Royals Rumblings

Royals Rumblings - News for July 18, 2019

The Royals are on a roll!

By Max Rieper@maxrieper Jul 18, 2019, 8:00am EDT

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Royals Rumblings - News for July 18, 2019

Lynn Worthy writes that the Royals continue to be on a roll.

“Things are clicking for us,” Royals All-Star Whit Merrifield said. “Pitching well. Hitting well. Playing good defense. Finding ways to win games that we didn’t find how to do early on. That’s the goal.”

Alec Lewis writes the Royals aren’t sure how long Adalberto Mondesi will be out after suffering a a left shoulder subluxation.

And, as evidenced by players like New York Mets outfielder Michael Conforto, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Cody Bellinger and Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jesse Winker, who have suffered the injury, time ultimately tells its severity.

“I’m still waiting,” Mondesi said Wednesday. “I don’t have a nice answer. I’m still waiting on what’s going to happen. Right now, I’m going to be rehabbing and hoping everything gets better soon.”

In his Mellinger Minutes, Sam addresses the Mike Montgomery trade, expectations for Bubba Starling, what prospects to look for in 2020, and whether Cal Eldred is on the hot seat.

But coaches change, often frequently, whether for personal or professional reasons. A voice can lose its effectiveness, and sometimes the players a coach was hired to reach or had success connecting with change teams.

It’s a volatile business.

Eldred takes some heat, and rightfully so. He’s the pitching coach of a team without effective pitching.

But, even with more successes than he’s probably given credit for, he’s not likely to have this job for the long-term.

Alex Duvall at Royals Farm Report talks to Royals outfield prospect Nick Heath.

Q: You’re hitting for significantly more power this year than at any point in your MiLB career. Is there anything you can attribute to that?

Nick: “It’s really funny the power part is brought up. I’ve always been taught from a young age to hit down on the ball because I could run. So my legs were doing a lot of the work and sometimes I might sneak one over or meet the ball at the perfect moment. But lately I’ve really worked with our hitting coach and more so mentally reminding myself to be as flat as I can through the zone which I really haven’t been before.

Alec Lewis at The Athletic profiles pitching prospect Jonathan Bowlan, his special relationship with his sister, and how he impressed Royals scout Travis Ezi.

That fall, Ezi met with Jonathan, and the pitcher spoke about what his family — particularly his sister Emily — meant to him. Ezi was so impressed that he told scouting director Lonnie Goldberg to keep a lookout for him. Then, in April 2018, Ezi watched Jonathan strike out 18 South Florida batters.

“He put on a show,” Ezi said. “After that day, I contacted Lonnie. I said, ‘Hey man, we’ve gotta have this guy. I love him. He has a passion to pitch. He’s just a workhorse.’ Ever since that day, I was floored. We had to have him. I didn’t pound on the table, but I kept pushing for him. ‘We gotta have Bowlan. We gotta have Bowlan. Tell all the guys, we gotta have Bowlan.’”

Leigh Oleszczak at KC Kingdom writes that the Mike Montgomery trade was necessary.

Lee Judge writes that more home runs are due to a lack of fastball command.

Adam Wainwright is enjoying a resurgence.

David Price continues his feud with NESN analyst Dennis Eckersley.

Aroldis Chapman denies reports he will opt out of his contract at the end of the season.

Manny Machado criticizes MLB Network coverage of the Jake Marisnick collision.

Why the trade deadline should be absolute chaos.

Could the NL Central race be the tightest in history?

Mariano Rivera was once almost traded for Felix Fermin.

Owners may be targeting an international draft for as early as 2020.

Former Cardinals pitcher Ernie Broglio passes away at the age of 83.

The complete history of the dismantling of the Oklahoma City Thunder.