Royals Rumblings

Royals Rumblings - News for April 2, 2020

We should be tailgating right now.

By Max Rieper@maxrieper Apr 2, 2020, 9:36am EDT

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Royals Rumblings - News for April 2, 2020

Eric Longenhagen ranks the top 43 Royals prospects for Fangraphs.

This system has gotten much better over the last couple of seasons and almost all of it has been accomplished through shrewd drafting. A few of the lesser prospects were acquired from Oakland and Washington in deals for relief pitching, but mostly the org has been stockpiling solid college arms for the last couple of years.

This isn’t an org that others around baseball would mention as being among the most progressive of their rivals, and there’s evidence they’re both right and wrong about that impression. First, a surprisingly high number of these college pitchers have high breaking ball spin rates, which are typically coveted in the draft, especially among college arms whose pitch data is more frequently captured by tech. Why then have the Royals ended up with so many? Well, a lot of them have fastballs with sinker orientation that pair sub-optimally with big-arcing breakers.

Vahe Gregorian talks to new owner John Sherman about being stuck in a holding pattern.

“I think sports is such an important part of kind of our psyche. And I think our sports teams need to make sure that they in particular are getting behind the efforts in the community,” he said, later adding, “I think that platform gives us some ability to get some other people involved.”

Naturally, Sherman can’t wait for baseball to start again. But only when the time is right and safe and appropriate.

Never mind that this isn’t what he might have envisioned.

”Any time you take on a new challenge, you don’t get to write the script, right?” he said.

In his Mellinger Minutes, Sam considers when baseball might return.

I guessed early July a little earlier, but I do think it’s worth considering the possibility that we won’t have a season.

At some point, it just becomes unfeasible. I don’t know what that point is, but I can’t imagine it’s much past early July. Owners and players could potentially negotiate fewer off-days and/or more doubleheaders, but if the season started July 1 you’d really have to hustle just to get in 81 games without stretching the playoffs deep into November.

No matter what, this season will have a literal asterisk. Depending on the length of the delay, so too might the champion.

Nick Whyman at Overtime Heroics talks with Royals prospects Tyler Zuber and Grant Gavin.

Are you still working out/ doing drills? How so if you can’t go anywhere due to your location?

Zuber: “I do what I like to call Prison workouts at home. I just utilize all my resources and make it work.”

Gavin: “I had to shake up my training a little bit recently and I’m having to lift weights in my basement other than at my normal gym. For my throwing I’ll either throw in my yard with my dad or usually I’ll go meet up with other minor leaguers in the area and throw outside.”

Alec Lewis talks to Royals groundskeeper Trevor Vance.

Game 7 of the 1985 ALCS against Toronto will air on royals.com today.

Alex Feuz writes about what motives Royals prospect Kort Peterson.

The Big Slick Celebrity weekend has been cancelled.

The most hyped first base prospects for each team.

A ranking of the last 25 World Series winners.

Evan Gattis says he is done playing baseball.

The inside story of the first player traded during the coronavirus pandemic.

MLB execs are reportedly discussing a 100-game season to begin July 1.

Will teams get creative with pitching staffs this season?

J.J. Cooper gives the latest on negotiations between Major League Baseball and minor league baseball.

SportsNet LA will finally be able to air Dodgers games for Los Angeles fans.