Yesterday’s game was no fun at all. Let’s pretend that didn’t happen.
Earlier this week, Seth Lugo hit a major milestone. Jaylon Thompson writes about his career arc:
Prior to the club’s series opener against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field, Lugo was recognized for his 10 years of Major League Baseball service time.
Thompson also wrote about the terrible earthquake in Venezuela and how it’s affecting the Royals:
Alguacil is a native of Caracas, Venezuela. He spent several hours checking on his
family late last night.
He learned that his family spent Wednesday night on the streets. And he was visibly shaken after seeing the aftermath of the earthquakes.
“Yeah, pretty much my whole family,” Alguacil said. “Like my mom, brother and nephews. They didn’t feel safe because they kept feeling shaking (aftershocks) in the apartments. … They didn’t feel safe, and they don’t know what can happen at this point.”
At MLB, Brian Murphy updates us on Witt’s status:
Witt went through on-field drills prior to each of the team’s four games against the Rays, often while wearing a knee brace. Witt said on Wednesday that his knee has “been better every day.” When manager Matt Quatraro was asked Thursday if Witt will be in the lineup for Friday’s series opener against the White Sox, he said, “That’s my hope, yes.”
“We have to understand what the brace is going to do and how he feels,” Quatraro said Wednesday. “That communication with Bobby is paramount.”
At CBS Sports, Mike Axisa has noticed Jac’s hot streak
Struggling as a rookie can be a great learning experience and it looks like Caglianone put last year’s failures to good use. After Tuesday’s two-homer game, he’s hitting a robust .277/.349/.498 with 14 home runs this season. Caglianone has eight home runs in his last 14 games after hitting six homers in the previous 60 games…
The 10- to 30-degree launch angle range is ideal. Those are line drives and the kind of fly balls that go over the fence, not hang up long enough for an outfielder to catch. Caglianone was above the league average in April and May, but he’s really kicked it up a notch in June. Those six homers in the last 13 games are no fluke. He’s hitting more balls in the ideal launch angle range.
Also, Caglianone has gone from missing with one-third of his swings in April and May to only one-quarter of his swings in June, which is an enormous improvement. That’s the difference between one of the highest whiff rates in baseball and league average. There’s nothing sexy about league average, but when you have this much power, a league average contact rate is a big win.
Blog Time!
We’re leading off with Royals Keep today. Yirsandy Rodríguez looks at”Why The Royals’ Pitching Crumbles When It Matters Most“:
Cole Ragans is on the injured list. So is Kris Bubic. Carlos Estévez, who was supposed to anchor the bullpen, has been sidelined since April. Ragans, before his shutdown, was the most intriguing rollercoaster of them all: a dazzling 34.4% strikeout rate in high-leverage spots, undermined by a shaky 12.5% walk rate. His control issues turned every outing into a crapshoot. Bubic’s absence (2 HR allowed in 56 PA, .483 xSLG) has left a void that neither Cameron nor Wacha has been able to fill with any consistency.
The Royals need their arms to find the command that has so far eluded them when the game hangs in the balance. Erceg and Lynch have proven it’s possible. Cameron and Wacha are due for adjustments. Lugo is walking a tightrope, and his heat map suggests the reckoning could be closer than his traditional ERA indicates.
Blog Roundup:
- Darin Watson at U.L.’s Toothpick: This Date In Royals History–1976 Edition: June 25 – A pair of three-run innings help the Royals end a six-game losing streak.
- Jacob Milham at KOK: 3 potential post-first round MLB Draft Combine prospects Royals fans should watch closely
- Matthew Swignoski at KOK: 3 Royals players who are actively holding team back amid frustrating 2026 season
- Nick Halden at KC Kingdom: Royals should bite the bullet and cut ties with these three trade candidates
- Hunter Samuels at Swinging Bunts (not really baseball-related, but he writes about the Royals quite a bit): Getting Here
We’ve reached the end of the first half of the year. Regular readers will know it’s time for our first half recap. That’s good, as I’m feeling a little under the weather.
2026.01.02, 2026.01.09, 2026.01.16 OUT
2026.01.23 Royals December/January Catch Up (“Don’t Back Down” – Mammoth)
2026.01.30 Shrek Franchise (“All Star” – Smash Mouth)
2026.02.06 Fruit and the Modern Consumer Experience (“Crush” – NFL Primetime)
2026.02.13 Revisit Royals Review Email Inbox (“Rapid Storm” – Project X Zone)
2026.02.20 Revisit all Royals news sources (Field of Dreams monologue)
2026.02.27 Ask AI about the Royals (“Fantasia alla marcia for piano, chorus and orchestra” – Kingdom Hearts II)
2026.03.06 Old School Video Game OT/SotD: Super Mario World
2026.03.13 Preview Future OTs (“Sector X” – Star Fox)
2026.03.20 New Zealand movies (CBS March Madness theme song)
2026.03.27 Opening Day recap (Field of Dreams monologue)
2026.04.03 Artemis II (Artemis II launch video)
2026.04.10 CPBL Preview (“Hard Man” – Mega Man 3)
2026.04.17 OUT
2026.04.24 KBO Preview (“Battle Theme” – Final Fantasy FF1)
2026.05.01 NPB Preview (Ninja Gaiden)
2026.05.08 OUT
2026.05.15 Olympics/Iowa movies (“76 Trombones” from The Music Man)
2026.05.22 LA28 Olympics tickets (“Elevator Operator” – Electric Callboy, “Ratatata” – BABYMETAL x ElectricCallboy)
2026.05.29 Visiting the Indianapolis 500 (Final lap from 2026 Indy 500)
2026.06.05 OUT
2026.06.12 A Visualization of Time (“Corridors of Time” – Chrono Trigger)
2026.06.19 FIFA World Cup (Germany vs Curaçao highlights)
2026.06.26 2026 First Half Recap <– You are here
Since we’re revisiting OTs from the first half of the year, we’re going to revisit artists from the first half, too. More than a month ago, we had some Electric Callboy on here. Since then, they’ve announced their new album, Tanzneid. It will have both of the songs I posted then, some others they’ve released silly videos for, and this next one, their most recent release. While it makes me feel old, I am compelled to point out that The Offspring was the first concert I went to and Dexter Holland is now 60(!) years old.
