Weekend Rumblings - News for May 14, 2022

Weekend Rumblings - News for May 14, 2022

Sam McDowell at the Star questions how long this rebuild is taking.

Where is this headed?

The substandard results at the Major League level do not change what awaits in the minor leagues — the Royals still have a quality crop of prospects that Baseball America ranked fifth-best in the game — but you’d like to see the major-league product going somewhere by now, if for no other reason than to instill a bit of confidence in its ultimate destination.

As the Royals sit 10-19 after Thursday’s game, there was — is — enough frustration in and around Kauffman Stadium to have serious discussions about what’s next.

Alec Lewis has some notes on Royals pitchers in the minors, such as Brady Singer.

How has he looked at Omaha?

“Really good,” Gibson said. “He commanded with three pitches down in the zone. Up in the zone. All four quadrants, he handled the way he wanted to. A lot of groundballs. What you would expect.”

As for the changeup, Gibson added: “He threw a couple (last week) in the 85-87 mph range, which has been good. He got swings and misses on it. A groundball on one. It’s all about the feel. If you don’t feel it, it’s hard to throw it. He’s starting to feel this thing, and see how he can adjust his finger pressure and the way he wants to deaden the ball to slow it up. As he throws more and more, he’s going to gain more and more feel for it. It was fun to watch him go about it without any reservation.”

David Lesky at Inside the Crown reviews Jonathan Heasley’s season debut.

I thought his stuff was better than any of his three starts at the big league level last season. He started the game using three pitches. Usually a pitcher might wait until the lineup turns over to introduce a third pitch, but Heasley either felt like he needed a better mix or that he just likes all three of his pitches. But in the first inning, he started off the leadoff hitter with a fastball. Then he went to a changeup on the number two hitter. And then a curve to start things off with the number three hitter. I think it would probably be beneficial to save one of those for the second time through the order, but I don’t have a problem with it for a guy making his first big league start of the year.

Alex Duvall at Royals Farm Report highlights some minor league numbers.

8. Michael Massey’s 7.7% BB%

Michael Massey is so good. What a freaking pick by the Royals to snag him in the 4th round. The only knock I’ve had against Massey for the last year or so is that he swings too much. We talked about this with Bobby Witt Jr. a bit too. It’s not the walks that are inherently the issue, it’s what they say about his approach. Michael Massey is no Frank Schwindel, and I’m not saying he needs to be Nick Pratto either, but pitchers are going to work around you when you’re the best hitter in the lineup. Let them!

The Mariners demote outfielder Jared Kelenic.

Mets catcher James McCann will miss six weeks with a fractured wrist.

Clayton Kershaw lands on the Injured List with joint inflammation.

Shane McClanahan has developed a change up with great results.

The Dodgers are likely to release Trevor Bauer if he wins his appeal to reduce his suspension.

Fans of Reds, Pirates, Orioles and A’s sound off about their teams’ losing ways.

Former Mets draft pick Kumar Rocker will pitch in an independent league.

Phil Mushnick of the NY Post thinks streaming is killing baseball.

Did Statcast allow baseball to cover up the juiced ball?

Ranking all the Monday Night Football matchups this year.

Bill Simmons is promoted to Spotify’s head of global sports content, a move with potential pros and cons.

Elon Musk says his acquisition of Twitter has been put on “hold.”

An AI company is offering deepfake clothes so you don’t have to dress up for work Zoom meetings.

Why de-extinction is impossible - but maybe worth trying anyway.

Your song of the day is Oingo Boingo with Dead Man’s Party.