Royals Rumblings - News for August 6, 2024

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Kansas City Royals v Detroit Tigers — Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images

More on Bobby’s big month.

Angel Zerpa didn’t have his best stuff last night.

“I didn’t locate, and they didn’t miss them,” Zerpa said through interpreter Luis Perez. “It was a tough time [with Duran]. I was going hard at it with the sinker, and he got to it.”

“I don’t think he got a two-seamer in on any of those lefties,” Quatraro added. “... Duran is a good hitter. You’ve got to mix and match, and you’ve got to get it in on him probably in that situation.”

Anne Rogers also has injury updates for John Scheiber and Dan Altavilla.

Brian Murphy at MLB.com writes about Bobby Witt’s hot streak.

Witt did put just about everything he saw into play. He has improved his strikeout rate throughout his three-year career, and it’s a stellar 15.5% this season. But during those 25 games, he dropped his K rate even further, down to 10.1%. Witt had almost as many homers (eight) as strikeouts (11). From the start of the second half through the end of July, he struck out two times in 52 plate appearances.

A decrease in wasted at-bats came with an increase in ideal contact. During the streak, Witt upped his hard-hit rate (49.3% to 52.8%), line-drive rate (24.3% to 31.5%) and squared-up rate (27.9% to 30.5%). Meanwhile, his barrel rate remained the exact same: an elite 14.6%.

David Lesky at Inside the Crown writes about bullpen moves.

Long appears to be someone who Matt Quatraro is comfortable putting in tough spots and pitching in multiple innings. He’s been really impressive for the Royals, posting a 2.22 ERA and 2.92 FIP in 24.1 innings. He has 28 strikeouts and eight walks. He even got his first save of the year earlier on the road trip. Erceg was acquired to be a late-inning weapon, but based on some things Quatraro has said, his role is going to be “leverage,” which I honestly love.

The idea of having one pitcher for the ninth inning is great, in theory, but if you’ve got a guy you think is your best, sometimes the save isn’t in the ninth inning. Those two are about the only two in the Royals bullpen who the fans have full faith in. I’m not saying fan faith is the most important thing or even important at all, but I find that interesting. The Royals seem to be ready to use those two in the spots that matter the most, even if it’s the sixth inning as it was on Thursday for Erceg.

Craig Brown at Into the Fountains considers leadoff options.

Fermin, as the leadoff guy, is intriguing and, even in this TrueSABR age, a bit out of the box. You can make the case for the guy as the second-best hitter on the team this season, especially with Salvador Perez cooling down after his torrid start. Among Royals with at least 200 plate appearances, Fermin currently owns the second-highest OBP on the team (.354) and fifth-best slugging percentage (.432). Overall, his wRC+ of 117 is just one behind Perez’s 118. If the plan is to give your best hitter the most plate appearances, a one-two punch of Fermin at the top and Bobby Witt Jr. right behind him is the way to go.

Except I’m not entirely sold that Fermin is that guy. Look, I love Fermin. I think he’s excellent in his role as a guy who plays roughly two-thirds of the time as either the catcher or the designated hitter. He’s exceptional at what he does and what he brings to this team. His presence on the roster allows Quatraro the luxury of rotating Perez out from behind the plate as much as possible.

I’m just not sure he’s a leadoff guy.

Royals’ 2024 first-round pick Jac Caglianone will make his pro debut at High-A Quad Cities.

“When you start to meet someone and see the way they work and the way they go about their business, those are the things that you really start to see, on top of the work of our scouts and what’s out there publicly from when he was in college,” Maier said. “You get a chance to see him day to day, see the work, see the stuff that most don’t get to see all the time, and you can start to appreciate the athlete and the type of baseball player he can be. He was really, really impressive to watch.

“To see him go about his business every day gave us a better chance to get to know him on a personal level. We really look forward to getting him to Quad Cities and getting him going into his professional career.”

David Schoenfield at ESPN ranks Wild Card contenders, with the Royals third.

Seth Lugo, Cole Ragans and Brady Singer have been so good that it’s now pretty clear the Royals aren’t going to fade away and you have to appreciate them adding at the deadline. Like the Twins, they’re also done with the White Sox (they also went 12-1 against them), which means the schedule, by default, will be tougher the rest of the way. Indeed, Kansas City has a 23-game stretch starting in late August against the Phillies, Guardians, Astros, Guardians again, Twins, Yankees and Pirates — all teams with winning records. If those three starters keep pitching at this level and the new guys in the bullpen pitch well, however, the Royals can return to the playoffs for the first time since 2015.

Preston Farr at Farm to Fountains has a top Royals prospect list update.

Kevin O’Brien at Royals Reporter writes about James McArthur’s struggles.

The AL West race is wide open at this point.

Because of a suspended game followed by a trade, Danny Jansen could become the first player to play for both teams in a game.

The White Sox tie the American League record for losses in a row.

The Marlins were interested in Mets third baseman Brett Baty.

The Reds were interested in Marlins pitcher Trevor Rogers before he went to Baltimore.

Mets slugger Pete Alonso is dropped in the batting order.

Freddie Freeman’s son is home from the hospital after being treated for Guillain-Barre syndrome.

The Oakland Athletics sell their stake in the Coliseum.

The Chiefs make Harrison Butker the highest-paid kicker in the NFL.

How much do Olympic athletes earn for winning medals?