Royals Rumblings - News for August 13, 2020

Royals Rumblings - News for August 13, 2020

Lynn Worthy writes that Nicky Lopez is prepared to do whatever it takes to win, even if it means not starting every day.

The two have had several conversations along the way. Matheny tries to talk with players individually each day about how they might be used. He has expressed his belief in Lopez as an elite defender and conveyed that he believes the team badly needs Lopez’s natural energy and the edge with which he plays.

“That in itself was a big adjustment, finding myself not starting and coming in late,” said Lopez, the organization’s minor league Player of the Year in 2018. “You, obviously, just always have to be ready and have your mindset ready from pitch one. Because if you’re over in the — now it’s the COVID box — if you’re over there just sitting there and not in the game and then your name gets called, it’s going to be hard to get that motor running.

“So just always staying locked in is something I had to do. I’m happy to do anything to help this team win, whatever that may be.”

Jeffrey Flanagan asks Dayton Moore about Matt Harvey.

“He’s throwing well,” Moore said. “And he’s a guy who can serve a variety of roles for us. He can be a starter, he can be a long man, he might even be able to help us in the back of the bullpen. We’ll see.

“He can be someone to potentially help us. You can’t have enough depth.”

Sam Mellinger talks to owner John Sherman about fans attending games, social justice, and payroll.

Two things can be true at the same time, then. Sherman’s group should be prepared to spend more than Glass did for sustainability — Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer can’t leave through free agency in the same winter, for instance — but the baseball operations staff must also produce consistent talent.

“It’s kind of situational,” Sherman said. “It’s hard to really predict what it will take to make sure we can compete. But I would say that we want to do all of those things, and then we’re going to commit to spending the money when it’s the right time when we can compete for championships.

“That’s the objective, and it’s really important that we’re measuring our progress toward those goals.”

In his Mellinger Minutes, he also writes about the state of the rebuild.

This is the best way I know how to put it. Brady Singer is an instant big-leaguer, a guy who looked the part of a front-of-the-rotation starter from the first moment. There is a reasonable case to be made that Kris Bubic is even better. There are scouts who believe Jackson Kowar and Daniel Lynch will be better than Singer and Bubic. There aren’t many scouts who don’t believe Asa Lacy will be better than all of them.

Also, meanwhile, Brad Keller is the one with a successful big-league track record and he’s less than a year older than Singer.

That’s a hell of a foundation for success. This group is starting to get a bit of a 2011 vibe.

Baseball America ranks the Royals as the 16th-best farm system, up from 18th last winter.

The arrow has been pointing up in the Royals’ system, which got a boost from the addition of lefthander Asa Lacy, the No. 4 overall pick in the draft. They have a pair of young hitters with huge ceilings signed in 2019 between SS Bobby Witt Jr. and OF Erick Peña, with an array of pitching still the biggest strength of the system. The stock of those pitchers has only increased, not just with the addition of Lacy but with righthander Brady Singer and lefthander Kris Bubic pitching in Kansas City.

Vahe Gregorian writes that Mike Moustakas still feels connected to the Royals franchise.

Alex Duvall at Royals Farm Report ranks the top 85 prospects in the Royals’ farm system.

Zack Greinke tells the hitter what’s coming and it doesn’t matter.

Rob Manfred is still optimistic about this season.

Joe Kelly has his suspension reduced on appeal.

Giancarlo Stanton is out 3-4 weeks with a hamstring injury.

Rays pitcher Brendan McKay is shut down due to shoulder tightness.

How are teams using their deeper bullpens in 2020?

MLB faces an uncertain path to the post-season.

Buffalo has the Blue Jays, but are still subject to blackout restrictions.

What if Charlie Blackmon hits .400 this year?

Tight end George Kittle signs a six-year extension with the 49ers.

Postponed college football games may disrupt $1 billion worth of ads.

Gaiter masks may actually be fine.

The life span of shows on streaming TV is shrinking.

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air will get a re-boot.

Your song of the day is The Presidents of the United States of America with Peaches.