmy. Sure, there’s a needless soap opera plot that went on for too long and too many episodes. But it’s woven, reasonably well, into the first act as with the backdrop of a reporter who is mixing feature pieces and yellow journalism while profiling the X-Men. The second act focuses on mutant island Genosha being admitted to the UN with all the expected heft and the real world parallels. Magneto verbally sparring with UN representatives before it fades into some amazing visuals set to Ace of Base, reminding you this is still from the 90s. But the third act is all action, beginning with the master of magnetism’s claim of “we shall not live our days wondering if we could have saved more” and ending with an unforgettable finale.

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Now that we’re 4000 words deep, let’s just go with the X-Men ‘97 intro. It’s not quite shot-for-shot the original, but it’s not that far off. Also, if you watched closely throughout the season, the intro changed and dropped hints about the upcoming episode or showed some past greatest hits.