Jaylon Thompson writes about how the Royals nearly got no-hit last night.
“I think the hitting guys did a great job preparing us,” Massey said. “It was just he had his stuff tonight. I mean, he didn’t miss a lot of balls right over the middle of the plate. Lived on the corners and changed speeds.
“Usually, when a guy does that, you hit mistakes and take advantage of mistakes. And unfortunately, he didn’t make many.”
Anne Rogers has an update on Bobby Witt Jr., who was again out of the lineup on Monday.
Witt participated in some baseball activity Monday afternoon in Cleveland — running, throwing and some defensive glove work. He ran at “pretty much 100 percent,” manager Matt Quatraro said. Witt had yet to take any swings as the Royals went through their team pregame work before the series opener, but that’s the next step.
“We’re going to see how he feels as the day progresses after that activity,” Quatraro said pregame. “There’s an outside chance he’s available for some sort of game action today, but if not, we’re very encouraged that he’ll play sooner rather than later.”
David Lesky recaps the weekend and cherishes the fact that the Royals are playing meaningful baseball in September.
I’ll get into the playoff picture down below, but I’m going to reiterate what a joy it is that they are in it for the second straight season. Maybe it’ll get old at some point and all we’ll care about is being in the playoffs and watching them advance deep into the playoffs. I really hope it does. But for now, I can’t believe I have to keep reminding people how much fun this is, particularly after the season did appear over when they fell to seven under in early July. They did not have the best homestand. I can’t believe they lost two of three to the Angels, but they did. With three weeks (and 19 games) to go, this is exciting stuff. Do I think they’re going to make it in? Eh, let’s just say I’m not terribly optimistic, but ask me again in a week.
Royals Reporter wonders about the future of Daniel Lynch IV.
Lynch’s ERA is solid at 2.91. That said, his FIP is much worse at 4.74, and his 5.1% K-BB% is paltry as well. For the year, he’s posting a 99 TJ Stuff+ with his slider (101) and changeup (104) rating as above-average pitches, based on TJ Stuff+. Additionally, his zone rate is 51.1% and xwOBACON is .340, which is a lot better than what he showed today.
Nonetheless, the 28-year-old lefty isn’t great when it comes to generating chase (26.4%) or whiffs (21.6%). He also seems to be behind Angel Zerpa when it comes to left-handed high-leverage usage. That makes one wonder if Lynch will still be in Kansas City next year, as he begins his first year of arbitration eligibility.
David Schoenfield at ESPN looks at all potential contenders, including the Royals, to determine if they’re for real or not.
Verdict: NOT REAL. Given that their home park is one of the toughest for home runs in the majors, this now looks like an offense with enough power to make a postseason run. Though Kris Bubic is out for the season, Cole Ragans made a rehab start in Triple-A on Sunday. If he makes it back to bolster the rotation, the Royals look like a team that could surprise in October.
Jim Bowden at The Athletic ranks Noah Cameron fifth among AL rookies.
A seventh-round pick in 2021, Cameron, 26, spent four-plus seasons in the minors before getting his opportunity with the Royals. The lefty has a five-pitch mix and uses all of his pitches fairly equally. His fastball sits in the low 90s, but his secondary pitches are his calling card, as batters are hitting just .213 against his slider, .167 against his curveball and .214 against his changeup. The pitch value on his breaking ball ranks in the 98th percentile, according to Statcast. Cameron doesn’t strike out a lot of batters, but he’s kept his walks down and limited hard contact. He’s allowed two earned runs or fewer in 14 of his 20 starts this year.
The Phillies place Alec Bohm and Trea Turner on the Injured List.
Braves catcher Sean Murphy needs hip surgery.
Max Muncy returns to the Dodgers lineup.
Michael Helman, a 29-year-old rookie, hits a grand slam for the Rangers to lead them to victory.
Who has the easiest and toughest remaining schedules?
Is Nick Kurtz having one of the best debuts ever?
Potential new Rays owners will meet with MLB officials.
How much do trail runners matter?
What were some of the best September performances ever?
The Giants are expected to be interested in pitcher Sonny Gray this winter.
Why are athletes spitting on each other?
The women’s basketball league Unrivaled is now valued at $340 million.
The Murdoch family resolves their succession dispute.
The Conjuring sets box office records for the biggest worldwide opening for a horror movie.
A ranking of all the cold opens on The Office.
Your song of the day is Teegan and Sara with Back in Your Head.
