Royals Rumblings - News for March 18, 2025

Jac will be hitting dingers in Arkansas.

Anne Rogers writes that Jac Caglianone will begin this season in Northwest Arkansas.

“I think I showed what I’m capable of,” Caglianone said. “I went out here just wanting to perform. Get to know everybody. Get comfortable out here. And I think I did that. Definitely learned a lot. Being around a bunch of big leaguers was the coolest thing ever.”

In Double-A, Caglianone will continue to play first, as he still needs to show improvement. But once he reaches Triple-A, he’ll likely start getting reps in the outfield.

Jaylon Thompson has more.

“I think he did an incredible job, not only on the field but in the clubhouse,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro told reporters in Surprise, Arizona. “The way he responded to the other guys and how they responded to him, you could tell he earned their respect very quickly about the way he goes about it.”

He also does a Q&A segment where he writes about underrated prospects that stood out.

One who stood out is Daniel Vazquez. He added two hits in Friday’s game. He showcased his speed with a triple down the right-field line in the sixth inning. Defensively, Vazquez also played both second and short.

I also was intrigued by a pair of international free agents. I think Royals shortstop Yandel Ricardo has a chance to be elite. He made a nice defensive stop to begin a double play.

Fangraphs ranks the Royals #20 at the catcher position,

Yet as you can guess from Kansas City’s placement on this list, we aren’t counting on Perez to keep it up in his age-35 campaign. And unfortunately for the Royals, Fermin followed up his impressive rookie season with a much worse sophomore showing. He’s certainly a better defender than Perez, but he’s not the heir apparent at the dish. As his 30th birthday fast approaches, it seems the Royals will have to look elsewhere for their catcher of the future. Maybe it’s 21-year-old Carter Jensen, the no. 68 overall prospect in baseball. Or who knows — maybe Perez will just stick around forever.

Craig Brown reacts to the news that Cole Ragans is the Opening Day starter.

Matt Chabot at Farm to Fountains writes about pitching prospect Drew Beam.

The Athletics will carry former Royals pitcher Noah Murdock on the roster.

Atlanta signs catcher James McCann to a minor league deal.

The Blue Jays add pitcher Richard Lovelady to the roster.

The Tigers option third baseman Jace Jung to the minors.

What to know about the Tokyo Series between the Cubs and Dodgers.

The Cubs add rookie Matt Shaw to the roster to make his MLB debut in Japan.

Are the Dodgers villains or heroes?

Paul Skenes adds another pitch to his arsenal.

The Marlins offered people $150 per-day to play on a practice squad against their Single-A team.

Is MLB the Show 25 the best the game has been?

Robinhood rolls out prediction markets for sports contracts.

South Alabama was invited to the NIT only to see their invitation rescinded.

Conan O’Brien will return to host the Oscars again next year.

Forever 21 files for bankruptcy and will cease retail operations.

Warner Brothers has pulled all classic Looney Tunes cartoons from Max.

Your song of the day is The Avett Brothers with Ain’t No Man.