Royals Rumblings - News for January 1, 2025
New year, same ol’ quiet offseason
Welcome to the new year! Here is the Kansas City Royals news you need today.
MLB.com’s Anne Rogers names pitch Noah Cameron as the Kansas City Royals prospect to watch heading into 2025.
Cameron, the Royals’ No. 12 prospect, might have made his MLB debut last year if the Royals weren’t making a postseason push and wanted to get a look at one of their top pitching prospects, but that debut will likely be coming in 2025. The Royals added Cameron to the 40-man roster in November to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, and he’ll be competing for a spot on the Royals’ Opening Day pitching staff in the spring. The Royals’ seventh-round pick in the 2021 Draft, Cameron has dealt with some injuries in his career but has been remarkably consistent when he’s healthy, especially throwing strikes. The 25-year-old posted a 3.08 ERA between two levels in 2024 and finished the season particularly strong in Triple-A Omaha, where he had a 2.32 ERA across nine starts, with 62 strikeouts and just 11 walks in 54 1/3 innings.
MLB.com names Bobby Witt Jr. as one of the reasons “baseball was the BEST in 2024.”
The electric Bobby Witt Jr. registered the seventh 30-homer, 30-SB season by a shortstop in MLB history. He also did so last season, making him the first shortstop to do so twice. And he was just 24 years old. Witt is the first player with multiple 30-30 seasons through his age-24 season — at any position. He also won the AL batting title, the fifth in Royals’ history. Witt joined George Brett (1990, ‘80 and ‘76) and Willie Wilson (1982).
Baseball America’s Carlos Collazo re-drafts the 2020 MLB Draft, sending catcher Patrick Bailey to Kansas City.
While Bailey is now one of the best defensive players in the game, he’ll need to level up on offense if he wants to go from a good player to a great one. Over 218 games, he’s a .234/.292/.348 hitter with a 25% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate and 79 wRC+. Bailey has underperformed his expected numbers in that time (.282 wOBA vs. .317 xwOBA) for those bullish on his hitting ability moving forward.
Royals outfielders show off their defensive prowess in MLB’s top 5 outfield assists from the past season.
Following President Jimmy Carter’s passing, the Kansas City Star revisits his time in Kansas City, including this gem.
Kevin O’Brien (The Royals Reporter) looks back on his favorite articles from the past year.
David Lesky at Inside the Crown ($) lays out the Royals New Year’s resolutions.
Mike Gillespie at Kings of Kauffman looks at the former Royals players struggling to find a new team.
Joe Summers at KC Kingdom runs down the already forgettable Royals, who won’t be back in 2025.
Royals host Grand Canyon University students for a tour in Surprise, Arizona.
Mark Armour, founder of SABR’s Baseball Biography Project, details Satchel Paige’s journey to the Hall of Fame.
Baseball America’s editor-in-chief, JJ Cooper, details his 2025 Hall of Fame ballot.
Organized crime could be targeting professional athletes, according to an FBI warning to sports leagues.
Aramark is looking for a full-time warehouse manager at Kauffman Stadium.
Let’s Dish, Kansas City visits the Japanese restaurant Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift notably visited for the Chiefs player’s October birthday.
Five people were charged in connection with the October death of former One Direction member and artist Liam Payne.
Your song of the day is Zach Bryan with 28, in honor of my 28th birthday next week and its depressing nature.