Royals Rumblings - News for August 11, 2022

Royals Rumblings - News for August 11, 2022

Anne Rogers gets the scoop from Brady Singer on his last start, an impressive outing against Chicago.

Armed with what Matheny called Singer’s “best sinker we’ve seen this year” and his typical biting slider, Singer mowed hitters down again Tuesday, allowing just five hits with six strikeouts. He threw 99 pitches, and 71 were strikes. He pitched to just one three-ball count and got 14 called strikes on his sinker.

“[Confidence is] definitely high, which is something I’m really happy about,” Singer said. “That helps everything. Just being able to use that attack confidently. I feel like I’ve done that in the past few years, where I’m going to go out and attack, but I don’t know if it’s going to work. Lately, I’ve had a pretty good idea that it’s going to work.”

She also writes that Vinnie Pasquantino is starting to see results from his hard-hit balls.

Pasquantino does his best not to get caught up in the results, especially when his swing feels as good as it does and the underlying metrics tell him he’s on the right track. But that doesn’t mean the process doesn’t get frustrating.

“It’s hard for all our guys to not get caught up in results,” Matheny said. “Even if they hit balls hard and they’re not getting any kind of positive feedback when it comes to helping us win a game, it wears on them. He’s really handled it well for a guy who hasn’t been around long. He’ll be joking about it, and you can tell by the way he’s going about his work, he’s trying to make small adjustments to figure out how to turn some of those hard-hit outs into damage.”

The Royals called up outfielder Brent Rooker before last night’s game, writes Lynn Worthy.

We’re obviously pretty left-handed strong right now,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “We are going to be facing some lefties this next series, so (this will) have some more options for us. We’re very clear with Brent and everybody else too. We’ll try to get as many looks as we can, but these guys have been playing good.

“There will be some opportunities, whether it’s to come off the bench and be ready to do some damage or once in a while get him a start in the outfield or potentially DH. He’s a guy that we’ve seen from the other side. We know that he’s got big power. He’s been doing a great job ever since we picked him up.

Alec Lewis takes a closer look at the kids fueling the hot play.

Only 30 big-league hitters have been better than Melendez since July 12, per wRC+ (148). Most impressive may be his power (his .275 ISO ranks 15th among MLB hitters in this span), but make no mistake: His plate discipline is above average as well. Before Tuesday’s games, Melendez led all Royals in pitches seen per plate appearance (4.08).

This combination is why Royals bench coach Pedro Grifol pushed Matheny to pencil Melendez in at the leadoff spot. Simultaneously, Melendez ranks in the 80th percentile in average exit velocity (90.5 mph), the 75th percentile in barrel rate (11.1 percent) and the 63rd percentile in chase rate (63 percent).

Royals prospect Chandler Champlain was dominant in a start at the Field of Dreams ballpark.

Matthew Robison at Royals Farm Report writes about Nick Loftin and his versatility.

Jordan Foote at Inside the Royals thinks the loss of Taylor Clarke will hurt.

The Detroit Tigers fire GM Al Avila after seven seasons.

The Blue Jays sign outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr.

Top Braves prospect Vaughn Grissom homers in his first game.

Oakland designates infielder Jed Lowrie for assignment.

The teams most affected by their remaining schedule.

Pirates baserunner Rodolfo Castro has his cell phone fall out of his back pocket.

What to know about the Field of Dreams game tonight in Iowa.

Joey Votto says the Field of Dreams game reminds him of his father.

The Rays are worried their trip to Milwaukee will include a stay at a haunted hotel.

Minor leaguer Solomon Bates says he is gay and his teammates have known for years.

Trevor Bauer faces new sexual battery allegations in a countersuit.

The grass at Chicago’s Soldier Field is so bad Bears kicker Cairo Santos looks for parks with crummy grass to practice on.

FIFA just realized they messed up the World Cup schedule.

The ten worst airports for cancellations this summer.

A look back at 50 years of the space shuttle program.

The future of DC Films is more confusing than ever following the cancellation of Batgirl.

Your song of the day is The Boy Least Likely To with Paper Cuts.