Weekend Rumblings - News for January 15, 2022

Weekend Rumblings - News for January 15, 2022

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Reporter gives his thoughts on Royals ZIPS projections.

Singer I think is due for a big year, and if he can make some slight adjustments in pitch usage, I think he could surpass that ZiPS projection next season. Keller is a bit of a bigger surprise, as I believe his line last year was more indicative of his skills as a pitcher at the Major League level. That being said, I do believe we will see Keller eat some more innings this year, which in turn will increase his value, even if it may not be much better than what he produced in 2021.

The most intriguing Royals projection to watch for this upcoming season will be Lopez, who had a career year in 2021. ZiPS projects him to be a 2.4 fWAR, which seems pretty optimistic considering how BABIP-fueled his breakout campaign was a season ago

Alex Duvall at Royals Farm Report continues his prospect list with #26-30.

Before you look at the ERA and balk at him being here on our rankings, keep a few things in mind:

1. Yefri Del Rosario was one of the five youngest pitchers in all of AA last season

2. Del Rosario had not appeared in a professional baseball game since 2018 due to an injury in 2019 and then COVID in 2020

3. There were only 38 pitchers at AA last year aged 23 or younger to throw at least 70 innings, and Del Rosario had the 18th best K/9

4. The difference between Del Rosario’s FIP and xFIP was the 6th highest among those 38 pitchers, suggesting he was probably getting a little unlucky despite the obviously high FIP

I’m honestly not trying to sugarcoat what was an objectively disappointing statistical season last year, I’m just asking you to overlook it for the bigger picture. Del Rosario is still just a 22-year old with an electric fastball and absolute hammer for a curveball.

Former Royals outfielder Melky Cabrera officially announces his retirement, as does former Royals minor leaguer Travis Snider.

Omaha pitcher Jose Cuas talks about converting to pitching on The StormCast podcast.

Mike Gillespie at Kings of Kauffman wonders if free agent reliever Tyler Clippard is a fit for the Royals.

Brad Ausmus joins the Athletics coaching staff as a bench coach.

Around 10-12 teams are interested in Japanese free agent outfielder Seiya Suzuki.

Trade rumors are heating up around Diamondbacks outfielder Ketel Marte.

Is Jon Lester a Hall of Famer?

Baseball America looks at how an owner proposal to incentivize keeping top prospects on the season all year would have worked in past seasons.

The Atlantic League ends experiments with robo umps and 61-foot pitcher distances.

Ben Clemens at Fangraphs explains that platooning isn’t as easy as it looks.

Could Barry Bonds get in the Hall of Fame even if he isn’t voted in this year?

Evan Lang at Purple Row looks at the 1995 replacement players for the Rockies.

Bill James wonders if players that stay with one team have a better chance of getting in the Hall of Fame.

Law enforcement officials reveal Rays catcher Jean Ramirez died from suicide this week.

Two Chiefs were named AP Second Team All-Pros.

Tesla’s full self-driving includes an “assertive” mode.

The Expanse concludes its run as one of the best sci fi series on TV.

Justified with Timothy Olyphant is returning for a limited series.

Your song of the day is Dire Straits with So Far Away.