Royals Rumblings - News for September 20, 2023

Just days after collecting his first Triple-A hit, catcher Tyler Cropley has his first Major League hit:

Baseball America selected RHP Mason Barnett as the player of the year in the Royals organization:

Drafted in the third round in 2022 out of Auburn, Barnett opened this season with High-A Quad Cities. He posted a 3.18 ERA and 1.18 WHIP with 94 strikeouts in 82 innings to earn an early August promotion to Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

Barnett seemed to find a new gear at the new level by striking out more batters while walking fewer.

In 23 starts he recorded a 3.30 ERA with 137 strikeouts and 50 walks in 114.2 innings. He allowed just five home runs.

At the Kansas City Star, Jaylon Thompson reported on the Anthony Veneziano and Jonathan Bowlan callups:

“The emotions, I can’t even explain as this is unbelievable,” Veneziano said. “This is a childhood dream of mine, and it doesn’t even feel real yet. I’m excited to get out there to just play catch and kind of be one of the guys. Then I think I will settle in.”

Veneziano is the Royals’ No. 16 prospect. He has pitched across two minor-league levels this season and posted solid numbers, including a 4.22 ERA in 18 games (17 starts) with Triple-A Omaha.

The Royals will utilize both Veneziano and Bowlan as relievers. They will initially operate out of the bullpen but could receive a spot start down the stretch.

“I’m extremely excited right now,” Bowlan said. “I’m glad to be here and glad to see how things go. Just continue to keep working to be the best I can be. Hopefully, help the team.”

Both Veneziano and Bowlan have appeared as guests on the Out of Options podcast with Steven Spector, if you want to know a lot more about them beyond their pitching. Veneziano also did a wonderful episode of the StormCast with Nick Badders.

Shohei Ohtani had elbow surgery. The timetable for return would be hitting in 2024, and pitching in 2025.

Chris Getz’s White Sox front office is coming together, including Gene Watson from the Royals in a player development role, and former Royal Brian Bannister in a pitching development job.

Matt Moore was claimed by the Marlins. Once he gets into a game with them, he will really be a solid guy to keep in mind for your Immaculate Grid. He has already pitched for the Rays, Giants, Rangers, Tigers, Phillies, Angels, and Guardians.

I initially had this one about the Braves reinstating Jesse Chavez as a Royals item because he’s a former Royal, but by golly, he’s also a good Grid answer. Chavez has pitched for the Pirates, Braves, Royals, Blue Jays, A’s, Dodgers, Angels, Rangers and Cubs.

A fun thought exercise from Ben Clemens at FanGraphs: could Josh Hader have been a starter?

The St. Louis Cardinals were eliminated from the postseason picture last night.

What did you think of the new Monday Night Football theme from Snoop Dogg and Chris Stapleton?

Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers complained to the LA Rams that it’s basically impossible for him to attend a game because he doesn’t have a smartphone. Truth be told, I’m with him on this one. There still need to be offline ways to get tickets and parking passes to stuff.

At The Atlantic: Airbnb really is different now. When you travel, do you use Airbnb? If so, do you still feel like you’re getting a good value?

Today I learned there are adapters that make a AAA battery work as a AA battery.

A doozy from Ask a Manager: I want my coworker to stop “psychic messages” from my dead family members.

From Lifehacker, in case we want to establish Royals Reviewton: how to found a town.

Any fellow UNL alums here? Apparently there was a fire last night in the Harper-Schramm-Smith dining hall.

SOTD: RHCP - Otherside