Royals Rumblings - News for August 17, 2022

Brian Hall writes that Vinnie Pasquantino is becoming a pitcher’s nightmare:

“He was getting a little unlucky when he first came up [from Triple-A Omaha]. He was hitting a lot of balls hard and didn’t really have the numbers to back it up, but now you’re kind of seeing some of those balls fall. His approach is so consistent. He’s a tough guy to pitch to. So, it’s no surprise that, with the advanced approach he has, he’s hitting the ball everywhere and hitting the ball hard.”

Through his first 12 games with Kansas City, Pasquantino was hitting .150 with one home run in 40 at-bats. He hit his second homer during a July 11 doubleheader in which he had four hits in seven at-bats. Since July 11, he’s hitting .301 with seven homers and 13 RBIs in 30 games.

Lynn Worthy writes about the Pasquantino-Pratto combo:

As far as seeing Pasquantino on a daily basis for the first time, Pratto said he considers Pasquantino one of several players including fellow rookies like Bobby Witt Jr., Michael Massey, Kyle Isbel and MJ Melendez that he’s bounced things off of in regard to hitting as well as some veteran players. “When you look at everything, there’s a lot of ways to bake the cake,” Pratto said. “There’s many styles. There’s many approaches to hitting and just the game in general. It has been a pleasure watching (Pasquantino) do his work and seeing how he goes about his business. I think it’s cool, no matter who you’re looking at in the league, you can kind of take things and be able to talk through their processes. He comes out here and tries to dominate things in his control. It’s fun to watch.”

Dan Szymborski breaks down the ramifications of Fernando Tatis Jr’s suspension.

Walker Buehler will undergo season-ending elbow surgery.

Rodolfo Castro was handed a one game suspension for having his cell phone on the field.

Top prospects Brett Baty (NYM) and Shea Langeliers (OAK) are being called up.

Kiley McDaniel shares his midseason top 50 prospects. There are no Royals on the list. ($)

Drew Rasmussen has had an excellent season, including taking a perfect game into the 9th on Sunday, thanks in large part to his new cutter.

A preview of every offense in the NFL. This writer is not fading the Chiefs.

The NBA will release the schedule for the upcoming season this afternoon, but they have already announced there will be no games played on Election Day.

The WNBA Playoffs begin tonight; here are the top players that will be featured.

Former PGA Tour golfer and current LIV golfer Patrick Reed is suing Golf Channel commentator Brandel Chamblee for defamation. As an avid fan of the game, I can attest that this is one of the least-liked figures in professional golf suing one of the other least-liked figures.

In other golf news, a group of top Tour players including Tiger Woods met to discuss the future of the Tour with regards to the rise of LIV.

Did you celebrate the holiday yesterday?

‘Better Call Saul’ ends with a poetic verdict on love and regret.

A 19 year-old girl suffered severe brain trauma from a car crash and emerged with an entirely different personality.

Could plasma reactors be the answer to creating oxygen on Mars?

Your song of the day is Let Go by Deadmau5.