Royals Rumblings - News for May 13, 2022

Royals Rumblings - News for May 13, 2022

Jonathan Heasley assessed his season debut in Texas on Thursday.

“I was just kind of nibbling a little bit, especially with my offspeed,” Heasley said. “Just maybe trying to be too fine. Honestly, everything’s better when I just throw the crap out of it and throw it just like my fastball. So that’s just kind of mentally focus, dial it in a little bit and just know that that third inning was really good and just build off of that. That needs to be my style all the way through.”

The Royals optioned Kris Bubic to Omaha to make room for Heasley.

Amir Garrett talked to Anne Rogers about how he’s been able to come through in big moments for the Royals.

When Garrett went back out for what would be a perfect fifth inning, he struck out right-hander Adolis García swinging on a slider up and in.

“It can look like a cutter, I can go backdoor, it can look like a changeup,” Garrett said. “I can have a wipeout slider. Just getting better every day and keeping the hitters guessing, that’s what I’m trying to do. I only have two pitches, so [the variations] give me more.”

The effectiveness of Garrett’s slider allows him to place his fastball when and where he wants it. He’s thrown 41 fastballs this season without a hit allowed on the pitch.

Whit Merrifield was feeling “sexy” for his first home run of the season.

David Lesky at Inside the Crown wrote about Merrifield breaking through on Wednesday.

You might remember that I was confident a couple of weeks ago when I wrote the fact or fiction look at struggling hitters that he’d bounce back. That isn’t to pat myself on the back. Basically, the only two options with Merrifield were that he had completely lost any ability to hit or is in decline and the skills aren’t what they used to be, so slumps are a little longer and a little deeper. He’s not out of the slump yet by any stretch, but a 3 for 4 day after a 1 for 4 day with a couple hard-hit outs tells me that he might be about to start the climb out of the hole he’s dug.

Craig Brow at Into the Fountains questions why Ryan O’Hearn has been batting cleanup.

Again, the question I keep returning to when watching the 2022 edition of the Royals is: Is this player going to be a part of the club when (or if) this team returns to contention. It seems to run counter to the question Matheny asks when filling out the lineup card which is: Is this the player that’s going to give the team the best chance at winning that night? I just don’t understand why the Royals are so stubborn when the answer to both questions when presented before O’Hearn is an overwhelming “no.”

MLB Pipeline highlights the best fastball in each organization, with Nathan Webb mentioned for the Royals.

Jared Perkins at Royals Farm Report profiles Royals pitcher Noah Cameron.

Former Royals pitcher Scott Alexander signs with the Giants.

The Padres will reportedly sign Robinson Canó.

Twins pitcher Chris Paddack may need a second Tommy John surgery.

Bryce Harper has a small UCL tear and won’t be able to throw for four weeks.

Is Twins infielder Luis Arraez in line for a batting title?

Which New York team has the best chance to win it all?

What would it take for the Reds to be the worst team in MLB history?

What has been key to the Angels’ success so far?

MLB will release its first NFT-based game.

A look back at the shirtless photo of the great 90s shortstops.

The NFL released its 2022 schedule, here’s when the Chiefs play.

Marcelo is dropped from Lyon first team for reportedly “farting and laughing” in the dressing room.

An author’s essay on how she plagiarized for her book is pulled when it is discovered she plagiarized for the essay.

The untold story of the White House collection of music albums.

A sequel to the comedy classic This is Spinal Tap is in the works.

Your song of the day is The Rolling Stones with Start Me Up.