Weekend Rumblings - News for October 5, 2019
Sam Mellinger writes about the Royals’ managerial search.
General manager Dayton Moore, with the help of his assistants and friends around Major League Baseball, has several candidates to interview and the blessing of both outgoing owner David Glass and incoming owner Sherman to make a decision.
But, put yourself in Moore’s shoes: Would you make such a major decision without participation or feedback from the man who will soon write your checks and decide on your own employment?
Further, put yourself in the next manager’s shoes: How confident would you feel taking a job without knowing and understanding the man who will be in charge?
This is more than a process to find a manager, then.
Mike Matheny is favorite for Royals managing job. KC is said to love its internal candidates, including also Pedro Grifol/Dale Sveum. But people outside the org are convinced Matheny has the inside track. One complication: an in-flux ownership situation could delay things.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 3, 2019
In his Friday notes, David Lesky is optimistic about the bullpen.
But if you look at Ian Kennedy, Scott Barlow and apparently Tim Hill, that’s not a horrible core group. I’ll beat this drum all winter, but Danny Duffy could easily find himself in the bullpen. I’m not sure how good he’ll be there, but he’s been very good in the past and I think he can make a Kennedy-like impact there. They need to find some other arms though. They don’t have to be the 2013–2015 bullpen just yet, but some competence alone could add eight to 10 wins. When you combine that with the return of Salvador Perez and possibly some better starting pitching with some of the prospects maybe coming to the big leagues, there’s your path to some serious improvement in 2020 leading to some very real 2021 optimism.
Jonathan Mayo at MLB.com talks to Royals pitching prospect Daniel Tillo.
“It’s always been consistency with me, finding that feel for my pitches,” Tillo said. “My fastball has always been really good, but consistency with it has always been what I’ve been fighting. This year, I was just in a groove. Once the first half ended and I started the second half, I was in a groove the rest of the year. It was awesome.
“My issue has always been my arm slot. On the Rapsodo numbers, last year I was a lot lower, more inconsistent with all my pitches. This year, I was just within a few inches with all my pitches. It was a huge jump with that, just being more consistent with my four-seam, my slider and my changeup. Everything was just a lot more similar with the tunneling, more repetition with it, just a huge jump for me doing all that.”
Clint Scoles also talks to Tillo at Royals Academy.
Scoles also talks up Carlos Hernandez.
Jason Pennini tweeted out that the Royals’ Carlos Hernandez was his usual upper 90s with a plus curveball during his three-inning stint the other day at instructs. As I’ve written here before Hernandez will need to be added to the 40 man roster this offseason to avoid another team poaching him as the Blue Jays did with Elvis Luciano last year. This is the case for Hernandez despite this last year being just the third season for him in the system. This is the case due to him not signing until he was 19 years old, giving him one less year of control similar to a college draftee than the typical high school or international product.
Adalberto Mondesi had successful shoulder surgery.
Jorge Soler is a nominee for the Hank Aaron Award for top offensive player.
Shawn Bauman at Kings of Kauffman argues that Carlos Beltran should be considered for Royals manager.
Cody Rickman at KC Kingdom looks at rotation candidates for next year.
Baseball America has a 2020 MLB mock draft out with the Royals taking a second baseman.
Does Ronald Acuña Jr. deserve all this criticism for failing to hustle?
Your guide to October bullpens.
A look at the Astros and the luxury tax.
Brewers GM David Stearns says bringing back Mike Moustakas is a priority.
Jake Odorizzi explains his velocity jump.
The Pittsburgh Pirates land a new television deal.
MLBPA chief Tony Clark calls out owners for talking about cutting payroll.
Maven, the new owner of Sports Illustrated, may be turning it into a content mill.
Is Gardner Minshew the NFL Rookie of the Year?
Paypal withdraws its support of Facebook’s cryptocurrency.
Untitled Goose Game memes are everywhere.
A comedian anonymously reflects on an audition with Saturday Night Live.
Your song of the day is Chet Baker with Tenderly.