Wake me up when spring training ends.
Royals Data Dugout reveals their second roster projection ahead of Opening Day, with southpaw Kris Bubic winning the final rotation spot.
It’s the fifth spot where questions and competition remain. Even though Daniel Lynch has been the best pitcher in camp, at least in game action, I’m still giving the nod to Bubic here. If we go beyond the box score, he’s displayed the superior arsenal (101 tjStuff+ to Lynch’s 93) and just had the one blowup spot against Seattle when he reached a one-inning pitch limit and was lifted for Anthony Simonelli who promptly gave up a bases-clearing double, charging three runs to Bubic’s account. Between the pair of lefties, it’s Bubic who owns the higher ceiling.
David Lesky on Inside the Crown looks at some of the Royals roster’s shortcomings, including the crowded picture behind the plate and at first base. [$]
This hasn’t even taken into account the catcher/designated hitter/first base trio of Salvador Perez, Vinnie Pasquantino, and Freddy Fermin. That part seems pretty easy right now, but there is a bit of a good problem on the horizon with the play of Jac Caglianone during spring training. I’ll get back to the positional maneuvering in a second, but I think there’s a chance that Caglianone gives the Royals a bit of a question to ask themselves sooner than later. He isn’t making the Opening Day roster in spite of his ridiculous start. Even with yesterday’s strikeout against Will Dion, he’s 6 for 12 with three home runs, three walks and two strikeouts. That’s impressive.
MLB.com’s Jack Magruder writes about several Kansas City Royals players playing new positions down in Arizona, but a batting tidbit from second baseman Michael Massey showcases some new tech.
To help with that, Massey has taken advantage of the Trajekt system that the Royals have in their Spring Training complex and will be available when they return to Kansas City. Trajekt uses a projection screen and software technology to mimic the delivery and repertoire of every Major League pitcher. “It’s a good way to get extra reps without having pitchers throw to you,” Massey said. “A little more game-like.”
Awful Announcing highlighted first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino dropping NFL news only the way he can.
Which brings us to Monday morning, when Pasquantino — fresh off grabbing a bat in Surprise, Arizona — decided to break some news on X. As the Elon Musk-owned social media site was experiencing outages and sending reporters scrambling to Threads and Bluesky, Pasquantino stuck around and casually announced that Justin Fields would be signing with the New York Jets on a two year, $35 million deal.
A joke? A wild guess? An actual scoop? Didn’t matter. Two hours later, Fields was a Jet.
Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter ranks Kyle Isbel the 26th-best center fielder ahead of the 2025 season.
Isbel is a prototypical glove-first center fielder, though he did post a career-high 83 OPS+ with 13 doubles, eight triples, eight home runs, 42 RBI and 11 steals in 136 games last season. The 28-year-old was a .277/.353/.455 hitter across five seasons in the minors, so there could still be a bit more in the tank offensively.
Just Baseball’s Aram Leighton released his top 100 MLB prospects, with Jac Caglianone and Blake Mitchell representing the Royals organization.
Mitchell’s ability to tap into his plus raw power in games during his first full pro season paired with a better-than-expected contact rate and great feel for the strike zone make him an extremely exciting bat alone. The fact that he can not only stick behind the dish but potentially be solid there makes him an even more intriguing prospect. There’s shades of Cal Raleigh here with less chase.
Pitcher List’s Ben Palmer ranks Michael Wacha’s changeup as the best such offering in baseball last year.
Wacha’s success hinges almost entirely on this changeup, which is well-deserved to be called the best in the league. The numbers on the pitch are just absurd: a 31.5% CSW (91st percentile among changeups), 41.5% chase rate (81st percentile), 19.1% swinging-strike rate (81st percentile), and a .226 wOBA against (81st percentile).
Pitcher List highlights Caglianone’s spring showing in their latest episode of Coffee Talk.
Speaking of last year’s sixth overall pick, Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo sets Caglianone’s expectations for 2025. [$]
Watch some minor-league highlights from Arizona action.
Successful first day of games. Plenty of highlights. Enjoy!#RaisingRoyals pic.twitter.com/RhwmvGo568
— Raising Royals (@KCRoyalsPD) March 11, 2025
The Athletic ranks Kansas City as the fifth-most optimistic fanbase in MLB. [$]
Baseball America’s newest dynasty rankings have shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. second on their list of 500 players. [$]
FanGraphs’ Michael Baumann looks at a rash of injuries affecting AL pitchers.
Pitcher List’s Steve Drumwright analyzes how big spenders can’t buy themselves a World Series.
ESPN’s MLB minds delineate which spring training stats they do and don’t believe in.
Warning Track Power’s Ryan Isaac examines the newest baseball documentary, “One of a Kind.”
The Toronto Blue Jays reportedly offered Vladimir Guerrero Jr. $500 million, but negotiations are at a standstill.
The MLB trade deadline is officially set: July 31 at 6 p.m.
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announces Roki Sasaki will start Tokyo Series Game 2.
Roberts also landed a four-year contract extension worth $32.4 million on Tuesday.
Golf great Tiger Woods is sidelined with another injury, rupturing his left Achilles tendon.
Big 12 executive believes NCAA Tournament should expand to 76 teams, taking March Madness to another level.
Nebraska hires former New England Patriots official to oversee recruiting and retention as general manager.
Southwest Airlines is ending their free checked bag policy, effective May 28, 2025.
Adventure Oasis Water Park in Independence is shutting down.
A new deepfake-detecting app could help prevent disinformation or misleading content.
Today’s song comes from the Apple Music algorithm, with Country Kid by Sykamore.