Royals Rumblings - News for April 21, 2022

Royals Rumblings - News for April 21, 2022

Mike Matheny thought Daniel Lynch was sharp last night.

“A much better version of what we saw in his first start,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said of Lynch. “And he was really good in the first. I thought he had everything working, both sides, elevated, down when he needed it, change was good, breaking ball was swing-and-miss again. He controlled the counts, did everything we asked him to do. Then we had some really pretty defense behind him.”

Lynn Worthy writes that the bullpen has been dominant lately.

“Everyone is just doing their stuff, hitting their stride,” Staumont said. “It’s exciting. It’s one of those things that when you call your name, everyone is ready. Everyone wants those innings. We go, and you guys have seen what we’ve been able to do in these 10 games. Exciting is a very easy word to put on that. It’s just, at this point, just keeping the momentum.”

Alec Lewis has a terrific piece about Royals pitchers having a fastball problem.

Shape has been an issue. And then there’s the velocity. The Royals rank sixth-worst in baseball among starters. Their 92.6 mph fastball average is just not cutting it in today’s league, amazing as it might be. But, as you can see from the numbers on Carlos Hernandez’s higher-velocity fastball, shape matters as well. Maybe if the young starters could harness their fastball shape better, they might be able to out-pitch their mph.

Overall, it appears as if optimal mixes of location, shape, and velocity are lacking for the Royals’ starters right now. Whether it’s in the scouting department or the coaching department — or a combination — it’s clear something has to change for their fortunes to improve.

David Lesky at Inside the Crown writes about the disappointing start from Carlos Hernández on Tuesday.

What is unfortunate for Hernandez is that he did this on a night when Jonathan Heasley looked quite good for Omaha. Heasley struggled a bit with pitch efficiency, but he did get up to 83 pitches, so he stretched out more. He gave up a run on three hits in 4.2 innings with five strikeouts and one walk. I’ll say that I haven’t been impressed with Heasley at the big league level either at the end of last year or in spring training this year, but Hernandez needs to perform or else there are others fighting for his spot.

Amir Garrett says he loves playing in Kansas City.

“It’s been a pleasure being here,” Garrett said. “I haven’t had this feeling in almost two years. The times I’ve come in to pitch, I’ve had butterflies in my stomach. That was a feeling I had lost the last two years. When I was at my best, I had that feeling every single time I went out there to pitch. I’m loving the game, I’m loving going out there and having fun, I’m loving competing, and I just want to stay right there.”

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Reporter writes about the lack of strikeouts from Royals pitchers.

Former Royals pitcher Ian Kennedy is having an estate sale on his Kansas City-area home.

Hunter Dozier teams up with a local BBQ restaurant to help Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Miguel Cabrera is just one hit away from 3,000 in his career.

The Braves trade Sean Newcomb to the Cubs for Jesse Chavez.

A pregame parachute demonstration at a Nationals game causes the Capitol to evacuate.

Why are home runs down so far?

Brandon Belt has become a super underrated slugger in baseball.

Pitchers are throwing harder than ever this early in the season.

The rookies that are off to a hot start this season.

Players that tested positive for the anabolic steroid Oral Turinabol insist they have done nothing wrong.

Charlie Blackmon becomes the first active player to endorse a sportsbook.

The Red Sox are shaking up their ballpark music with a new DJ.

Villanova’s Jay Wright announces his retirement.

Deebo Samuel reportedly wants out of San Francisco.

Why Netflix is losing subscribers.

Americans are drowning in spam marketing.

A study shows authentic cultural depictions do better at the box office.

Your song of the day is Alabama Shakes with Always Alright.