Royals Rumblings - News for March 17, 2025
Cole Ragans is your Opening Day starter.
Matt Quatraro names Cole Ragans as his Opening Day starter.
“Cole’s got elite stuff, the elite swing and miss ability against any lineup,” Quatraro said after the Royals’ 10-2 win over the Rockies at Salt River Fields. “... He’s excited, we’re excited, and he’s certainly earned it. His whole body of work — his stuff, the person he is, the way he competes, the way the other guys look up to him.
“He’s an Opening Day guy.”
Bobby Witt Jr. returned to the lineup after getting hit in the forearm by a pitch on Wednesday.
“He didn’t say anything (about the injury) and he wanted to stay in for the extra at-bat,” manager Matt Quatraro told reporters in Surprise, Arizona.
Anne Rogers writes that the Royals have rebuilt their bullpen with power arms.
“The nice thing about a lot of the guys we’ve acquired or continue to develop, they’re power arms but they throw a lot of strikes,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “That’s the best combination you can have. Guys that can beat you in the zone, not beating themselves.”
Estévez, Erceg and Harvey figure to make up the back end of the bullpen. Quatraro hasn’t defined any roles yet, but it’s likely Estévez gets a lot of save opportunities early while Erceg pitches in more of a fireman role, whether that’s with the bases loaded in the seventh or the ninth inning. Having Estévez takes the pressure off Harvey as he navigates his way back from an injury, but he’ll get opportunities in the seventh, eighth and ninth.
Craig Brown is impressed by Jac Caglianone.
Probably the most useful metric that I use from spring training is found at Baseball Reference: Quality of opposing pitchers faced. Caglianone is currently at 7.1 on a scale that goes up to 10. That means the pitchers he’s been facing, on average, are closer to Double-A than to the Triple-A level. For those of us (meaning everyone) who figured he would open the year at Double-A, this may result in a recalibration of our expectations. If he’s destroying what amounts to the pitching he will see in the Texas League, why bother sending him there at all? While I’m not going to advocate Caglianone to break camp with the big league team (boo this writer!), he’s certainly giving the front office something to consider. Does he stick to the plan and start at Northwest Arkansas? Or does he go straight to Omaha?
Vahe Gregorian writes about Alex Gordon’s journey and self-doubt to become a Royals Hall of Famer.
“Going into 2011, there was just a lot of uncertainty for me,” he said. “I was thinking this wasn’t the path for me.”
Even so, he embraced the mission.
With a fervor that is another aspect of his ongoing meaning to the franchise — a legendary work ethic that remains the model.
The Royals announce their 2024 organizational awards.
Royals Dugout Data looks at four pitchers we could see later this summer.
Matthew Trueblood at Baseball Prospectus previews the Royals. [$]
The White Sox release Joey Gallo, and he announces he is now a pitcher.
Twins infielder Royce Lewis leaves a game with a hamstring injury.
Marlins outfielder Jesus Sanchez is out four weeks with an oblique injury.
Angels third baseman Yoan Moncada may not be ready for Opening Day due to a bruised thumb.
The Hanshin Tigers beat the Cubs and Dodgers.
Anthony Castrovince ranks the Royals as having the eighth-best rotation in baseball.
MLB.com surveys players for their opinions on most surprising team, most underrated player, and more.
How the Mariners plan to use their switch-pitching prospect.
A guide to all 68 teams in this year’s men’s NCAA college basketball tournament.
NBC signs a $3 billion deal to keep the Olympics.
A crew arrives at the International Space Station to replace astronauts stranded for nin months.
It took 23 years and a missed phone call, but Harvey Silikovitz finally got on Jeopardy!...and won.
Your song of the day is Pinback with Good to Sea.