Royals Rumblings - News for May 16, 2024
¡Feliz cumpleaños a Freddy Fermin!
Alec Marsh has shown an improved fastball since coming off the IL:
In his first five starts of the season, Marsh threw 131 four-seam fastballs — throwing the four-seamer 31.7% of the time — and got 15 whiffs on it.
In the two games since returning from the IL, Marsh has gone to the four-seamer 43% of the time. He has generated 19 whiffs on the heater in those two starts, with a career-high 10 last Friday against the Angels and nine more Wednesday.
“Just good locations on it,” Marsh said. “I know where it plays best, and that’s usually at the top of the zone. Trying to keep it up there and challenge guys late. They think I’m going to go to spin or offspeed stuff, but it’s like ‘I’ve got a good heater, so I’m going to show it to you and try to get you out on it.’”
John Becker at FanGraphs has taken notice of Kansas City’s strong performance in the clutch:
But a great rotation alone doesn’t make a good team. If the season ended yesterday, the Royals would be in the playoffs right now because they are producing at the plate in the moments that matter.
That 94 wRC+ overall? Forget it. Their wRC+ was 132 with runners in scoring position, 131 with runners on, and 137 in their few dozen bases plate appearances with the bases loaded. They weren’t as excellent in high-leverage spots (101 wRC+), but that’s still notably better than their wRC+ in all other situations (94).
So, is this a skill? Eh, probably not, but if you’d like to re-litigate Esky Magic from 2014 and 2015 in the comments, have at it. More likely, it’s some combination of luck and random variation in a quarter-season sample. Players don’t suddenly become better or worse depending on the situation, they just perform better or worse. The statistics I shared above are merely what has happened; they’re not predictive of what the rest of the season will hold. Jeff Sullivan put it best back in 2018 when looking at “clutch” through a win probability lens: The most important thing about clutch is that you shouldn’t count on it continuing.
Keith Law has the Royals taking Wake Forest pitcher Chase Burns in his latest mock draft ($).
Houston’s Ronel Blanco was ejected from Tuesday’s game for using sticky stuff, which has now given us the second instance of an umpire describing something as “the stickiest ____” they’ve ever felt.
Philadelphia’s Brandon Marsh claims to have never purchased something online.
Load management is the latest way that MLB teams are attempting to get an edge.
Milwaukee first baseman Rhys Hoskins is headed to the IL with a hamstring injury.
Minnesota right-handed pitcher Justin Topa will be shut down for six weeks with a knee injury.
Cincinnati right-handed pitcher Nick Lodolo is headed to the IL with a groin injury.
Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker was invited to give a commencement address for some reason and used the opportunity to denigrate women and feed weird alpha-male rhetoric to men.
The Boston Celtics are headed to their third straight Eastern Conference Finals after finishing off the Cleveland Cavaliers last night.
Tom Brady will make his broadcast debut for FOX on Week 1 this autumn.
What to watch for as the PGA Championship tees off at Valhalla.
Caitlin Clark’s WNBA debut was the most-watched WNBA game since 2001.
Nonstop flights between Kansas City and Sacramento will be offered beginning in October.
The covered wagon on display in Westport is being removed and replaced with a replica.
Orcas are continuing to reenact the climax of the third-highest grossing movie of all-time as they sank another yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar.
Tech companies are plowing ahead with foisting their AI models on the general public despite major problems with accuracy and reliability.
Your song of the day is Sígueme y Te Sigo by Daddy Yankee.