Royals Rumblings - News for August 28, 2023

Alec Marsh was happy to get the ball on Sunday.

“I was excited,” Marsh said of his start. “I feel like whatever role they give me, it is what it is — I just want to get the ball. I would love to continue to start. I’ve got to continue to earn that right.”

He has added a sinker to his arsenal.

“If there’s something I can throw down in the middle of the plate and it’s going to produce more ground-ball contact and let my defense work, it’s only going to help me, and it’s going to allow me to go deeper,” Marsh said. “It gives me a different focus. If I have a two-seam, I can just throw this in the middle of the plate and let it run in the hands. So I don’t have to be so careful.”

Jordan Lyles got pounded on Saturday.

“It was some bad-located pitches and a couple of walks that I obviously wish I could have back,” Lyles said. “It steamrolled and got out of hand.”

Anne Rogers gets reaction from the skipper.

“Today, I think it was the command,” Quatraro said. “He got behind, walked those couple guys. You give up a solo homer, it’s different than obviously today being the grand slam. So that’s where most of it comes from, I think, is just not being fine with his command.”

She also writes that Kyle Isbel’s mid-season hitting adjustment may be paying off.

“My path was getting in and out of the zone too quickly,” Isbel said. “And I was having to be perfect. I wasn’t able to execute on things I needed to.”

Isbel is focusing on doing damage on better pitches, trying not to be ultra-aggressive early in his at-bats. That showed in his final plate appearance Friday, when he worked an eight-pitch walk against Mariners closer Andrés Muñoz. Isbel fouled off three 100 mph fastballs at the top of the zone, forcing Muñoz to pitch lower. Isbel took a 2-2, 100 mph sinker low and slightly outside for a ball, then a fastball high and outside.

And she writes about Salvy’s transition to first base.

“We talked to him a little bit about it in Spring Training,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “We didn’t think it would work out this way — thought more when we faced tough lefties, when we still had Vinnie [Pasquantino] and [Nick] Pratto in the mix and all that. So we were hoping, in some ways, this would work out.

“But it’s fun to see him there because he embraces it so much, he works at it, he enjoys it. And he’s good at it.”

Collin Snider is back up with the Royals, writes Jaylon Thompson.

“I am excited to be back and get another opportunity,” he said. “I worked on more strike-throwing, which kind of went with cleaning up my direction mechanically. (I was) working more linear toward the plate.”

Robert Orr at Baseball Prospectus writes about the improvement of Bobby Witt Jr.

Around that time in the beginning of June, he made another subtle tweak—this time mechanical—and that change is paying off in a big way. Since June 1, Witt is hitting .322 with a .929 OPS that makes him the 13th-best hitter in baseball over that time, and he’s slashed his strikeout rate from 22.8% to 14.8%.

The big change? A slight difference in where he starts his hands pre-pitch and into his load.

Trey Donovan at Kings of Kauffman considers what the dimensions should be for a new ballpark.

Garth Brooks will announce a new radio project at Kauffman Stadium this week.

The Rays and Yankees have a bench-clearing confrontation.

The Guardians designate Noah Syndergaard for assignment.

Colorado releases outfielder Jurickson Profar.

Oakland is the first team eliminated from post-season contention.

#1 overall pick Paul Skenes can’t get out of the first inning in his Double-A debut.

Shohei Ohtani refused an MRI weeks before his torn UCL diagnosis.

The White Sox say they weren’t aware that a fan was shot at their game, and that’s why the game continued.

The Reds looked to trade Nick Senzel this summer, and may non-tender him this winter.

Can John Mozeliak be trusted to upgrade Cardinals pitching?

C.J. Wilson opens up about how cheap the Angels were when he was there.

California hits a walk-off home run to win the Little League World Series.

Luis Rubiales grows even more defiant after calls for him to resign of the head of Spain’s soccer federation for improper behavior towards female athletes.

NFL teams are making roster cuts.

How to recycle plastic with enzymes.

India’s landing on the moon may give inspiration to other countries.

Why has Suits become the show people love to binge-watch all of a sudden?

Your song of the day is Don Henley with Dirty Laundry.