Royals Rumblings - News for April 11, 2019

Royals Rumblings - News for April 11, 2019

Whit Merrifield talks about his record-setting hitting streak.

“To do something nobody in the history of this franchise has done when one of the greatest players of all-time played for this franchise for a long time - its kinda surreal. I don’t even really know how to describe the emotions and feelings that I have going on right now.”

George Brett was proud of Whit.

Vahe Gregorian writes more about the connection between George and Whit.

Whit also heaped praise on teammate Terrance Gore, who had a big night.

“That kid, his whole life everyone has told him he can’t do anything but run. All he can do is pinch run. He’s just going to be a pinch runner his whole life. And he got a chance tonight, and he said: ‘Screw you guys, I’m gonna show you guys I can play.’ I was so proud of him tonight. He held his own and then some. He was incredible tonight.”

Leigh Oleszczak at KC Kingdom writes that Whit Merrifield is just what the Royals need.

Rustin Dodd writes about Richard Lovelady’s promotion.

Royals general manager Dayton Moore said the team had to act. This wasn’t overreaction to a small sample.

“That’s a tough balancing act, it really is,” he said Tuesday afternoon. “Ultimately, when you think a player just needs a reset to regain some confidence in the execution of his pitches, you’ve got to make a move.

“It’s magnified when the rest of the guys are struggling as well. You just keep rotating until you find the right mix.”

Just before Hunter Dozier’s home run, Patrick Brennan wrote at Beyond the Box Score to keep an eye on the third baseman.

We’re only halfway to the stabilization point for batted ball data on Dozier, but he’s been impressive 20 results in. So far, he ranks 28th out of 199 hitters in exit velocity (minimum 20 results), standing at a noteworthy 93.2 MPH. The biggest key here though is his launch angle, which currently stands at 19 degrees, an increase from his 13 degree mark last year. Put those two together and you get an ideal .423 xwOBA, compared to his actual wOBA of .235. Add his above-average speed in as a factor and you can easily come to the conclusion that he’s been extremely unlucky thus far. Only Franmil Reyes has a higher wOBA-xwOBA differential than him among 280 qualified hitters.

Billy Hamilton talks about scoring from second on a sacrifice fly on Tuesday.

“He was running backwards,” Hamilton said. “As an outfielder, I know if you’re running backwards it’s not easy to catch the ball, stop real fast and throw it hard to your cut-off man. You’ve got to gain you’re balance and everything. I knew I had a chance with him running backwards, but when he fell it made it a little easier for me to make that decision.”

Here is your Danny Duffy update.

Keith Law at ESPN writes about the most-loaded minor league squads this year.

For the second time since I started these lists, my adopted hometown of Wilmington makes the cut, with seven of the Royals’ top 10 prospects. That’s thanks to a Royals draft last year that brought in three-fifths of the team’s rotation: top prospect Daniel Lynch (No. 53 overall), No. 5 Royals prospect Jackson Kowar, and No. 6 Brady Singer. They also added No. 7 prospect Kyle Isbel in the draft, and he’s the Blue Rocks’ primary center fielder at the moment.

Former Royals reliever Tim Collins gets the callup for the Cubs.

Jayson Stark at The Athletic asks if managers are becoming obsolete.

Matt Carpenter signs a two-year extension with the Cardinals

The Atlantic League will delay implementation of robot umpires.

Even with injuries, the Yankees won’t look to Dallas Keuchel quite yet.

Mike Trout’s mortality is showing.

The Mariners were supposed to be rebuilding, but are they actually good?

Minor league baseball and MLB Advanced Media have an agreement on social media content.

The TV rights battle between the Nationals and Orioles will go to arbitration.

Luke Heimlich makes his professional debut in Mexico.

How stealing sand at Augusta National got a man arrested, costing him $20,000 and his reputation.

A lawsuit alleges the AAF intentionally misled and defrauded players.

Amazon employees are listening to what you tell Alexa.

Kate McKinnon will play Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in a series for Hulu.

“Participation trophies” have been handed out for 100 years.

Your song of the day is Aimee Mann with Pavlov’s Bell.