Pete Grathoff writes the “F” word is the theme of the first half for the Royals.
“Frustration is one word. You know, disappointment, anger, every emotion that you can think of,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said Sunday.
“I mean we’re battling, not getting any results, and it stinks. Everybody’s frustrated. Everybody in here puts in every effort they can, and when you come out on the losing end as much as we have, it’s been a bad first half. It’s been a bad pre-All Star break, and nobody in there is
happy with it.”
The Royals will have to win two of every three games just to get to the .500 mark by season’s end, which would seem to make them prime candidates to be one of baseball’s clear sellers at the trade deadline.
Jaylon Thompson writes about former Royals outfielder Mark Canha appearing on a cooking competition.
“It was kind of wild,” Canha said of the experience.
Canha appeared on Food Network’s new show, “100 Cooks,” competing alongside some of the best home chefs in America. The show’s premise: Put 100 of them through a professional culinary competition hosted by former NFL standout/actor Terry Crews and judged by Alex Guarnaschelli and Nick DiGiovanni.
Kevin O’Brien at Royals Keep wonders if Lucas Erceg should try starting.
His slider (102) and changeup (107) are his best offerings, with his slider (102) being his third-best on a TJ Stuff+ end. His four-seamer doesn’t rate well on a TJ Stuff+ end (96), but it has above-average velocity at 97.2 MPH. Furthermore, not only does he have above-average velocity on three of his four offerings, but he also varies his pitches, with three of his offerings (four-seamer, slider, and sinker) being thrown 25% or more (his changeup, while utilized the least, still is thrown 13.9% of the time).
That’s a strong base for the Royals Pitching Development team to work with. With a four-pitch mix, three decent pitches, he could transition to the rotation and focus more on sharpening the quality and usage over more innings of work. Furthermore, he could add a pitch or two, which would not only diversify his repertoire but also perhaps enhance his other offerings, especially his whiff rate, which is below average at 21.5%.
Baseball America has their draft class review for the Royals.
The Theme: Speedsters & Southpaws. Each of the first three hitters the Royals selected is a plus-or-better runner, and the team also drafted four lefthanded pitchers in the first 10 rounds.
Favorite Day 1 Pick: RHP Jack Slightom
Slightom is a projectable righthander with a tall, 6-foot-4, 200-pound frame. He’s trended in the right direction over the last year with his fastball, and was a helium prep arm in the spring after reaching back for 97-98 mph velocity at peak.
Connor Byrne at MLB Trade Rumors has the trade deadline outlook for the Royals for subscribers [$]
With the injury-laden Royals now buried in the playoff race, they certainly aren’t in position to buy ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline. General manager J.J. Picollo could sell off multiple veterans, but as we’ll explore below, it might not be an especially active deadline for his last-place club.
Matthew Trueblood at Baseball Prospectus writes that the Royals need to maximize building a roster around Bobby Witt Jr. [$]
The Reds sign All-Star pitcher Chase Burns to a seven-year, $105 million contract.
Former Royals reliever Brad Keller has a torn UCL and will miss the rest of the season.
The Pirates acquire former prospect Robert Hassell III from the Nationals.
The teams that need to get off to a good start in the second half.
The Padres are taking an open-minded approach to the trade deadline.
The Mets are ready to begin selling for the trade deadline.
How the Pirates improved offensively.
MLBPA negotiations threaten player participation in the 2028 Summer Olympics.
The All-Star Game drew strong TV ratings, while the Home Run Derby was a dud.
How many Chiefs are worth a first-round pick?
Who could own a potential NBA expansion team in Las Vegas?
Shredded iceberg lettuce sold at Taco Bell has been linked to an outbreak of cyclosporiasis.
Why is thunder so loud?
The Odyssey is also coming to TV screens.
Your song of the day is The Beach Boys with Hang On To Your Ego.
