Royals Rumblings - News for August 18

Jaylon Thompson writes how the Royals are using speed in their lineup.

“If we are going to be successful, that is what we are going to have to do,” Royals outfielder Kyle Isbel said. “As a team, we are going to have to be able to run and be aggressive on the bases.”...

How have the Royals become so lethal swiping bags? Hollins said it comes down to athleticism, instincts and film work.

“These guys are great at being students of the games themselves,” Hollins said. “Whatever we can use to our advantage out there, we are going to work through it.”

Baseball America ranks the Royals #29 in their mid-season farm rankings.

The Skinny: Despite its ranking, this system is better than it was a year ago. Top prospect Frank Mozzicato has shown progress, and infielder Austin Charles was moved quickly out of the Arizona Complex League. There are some mildly interesting prospects at the lower levels, but Kansas City’s farm still needs several more infusions of talent to climb the ranks.

Shaun Newkirk considers a Bobby Witt Jr. contract extension.

In Devers case, his 11 year deal is actually only 10 years since it was just tacked on to the year after his final year of control and he kept his previously agreed upon arbitration money intact. In Witt Jr’s case, it would be buying out four years of control and seven of free agency, taking him through his age-33 season, whereas Devers deal takes him through his age-36 season.

From a pay perspective, I think the Austin Riley one is the closest in reality. While Riley is slightly older at signing (25) than Witt Jr (23) and BWJ has more overall value, the Braves paid Riley post-breakout rather than pre. While the Matt Olson deal is the closest in money, Olson is much older at signing (28) and had four years of service time completed.

Craig Brown at Into the Fountains gives credit to the coaching staff for the feisty play from the Royals.

A chunk of credit at this point has to go to Matt Quatraro and his coaching staff. As the team was losing in April, listless in May and flatlining in June, the complaints against the dugout staff were increasing. I think it was fair to wonder if Quatraro wasn’t prepared for the challenges presented by the Royals or if the team wasn’t responding to his style of leadership. Premature, for sure, but this is how it rolls. It seems clear now that whatever was going on in the clubhouse in loss after loss, the team was still dialed into Quatraro and his staff. Work was still being done. Improvements were being made.

Nick Wittgren elected for free agency rather than accept assignment to Omaha.

Royals players are preparing for their fantasy football drafts.

Patrick Mahomes says he watches a lot of Royals games and urges them to build momentum for next year.

The Royals settle their labor dispute with stadium workers.

Rob Manfred was in town this week to tout the “power of baseball” as an economic driver.

Diamond Sports, which runs Bally Sports Kansas City, has sued its parent company Sinclair Broadcasting for fraud.

There is an arrest warrant for former Royals infielder Miguel Tejada for bad debts.

The Baltimore Sun looks at the difference between the Orioles and Royals rebuilds.

Tim Anderson has his six-game suspension for fighting reduced to five games.

Six overlooked players this year.

A former Yankees prospect slams the organization for its analytics push.

Is Win Probability Added a good metric to use to determine MVP voting?

When the A’s leave Oakland, they want to leave “Moneyball” behind.

The former mayor of Anaheim pleads guilty to corruption charges surrounding the stadium sale.

A look at some potential revenge matchups in the NBA schedule.

A ranking of each NFL team’s pass-catching unit.

Most of the internet runs through undersea cables that are surprisingly vulnerable.

Broadcast and cable viewers make up less than half of all viewers for the first time.

Young people aren’t drinking booze.

Your song of the day is Counting Crows with Have You Seen Me Lately?