Royals Rumblings - News for April 25, 2024
Revamped Royals relievers refined.
The Royals bullpen seems to have found its footing after a tough start to the season ($):
Tuesday’s game encapsulated why the Royals trust their bullpen. Royals starter Michael Wacha didn’t have his best stuff. So, the Royals turned it over to Stratton in the middle frames. He worked a shut down sixth inning after KC had scored. Next, Schreiber worked the seventh inning and McArthur closed it out. “It’s a one-run game and there is no margin for error,” Quatraro said. “They put up 4 ⅔ scoreless (innings) against a really good team. So I can’t overstate that enough. Without that, we are still out there playing or we are behind.”
Anne Rogers also wrote about the improved bullpen after last night’s game:
Schreiber came in for the seventh inning and tossed up all zeros, lowering his season ERA to 0.75 across 13 appearances.
Stratton came in for a scoreless eighth inning and struck out two. And McArthur was dominant again in the ninth to earn his sixth save of the year.
After allowing 14 runs in 15 2/3 innings through the first six games of the season, Royals relievers have allowed just 17 earned runs in 66 innings (2.32 ERA) since then.
Bradford Doolittle at ESPN says the Royals might be legit:
This approach runs counter to the strategy of some teams, like the ever-progressive Tampa Bay Rays, who attack the top of the zone with high-spin fastballs. But even if the Royals’ collective approach doesn’t exactly ride the wave of current trends, it is a classic formula: Pound the zone, work quickly, let your athletes shine on defense.
So far, it’s paid off. Royals pitchers rank just 24th in strikeout rate but are 10th in walk rate and fifth in home run rate. Meanwhile, the defense behind them that rates among the best in MLB in defensive runs saved and the infield leads all teams in out percentage on groundballs.
Hunter Samuels at Swinging Bunts breaks down the team’s recent offensive struggles:
The Royals are struggling right now, and while their underlying statistics suggest they’ll turn things around, nothing is guaranteed, and while typically, good contact results in more runs scored, ultimately the results matter most. Despite the expected stats above, the Royals’ slugging percentage since the start of 2023 is .399, 20th-highest in MLB. This year it’s .405, which is 9th-highest, but 61 points lower than expected.
They’ve been unlucky (they have the third-largest difference between their expected and actual slugging percentages) and while they shouldn’t expect the two to equal each other, it should normalize some. Last year’s biggest difference was 28 points, so if they can continue hitting the ball hard, they’ll see an uptick there. (If that sounds familiar, it’s because I wrote a similar thing last April when the Royals were even more unlucky… unluckier? Less lucky? Whatever, you get it.)
J.J. Picollo says Patrick Mahomes is “welcome anytime” to Royals Spring Training.
A deep dive into the history of the Tampa Bay Rays’ sun glint logo.
Struggling Cardinals outfielder and former top prospect Jordan Walker has been demoted to Triple-A.
Lengthy injury roundup for the past 24 hours:
- Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger is headed to the IL with a fractured rib.
- Boston right-handed pitcher Brayan Bello is headed to the IL with a lat injury.
- Washington outfielder Lane Thomas is headed to the IL with a knee injury.
- San Francisco left-handed pitcher Blake Snell is headed to the IL with an adductor strain.
- Arizona right-handed pitcher Merrill Kelly will miss over a month with a shoulder injury.
- Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez will miss a couple months after undergoing thumb surgery.
- Angels right-handed pitcher Robert Stephenson is undergoing Tommy John surgery.
- Yankees infielder DJ LeMahieu exited his rehab start with soreness.
- Cubs pitchers Kyle Hendricks and Drew Smyly are headed to the IL.
The SEC and ACC continue to reign supreme in this week’s college baseball Top 25.
After receiving little interest as a recruit, Georgia’s Charlie Condon could go first overall in this summer’s draft.
Reggie Bush is getting his 2005 Heisman Trophy back.
Thailand, an emerging youth hockey powerhouse, beat Kuwait 57-0 in a U-18 game.
Your song of the day is Lush Life by Zara Larsson.