Royals Rumblings - News for November 30, 2021

Royals Rumblings - News for November 30, 2021

Alec Lewis talks to reliever Josh Staumont about how COVID-19 affected his season.

“The weirdest thing about this year was essentially my September/October feeling of throwing a lot was felt in May and June,” he says. “It was like, I hit that wall so fast.”

The doubt crept in again. Was this COVID-19, still wreaking havoc? Was this a byproduct of the 60-game season a year earlier?

“To this day, we don’t have answers,” Staumont says. “But you don’t always get your answer. My choices were: Wallow and complain, or make the best of it. So that’s what we did. I changed my perspective on a lot of things. Nothing crazy, but there was an understanding: You don’t always have to control everything. Take today. Enjoy it because you’re not guaranteed anything. We’re so fortunate to be in this job, let alone just being an American.”

Baseball Prospectus releases their list of top ten Royals prospects with Bobby Witt, Jr. heading the class, but Vinnie Pasquantino comes on strong at #8.

Pasquantino is a prototypical Baseball Prospectus darling as you might’ve thought of the term two decades ago: a hulking, power-hitting lefty bat who swings hard and up and takes his fair share of walks. He is limited to first base only with the glove, without any pretension that he can fool around in the outfield. Where he separates as a prospect from this class is that he makes an unusual amount of contact; he only struck out 12.5 percent of the time last season. That number improved from High-A to Double-A, where he walked more than he struck out. For a large power bat, that’s an unusual amount of contact, and pairing this level of bat-to-ball ability with plus power gets you into some fun offensive outcomes. He did struggle some against lefties this season and he has an open stance and length to his swing, so he might ultimately end up as an awfully good positionally limited platoon bat, which is all to say why he’s not higher here.

Craig Brown looks at what the Byron Buxton deal means for Adalberto Mondesi.

If the Royals were interested in locking down Mondesi to any kind of extension, I would assume it would buy out his remaining two years of club control, his first year of free agency and then perhaps a couple of club option years. And there would have to be playing time escalators involved, similar to the Buxton contract.

The dollar amount is a little more difficult for me to figure. MLB Trade Rumors projects Mondesi will earn around $3.2 million in 2022. Maybe $10 million would cover his club control years. Then perhaps around $12 million for that first year of free agency and club option years. Let’s round up and say it’s five years and close to $50 million. With bonuses and buyouts and all that. (Disclaimer. I’m not great at this contract speculation.) Would Mondesi do that? Would the Royals?

Jared Perkins at Royals Farm Report gives an update on this year’s draft class.

Frank Mozzicato, LHP (1st Round, 7th Overall)

The Royals took the high school lefty out of the state of Connecticut with their 7th overall pick. They signed him for nearly $1.9 million under the slot estimate. Chris Clegg from Fantrax posted a recent video of Mozzicato out of the instructional league. He was sitting around 90 to 91 mph with his fastball. His curveball is by far his best-offspeed pitch, and it has made a strong showing in the instructs. The pitch has a very high spin rate as well as some great life to it. There is a ton of room for Mozzicato to grow into his 6’3 and 175lbs frame. From the small video sample size I have seen, he seems to have a good repeatable delivery and the ability to pound the strike zone.

Jordan Foote at Inside the Royals writes that the Royals standing pat now is a reflection of their depth.

Mike Gillespie at Kings of Kauffman has some ideas on what the Royals should do right now.

Max Scherzer signs a three-year, $140 million deal with the Mets.

The Rangers sign shortstop Corey Seager to a ten-year, $325 million deal.

The Mariners ink pitcher Robbie Ray to a five-year, $115 million deal.

The Braves sign reliever Kirby Yates to a two-year, $8.5 million deal.

The Pirates trade catcher Jacob Stallings to the Marlins and designate infielder Colin Moran for assignment.

The Rays sign reliever Brooks Raley to a two-year deal.

What does this flurry of transactions tell us about baseball’s labor negotiations?

What to know about the likely upcoming lockout.

Expanded playoffs and a draft lottery are among the proposals being discussed in labor negotiations.

Rod Carew, Ozzie Smith, and Mike Schmidt will be part of the committee to consider Hall of Fame candidates.

Braves outfielder Marcell Ozuna will receive a retroactive suspension for allegations of a domestic abuse incident.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi wins his record seventh Ballon d’Or.

Lee Elder, the first Black golfer to play at the Masters, dies at age 87.

Why aren’t more women playing chess?

Jack Dorsey steps down as CEO of Twitter.

What can ancient cities teach us about surviving climate change?

Should shows based on video games go live action on animation?

Your song of the day is Barrett Strong with Money (That’s What I Want).