Royals Rumblings - News for May 15, 2018

Royals Rumblings - News for May 15, 2018

Ned Yost praised pitcher Eric Skoglund for his performance on Monday.

“He was down in the zone. He attacked,” said manager Ned Yost. “They beat him going the opposite way, which is good hitting, taking what he gave them. Good fastball, good curve, good change-up, elevated when he wanted to. Threw the ball extremely well.”

Sam Mellinger dives into Danny Duffy’s struggles.

You’ve often heard athletes described as “hyper-competitive.” Duffy is that, sure, but more to the point right now he is also hyper-accountable. He is emotional, and a perfectionist, and a people pleaser. These can all be good traits for a human, and sometimes even for a baseball player, but it’s a wicked combination for a struggling baseball player and right now Duffy might be the worst pitcher in the big leagues.

Judge against expectation or salary and he is definitely the worst pitcher in the big leagues. This type of failure is deeply personal to him. He takes on so much. He’s a giver. You wonder who a guy like that leans on when it goes dark.

Rustin Dodd looks to the future by profiling prospect Khalil Lee.

One club official says he has the team’s best outfield arm in at least a decade. Rival scouts project him as a possible five-tool player at the major-league level. It is sometimes hard to discern which is the most impressive.

Lee, a third-round pick in 2016, threw harder than 90 mph as a high school pitcher in Virginia. He is fast enough to cover vast swaths of turf in center field. Yet his most eye-popping tool, the one that makes baseball men shake their heads in amazement, could be the left-handed bat speed generated from his taut, muscular, 170-pound build.

“He swings to do damage, and with bad intentions,” says Royals hitting coach Terry Bradshaw, who worked with Lee the last two seasons as a minor-league hitting coordinator. “And sometimes it’s to a fault.”

Colby Wilson at Baseball Prospectus Kansas City looks at the offensive woes.

You will not be stunned to learn that the Royals are one of 15 teams across baseball who do not employ a player who have hit at least half their batted balls 95 mph or harder (min. 50 batted ball events).

You’ll similarly be unsurprised to learn that the Royals are one of seven teams with three or more batters hitting less than 30 percent of their balls 95 mph or harder.

The Royals’ affiliate in Lexington draws some flak for its “Millennial Night.”

Jeff Sullivan at Fangraphs writes about how bad the AL Central looks right now.

Brewers reliever Josh Hader is the unlikely face of the strikeout revolution.

The Blue Jays may have a tough call to make on the struggling Kendrys Morales.

Dodgers club president Andrew Friedman discusses his team’s slow start.

Former MLB pitcher Jim Kaat suggests shortening the game to seven innings.

Does baseball have a no-hit epidemic and what can be done about it?

The Sixers aren’t being coy about their desire to add Lebron James.

The International Olympics Committee forces an all-male golf club in Japan to admit women as members.

An ad-blocking community is making things difficult for online advertisers.

Your sweat can reveal a lot about you.

Peppa Pig has become part of the hip hop ban in China.

Your song of the day is Semisonic with FNT.