Kansas City Royals reliever Lucas Erceg hit Baltimore Orioles third baseman Blaze Alexander on the hand in the seventh inning of the Royals 8-2 loss, leading to some tempers flaring and the benches clearing. Here’s what the Associated Press report of the incident had to say:
Though both teams began the day in last place in their divisions, there was no shortage of emotion after Erceg hit Alexander with an inside fastball. Alexander took a few steps toward first base before shouting at Erceg, prompting
Orioles manager Craig Albernaz to quickly restrain his infielder from charging the mound.
But during that time, players from both teams emerged from the dugouts and pitchers from both bullpens charged in from beyond the outfield wall.
No punches were thrown and nobody was ejected. Alexander did suffer a fracture in his left hand and is expected to miss time.
Erceg did feel bad about hitting Alexander, but told the batter there was no ill intent behind the pitch. The right-hander relayed his message to Jake Rill of MLB.com:
“I just said, ‘Brother, I’m just pitching out here.’ I don’t know what he said. The crowd started going nuts,” Erceg said. “But yeah, no, I was just telling him I’m trying to pitch. I’ve got like a 5-something ERA. I’m not going out there to hit guys and put guys on and this and that.”
The Royals are now 38-59 on the season, tied for last place in MLB with the Los Angeles Angels. Second baseman Michael Massey was pretty frank with MLB.com reporter Anne Rogers about how things have gone for the team so far this year:
“I think we can be honest about where we’re at and the way things have gone, and we got to get better,” second baseman Michael Massey said. “We [have] to figure out what we need to address, and how we’re going to do it. Half a season is not a small sample size. There are some things we can take from that, and certainly adjust and get better, and try to implement it here in the second half.”
The Royals had plenty of opportunities against the Orioles starer Shane Baz, but only went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino was also very frank about how the team is performing to Kansas City Star writer Pete Grathoff:
“We had him on the ropes there. Didn’t get it done,” Vinnie Pasquantino said. “Next time through, credit to Jac for getting Bobby (Witt Jr.) with him on, and then Lane (Thomas) was able to get him home (in the third). That was good.”
However, Pasquantino continued, “The frustration level’s really high. It’s not good. So I think just it’s really tough.”
I at least appreciate the players honesty that the team is frustrated and that things are not going well.
The MLB draft took place this weekend, and the Kansas City Royals pick of Zion Rose at No. 6 was the first shock of the draft. If you are looking for hope, Keith Law of the Athletic was high on how the Royals handled the first day of the draft:
The Kansas City Royals played it a little differently this year, but I also loved their draft. They took Louisville outfielder Zion Rose at No. 6, and he will probably come in under slot. He’s one of the best pure hitters in this draft class, and a sneaky-good athlete for a former catcher. Then they took right-hander Taylor Rabe, a late-rising starter from Mississippi who could move pretty quickly through the minors. Their third-round pick was left-hander Maxx Yehl, who came back from Tommy John surgery to become the West Virginia Mountaineers’ best starter this year. At worst, he projects as a good reliever.
Gabe Lacques of USA Today was less impressed by the Rose choice, but did note that the Royals are likely playing a financial game with their first pick:
No. 6 – Kansas City Royals: Zion Rose, OF, Louisville. Grade: C-
The first huge surprise and potential reach. Rose was outside the top 25 of all mock drafts, though the Royals also hold the No. 30 pick and should save a significant amount of money in their draft pool
Brendan Gawlowski of Fangraphs wrote an analysis of the Royals first day selections, and he also noted that Royals pick of Rose was a surprise:
The first misdirection of the draft, as there was a lot of smoke that had Eric Booth Jr. heading to KC in the first round. Instead they took Rose, a player with an enviable blend of power and speed; the trick will be getting him to hit the ball in the air more often. Later, the Royals opted for two of the draft’s late bloomers. Rabe barely pitched at Ole Miss until his junior year, and then dominated with one of the SEC’s best fastballs. In some ways, Slightom is a KC special, a tall and athletic Midwest pitching prospect with round-down fastball shape. He’s a candidate to take a leap forward as he focuses exclusively on baseball. Yehl is a strike-thrower with elite deception, which probably appealed to an org that puts a lot of value on pitchability. The Royals will presumably be able to buy Battista out of his commitment to UIC. He’s an athletic, if undersized, outfielder with a hit-over-power profile.
Unsurprisingly, Royals scouting director Brian Bridges sounded very exited to welcome Rose to the organization. Bridges talked to Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star after the first round of the draft about the outfielder:
Bridges indicated Rose has more layers to his game. His competitiveness stood out when the Royals first met with him. And his ability to lead — as a former catcher — also carried a lot of weight in the team’s decision to pick him sixth overall.
“He’s a winner,” Bridges said, “and he’s a warrior. He’ll give you everything he’s got.”
Zion Rose talked to Thompson about what type of player he is and what he brings to the table:
“Just a competitor,” Rose said. “I’m doing everything I can to win. Honestly, nothing that I do is selfish. It’s for the team.”
The Royals picked more players on the second day of the draft on Sunday, and a few of them have caught prospect-watchers eyes. MLB.com had Royals seventh-round selection Dylan Vigue listed as one of their most intriguing picks from Day 2:
Vigue had an up-and-down college career at Michigan and Georgia, alternating between untouchable and unable to find the zone. Where he stands out, though, is his dynamic sinker-slider combination, which has perhaps the most horizontal separation of any pitcher in this class. The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder has occasionally used a cutter and changeup but almost exclusively leaned on his top two pitches, leading many to believe that he can become a dominant reliever.
Carlos Collazo at Baseball America was impressed by the Royals selection of Oklahoma shortstop Camden Johnson in the ninth round, labeling him as his Royals favorite pick of the entire draft:
I wouldn’t have batted an eye if Johnson went off the board in the second round. Getting this package of athleticism in the ninth is a coup for the Royals. Johnson is a 70-grade runner with contact skills and a downhill swing that could work for him. He played third base this spring for Oklahoma but has the athleticism to play all over the field, so I was also interested to see the Royals select him as a shortstop. There’s a super utility outcome here, and getting that from a ninth-rounder would be a tremendous pick.
MLB held their Futures Game on Sunday, because there simply wasn’t enough going on already. Kendry Chourio and Blake Mitchell represented the Royals, and both had impressive moments that the MLB.com staff noticed during the game:
Royals — RHP Kendry Chourio (KC No. 1/MLB No. 66) shrugged off a hit and struck out one while recording two outs without any damage. Starting behind the dish, C Blake Mitchell (KC No. 3) threw out a would-be basestealer to extinguish a threat in the third. He walked and was 0-for-1 at the plate.
If you need more draft coverage, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com broke down every first day pick for each team.
The Boston Red Sox end the first half with a 9-0 road trip and are now within a 1/2 game of the last AL Wild Card spot.
Christopher Sanchez of the Philadelphia Phillies and Dylan Cease of the Toronto Blue Jays have been named the All-Star game starting pitchers.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has a fever, and the only prescription is more teams in the World Cup.
UFC star Conor McGregor claims that he had no preexisting injury heading into his fight with Max Hollaway, despite his leg giving out on the first kick of the fight.
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was ejected from the New York Liberty’s 93-91 loss to the Toronto Tempo after hitting Tempo player Marina Mabrey with a shoe.
U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell posts evidence of life but is not yet ready to return the Senate.
Preliminary findings have revealed that late Senator Lindsey Graham died of “aortic dissection,” according to the office of the Washington, D.C. medical examiner.
The United States and Iran continue to fire at each other, with the Strait of Hormuz remaining a flashpoint between the countries.
Song of the Day is “Crimson and the Clay,” by Jason Isbell. Stay safe out there everyone.
