Royals Rumblings

Royals Rumblings - News for April 29, 2016

Royals Review is on the clock...

By Max Rieper@maxrieper Apr 29, 2016, 8:00am EDT

Royals Rumblings - News for April 29, 2016

Jarrod Dyson is happy to show off his arm.

"I guess they see a small guy out there, they don’t think much of it," Dyson said. "If I see a small guy out there, I wouldn’t think much of it, either."

As Dyson settles into regular playing time in right field, the rest of baseball may need to take notice.Entering Tuesday night, Dyson had racked up two outfield assists in seven games, and he could have recorded another had a run-down been turned into an out. On the whole, Dyson has displayed a solid arm and above-average range since returning from an oblique strain last week. His defensive value could make him a constant in the Royals’ lineup. Royals manager Ned Yost has described his right field position as a "loose platoon" between Dyson and Paulo Orlando. But on Tuesday, Dyson was in the starting lineup for the eighth straight day. "

You got to hit, too," Yost said of the right field position. "But we put a real premium on defense. It’s important for us to play sound defensive baseball."

Scott Dillon at KC Kingdom thinks its time for Dyson to lead off.

The Royals are batting an awful .214 with runners in scoring position this season which is fifth worst in baseball. It doesn’t help that the lineup is constructed in a way that has a cold batter, followed by a hot batter, followed by a cold batter, etc. In some ways it could be looked upon as if the Royals have the perfect formula to break out of these slumps. Slotting a cold hitter in-between two hot hitters should give the Royals’ cold hitters something to hit. But in other ways, it could be looked at as the complete opposite: Cold hitter leads off with an out, hot hitter doubles, cold hitter might move him to third but gets out, can pitch around hot hitter to get to cold hitter.

It’s time for Ned Yost to do something to switch things up. Moving Jarrod Dyson to the top of the order may do just that.

Darin Watson at Baseball Prospectus Kansas City looks at Eric Hosmer's chances at 3,000 hits.

If you really want to feel good about Hosmer’s chances, take a look at Eddie Murray. The Orioles great is a fine example of what a long career, playing almost every day, and hitting around .300 can do. Murray played 21 years, and except for the strike-shortened seasons of 1981 and 1994, he played in fewer than 150 games just three times. Murray was a regular as a 21-year-old rookie in 1977. In his first six seasons, he collected 997 hits in 3775 plate appearances. That’s a really close match with Hosmer. Murray never got 200 hits in a season, but he was usually good for 170-175. Hosmer is currently averaging 174 hits a year. If you average 174 hits for 17 years, you’re almost there.

What is Alex Rios up to?

alex rios, 35, had offers but has sought MLB job w/ significant role. if he retires, well, he got ring in '15 & made $87.5M
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) April 28, 2016