Royals Rumblings - News for July 6, 2021

Royals Rumblings - News for July 6, 2021

Mike Matheny thought Mike Minor looked great last night until he unraveled, writes Lynn Worthy.

“Up until that point, you’re looking at probably the best start we’ve had this season,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “You’re talking two hits early and nothing until you get to the seventh, a hit batman, one walk on a close pitch. I thought he had thrown as good as we’ve seen him this whole season. That was leading in the direction of being one of those really special starts.”

Minor explains what happened in the seventh to Anne Rogers.

“First pitch to Castellanos, I don’t know why I didn’t think he was going to be aggressive after fouling a couple of balls off his shin,” Minor said. “I thought I could throw something middle-in and he could take a pitch. But he’s a good hitter, and I shouldn’t have taken a pitch off right there.”

Bobby Witt, Jr. talks to Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com and says his calf is fine and he was removed from a recent game as a precaution.

Mayo and Jim Callis also talk to Anne Rogers about what the Royals may do in the draft.

Callis: The Royals are in a good spot. This is a Draft where there’s not a Spencer Torkelson or Casey Mize that’s head and shoulders above everybody else. There’s a tier of eight players who you could kind of put in any order you want. You have got four high school shortstops — Marcelo Mayer, Jordan Lawlar, Kahlil Watson, Brady House; the two Vanderbilt pitchers, Leiter and Kumar Rocker; and then you’ve got Louisville catcher Henry Davis and Jackson Jobe, a high school righty from Oklahoma. I’m pretty convinced that Mayer is the best player in the Draft. And Jack Leiter is No. 2. After that, Nos. 3-8, you can kind of put in any order. When I’ve talked to the Royals, they’re kind of in a wait-and-see position. They’re going to see who goes ahead of them and then take the best player available. There’s potential for one, maybe two teams ahead of them to potentially cut deal with players who aren’t in that top eight to save money to spend later, so with the Royals picking seventh, I think they’re going to be looking at two, three or four of the guys in that top eight.

David Lesky at Inside the Crown thinks Edward Olivares’ demotion will be temporary.

I imagine over the next few weeks, there will be some changes to the Royals roster that will get Olivares a chance that doesn’t end with him getting optioned every third day. Jorge Soler is likely a roster casualty soon. I still believe that Jarrod Dyson or Taylor or both are good trade candidates as a fourth outfielder that so many contenders could use. So there’ll be opportunities and I would both hope and imagine that after the moves are made and there is room for him to play most days that we’ll see him in the big leagues. I know it’s frustrating to see this when he’s put up the great numbers in the minors, but I think we’ll get our chance to see him soon enough.

Dayton Moore expressed support for his coaching staff last week.

Craig Brown at Into the Fountains considers whether anyone on the coaching staff will be fired.

Changing a pitching or a hitting coach so often feels like shuffling the deck chairs. There may be some benefit, but the issues that are plaguing an underperforming team usually run deeper than a new coach can overcome. And let’s be serious, a midseason change of any kind is not in Dayton Moore’s modus operandi. This is a general manager who preaches patience, who asks for you to trust the process. He hires people because he believes in them. He’s not going to make a change unless he’s backed against the wall and it’s literally his only option. Is he there yet? I don’t think so.

Alec Lewis profiles Brady McConnell, who has battled mental health issues.

He’s also talking about what saved him, and how, at age 23, McConnell has not only regained the feeling of joy he had during that memorable first visit to the splashing fountains of Kauffman Stadium but also gained perspective about life’s ups and downs, and how we’re all constantly navigating them.

“The purpose of this is for people out there to know that mental illnesses can affect anyone,” he says. “Take it from me: Before this, I would’ve never imagined myself going through anything like it. I had my whole world right in front of me. I had all that I’ve ever wanted.”

Mike Gillespie at Kings of Kauffman doesn’t think the Royals need to draft a shortstop.

Angels manager Joe Maddon is cool with Shohei Ohtani hitting and pitching in the All-Star Game.

Who were the biggest All-Star snubs?

A look at how the Mets may approach the trade deadline.

The Dodgers don’t expect Trevor Bauer back any time soon.

After a hot June, the Nationals could be buyers at the trade deadline now.

The Marlins have made a contract extension offer to outfielder Starling Marte.

Tigers third base coach Chip Hale departs to take the head coaching job with the University of Arizona.

The Mariners will have to make an interesting contract decision to make with pitcher Yusei Kikuchi this year.

A look at how poorly baseball treats minor leaguers.

A video recording of Rachel Nichols commenting on co-worker Maria Taylor’s assignments has caused dissension at ESPN.

Columbus hockey goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks dies in a fireworks accident.

What if there just aren’t any aliens out there?

Chinese millennials are taking a much more relaxed approach to life, much to the consternation of the government.

Every Marvel Cinematic Universe TV show, ranked.

Your song of the day is G. Love & Special Sauce with Cold Beverage.