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Royals Rumblings - News for September 11, 2018
Jeff Passan wonders if the Brewers will regret giving up players to the Royals.
Still, seeing Lopez take a perfect game into the ninth inning against Minnesota couldn’t have felt good for Milwaukee, not after he punched out eight in a dynamic start six days earlier against Baltimore. True: They are the Twins and Orioles, the former a towering disappointment and the latter en route to one of the worst seasons in baseball history. It’s still two consecutive dominant starts for the 25-year-old Lopez, who has an excellent array of stuff, with a mid-90s fastball, a swing-and-miss curveball, a show-me changeup and a slider he added this season.
For Milwaukee, Lopez and Phillips felt superfluous, a pair of post-hype prospects that didn’t fit the organization right now. For Kansas City, they’re perfect, joining Ryan O’Hearn and Brian Goodwin as mid-20s, he-could-be-interesting types. Ultimately, they may be bad gambles, but if Phillips can cut his strikeout rate by a quarter, he could be awfully interesting, because the glove, arm and speed are all well above average.
Those red-hot Royals can’t lose at home.
The Royals have won nine of their last 10 home games. "Especially about the last three weeks, the feeling of us never being out of a game has returned,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Finding ways to score, I’m a lot more confident in that.”
— Jeffrey Flanagan (@FlannyMLB) September 11, 2018
Brian Goodwin gets the Salvy Splash treatment.
Goodwin on #Royals win: "We took care of business there at the end."
— FOX Sports Kansas City (@FSKansasCity) September 11, 2018
THAT THEY DID! pic.twitter.com/dIrLLYckoN
Here’s how the six-man rotation will shake out.
Clint Scoles at Baseball Prospectus Kansas City names his all-organization All-Star team.
Center Field – Kyle Isbel
No positional player draftee from the ’18 draft made more of an impact than Kyle Isbel this season. Advertised as an outfielder who can also play some infield, Isbel dominated the Pioneer League, hitting .381/.454/.610 before joining Lexington for their playoff push. Playing center field while batting at the top of the Legends lineup, Isbel has become a factor, getting on base at a .345 clip at that level while stealing 24 bags across the two levels this season. It’s somewhat doubtful that his speed will be enough to keep him in center long term, but for this season he has played at a good enough level to take the spot here.
The Royals’ affiliate in Lexington blows a five-run lead in the ninth to drop Game One of the South Atlantic League championship series.
The Royals unconditionally release pitcher Eric Stout.
Whit Merrifield will be headed back to Japan this winter as part of a MLB All-Star tour.
Terrance Gore got his first Major League hit over the weekend.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic predicts where free agents where go, guessing the Royals could be players for...Daniel Murphy?
Jay Jaffe at Fangraphs looks at trends with Tommy John surgery.
How the Nationals descended into mediocrity.
Madison Bumgarner has seen his spin rate drop since his motorbike accident.
A ranking of all 70 of Mark McGwire’s 1998 home runs.
Hurricane Florence could wreak havoc on minor league playoffs.
The Braves and Cobb County are at odds over millions in stadium costs.
How Pedro Martinez became a talking head.
The NFL may have sent fake fan letters to the FCC to keep its blackout rule.
A giant trap is deployed to clean up plastic litter in the ocean.
Why does the school day end two hours before the workday ends?
John Legend joins lists of artists who have an EGOT.
Your song of the day is Jack White with Corporation.