Royals Rumblings - News for May 21, 2019

Man, there was not a whole lot to talk about yesterday regarding the Royals. Jeffrey Flanagan did his best with his weekly mailbag.

The good news for those fans of Starling is that there seems little doubt that Starling, 26, will finally make his MLB debut sometime this season, perhaps soon. He is hitting .355 (though 34 of his 43 hits have been singles) and the Royals certainly are paying attention to his progress. Dayton Moore has mentioned many times that Starling could handle big league duty defensively right now, so the fact that he is healthy and hitting are positive signs.

Over at Royals Farm Report, I have some thoughts of my own regarding a potential Bubba Starling promotion.

There are a few things to keep in mind regarding Starling’s offensive performance to begin the year. For starters, of Starling’s 43 hits in 2019, only 9 are XBH. He’s hit 3 HR, a triple, and 5 doubles. That’s not bad per say, it’s just not impressive either. For reference, Starling’s .132 ISO is below that of even Nicky Lopez (.150), who is not known for his power. So if the goal for Starling is to be a contact oriented hitter, here are how Starling and Lopez compare:

Also at Royals Farm Report yesterday:

• Drew recaps the week for the NWA Naturals
• Jordan gives us a weekly recap of the 2018 pitching draft class (a great piece Jordan does every week, helpful place to see all of those guys in one spot)

Here at Royals Review, Max gives a breakdown of a potential pick for KC at #2.

MLB Pipeline ranks him as the #3 prospect in the draft, writing he may be the “best all-around hitter” available. He is said to have an “advanced approach” with a good eye for walks without sacrificing power. Buck Granger at 2080 Baseball writes ___________ has “quick hands with a penchant for barreling balls with a compact yet powerful swing and exceptional feel for the strike zone.” _____________ has worked hard on his pitch recognition and has become a power hitter without being a free-swinger.

The Royals sent Heath Fillmyer back to AAA Omaha yesterday.

And Frank Schwindel is now a free agent.

I’m recycling a bit, but Clint Scoles had some great stuff in his “Minor Thoughts” last week.

A Royals official told me that 2017 2nd round pick Evan Steele is getting close to an assignment after rehabbing from shoulder surgery most of last year. The talented Chipola JUCO lefty has worked just eight innings since joining the organization after tossing 143 pitches in his final start of the JUCO World Series. From the sounds of it, his stuff as returned with fastball working 92-95 mph and his secondary pieces returning to old form.

Speaking of Clint, he reminds us all that if you want to watch Daniel Lynch (you’re a little late here, he pitched last night), Jackson Kowar, and Brady Singer, you can do so this week on MiLB.tv. This isn’t always the case, as most teams in the Carolina League don’t have MiLB.tv.

2018 draftees Kris Bubic and Daniel Lynch both looked great last night. Lynch fired six scoreless innings for High-A Wilmington with a pair of strikeouts. Bubic threw seven innings of one-run ball picking up nine strikeouts. The Royals 2018 draft class appears to be a very good one early on.

Yoenis Cespedes suffered a fractured ankle on his ranch.

“We’ve tried not to put a timeline on Ces’ rehab from the previous surgeries,” Van Wagenen said. “He was making progress … but he was still a number of thresholds away before he was going to be able to return to activity. It’s hard to speculate on what that means going forward at this point.”

The Royals aren't the only team from the 2015 World Series to have fallen off a bit ($).

Callaway still will be the Mets’ manager on Monday, according to published reports, but that only means the countdown to his demise will continue. Maybe he will be fired at the end of the week, the start of next week or at some point after that in the latest installment of “As The Mets Turn.” It’s a never-ending soap opera in which the Wilpons — Fred and his son Jeff, the most prominent members of the team’s ownership group — are the only recurring characters.

Mar Carig thinks the Twins should be first in line to sign Craig Kimbrel ($).

The Braves and Mariners swapped relievers.

Josh Hamilton is headed into the Rangers Hall of Fame.

Josh Bell has found his power stroke.

MLB service time manipulation is as blatant as ever, per Daniel Epstein of BtBS.

The best and worst TV series finales of all time.

A ton of hot dogs have been recalled due to metal concerns.

James Holzhauer wins his 23rd Jeopardy! show in a row, bringing in $1.78M.

Is your phone spying on you?

Potentially deadly tornadoes threaten millions from Texas to Missouri.

On this day in history in 1881, the Red Cross was founded.

Also on this day in history:

• In 1927, Charles Lindbergh completes the first solo, nonstop, transatlantic flight.
• Then in 1932, Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to complete the same task.

Your song of the day is a cover of Bruce Hornsby’s “Mandolin Rain,” by Josh Kelley.